“I will,” I called. “Who wants to be my buddy?” I looked around, and Cindy caught my eye. She nodded. “Okay, Cindy and I will go north.”
“Bonny and I will go south,” Olive said after a tense moment.
“I can go west,” Morgan said softly.
“I’ll join you,” Sarah said.
“What should we do?” Isabel asked.
“Cassy, since you have medical training, how about you stay with Willow, and everyone else can scout this area for anything of interest? Someone should probably dig through the pod just to make sure there aren’t any hidden compartments with supplies.”
They talked for a little while longer but slowly broke up and headed off to their tasks. I took a few minutes to stretchand make sure nothing was actually hurt, but other than some definite bruises, I felt okay. Cindy came over and I stood, a little shaky at first, but it felt like walking would help. My headache was a firm presence, but the sharp throb had eased, and it wouldn’t be any more of a bother than my other aches.
“So how should we mark our path? Maybe breaking the ferns?” Cindy asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe we find walking sticks and drag them? Let’s try it and see if it’s clear enough.”
Leaving the goo spill from the escape pod, we hunted around for decent branches. I found one and worked on breaking off smaller twigs, using them to wipe more of the goo off myself. Cindy was still working on her branch, so I took a few moments to wring as much goo out of my hair as possible. The stuff had gotten everywhere: in my ears, nostrils, even inside my pockets. Once I started trying to remove some of it, it felt like it multiplied. I pulled off my zippie and wrung it out before draping it over a branch where I could find it later. It was warm enough for now. I thought about taking off my shirt and wiping myself down, but Cindy finished with her branch and watched me expectantly. I shrugged, and we set off along the crash path.
Once we reached where the damage to the ground ended, we tested out a few techniques. Dragging our sticks, while a little awkward, left a clear enough trail that we didn’t think we would get lost. We set off with a little more confidence, picking a not very straight path through the trees.
The forest was quite lovely. It was warm, but not humid, and the plant life was both familiar and very alien. Ferns in every shade of blue and purple, with the occasional green or yellow flower, covered the forest floor. The trees’ rough bark, similar to a redwood apart from the indigo color, was adorned with patches of mauve moss and delicate climbing plants. Chirps andsqueaks from small, fluttering birds accompanied the constant susurrus of the trees slowly moving above us.
“So, do you think there’s any chance of us surviving this, like, really?” Cindy asked, breaking the small sense of peace the beauty of the forest had begun to wrap me in.
“I don’t know, but does it matter? We have to act as if we will survive. If we don’t at least pretend like we have a chance, then we won’t.”
She sighed. “You’re probably right. I’ll just focus on manifesting a hunky alien man to rescue me.”
“Now that’s the spirit,” I told her. “The forest looks lighter over there. Let’s see if the trees thin out.”
Cindy shrugged and followed as I pushed my way through the ferns and stumbled over a high root. The trees were definitely getting thinner, and I sped up.
“Wait for me, I’m not outdoorsy enough for this!” Cindy called.
As the sky began to show through the trunks, my heart sped up and so did my feet. A few moments later, I burst past the last of the trees onto a rocky ledge overlooking a great ravine. I took a deep breath and held it, the sight before me was stunning. A massive forest stretched out as far as my eyes could see, deep smoky-blue trees kissing the softly lavender sky.
Carefully, I moved closer to the edge, stepping across the large stones that made up the cliff overlook until I stood close enough to peer down into the ravine. Trees and stone surrounded a sparkling river that wound through the bottom of the crevice hundreds of feet below. I smiled, relieved to see there was definitely water somewhere on this planet, though hopefully it wasn’t the only source. It could take us days to find a way down to the bottom of the mountain.
“Oh my gosh, maybe step back from the edge?” Cindy’s voice held a note of panic, and I glanced back at her.
“Are you not great with heights?”
Her face twisted. “No, definitely not great with heights.” She stepped back until she was leaning against a tree, her eyes diverted from the edge of the cliff.
“What if the hunky alien has wings and wants to take you on a mating flight or something?” I asked.
“Pass.”
I snorted. “Okay, you don’t have to come any closer, but I feel stable and not at all dizzy or anything. I just wanna get a really good look.”
I took another deep breath and pushed away my awe at the stunning vista, focusing on the details. Trees, so many trees, and occasional rocky outcroppings, but nothing that looked like buildings or a city. There was no smoke or flashing lights, just miles and miles of wild, untamed land.
I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. That meant nothing. Earth had plenty of places like this where you could look out and not see anything touched by humans. Just because I couldn’t see any cities didn’t mean there were none.
“Did you get your good look yet? We should start heading back,” Cindy said, her voice tense.
“We have plenty of time, and this is exactly what we are supposed to be doing, scouting.”