Chapter 10

“It still doesn’t make me any less worried about him, guys. He’s getting worse.” Adrienne said in a pleading tone as she spoke with Darek and Phil about Allen’s declining health. They sat together, resting after a long haul. Allen had become steadily less well. His color faded to gray over the past days, and his eyes and face were sunken. His damaged leg was still very swollen and bruised, it had not improved at all. Allen’s mind was showing the signs of pressure from the pain. His eyes were closed most of the time, all of his words were strained, and sentences short or fragmented.

“I know Adrienne, but we’re still doing everything we can.” Phil consoled as he looked back forlornly at Allen.

After the first few cycles of moon coming and going, they decided to walk the nights with moonlight since they were short enough. The fragmented moon provided light to guide them and some plants glowed, it was bright enough to see by. They just had to press forward, the more time they spent moving, the closer they got, but to what, they didn’t know.

“Do you hear that?” Adrienne hushed the boys in a harsh whisper. She stood, bent at the knees, keeping her stance low and searching with her ears. Darek and Phil focused their hearing as well. Phil raised an eyebrow to Darek when he realized they were definitely hearing more than one animal. They already knew there was life on this planet - vegetation, insects, and bird type flying animals that called around them in the mornings and evenings - but this was the first time they had come near something that sounded like it was large and on the ground.

Darek, looking excited, whispered to Phil, “Are we eating meat tonight??” They had yet to trap anything in their travels; they tried on the nights they rested, hoping to stretch their emergency rations further.

“I don’t know, listen close, it almost sounds like they’re talking – they’re going back and forth. I wonder what it is, I hope it’s friendly.” Phil responded.

Adrienne cautiously made her way back to them, doing her best not to make any sounds. She didn’t want to scare off whatever they had found, or alert it to their presence if it was unfriendly.

“It sounds like whatever it is, it’s talking. There’s two or more of something. I can’t see anything yet, but I smelled something a little sweet and kind of pungent in the air as I got closer. Smells like something was being burned, but farther away.” Adrienne reported to them. Phil and Darek turned and raised their eyebrows at each other, looking almost giddy.

“Adrienne, stay with Allen, we’ll check it out.” Phil said.

He signaled to Darek and they both slowly moved in the direction of the clacking, hisses and buzzes.

“I definitely smell it too.” Darek whispered as softly as he could to Phil. They crept forward, one cautious step after another. Flowing adrenaline made their approach seem like it had taken a long time. Phil could hear his heart beating in his throat and feel the pulsing buzz of endorphins, making him strain to listen through the haze. The area of forest they were in had enough open ground for them to move with ease, but a variety of ground plants and short bushy trees obscured their view at a distance.

A sweet aroma with a dank undertone wafted past them in pockets. The smell was strengthening as they got closer. “Reminds me of the good stuff.” Phil whispered with a smile.

They both froze instantly. They made silent eye contact, and Darek nodded to confirm he heard it too. Something metal clanked. That was not natural. They heard more of it, as if something were rummaging, then looked at each other very confused.

“Laughter???” Phil mouthed with bewildered eyes. It was very distinct, like an electronic duck quacking, followed by a slow rattlesnake warning, but it felt like laughter.

“Should we get closer?” Darek whispered, almost at Phil’s ear. They had pressed close together and were staying as low as they could to remain hidden. They froze again. Something moved toward them in the brush. It was hard to tell exactly how far it was. A loud but quick series of metallic bangs rang out, then something moved away through the brush. “Is someone there… cleaning something?” Darek’s face was all kinds of twisted up, Phil’s wasn’t much smoother.

“I was thinking the same thing.” Phil whispered back.

Inching forward toward what they heard, Darek whispered to Phil almost inaudibly, right next to his ear. “What do we even do here? How do we show ourselves? I was expecting an animal, but this sounds like….. people.”

Phil shrugged, perplexed.

“What if we walk parallel to them, upright, normally, and come around the flank so maybe they won’t be startled? It will seem like we crossed paths accidentally.” Phil whispered.

“That’s if they’re friendly, what if they’re not?” Darek quizzed. Being in their weakened state - near starved, having only eaten minimum emergency rations, sleep deprived, and physically injured - meant they would be no match for a fight, and this concern was clear in Darek’s expression.

“At least Adrienne and Allen are safe.” Darek nodded agreement.

“Ready?” Phil whispered back.

Phil pointed to their left “Let’s get upwind. Maybe they can smell us coming and gain a bit of warning too, so we’re not a sudden surprise.” They stood and moved off, being careful to not make sounds until they got farther away.

In the center of a small clearing, they found a disturbed pile of dirt through which a very small amount of smoke rose upward. Someone had intentionally covered the remnants of a fire. There was no other evidence to be found that this was the source of the sounds until they heard it - Adrienne’s loud and high-pitched scream. They both instantly bolted back to her.

As they ran, dodging rooty protrusions and shrubs, ducking around low branches, Phil noted to himself how good he felt and easily he moved despite everything that had been weighing him down.

They finally arrived, skidding to a scared halt, to see Adrienne sitting cross-legged next to Allen, staring at one of the oddest things any of them had come across. A lone figure stood about two-thirds their height. It threw its arms up in caution at their approach, fearfully signaling them to stop.

Phil breathed heavily, puzzling out what stood before him. There appeared to be no immediate threat. It was as startled as they were. “Adrienne, are you okay?” Phil asked, not daring to remove his eyes from the creature before them.

“I’m fine, I think we scared each other. They weren’t expecting to see me any more than I was to see them.”

“They?” Phil said back.

“When I screamed, the other one curled right up into that rock over there. I have no idea how. They saw me first, I spun around and screamed. As soon as I did one folded right up and turned into a rock, this one didn’t. We stared a bit, then you guys showed up.”

What Phil presumed to be the creature’s ears were tall funnel-like antenna rising a head length off each side of the top of its skull. It turned one to face Phil and Darek and one to face Adrienne and Allen. It remained otherwise motionless, with its hands still up in a defensive position. Its eyes were enormous and seemed a little sleepy. The texture of its skin made it look like it had an exoskeleton with a smooth exterior coating. Sharp features stood out in contrast to this softness, each shadowed line falling stark in the light. Its hands had a similar sharpness to them, more angular than the rounded human hands, and containing a thumb on either side of three fingers rather than just the interior. Its feet were concealed by shoes, and the rest of its body by layered clothing.

Darek stood tall and smiled. “Phil, I don’t think he’s harmful, look at his back, he’s wearing a pack with a pot hanging off it. That had to be what we heard clanging. These dudes were just camping.”

Seemingly unafraid now, Darek put both of his hands up in front of him, showing his palms to the creature to communicate peace. “Hi there, I’m Darek, we are peaceful, can you understand?”

The creature’s eyes blinked smoothly, it cocked its head and communicated back. It was the same type of buzzes, clacks and hisses they heard before.

Darek smiled warmly, assuming it was friendly, and stepped closer. With one hand he patted his chest “Darek.” He said slowly, then pointed to the creature’s chest and made a questioning gesture with his hands.

The creature seemed to understand and patted its chest, making a short hiss and pop sound.

“Sounds like he said Chip?” Darek said, looking surprised back at Phil.

“Darek,” He patted his chest again then pointed to Phil and said “Phil.”

The creature looked down at the rock Adrienne had said was his friend. It patted its chest and buzzed, “Chshh- p,” then pointed slowly to the rock.

Darek repeated his gestures, hoping the creature would too, trying to get the name of its companion.

“Cshh-p” it said as it patted its chest “Chip?” Darek said to it questioningly. It shook its head from side to side and bounced a little, seeming excited. It patted its chest again “Cshh-p” then pointed to its rock friend “OHHHnnn-ree.” The buzz that came out was pure and beautiful, it had an energetic zip. It sounded like something spinning incredibly fast to create and alternate the pitch, like a small propeller whipping through the air, but with the clarity of tone a cello string would offer. The articulations were accomplished with pops and clacks. Darek looked back to Phil for assistance. They were both amazed by who and what stood before them.

“Henry?” Phil suggested, perplexed. The creature nodded side to side again and pointed at Phil bouncing excitedly.

Darek gestured to himself, “Darek,” then to Phil, “Phil,” then to the creature, “Chip,” then to the rock “Henry.”

The creature clacked and hissed and shook its head faster, side to side. “I think his yes is our no.” Phil said, noting that everything about its behavior seemed to indicate success except the side-to-side head shakes.

The creature stepped closer to Darek, pointing at his chest “Da-rrrrick,” it buzzed out with an ending clack, then pointed to Phil, “Vvvvvvvvviiiillll” it buzzed, sounding again like a speeding propeller. At that Phil lit up and pointed to his own chest “Phil! Yeah! Phil! Hi Chip!” Phil stepped toward Chip with his hand out to shake. Chip fell back a step and eyed the hand carefully.

Darek tapped Phil’s shoulder and put his hand out so they could demonstrate.

After Phil and Darek shook hands, Phil turned back to Chip, who understood right away. He reached out his arm excitedly, shaking his head side to side, and shook Phil’s hand. It was clear a smile spread over his face, though with his sharp features it was not a human smile.

The smile faded, and Chip spun to point at Adrienne and Allen. Darek pointed to each of them, “Adrienne….Allen.” “Ayyy-pop-reeeeeen” it sounded as it pointed to her. “Aah-llleeeeen” It buzzed out, pointing at Allen. Adrienne smiled in wonder. Allen was still sleeping. Chip walked over to Henry, still looking like a rock, and patted him a few times, then rubbed small circles on his top. He did this for a few seconds, then reached into his pocket and walked over to Phil and Darek, holding out something in his hand.

It was a tube-like wooden object with geometric designs carved into a pattern around its whole exterior. At one end sat a bowl, carved into the tube with something purplish-brown ground up inside, looking partially burned. The opposite end of the object came to a horizontal fin-like end.

“Holy shit, is this dude offering us a pipe?” Phil said out loud excitedly. Chip gestured to him to take it and handed him a small box that contained match sticks. Phil looked at Chip in wonder and couldn’t help but glance back and forth between Darek and Adrienne, every one of them as pleasantly shocked as the other at seeing matches on another planet. Phil smelled the bowl – it was the same aroma they picked up in the woods, though much more pungent up close. Chip took the bowl back from Phil gently and gestured for him to watch. With a smooth motion, he struck a matchstick and held it over the crumbled herbs and inhaled. After a couple seconds smoke poured out of vertical slits on the side of Chips head, near where a human’s ears would have rested. He lowered himself near to his friend and wafted the smoke over him. Phil and Darek cheered a laugh as Chip passed the bowl happily back to Phil, shaking his head side to side.

“Phil!” Adrienne snapped.

He looked up quick with the bowl at his mouth, about to strike a match. “Phil, you have no idea what that is! What if it kills you! Look at him, he’s so different!”

He shook the match out and pointed in the bowl to Chip, then made a questioning gesture. He picked up a dead leaf from the ground and pretended to put it in the bowl with a questioning gesture again. Chip, quick to understand, put up his hand signaling Phil to wait. He swung his pack to the ground and rummaged in a side pocket. He pulled out a bag containing a deep-purple fuzzy looking jumble of plant and a couple of leaves with a similar color. With his hand, he mimed chopping it up and sprinkling it into the bowl.

Phil nodded with a smile and pulled Chips hand with the herb close to his face for a smell. It smelled sweet and delicious. “Darek, smell this, oh my gosh.” Phil pointed at the plant and then to his tongue. Chip’s head cocked at the sight of Phil’s tongue; it amazed him. Phil mimed chewing too. Chip’s eyes studied Phil’s mouth. He decided to just go for it and tore a tiny piece off the puffy herb and put it on his tongue. It immediately tasted savory, then sweet, then both. A very light tingle danced from the front of his tongue to the back. After a moment, he swallowed.

“It tastes really good Adrienne, I don’t think it’ll be an issue.” She looked unpleased with this simple test but already had a food test strip ready and so swiped the leaves. She didn’t say anything as she sat back down at Allen’s side, which Phil took to mean it was safe, but she still did not agree with it.

Phil struck another match and raised the bowl to his mouth again. He took a gentle pull and tasted the smoke before inhaling the rest of the way. It tasted exactly how it smelled. Sweet, dank, and savory. Chip pointed and laughed at the sight of the smoke pouring from Phil’s nose, then pointed to his own flaps on his head. He passed the bowl back to Chip, who then handed it to Darek. Darek immediately took it, gave a smell, and took a pull of his own. He decided to exhale from his nose too, and Chip cackled his laughter again. Taking the bowl back from Darek, he offered it to Adrienne, who declined with a glare. Chip took one more hit and offered to Phil again, who politely waved off having more.

Phil felt an overwhelming urge to sit. Not from pain or lack of consciousness, just like that’s what he needed to be doing. A cool wave of calmness spread out from his core. His body began to buzz. “Darek, this feels kind of like the Drop at first, but way heavier. Oh my goodness, you getting this? Adrienne, you should really try some. My pain is melting away right now.”

“Whoahhh,” Darek said. “Phil, do you see the trees man?! There are so many colors.”

Like someone poured a new liquid reality over him, the forest splashed to life. It seemed like a blue light filter was washing in, making the pure white and blue from the sun become vibrant and warm. Patterns on the trees and leaves stunned him as he turned to take it all in.

“Phil, your jaw is dragging in the dirt.” Adrienne said.

He snapped his mouth shut as he turned to her and breath was pulled from him. He didn’t exhale; it was sucked out. She glowed like nothing he had seen before. Shades of purple in her eyes seemed to beam in wisps of lavender smoke right into his own. Her curls looked so fine and soft, even after days of worn traveling, she had never been more beautiful to him than in this moment. Even with the distance between them, Phil could see the individual hairs on her head, each one making its own rich trip toward her shoulders, wavering slightly with the breeze and her motions. It was like it was zoomed in. Her smell was intoxicating and flooded his body with warmth and tingling.

“Phil… you’re staring at me. Are you alright? Why are you smiling like that?” Adrienne asked.

“Adrienne, you look incredible…. this is all incredible. You’re just… so..” Phil struggled to keep a leash on his feelings as he talked in a slow voice. He knew this wasn’t an appropriate time to bare his heart to her. “… you have to try some of this. I feel so different, so much better.” Phil said, his pain gone and worries washed away.

“I wonder if we can get this to Allen.” Darek said. He was looking at everything around him too. “This is so unreal. Adrienne, I’m with Phil, you should try it.”

“Not until you guys survive. You have no idea what you just did to yourselves. What if you start vomiting fiercely? What if you pass out? What if you’re slowly dying right now? You’re already undernourished, I can’t take care of all three of you if anything happens, I don’t know why you had to do that.” A frustrated tear left the corner of her eye.

Chip was sitting against Henry, patiently observing the human interactions when Henry uncurled sniffing, and Chip fell back. He sat up laughing and grabbed the visibly shaken Henry, immediately buzzing and clacking at him. Now the humans watched these two interact with amazement at the way the sounds flowed. “It’s like their voices are made of wind.” Phil said. Chip handed Henry the bowl, and they all remained silent as he took two long, slow pulls from it and hissed the smoke out of the sides of his head. Darek chuckled a bit, then Chip laughed at him and pointed to his nose.

Chip pointed to each human and spoke his version of their name to Henry, who shook his head from side to side after repeating each.

“I wish we could understand them better, they seem like they’re just two dudes. Insect dudes, but dudes.” Phil said.

Adrienne rolled her eyes and returned to tending Allen.

Chip stepped over to her and squatted down to look at Allen, who slept in his litter, covered in a blanket. He buzzed at Henry, who came closer to examine as well. Adrienne pulled back the blanket to show his injured leg. “Can you help?” She watched wearily.

“We can help them; can you grab your pack?” Chip said to Henry in their insect language.

“Why? What are they!? What if they hurt you?” Henry still wasn’t thrilled at the human presence.

“They’re fine. This is what we’ve been looking for. Have you ever seen beings like this? Look at their strange heads and clothes. We’re the first of our kind to meet another like us, who is wise. Besides, they smoked with me before you came back up, they’re chilled out. They don’t look well, I don’t want to scare them.”

“Fine.”

The humans watched the back-and-forthing, trying to figure out what the two were buzzing and clicking about. Chip pointed at Allen’s leg and buzzed to Adrienne, but she couldn’t make sense of the sounds and gestures. All they could figure out was the buzz that was his name “AAh llleeeeen.” Henry sat close with his open pack and they each rummaged, dropping items about the ground until they held a gauze type material, some large purple leaves, and a few small bottles between them. Adrienne rose on her shins, clapping her hands together. She smiled excitement like a small girl waiting to be handed an ice cream cone. “For his leg?” She said and pointed. It was the first time she looked like her old self since they crashed.

“Aah-llleeeeen llleeg” Chip shook his head side to side and pointed, handing her the gauze and looking closely to select one of his bottles.

All the human’s eyes shot wide when they saw him pull out his water pouch. They hadn’t had fresh water in days now, just hydration gel rations from the emergency supply. Chip poured some in a cup and set it down next to Allen. He looked to Adrienne and gestured with both his hands like he wanted to touch Allen’s leg.

“Please?” Adrienne said.

He shook his head from side to side again and reached to touch Allen’s unhealthy-looking bandage. Phil observed Chips hesitance, but admired how gently he seemed to move. His fingers were incredibly dexterous, they moved with stiff precision. He got comfortable fast, having removed the dirty bandage from the leg. Allen stirred in pain as Chip cleaned with water and gauze. Henry handed him off a bottle and he dropped a brown liquid out of it onto the wound, letting small drops fall at even lengths. Next, he applied a few of the purple leaves, gently smoothing them over the damaged skin. Finally, he wrapped it with gauze and showed them they had one more set of gauze left. The humans all nodded understanding.

“Thank you.” Chip looked down at his arm where Adrienne touched it. He placed his hand on hers, as gently as he touched Allen’s wounds, and slowly shook his head from side to side. He patted the hand and turned to fill his water cup, passing it to Adrienne. She took it cautiously, smelling the surface first, then moaned slightly as it touched her lips. It was gone in a second. Henry took out a cup and poured his own water and handed it to Darek, seeming more relaxed than he had been at first. When Adrienne was done, Chip refilled the cup and gestured to Allen. Phil drank from Henry’s cup as he watched Adrienne try to give some to Allen.

Chip patted each of their shoulders, as if mimicking what Adrienne had done to him. He gestured off into the distance.

“That’s the way we were heading.” Phil said to him. Chip patted his chest and gestured in the direction again, then trailed his arm back in the opposite direction.

“You came from there? You were going there?” Phil asked, walking his fingers to match Chip as he filled in the words. Chip shook his head side to side and bounced. He pointed to each human and Henry, circling with his hands and then gestured back in the direction he said he came from.

“You want us all to go back with you?” Phil asked, circling his hand to include everyone and pointing in the direction Chip showed. He buzzed and clacked and shook his head from side to side again. Henry shook his head as well. Chip used both arms to mark their new direction, then knelt to repack his bag.

Phil nodded agreement, but Chip and Henry looked taken aback. Realizing what he did, he instead shook his head ‘no’ and circled the group and pointed in that direction again. Henry and Chip shook ‘no’ happily and continued repacking.

“Looks like yes is no and no is yes. Are you guys good to go?” Darek wore a huge smile and stood by Allen’s side, waiting. Adrienne looked relieved and nodded she was ready. Phil helped her to her feet and took up his grip on Allen’s stretcher.

Adrienne thanked Chip and Henry again, then pointed off in the direction they communicated and walked slowly that way. Getting the point, their new friends got to moving and led the way onward. Chip, who took up a position at Adrienne’s side, seemed excited to be talking to her as he pointed at things around them buzzing and clacking as they went. Phil and Darek followed, wide-eyed and buzzing, taking in the beautifully colored world around them.

“Looks like we’re gonna be alright, huh?” Phil said.

“Alllllll righhtttttt.” Darek jammed away to some kind of funky music in his head.

The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2021 by G. S. Dunn

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

Dorrance Publishing Co

585 Alpha Drive

Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Visit our website at www. dorrancebookstore. com

ISBN: 978-1-6393-7021-4

ESIBN: 978-1-6393-7810-4