My New World

My New World: Day 5

       I woke up today and we went through the same morning routine. I've had enough of this planet. If only there was a way we could contact Earth so that we can leave before anyone else gets hurt or even worse, dies. I don't think any of us can handle living here another second. Maybe there's something packed in one of the bags that we missed. I took a bag that we haven't opened yet and was rummaging through it. More food, tools, the usual. Then my fingers felt something cold at the bottom of the bag. I pulled it out, and it seemed to be a small metal box. "Hey guys, what's this for?" They all huddled around me, observing the box we didn't even know we had. Engraved in the box were the letters S.O.S. Why is Save Our Souls engraved on here? "Hey... This must be an emergency escape messenger!" I opened the box, revealing a keyboard and a screen. A message popped up on the screen which said, "Please type the emergency." I quickly typed, "Killer monster on this planet."
       Jake snatched the box from my hands and said, "Killer monster? Seriously?"
       "Yes, seriously. How else would you call that thing?"
       "Well—"
       "Exactly!" I snatched the box back. Another message popped up which said, "Please tell me the urgency of this situation and we will be on our way to help." I typed in, "Extremely urgent!" Then, a small drawer flew open and the screen read, "Please wear this so we can find where you are." I quickly put on the pin.
"Haha! Guys we're going home!" I squeezed everyone into a group hug. I was so relieved. When we go back to Earth, we'll be safe. No one else will be lost due to this horrible creature on this planet. We all decided to stay put that way we could be found easier. "*Sigh* This is finally going to be over, guys. I just wish... I looked for an escape and found that box sooner, before having to lose..."
"Listen, Flora. It's not your fault. Don't go on blaming yourself. It's... It's my fault we lost Dan and Kiana. I wasn't the leader I was supposed to be. I wasn't the leader you trusted me to be and now they're gone, with Em"
"Connor, I'm not going to tell you this again. It's not your fault. It's not your fault because you tried your best, but sometimes our best isn't good enough... But that's okay. It's just how things work. No matter how hard you try, you don't always get what you wanted to end up with. It kinda sucks."
"Thanks, Flora. And yes, it does suck."
"Haha, yeah..."
"Well, you two done now?" Jake's harsh remark ruined the moment.
"Jake, what was that for?"
"What was what for? You two have to stop blaming yourselves for nothing. It's that monsters fault. That's it."
"Oh..." I remained silent after hearing those words. It's just like a bad habit, I can't help myself. I keep trying to find a way to blame myself for the loss of our friends, even though I know it isn't my fault. I'm sure Connor feels the same way, but it just can't be helped. Suddenly, the pin I was wearing began to beep and it was blinking a bright green light. Towards the very bottom edge of the pin was a small, red blinking dot. I pressed on the dot and a hologram appeared. It was the Head of the Court. Everyone quickly stood and straightened up and we placed our right hands behind our backs. We do this as a sign of respect to those who are of higher importance than the general public. The Head of the Court began to speak.
"*Gasp* My goodness! What's happened to you all? Why is there only five of you instead of eight? Where are the others?"
"W-Well, being here was not easy, Miss. I regret to inform you that, sadly and unfortunately, there is a dangerous beast roaming around planet Hope that... Attacked Emily, Kiana, and Daniel and now they're, *ahem*, they're no longer with us." It wasn't easy to get those words out without breaking down, but I managed.
"My, my... Such a tragedy. We shall set up a grand ceremony in honor of the three and we shall all mourn the loss of these brave people."
In perfect unison we all said, "Yes, Miss."
"Well, enough with the grief and gloominess. Tell me, are there any good news? I notice that you all are breathing just fine without your oxygen helmets..."
"Ah, yes, Miss, there are good news. There are odd trees growing in this planet which most likely is the source of the oxygen and the trees provide proof that the soil here is, in fact, fertile and capable of allowing plants to grow. However, we do not know if this planet has plants completely different from those in Earth and if the seeds of Earth can grow in this type of soil. Also, the existence of the beast shows that there are life forms inhabiting Hope and that they are capable of surviving here for years, probably, more or less."
"Oh, how splendid! Wonderful news, everyone!"
Again in perfect unison we all said, "Yes, Miss."
"Well, help is on the way everyone! I suggest you stay close and in place, as it would make rescuing you much easier and faster."
"Yes, Miss." Once more in perfect unison, with straight faces.
"Well, I will be heading off now. Good luck, and the rescue will be here shortly so no worries! Farewell!"
"Farewell." We said, before I pressed onto the red dot and the hologram disappeared. "Well, that was expected, but unexpected."
       Alex sat back down and spread his long legs out on the ground. "Hehe, you said it."
                         *******
       "How long has it been?" I feel as though they're taking years to come and find us. Connor looked at his digital watch.
       "Well, let's see. We woke up when it was 7:45am, and you found that box about, let's say an hour later, so 9am. And right now it's 1:02pm, so it's been four hours since we've been expecting our rescue."
       Peri made a face of disgust. "Ugh. My butt cheeks hurt from sitting so long without doing anything. Can we just do something? Anything!"
       Jake and Connor were trying to stifle their laughter. Alex and I just burst out laughing, tears forming in my eyes. Peri then began to giggle, realizing we were all laughing because of what she said. Then, as if on cue, a loud roar cut through the joyfulness of the moment we had. We just can't have a moment of happiness without something ruining it, and by something I mean the nasty beast. "Guys, I know we're gonna go off on a run for dear life, but do not stay away from me. I'm wearing the pin and we can't risk getting separated. I don't want some of us to be saved, I want all of us to be saved. So, remember to stay together no matter what." They all nodded their heads, telling me they understand. Once again, there was another spine tingling roar. We all got up and ran, staying huddled together.
       Suddenly, the ground violently shook over and over and I fell since I lost my balance. Before I hit the ground, Jake caught me in his arms.
       "Please be careful. I keep saving you, now you owe me."
       "Oh, my knight in shining armor. My hero! I owe you nothing, jerk."
       "Haha, I thought you'd say that."
       Jake took my hand and began running again, taking me with him. The monster was right behind us. Literally. It was the first time I actually saw the beast. It was horrible. It was huge, with large pointed teeth that showed even with its mouth shut. It's back had jagged edges all the way down to the tip of its long tail. Its eyes were small, but the whole eye was a dark shade of green with one yellow dot at the center, giving it an intimidating glare. The whole body was black, it had legs that weren't too short with three claws on each foot. There were strings of white saliva in its mouth every time it let out another vicious roar. It was just flat out horrible.
       My legs were so tired, but if I stopped for even one minute I was sure to die. I can't let that happen, especially since I'm the one wearing the pin and without it we'll never be found.
       "Ah!" I turned my head around and saw that Peri has tripped and fallen. The monster was too close for comfort, she's in great danger.
       "Peri!" I tried to turn and help her, but Jake tightened his grip on my hand, holding me back. "What are you doing?!"
       "Connor's getting her, look!" Jake pointed towards Peri and I could see Connor dragging her back up on her feet and trying to keep going forward.
       "Oh..."
       "Flora, don't worry. You just focus on running and it'll be fine."
       "Alright..." I tried to focus on running again, but when I turned to Connor and Peri I witnessed something I tried so hard to avoid. "NOOOO!! Jake! Jake, please! *sob* Please help them..!"
       "No! It's... It's too late..."
       I turned around again and saw that Connor has thrown his switchblade before... Alex made a quick turn and picked up the switchblade and quickly caught up with Jake and I again. I ran and ran while sobbing, my heart throbbing, struggling to handle the pain it's in. Then, joy and relief rushed through me. We found the trees again. We ran to the nearest and safest tree and climbed up as high as we could. Jake turned to Alex and told him to throw him the switch blade, gave it to me, then told Alex to take good care of me and to avoid getting me hurt. "Jake? What are you doing?!"
       Jake looked me in the eyes. "Don't worry about me. I'll come back to you. I promise."
       "No, Jake, y-you can't! We're safe here! Don't put yourself in danger, please Jake! Don't... Don't go."
       "Flora, this isn't just for nothing. I want to avenge the death of our friends."
      "But... A switchblade isn't going to kill that thing."
       Jake took the bag off of his back and pulled out a very evolved gun. "I won't be using the switchblade. You use it for self defense. Here," he pulled out two more guns and tossed one to Alex and handed one to me. "Just aim at your target, and pull this trigger. Got it?"
       "Wha... You had these in your bag all this time?!"
       "I found them this morning."
       "Why didn't you say anything?! Why didn't you take it out when you saw that Connor and Peri needed help?! What's wrong with you!"
       "I was going to tell you when we needed them. The monster was too close for me to pull the guns out! I wanted to take them out, but that thing was faster than I was..."
       "Ah! You selfish jerk!" I started pounding on Jake's chest, rage in every punch, tears streaming down my cheeks. Jake grasped my wrists.
       "Flora... I'm sorry." I fell into Jake's embrace, no longer able to hold myself up anymore and sobbed.
       "I hate this so much..."
       "I know... I do too." Jake placed his hand onto my wet cheek and slid his fingers down to my chin, lifting my head up to meet his clear, bright eyes. "Flora... I love you." My eyes went wide and my wet cheeks began to boil, my heart began to flutter. He loves me? Oh my, he loves me! It was then I realized what I felt. I wasn't sick. I was in love. I am in love with Jake. A big smile spread across my face.
"I love you too, Jake." His eyes went wide, but a beautiful smile quickly overtook his surprise. He then put both hands onto my cheeks and pulled my lips onto his. It was amazing. Everything left my mind and all I could think about was his soft sweet lips pressed against mine. Our lips gently parted and I could see his rosy cheeks above his happy grin. Alex spoke up and said, "I'm still here guys."
"I'll come back to you, Flora."
"You promise?"
"I promise you I'll come back."
"Okay." Jake began to climb down the tree, but I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him in for a more intense, last kiss. He gave me a reassuring glare and left.
*******
"So, I didn't know there was a romance going on between you and Jake." Alex asked, suddenly making me a little embarrassed.
"Y-yeah... It just, happened."
"Haha, I support you all the way!"
"Hehe, thanks." Its been a while since Jake left. The pin I was wearing began blinking and beeping again and I pressed the red dot again. A hologram of the Head of the Court appeared again. "Hello, Miss. What's going on? Is anyone coming?"
"Well, you see... Something tragic happened. We already sent a crew out to save you but... They were attacked when they landed. So, we sent another crew and they're on their way."
"Oh my god... That beast got them too." Anger filled my heart and I balled up my fists, my knuckles turning white.
"Why are there only two..." I looked at her with tears welling up in my eyes. "oh... I see."
"Jake went out to kill the beast."
"On his own?" I winced at those words.
"He has weapons he found packed in one of the bags." I showed her the gun he gave me.
"Well, sit tight kiddos. Bye bye!"
The hologram disappeared. I looked up through the small aqua bulbs that are the leaves of the tree. Under my breath I whispered, "Please come back, Jake." and I drifted into a deep sleep.
*******