Cyrus had a look around several trees until he found what he was looking for. The tree was no different from the rest; tall, vines hanging down like ragged ropes, winding down the trunks like snakes, and each tree dressed in large green leaves. This one, however, had a large hole that had been carved into it. There were four different sporty-looking bags, though they were made of something that resembled straw. Cyrus grabbed three of them.
“This one will be for Katie,” he said, handing her a bag that had a slight pink tinge to it. “And one for me,” he said, placing a brown one by his feet. “I intended to give this one to John, but things didn’t work out that way,” he said, handing a black one to a guilty-looking Tyson.
“None of us are at fault,” Cyrus said after noticing the look on Tyson’s face.
Katie opened her bag and tried to distract herself. Tears formed in her eyes. She stared into her bag, not taking anything in mentally. Katie shook her head to snap herself out of it and took a deep breath.
“You okay?” Tyson asked, concerned.
“Yeah,” she replied, a little shaky.
Katie looked through her bag to see what was in it. There was a pair of long pants, a few loose shirts and a jacket that looked like leather but had a different feel to it. She also found the oddest pair of shoes she had ever seen. They were an unattractive brown color, blended with uneven black spots. The material was thin but durable. The shoes didn’t go up very high, but the rims had extra padding around them.
“You must wear the clothes I’ve provided,” Cyrus said, “If you were to show up in one of the cities or towns, or even cross paths with the wrong stranger, you would be attacked and executed, or at the very least thrown inside a prison. The people on this planet have a very keen sense of who and what belongs.”
“So, essentially, you’re saying that we would be aliens,” Tyson said. “Well, just me, I guess.”
Cyrus gave Tyson a look before nodding. “I’m saying that both of you are aliens. Katie may have been born here, but she grew up on Earth. She is no less of an alien to this planet as you are.”
Silence stood between them for a bit. Even with what Cyrus had said, Tyson felt different. He felt separated as if he didn’t belong.
“Well, where do we go from here?” Katie asked, turning to face Cyrus.
“First, we will need to change. I don’t want you wandering off so we’ll just go behind the nearest tree and change here. Once we’ve changed, we’ll start deeper into the jungle to reach the other side of it,” Cyrus said.
Tyson and Katie nodded and turned away from each other to find the nearest shelter.
“Remember, we are in a jungle, and a lot of creatures dwell here. You two are also on an unfamiliar planet, so you will likely have allergic reactions to even the smallest bug bite. Don’t go running off to save your modesty.”
He took a few steps and turned away as well, warning them, “Stay away from the large purple and red flowers. If you see one, get as far away from it as possible.”
With that, Cyrus disappeared behind a large trunk. Carefully, Katie and Tyson walked off in separate directions. Katie stepped over a fallen branch and some loose vines. She was wary of the bluish-white flowers that floated in the air beneath the leaves.
When Katie felt that she was obscured from the others, she dropped her bag and pulled out the clothes. There weren’t any shorts in the bag which Katie didn’t like as the jungle climate was boiling and humid.
She wondered if she would have to change her undergarments. She sorted through the clothes and found a new bra, olive green and looked as if made from a reptile. There were no lower garments in it so she kept hers on.
Katie glanced around to make sure she was out of sight again, and quickly changed into her new clothes, save for the shoes, and looked down at her body, checking herself out. The clothes felt light and comfortable, even nicer than Earth’s clothes. Though the colors were a bit on the dull side, Katie could see the artfulness in which they were designed and soon she realized that she would almost look normal if she were back on Earth. The only difference in these clothes was the material they were made of.
Katie sat down on the stump of a large root. There were no socks in the bag, but the shoes looked comfy enough to wear without them. She took her socks off and placed them back in the bag with the rest of her old clothes. Katie slipped on a shoe. It too, like everything else she wore, was lightweight and soft. These shoes did not require socks to be comfortable. Even though there were no laces to tie, the shoes were a perfect fit.
As she was putting on her other shoe, something stung her in the arm.
“Ouch!” she said and slapped her arm. There wasn’t anything there. She tried to ignore it but the stinging hurt too much. It felt like whatever had stung her had injected a fiery venom into her veins.
“Ow!” she said again after putting on the shoe.
“Everything okay?” she heard Cyrus yell from a group of nearby trees.
Katie looked up and almost screamed in terror. Six large wasp-looking creatures were hovering right above her. Each was about a foot in length. She saw one open its mouth. Katie thought she could hear an indistinct sound but was so unsure she believed to have imagined it. The wasp-like creature whipped its long tail around and
