In Alien Hands: Crashed

Crashed - Part 4

I woke up late that morning and rolled out of the hammock, ticking off another day until we were rescued. Thanks to our new friend, Holli and I weren't eating fish for breakfast. The native who had brought us fruit would return today, so I didn't need to be stingy with the food. I split our fruit and poured our water, then woke Holli up. I was in a particularly good mood that morning, and she seemed to be as well.

After we ate our breakfast, I decided to take Holli on a walk. We had enough fish to last us several days, so I didn't really need to hunt. She was obviously getting bored alone in the camp, so I figured she could use some form of entertainment. It took me a moment to convince her to follow me away from camp.

I made sure the river was in my sights. I rarely get lost, but if something happened, and I did get lost, I'd know the way back. Holli was spooked a few times by small animals in the bushes, but I kept calm so she'd know she didn't need to worry. Humans rely on the behavior of others to base their fears and anxieties. If I'm not afraid of something, and she trusts me, she has nothing to fear either.

I was careful not to stray too far from our camp. Holli has a tendency to tire easily, and being a pet doesn't exactly increase one's stamina. She lived an even more sedentary lifestyle in captivity than on Earth, and Earth had higher gravity than home. I would have to start the return before she even tired, which required a good idea of a human's stamina. This planet had rough terrain, so I had to take that into account.

I was just about to head back with her when I smelled a predatory animal, very close by. I stopped Holli and moved her behind me. I was much larger than her, and less at risk of attack. From the smell, I could tell it was a predator, despite never seeing whatever it was before. I fell to all fours, to appear less like a native, and therefore more threatening. I soon saw the creature behind the closest bush. It was ignoring me, and stalking my poor Holli.

No sooner had I smelled a second beast than it attacked her. She let out a loud scream in pain, as humans did, and was dragged off by the assailant. I stayed on all fours, as I was faster that way, and gave chase. The first animal I had seen had split away from the one that had holli. We ran through the woods quite some distance, and Holli soon stopped struggling.

I feared the worst. With all this running, I couldn't make out if she was conscious. She had started leaving a small trail of blood from her arm. Thankfully, the creature soon grew exhausted from the chase. It dropped my dear human and tried to grab her neck. Lucky for her and me, I was too close for it to have time to grab her, which would have surely killed her. I tackled the monster and fought it off.

I could sigh a breath of relief when I turned back to her and she was standing. However, she wasn't in good shape. Her arm was covered in deep punctures where she had been dragged through the forest. She was bleeding bad enough that a small pool of blood was forming below her mangled arm. We walked slowly back to the camp, our trip much longer after the chase.

We had hardly made it back when it was clear how tired she was. However, I couldn't let her rest just yet. I had to treat her wounds. I didn't have antibiotics or wound dressings, so I'd have to find help. Considering she was so tired, I could likely leave her in the hammock while I got help. I did my best, rinsing her bloody arm and wrapping it in the cleanest laundry we had. I counted two dozen punctures, all still bleeding.

With her arm wrapped and her safely resting in the bed, I walked to where our friend lived. He had said that humans were kept in cages and not really touched, but they were still pets. That meant there had to be a vet somewhere who would treat her. I hoped for the best.