We landed facing up, as though we were getting ready for takeoff. Everyone sat in the dark pod, too nervous to move, or too sore. The pod groaned and creaked until it settled and went quiet. Once everything had stopped completely, our communications came back online and the lights in the pod came back to life.
Spencer was the first to speak, “Hey guys, we made it.”
“No shit, Spencer!” said Jane.
“Hello, I’m ready to get out of here, people. Let’s do this,” Garrett said, unbuckling his straps quickly.
I undid my straps as well, and Garrett and I began helping the rest of the team down from their seats. Once everyone was down, we realized we would have to climb to the top to reach the exit. Smith volunteered to be the one to open the hatch. Climbing to the top, we all watched as he deftly cranked the handle. After he turned the wheel multiple times, we heard an audible click. Looking down at us with darting eyes, he looked back at the top and slowly lifted himself off the seat he was standing on to open the hatch wide.
Chapter Eight
Fresh air enveloped the pod. Quickly sensing a change in temperature, we were all relieved. The pod’s residual heat from the landing was quickly alleviated by the wind and moisture of the air. It was warm with a cool breeze that was immediately refreshing, like a storm blowing through in the middle of summer.
Looking up at Smith, we could barely see his look of shock through his helmet’s faceplate, but it was there. At first he gazed out for what seemed like an eternity, never moving. Then he began to search around, zipping this way and that. It seemed like he couldn’t move fast enough to take in all of the scenery.
“Hey Smith, what’s it like up there?” Jane shouted.
“I can’t even explain it. You have to see it,” he replied.
“Well, I would love to but, you see, the thing is, I’m way down here,” Jane replied sarcastically. “So, what are we going to do about that?” She turned to look straight at Spencer.
“Oh!” he said off-put, and began to lift her onto the chair above.
“Aella, you’re next,” he said.
I quickly walked over and he wrapped his arm around one of my legs and lifted me. I rose steadily until I reached the seat above me. Climbing atop it, I reached for Smith’s hand and he assisted me up onto the next line of seats. Once there, I could clearly see out of the hatch. The sky was a brilliant blue with visible clouds, just like Earth. However, once I moved higher out of the hatch, I could see Circadia was very different from Earth.
The pod sat in a field. Not a field of grass or clover, or anything from Earth. This was an entirely alien species, one I didn’t recognize. Green like grass, a large stem rose from the ground and splintered into a hundred different stems at the top, forming a grass-like flower. It was clustered together like in a wheat field.
A brilliant line of purple surrounded the area. It took a moment to realize these were leaves on the trees. Every single leaf was a vibrant purple. The trees looked much like Earth’s, but so much prettier. So much different.
“What is that purple stuff?” asked Smith.
“They’re leaves on the trees! Trees do that to protect themselves. When some trees on Earth are subject to low-light situations, they undergo physical changes to make sure they are able to capture the most light. Then, when they are exposed to high-light intensities, they have to make a change fast. Synthesizing anthocyanin is the quickest way to protect themselves,” I replied.
“What the hell is anthocyanin?” Jane laughed.
“It’s a chemical a plant can produce when it’s under stress or needs help, basically.” I looked at her and saw her gaze fixed firmly on the line of trees. “I’m not sure what has caused it here, but it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah.” Smith was fixed in a trance looking out at the new planet. “But what made the trees stressed?”
I thought for a moment. “Rumors must be true,” I said. “There’s obviously been a lack of light recently. I just don’t know for how long. Will be interesting to see if they bounce back.”
Garrett popped up out of the hatch, scrunching us all together. “Can we stop talking about the trees’ feelings and get to the drop site, please?” He pushed his way through us, slung a leg over the edge of the pod, and jumped to the ground. “The ground feels really soft,” he said, sludging his feet around.
I held my arms out to feel the breeze. The weather was mild, which I was appreciative of, but it made me wonder how long it would stay that way. We didn’t have any weather intel to let us know what storms would be like on Circadia, or if there even were any. Humidity hung in the air, making for great growing weather. Glancing around, I noticed everything on Circadia was brighter than on Earth; bursting with life as far as the eye could see.
Realizing we were supposed to be helping the other pods, I quickly looked to the right of my helmet to see a blinking red light fairly close to us. “Hey guys, let’s go help the other pod. Looks like there's one pretty close.”
“Well, get down here and we'll go,” said Garrett.
“I’ll help you, Aella,” Smith offered, all smooth.
Gently, he took my hand as I eased one leg down over the pod, then the next. He held onto both of my hands as he slowly lowered me as far as possible, until he
