Aquaertus

Chapter Eleven - Getting to Know You

When I wake up the sky is nearly black, and I see a small fire burning outside the pod.

I look down to my leg and I see the leaves barely hanging on, the "adhesive" all dried out. I peel off the remainder of the makeshift bandages. The result of whatever this magical healing plant this is surprises me; my wounds are nearly completely healed, save for a few light scratches. I try to stand up on my formerly damaged leg and I'm able to keep myself up with ease. Hell yeah!

With my now functioning legs I walk out of the pod to see Derik stoking the minimal bonfire with Zippy sleeping on his shoulder. I quietly sit next to him on the sand and we silently watch the enkindled alien lumber.

After a few minutes of only hearing the crackling of fire and distant creepy sounds from the trees behind us, I start to get a little anxious. I decide to start up a conversation to ease my tensions. "Well, since we're probably going to be stuck together for a while, we might as well get to know each other a little better," I suggest in a whisper.

"That seems like a good idea. How should we go about doing that, Errin?" He whispers back.

"I'm not sure... oh, wait! I remember this game my great grandma told me about when I was a kid. It's called twenty-one questions, we take turns asking each other questions until we get to twenty-one."

"Sounds simple enough. How about you start by asking me a question?"

"Sure," now I have to think of a question. "Um... what's your... favorite color?"

"Green," he answers in a heartbeat. "What's yours?"

"Blue," I answer. I should think of a better question, that one was lame. "Hmm... let me think of a question." We sit in silence for a few moments as I think of a question and Derik continues to stoke the fire. The silence feels a little awkward to me. We've never had a legitimate conversation like this before. We always tried to annoy each other, and now we're trying to get along. It's strange. "Why did you become a doctor?"

"My parents wanted me to be successful and I wanted to do something with my life that mattered. Becoming a doctor seemed like the obvious choice."

"Were you really interested in becoming a doctor or did you just do it because your parents wanted you to?" I ask curiously.

"I had other interests, but becoming a doctor was one of them. I didn't want to become a doctor the most, but becoming a doctor was a balance of what my parents wanted and what I wanted. I like my job, but sometimes I wonder what could've been."

"What would you have done if you didn't become a doctor?"

"I loved to play the piano. I could've been a concert pianist. That's in the past now, though. I have other things to focus on."

"You shouldn't give up on your dreams! Maybe you can be a doctor and a pianist!"

"That's wishful thinking, Errin. I'm happy enough where I am, anyways."

"Well, I still think you should follow your dream." He looks away wistfully at the thought, but after a couple of seconds he looks back at me and continues the game.

"Why did you become a marine biologist?"

"You're just taking my questions now," I quip.

"Well, you ask good questions," I chuckle at his answer and he gives a small grin.

"I used to live close to the ocean and I had a strong connection with the water and the wildlife. I thought, why not make a career out of it?"

He nods at my answer, "So you must be really passionate about your job."

"Of course I am. If we weren't on the brink of death I would be ecstatic right now. A whole planet filled with marine life is my paradise," I start to drift off into my thoughts of everything that's happened to me so far. Leaving my home to go to an alien planet, then getting stranded on that planet and studying on my own for so many weeks, then meeting up with another survivor is a lot to think about.

"I'm glad you can live out your passion. It's your turn to ask a question now," Derik snaps me out of my daydream. He looks at me with slight concern, probably because I just dozed off on him out of nowhere.

"Oh, yeah. What do you miss most about home?" I don't know where that question came from, but it's probably because I just spent the last few minutes reminiscing about the past.

"Probably the familiarity. This place is so foreign, it puts me on edge a bit. It's nothing like Earth, so I never know what to expect."

"Yeah... I feel the same." My question darkens the mood of our conversation, and our minds both trail off elsewhere.

After what feels like an hour but is probably less, Derik stands, picks up a container of seawater, and puts out the fire. "I'm sorry we didn't finish the game, but we should continue it sometime. I think I need some rest." I nod to him and smile in acknowledgement as he walks off back into the broken pod. I stay where I am for a few minutes, dwelling on how much I miss home and how I hate the situation we're stuck in. I wish none of this happened, and that our expedition went as planned.

Nothing can be done about it now, though. I need to focus on staying alive, not how much life sucks right now. I need to keep going.

Keeping this in mind, I head into the broken pod. Derik is on the ground, covered in large leaves to keep him warm, Zippy still on his shoulder. He seems to be asleep already, so I step over to the tattered seat as quietly as possible and settle down to sleep.