I don’t stop. Not when my lungs are about to collapse, or when a particularly sharp branch slashes my side. The fervor returns, and I’m back in time, flashing back to three days before when I was terrified I’d be caught by a frightening alien male.
I don’t stop when the night lifts and the moon lowers, when the first rays of the sun streak through the trees. And when I’m about to topple, stumbling from one tree to the next, I see a familiar sight.
The broken shelter Vruksha took me to the first night.
I drag my body to it, fall on my knees with a sob, and crawl inside.
I curl up into a ball and cry.
Fifteen
Survive
Gemma
Time blurs, my sense of it vanishing with my control. I don’t leave the shelter for a day, maybe more, drifting in and out of sleep, praying for a time that death will come while I’m unconscious. But it doesn’t, and each time I wake, I’m weaker, and still alone. My terror sticks. My body hurts.
I keep hoping I’ll wake from this nightmare.
I moan and rub my eyes. I can’t sleep anymore, and I curse everything. I even curse my stubbornness and self-discipline for refusing to die. Rising onto my arms, I peer through the shelter to make sure the forest is clear outside.
I wish it wasn’t. I wish… I shake my head with a frown. Vruksha isn’t here.
I need food, water.
I’m easy prey for any predator right now. I have been this whole time but just didn’t have the strength to do anything about it.
I’m covered in cuts, some worse than others, and my feet…
When the forest remains clear, I shudder and push open the broken door and slide out, my body protesting. I try to stand but fall, sobbing in pain. I curl up on the ground, grabbing my bloody feet.
I want to survive—I need to survive—I can’t be selfish. I’m not allowed to be selfish. But my wounds are too much. I find my bundle of clothes I’ve been gripping to me since my collapse and tug them on.
The cloth chafes my skin and I cry out again.
Vruksha fought for me. He fought, and I watched him fall. And I ran.
I let my tears fall as I wish for death to find me anyway.
It does, but only in my head. The Death Adder’s broken face rises there, and I shiver. I don’t know how I got away from him, but I’m certain it was because of Vruksha, and now I owe it to him to survive.
I prayed he’d come and find me, that when I fell into a fitful sleep, he’d be there when I woke. But he wasn’t, and I can’t wait any longer, hoping he’ll come. My heart is heavy. I still feel him inside me and it hurts.
His seed is still trickling out of me. It hasn’t dried. I grab a leaf from the forest floor and wipe it from my skin, bringing it to my nose to sniff it. His scent makes me clench despite everything. I toss the leaf aside when I’m done, lifting my head. Even naga seed is alien to me.
I hope he’s okay.
My boots are long gone, left somewhere by a creek far from here. I wouldn’t be able to put them on anyway… My jacket’s not here either. Nor do I have underwear or a bra. When I’m dressed with what I have left, I rest my brow on the ground.
You need to move.
I push up onto my arms, pick a direction, and begin crawling. Glancing behind me to memorize my surroundings, I leave the shelter behind. I hope I’ll be able to find it again but am not expecting it. I was damn lucky to find the shelter in the first place, and that little bit of luck has given me hope.
I have a sense of where I am because of it. I don’t know which direction the facility is or Vruksha’s bunker, but I’m at least a half day from either.
I can survive a half day of travel. I just need food, water, and rest first.
I amble forward aimlessly, snapping upon twigs as I move, leaving an obvious trail of my passing. For a time, all I hear is the rustle of plants as I brush past them and the chirping of Earth’s birds above me. Resting now and then, I listen to the noises of the forest, knowing they’ll help me.
They’re not the noises of a spaceship.
Burying my head in my hands, I groan.
I don’t have a pocket knife, don’t have shoes… I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back. I’ve never trained for this in the academy. Survival on an alien planet wasn’t a skill I ever thought I’d need.
I drop my hands.
I roll onto my knees and continue.
I hear a splash. Stilling, I stop breathing. I’ve found water! But the splashes don’t stop, and I brace for whatever is beyond my sight, begging the Gods that it’s not a naga. I grab a nearby stick and curl my fingers around it.
As quietly as I can, I crawl toward the noise.
A giant lake appears through the bushes. My mouth drops as beautiful blue water spans outward before me, and across the lake are giant snow-capped mountains rising high.
Earth is beautiful.
I don’t stare for long, searching for the source of the splashing.
There. Below me, a small feline-like creature pounces on fish swimming through the rocks on the shore. It’s red, has a pointed nose and a bushy tail. It’s cute. The creature snatches the fish between its claws and wrestles it to shore, biting into it.
I lick my lips.
Grabbing my stick, I call out, startling the feline. It flees when it sees me, leaving the fish behind.
I stumble to the bank, falling next to it. There’s a bite taken out of the fish’s side, and there’s blood, but I’m starving.
Clutching it between my hands, I snap
