Citrine (Deliverance #3)

14. Eli

14

Eli

My pace is slow, though at least I'm not leaving a blood trail anymore since my wounds have somehow already closed. The hairs at the back of my neck are raised so I'm aware I might be in danger, but I'm still moving. I won't stop until I'm safe.

I don't know if it's simply my imagination, but the pain in my arm dulls as I keep moving.

The rocks littering the shore make it difficult to move with a broken arm, but I am able to make a fair distance from the jagged array of rocks. Now that my vision is clearer, I can see how far I've gone and spot an alcove.

I walk closer to it and relief floods my mind.

There's an entrance to a large cave nearby, but the extending darkness doesn't welcome me into it. I can hear the wind whistling and water dripping deep in the cave.

I'm not curious enough to fall for a horror movie cliché.

No need to make my situation worse, yeah? I decide to search for an alternative, a safer shelter for the night that doesn't scream death trap .

I look past the cave and find a cove with promising depth, and make my way into it instead. Water washes over my leg as I enter, but the water is shallow, and I can see all the way to the end of the cove.

Soon after, I enter a thick forest of trees with bright green, feathery foliage and purple bushes. Light barely filters in through the canopy the farther in I go.

There are a lot of things I'm worried about. I'm on an alien planet, with no idea if there are vampire bats or bloodsucking insects lurking around. My eyes shift endlessly, and I crane my head around, but no clear threats jump out at me. I keep moving through the trees when my eyes catch something.

There's an incline that leads to a flatter area of tall grass and very tall trees. It's surrounded by sheer rock on all sides that don't lead to the lake, rising to form a hexagon-type rock structure that protects it from wind and hopefully lurking predators.

As I stare at this wonder, I see the sky slowly getting dark.

I push my way farther toward the rock formation, wanting to gain distance from the water.

I glance at the distance to the cove, hoping it will deter that octo-man from barging in here. My body says he is still stalking me.

I don't like the feeling the least bit.

My stomach grumbles, reminding me I've been moving and healing non-stop with no form of nutrition. It's not like I can hunt like the octo-man, not that I want to, nor can I forage on an alien planet with strange looking trees.

I can't even climb to catch fruit with a broken arm. Not that I've seen any. Or that it wouldn't just poison me.

I sigh, leaning back and closing my eyes.

The sound of the wind whistling through the leaves of the giant trees and grass is soothing and I clutch my limbs to my body, praying to anybody that would hear me to let me live another day undigested.

Bugs chirp and chitter around me, flying around in the tall grass, their calls creating a discordant disharmony. They sound odd and look even odder. Their flight patterns, and shapes subtly wrong.

Maybe I can eat bugs, I muse.

That would be a grand way to stop being vegetarian. I look at one of them nearby, a black body with an iridescent red sheen, a dozen prickly looking legs.

Nope. Not that desperate just yet.

I survived homelessness before, albeit in a far different environment. I can survive living on an alien planet.

It isn't the same though. I miss sleeping on a bed and I miss at least knowing where my next meal will come from, even if it's a cheap diner meal.

As my thoughts continue to drift, the raucous cacophony of the bugs eventually lulls me to succumb to my exhaustion. Fear still runs rampant in my veins and my eyes are still focused on the entrance of the cove, waiting for the octo-man to rise from the water.

However, I have little strength left.

My eyes feel heavy as I remember I need another way to protect myself now that my only weapon is gone. Figure out food.

Stay alive. Live another day.