Anden

I was sort of hoping that everything was a dream. That it was a very good simulation in the head or some amalgam of the few horror movies I’ve been binging on without memory. My eyes opened to a bright morning. Nope, nope, nope. Throw all that right out the window. My muscles were cold, stiff and sluggish. Not as bad as Boot Camp but more than what have been for a while. Time to get back into the suck. First things off, got to be glad I wasn’t dinner for another of those reptiles. Rations consisted of some juice and gel substance in packs. Twenty packs in hand, enough for a few days. I’m going to need finding food soon. Besides that, the survival kit had a torchlight, a few masks, poncho and a whistle. Not much to go by with them but they will be handy. Getting on my feet, I stared at the forest in the distance. From what little I knew, the world had been terraformed to resemble Earth and left be for a couple hundred years to develop. For an ecosystem to be here, there must be something that is edible. The plants looked similar, being green and all that but it didn’t mean they weren’t poisonous. The herbivores eating them may not be pushovers either. Or the lizards. A glance at the pistol gave me a chill. Ten rounds left. It might not be enough for the job. Not the time to think about it for now. Shelter is key and some survivors as a bonus. Got to find food too. Somehow. Trudging my way around the grass plains the level of my knees gave me sometime to think. When I found survivors, what’s next? Food will become a growing premium. A forest might serve as a good shelter but without tools or materials, it’ll be a long time before they can become something permanent. The deeper I go into this thought of mind, the more it spooked me. Help isn’t coming anytime soon. Pytheas took six months to make the journey. A distress beacon would need at least half that time to reach Earth. Then they’ll need more time to mount a rescue and actually coming over to Anden. Quantum communication technology was something that was on the ropes for the military but nothing for an colony ship. I’d have to stay on this planet for the long haul. I can’t let things be. Even when everything sucks, survival is paramount. Pushing it aside, I focused back to my surroundings and continued the trek. No good thinking that far ahead when I become animal food in the next five minutes. One step at a time.