Rise of the Fallen

KORA

A scent, sharp and smoky, roused me from my sleep. It wasn’t the comforting aroma of burning wood, but something else. Something with a hint of sweetness, maybe?

I blinked at the cave ceiling, a wave of relief and frustration washing over me. Relief because I was still alive and safe, but frustration because I was still stuck on this godforsaken planet, and the past few days hadn’t been a nightmare.

I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The sweet, smoky scent drew my attention to the fire. What was that smell? I looked at the firepit, now just embers, and my brow furrowed in confusion as I noticed something different.

Why was there a big stone in the pit?

I squinted, sitting up to get a better look, my confusion deepening. It wasn’t a stone, it was the nut from last night. Why did it look so odd? As my stomach growled, realization hit me. I quickly threw off the old furs and grabbed my fire poking stick.

I prodded the coconut, and it split open, releasing a gel-like substance with tiny black seeds. Holy shit! It had cracked open! I hurriedly tried to retrieve the pieces from the coals, swearing as I burned my fingers. Most of the nut was destroyed by the fire, but I managed to save a small piece before it was completely charred, it fit perfectly in my hand.

I blew on the strange fruity substance in my hand, examining it as it cooled. The remaining shape crumbled until it was all liquid, trickling down my hand. My stomach growled as some of it dripped onto the floor, wasted. Screw it. I brought the remnants to my mouth and took a bite without hesitation.

A sweet, rich flavor exploded on my tongue. I think I moaned. Strawberry freaking Jello! I didn’t care if it was poisonous, I devoured every bit and licked the juices off my fingers. I never thought I’d be so desperate for gelatin, but at this point, I’d eat just about anything.

I leaned back on my furs, licking my fingers clean. How had the nut cracked open? I couldn’t even scratch the shell last night, and I didn’t remember tossing it into the pit before falling asleep. It must have rolled in. I stared at the coals and the charred remains of the fruit, wondering what had happened.

Could the fire’s heat have weakened the shell? Could the shells react like Earth’s pinecones, which only opened when exposed to heat? That would make sense. The shell would protect the seeds until a heatwave or something similar occurred in the spring, then they would crack open, and animals could eat the insides.

I need to test this theory.

I took a big gulp of water from my canteen before grabbing my bag and heading outside. The damn tree lizards were at it again with their constant chirping as the planet’s suns lit up the forest. I followed the marked trees from yesterday until I found exactly what I was looking for.

There were fewer coconuts scattered on the ground today, but still plenty for me to choose from. I gathered three good ones near the base of a tree, stuffing them into my rucksack before heading back to the cave, collecting sticks along the way.

Sunlight filtered through the dense forest canopy as I moved, warming me until sweat beaded on my brow. Brightly colored ferns and strange plants unlike anything I’d seen on Earth added vibrancy to the greenish-blue hue of the forest. Tree lizards climbed thick vines hanging from massive trees, moving from one spot to another, munching on seed pods. The scenery was quite pleasant, and a cool breeze against my skin helped me relax a bit.

Back at my cave, I rekindled the fire and eagerly placed one of the fruits by the edge of the flames. Nothing happened at first. I poked at the shell impatiently with my stick, hoping it would miraculously crack open. Still nothing.

After a few more minutes of watching the flames grow while the nut remained still, my excitement over the prospect of food began to fade. Maybe the heat wasn’t responsible for it opening. Maybe I’d just gotten lucky. Had the first one been ripe and ready to pop open? Maybe this one just…wasn’t.

This planet is just torturing me.

I sighed, glancing at the other two strange coconuts peeking out of my bag, feeling hopeless. My stomach growled angrily, but there was hardly anything left from the earlier fruit. Now I had three more, but I couldn’t open them. How cruel was that?

Seriously Xanadis, screw you.

A distinct cracking sound pulled me from my thoughts. I looked back at the fire just in time to see the fruit I had placed at the edge of the flames begin to crack.

My eyes widened as it cracked further and started oozing.

“Yes!” I exclaimed, quickly pulling it away from the fire with a stick as it began to deform. I let it cool slightly before prying the shell in half, revealing the juicy, jelly-like insides. “Never mind, Xanadis! I take it back, thank you!”

I brought the coconut to my lips, tipping it to let the Jello slide into my mouth. I barely paused to breathe, swallowing the thick substance until the shell was empty. I couldn’t eat anymore anyway, so I lay back on the furs with a full belly.

I knew the fruit was only a temporary solution, but at least for now I wouldn’t be starving. It could tide me over for now, but eventually, I would need proper food. I would need to hunt.

The problem? I had no decent weapons to hunt with, nor any experience hunting animals, let alone alien ones! Those tree lizards might have been little demons, but I’d apologized after knocking one from a tree. And then I’d been attacked by a horde of them. How was I supposed to walk up to one and stab it with my knife?

Groaning, I relaxed a bit before getting up and going outside. Now that I had food and water, for now, my next step was to explore the area around my cave for more resources. More sustainable food and a steady water source would be ideal.

As I retraced my steps, I heard growls coming from behind a bush. Curious, I moved closer and found two of those small tree lizards fighting over…a shoe?

Were there just the two? After a quick glance around, I didn’t see any other lizards, which meant this might be the perfect opportunity to hone my lackluster skills and attack. I grabbed a large rock and hurled it at them with all my might, cursing under my breath when my throw went wide. They quickly dropped the shoe, making frantic, high-pitched cries before scattering under another bush and disappearing.

“Not so tough without your buddies to back you up, huh?” I yelled triumphantly, even though I hadn’t managed to kill one.

I walked over to see what was so interesting about a shoe and covered my mouth in disgust when I got close enough. The foot was still inside of it! It looked like it had been gnawed off, disconnected from whoever’s body it belonged to.

Swallowing back bile that rose in my throat, I took a look around. There were signs of a struggle in the mud, a bit of blood as well as tracks from whoever had been wearing the shoes, and similar large tracks I’d spotted the other day. Following the bloody trail cautiously, it wasn’t long until I stumbled upon the remains of a body that was missing a foot.

This must be the guy I saw running for his life yesterday.

There were various cuts and stab wounds across his body, and even a broken arrow lodged in his side. Those natives really were hunting him down.

Small insects were already buzzing around the body, and the more exposed injuries had been torn open by scavengers, with tiny claw and bite marks all over his flesh. It didn’t look like any larger predator had taken a bite out of him, which was a relief. The natives clearly hadn’t considered him as food, only a threat.

The corpse was face up in the mud, drained of his blood, no doubt from the large cut across his neck. Slitting someone’s throat was a very personal way to kill someone. I wonder why they were so intent on hunting him down.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, and knelt beside the lifeless body. I knew I had to take advantage of the situation and scavenge whatever I could. My hand trembled slightly as I reached for his pocket, forcing myself to stay composed. If I could just approach this clinically, it wouldn’t be so bad, even though I was about to loot a dead man.

I took a deep breath and began to search his body for anything useful, determined not to overthink my actions. His clothes were torn to shreds, so there was no point in stripping him. I glanced back at his severed foot and grimaced at the sight of his shoes.

Yeah, no. He can keep those.

I discovered a well-worn survival kit notebook in one pocket. The ink markings on the pages suggested it had been used frequently. A relay pen was nestled between the pages, which I casually tossed over my shoulder before closing the notebook and tucking it into my bag. I’d have to give it a thorough read later—there might be something useful in it.

In another pocket, I found a half-eaten ration bar. I wasn’t about to refuse it. Food was food, after all. I packed both items into my rucksack and continued my search but found nothing else of value.

I stood up and distanced myself from the body, giving him one last glance before something off to the side caught my eye—a metallic shimmer in the afternoon sun. His gun. I stepped over the body and picked up the discarded pistol, its weight substantial in my hand. I removed the magazine and sighed when I found only one bullet left. I looked back at his mutilated body, his face frozen in terror and splattered with blood.

Maybe he should have used it on himself.

I contemplated the gun, debating its worth, before tucking it into my waistband. Once I was certain there was nothing else to salvage, I left. The last thing I wanted was to stick around until a native showed up and attacked me, or a wild animal came looking for its next meal.

I knew I should have continued searching for more resources, but despite my resolve to stay calm after seeing a mutilated human body, I felt more uneasy than ever in the forest. Maybe tomorrow the thought of exploring the unknown would be more appealing.

With that in mind, I headed back to my cave, gathering as much firewood as I could find along the way as well as two more of those fruits. With everything I’d managed to collect, I figured I had enough firewood to last me three nights and enough food for two days if I rationed it.

After hauling all my supplies into the cave, I decided to call it a night. I left most of the supplies by the entrance and settled down on my furs, opening the dead man’s notebook.

Half the pages were filled with daily journal entries about his experiences on this alien world. There were detailed descriptions of various plants and animals he’d encountered, as well as information about the natives.

My interest piqued. I needed to know more about potential enemies. According to the notebook, their weapons were coated in poison, and there were numerous tribes scattered throughout the forests. A small map was sketched across two pages, showing territorial boundaries as well as landmarks and rivers.

I wasn’t sure where I was on the map, but if I could find one of these landmarks, I’d be able to locate water and possibly other food sources. I might actually have a shot at surviving long term.

I eagerly flipped through the pages and found something intriguing. There were crude characters and symbols drawn on the pages, reminiscent of different languages on Earth, though some characters were completely foreign to me. Were these words in an alien language? And why were they in this notebook?

Had this man been trying to communicate with the aliens? If he was on good enough terms to speak and learn from them, why had they hunted him down? I read a few more pages of the alien language until I started to feel tired.

Lying back on my furs, I examined the book further and even tried pronouncing some of the alien words, though I doubted I was getting half of them right. But if learning another language could potentially save me from meeting the same fate as the man who wrote this book, then so be it. I closed the book, sighed, and stared at the campfire beside me.

There were so many questions swirling in my head, but very few answers. If I didn’t learn more about this forest soon, I’d be in trouble. The plants are deadly, the natives are hostile, and I don’t even want to think about what other creatures might be out there.

Tomorrow, I’d venture out and try to figure out where I was on the map. If I could do that, I’d be able to find water and hopefully learn which areas to avoid. I didn’t even want to think about what might happen if I accidentally stumbled upon a tribe’s territory.

If there was one thing I’d learned today, it was that I needed to steer clear of the natives. Because as I was right now? I didn’t stand a chance.