A World's Bounty

(24) Ersi

Kylie remained inside, still unable to walk after yesterday's injuries. Meanwhile Alex, Morgan and I were still stuck guarding the ship, while everyone else went back into the wilderness for round two.

I plucked a strand of blue grass, shaking the golden speckles off onto my palm. I hadn't worn the suit, after the levels of oxygen on this planet were proven stable enough for human life. I knew back home, that chlorophyll was what made the plants green. I wondered if these plants took the same chlorophyll ours did, and if they only turned out in shades of blue because of the different sun, or even the possibility of unknown gases in the atmosphere alien to earth, that affected the way the light rays were fractured. The whole thought of it got the gears in my brain eager to get to work.

So, with a small push off the ground, I made it to my feet, slowly working my way back into the ship. Since none of our communicational purpose technologies worked this far from earth, we were unable to directly transmit data reports back to NASA, and they would have to wait until our return.

So, I grabbed some paper from the storage room, and snuck into the sleeping quarters to borrow one of Morgan's pens. I was walking quite peacefully back down the metal hallway, before a loud scream penetrated my eardrums.

I took off at a hasty jog the rest of the way through the winding spacecraft, nearly crashing into a hobbling Kylie as I rounded a sharp corner.

"Ersi? Please tell me I'm not hearing things." My complexion paled, as I dashed past her without a word.

Upon reaching the air seal doors, I found the two I was looking for. Both looked so scared out of their damned lives that I couldn't pinpoint who'd let out the scream. Sure, it was high pitched, but in Alex's case- that meant nothing. That was the first thing I noticed.

The second thing, was that the door was sealed shut behind them. "Guys why'd you close the door- and why're you screaming?"

Morgan- calm, composed Morgan, looked like she'd just seen her life flash before her eyes. I slowly approached the panting duo, awaiting a response. "Well?" My voice unwillingly quivered, as both panic and tension filled the room at an escalating pace.

"A.. a thing- came out of the forest a-and just ran right at us!" Alex told, looking like he'd run a whole marathon.

I frowned. "A thing?"

Alex was either choosing to ignore my pry, or he just didn't hear me over his loud heaves and pants.

Morgan took a step forward. "It reminded me of a centipede, with many legs and feet, except it's head was shaped almost like a crocodile- a big long jaw, with very sharp teeth. It had a tail too, very long, and it looked spiked all the way around."

"Huh. This planet isn't look'n so inhabitable now."

We all turned to the source of the new voice, and were met by Kylie's hobbling figure, as the girl leant against the wall for support. I felt my chest plummet at her words, for reasons only known to me.

"Just another deadly creature mankind would have to deal with." While Morgan managed a chuckle from the playful sarcasm, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. I opened my lips, only to close them again. Because right now, I had a terrible feeling I'd say something I'd regret. Besides, there was no reason for me to direct my frustration at Kylie, or any of them. They didn't know. They weren't aware. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I began to taste iron. Better than blowing up on everyone.

THUNK

The metal shook beneath my feet, and I ended up on the floor in a matter of seconds.