I had the rest of the day to myself,which felt nice. I started to head to my living quarters and decided against it. I was an avid reader. Did this place have a library or something close to it? I asked Andromeda, and she smiled, taking my hand. I blushed as red as a chile pepper.

“Here, come with me,” she said, leading me down the green-carpeted hallway and back down this anthill. We walked down several levels, including past the mess hall and around a bridge of quartz that sparkled in the torchlight like a jewel. It was as sturdy as the crystal bridge and felt secure. Down its side were the same sigils of protection and well-wishing. We passed into a well-lit cavern of quartz and onyx. My eyes widened as on the walls were thousands of books, and it just kept going.

“This is our repository of memories and records. Anything reading-related goes here. It has been stockpiled with what we could salvage before the sun expanded.”

“Tierra Onda is that old?” I asked, wondering about the history of this place.

“Before it was Tierra Onda it was a base of operations for the South American government called La Granada. It was used to send satellites into space and had a space program. It was one of the top researchers during the apocalypse of humanity. It came up with various countermeasures, but because of the governments at war for territory back then, they went unheard. My great-great granddad worked for them.”

I nodded and spotted Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein on a top shelf. Woa is me for being short! I sighed and moved on looking for something I could reach. I found it a little deeper. A copy of Lord of the Rings. It had seen better days being dog-eared and stained, but it was readable and that mattered. I picked it up and she smiled.

“Also one of my favorites,” she said leading me out of the large cavern and up the anthill. We reached a place where plants were growing. Strange ones. I could name one tho. It looked like a Sakura tree only with red Sakura growing on the trees. Big four-petaled flowers with a gooey center. They looked as if they were bleeding.

“Over here,” Andromeda waved as I followed her to another green plant that was spindly and had pea pods only these were jiggling and I was scared of what was inside.

“It’s okay. Go ahead and touch one!”

I gulped and placed my fingers lightly on the pea pod directly in front of me. The jiggling stopped and the pea pod cracked open. A small creature with filmy wings resembling a butterfly but much more sedate in black and blues crawled out onto my hand. Andromeda put out her torch for a minute and the colors blazed to life painting pictures in the sky as it took wing.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

She relit her torch with a zippo she had on hand and smiled. “Zinnias. They evolved from butterflies and glow-in-the-dark. They are the least aggressive pollinators we have found so far.”

She took my hand again and our fingers intertwined making us both blush. I smirked and tugged slightly but she was stronger and smiled mischievously. “I think I’ll take you to meet what you ate for lunch but be warned, they aren’t people-friendly.”

We carved a way through the jungle of various plants one stranger than the other until finally coming about an enclosure that read Hopdings ahead. Only personnel is allowed.

“Hopdings?” I asked chuckling at the name.

“You’ll see,” she said leading me around the back to where the gate was slightly ajar. She pushed a board aside and crawled through. I followed. What met my eyes was a creature I couldn’t identify. A strange cross between a hare and a kangaroo. I had no idea how that could be possible! It was furry from the neck down and had large kangaroo legs and body, but was the size of a big hare with its nose, face, and ears resembling a hare. Again what evolution was thinking of pairing a marsupial with a mammal was beyond me.

Andromeda walked to the snack and treats box and pulled out red lettuce. She slowly began to feed one in the corner and waved at me to follow her moves exactly. I copied her, getting some red lettuce and slowly feeding a Hopding. One gave a leap and it cleared nearly ten feet in the space of one leap! They had kangaroo tails, the males, and females had hare tails. Depending on sex, they would wiggle their whiskers or thump their tails on the ground when they wanted attention. They were amusing.

They started to crowd me for more lettuce when I began to run out. Andromeda saved me by throwing her stock and like a flock of chickens, they turned towards the food. She led me further into the enclosure and we came upon a natural running underwater river. Andromeda cheered and stood by its bank where several mystifying plants were growing. They had three petals and were a brilliant neon blue.

The scenery was picturesque and I wanted a picture.

“Say, Andromeda. Did you bring the triphone by any chance?” I asked sitting by the bank.

She smiled and pulled out a triangular disk. “This thing?”

“Yes! Come on I want to take a picture of you. Stand by the blue flowers.”

“Sure!”

She walked and stood between what looked like azaleas to me. I brought the triphone to my eyes and let the red dot center her figure first before shooting the picture. I glanced at the camera and watched as the image popped up and smiled. I held it up and Andromeda came toward me to glance at her picture. Our foreheads bumped and she giggled rubbing hers.

“Can you show me how?” she asked.

I nodded and stood taking her hands in mine. “Like this. See that small red light? Wait for it to center on me then press this button,” I signaled to a round button by the side. It had the play signal on it.

“Okay go stand by the Xenas,” she said. I assumed they were the blue flowers. I stood between them like she had and smiled back at her. She squealed and waved at me when the picture came in. It was of my legs and the flowers and I laughed.

“Not bad for a first shot. My first shot missed completely and ended recording a memorable scene of a guy getting slapped by his girlfriend.”

She chuckled and held onto the triphone. “Again?”

I chuckled and she tried again this time she got the shot well enough.

Coming back, Andromeda took snapshots of the bridge, of the halls, and some more of me. At dinner, Ike found me and handed me my sippy cup full of blood. I was starting to thirst, but I didn’t want to drink this so soon. Dinner was more Hopding meat, potatoes, green beans, and this time something that tasted like grape juice.

Andromeda walked me to the door of my living quarters, a smile on her face.

“I had a great time though I still don’t see how nature made hopdings,” I said turning to her. She leaned forward and our lips met in a soft kiss. I let my hands caress her face as she deepened the kiss. I traced her cheeks with the tips of my fingers as she slowly pulled away leaving me breathless and stary-eyed.

“Good night, Matt,” she whispered against my lips before blushing and righting herself. She smiled and left me with a lot of questions. I went inside with the biggest grin on my face.