They moved quickly through the orange colored grasses, crouched down and moving from one bit of cover to the next. Jet kept glancing over his shoulder at the site of the ripple, trying to memorize the area. There was something about the excitement and danger that appealed to him. A new world, a strange and dangerous world from the looks of it, but a new world. He paused, next to a massive upthrusting plinth of stone and looked back again, watching the women in his group pass him by. Behind him was a whole world, a world he had lived and struggled in his whole life. He had risen so far and fallen further.
He closed his eyes for only a moment and drew in a deep breath. The air smelled fresher as they left the mud flats behind, not a hint of smog tainted the air. Maybe this is our chance. He thought as he turned away from the ripple. The women were quite a ways ahead of him, moving steadily and with caution. The flow of the landscape was generally upwards to the west and south and generally downwards in the north and east. Far to the east, on the edge of the visible land, the grasses went from generally orange to a deep crimson. In the southern direction, Jet could just make out the shape of the first large tree. It rose up from a vast trunk and spread twisted branches skyward. The trunk of the tree was a yellowy gold in color and the long, slender leaves were a deep blue-green in color.
As he caught up to the others, Jet whispered, “This is one weird place.”
He felt Kat shudder as he put his hand against the small of her back. “I don’t like it.” She admitted softly.
“We’re together, Kat. That’s all that matters to me.” He leaned his head gently against hers so they both looked out over the eerily bright landscape. “Whatever else comes, we’ll face together.”
Kat lifted her hand and rested it against his face, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Whatever her thoughts, she seemed less concerned when she opened her eyes.
“Maybe if we get to that tree and climb it, we can get a better picture of the landscape and maybe find a place to head toward. There has to be some sign of civilization around here. Doesn’t there?”
“Who’s to say.” Sophie said, glancing behind them again. “What if sentience doesn’t exist here?”
Jet frowned, that was something he hadn’t considered, the thought left him feeling hollow for some reason, and very very small. “Let’s move. The more distance we can put between us and the predators, the better.”
By the time they reached the tree, they were more than a mile and a half from the ripple and the predators that still lingered around it. As they stepped into the shade of the canopy, a flock of birds burst from among the leaves with a raucous cawing and scattered in every direction. The shade itself felt blessedly cool after the heat from the sun, but none of them stopped moving, automatically working themselves into a perimeter around the tree, giving them surveillance in every direction. “I’ll go up and see what can be seen.” Jet offered. The women spread themselves out making up for the loss of his quarter as he turned toward the tree.
The yellow colored bark on the tree was rough and provided plenty of handholds. The branches began almost twenty feet up the tree and he had almost reached the lowest one when something small buzzed past his face. In the space of a breath, he almost lost his grip on the tree, almost fell those twenty some feet to the ground. His heart thundered in his chest as he clutched close to the trunk and held still for a long moment. He could hear whatever had buzzed past his face just around the trunk and out of view. “Some sort of bug. Be careful.” He called down to his team.
Jet took a couple of deep breaths to center himself before he climbed the last couple of feet to the lowest of the branches. Near the trunk, this branch was wider than he could fit both hands around. He hoisted himself up on top of it and sitting, looked out through the long, slender branches. He had felt small before at the thought of being the only sentient beings in this world, suddenly he felt smaller still. All around were what seemed like endless rolling hills. They climbed upward to the west and marched down to the east. At end of his range in the east, that strange swatch of crimson remained. To the north, he could still make out the distant predators surrounding the ripple. South and west seemed like an eternity of plains scattered with brush and the occasional tall and reaching tree. To the southeast, almost cardinally, there was a dense cluster of brush and the reaching branches of smaller trees. As far as Jet looked in any direction there was no sign of shelter, no evidence of fire or camp, no sanctuary to be had.
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Carefully, Jet climbed higher in the tree, pausing occasionally to see if he could find some hint of civilization or a potential hiding place. He reached the thinnest branch he dared to test his weight on and looked around one last time. Still nothing. Not even an indication of which direction would be best. There were quite a few animals visible on the plains, distant enough he couldn’t make out details, but they were there. This world wasn’t completely devoid of life. Whether that made it safer or more dangerous, he couldn’t say, but it was something.
Disappointed by the revelations, he carefully climbed back down to the ground. “What time do you think it is?” He asked as he settled into his part of the perimeter.
“Midmorning, heading toward noon. If that’s east and the sun rises in the east.” Cora answered without pausing to think.
“There’s something to the east, dark red.” Jet informed them as he studied the lower scenery, watching out for predators or other thinking creatures. “I’m thinking after the mudflats, I don’t really want to go that way.”
“Red scenery doesn’t sound great.” Sophie agreed. “Though orange isn’t something I find particularly comforting either.”
A quick laugh escaped Cora before she covered her mouth. She cleared her throat. “I make three for not going toward the red place.”
“Alright. I think there might be water to the southwest. A cluster of brush and several small trees. There’s animals further to the west, as to what they are,” He shrugged, “I couldn’t say.”
“We have water for now, but we should definitely check out that water source.” Kat said. “Think we can make it there by lunch?”
“Absolutely.” Jet answered.
“Let’s go then.” Sophie sounded eager to get on the move again.
It was miles before they reached the watering hole, the sun had already reached its full height and was heading down as they entered the more lush foliage. The sun was blazing in the sky, even the smallest amount of exertion was enough to wring a dripping sweat from each of them. The shorter trees spread large flat leaves in every direction. The leaves were a rich blue-green and the trunks of the trees a yellow-orange that blended somewhat with the tall grasses that dominated the landscape. The watering hole itself was large, it would easily be able to hold a football field within. Tall reeds, dark green on the stem with a cattail-like bulb at the top colored a rich orange, waved in the faintest hint of a breeze. The water was clear, deep, and cold to the touch.
There were no animals currently sharing the watering hole with the humans, but there were tracks in the mud on the verge of the water that were a clear indication that this site wasn’t abandoned. Jet rinsed his hands in the water and splashed the cool water on his face, rinsing away dirt and sweat alike. “Let’s break for lunch then we’ll try to find another landmark to head toward. We probably shouldn’t camp right here next to the water. I’m betting at least some of these tracks belong to predators.”
“Probably all of them.” Sophie mumbled as she washed her own face.
Cora flicked at one of the purple cattails. “Something about this place just feels wrong.” She was speaking almost to herself.
“Other than the fact it’s colored like an acid dream?” Kat was scrubbing herself in the water as well.
“It’s stupid.” Cora said, shaking her head. “But if you close your eyes and breathe deep, this place just feels wrong.”
Jet was feeling much more centered after cleaning himself up a little, but as soon as he did as Cora asked, he could feel the difference. “It’s like being dizzy,” He mused.
“Or drunk.” Kat added as she wavered a little on her feet, eyes closed tightly.
Sophie just frowned at the three of them, her eyes still opened. “Of course it feels wrong, we don’t belong here. Hopefully we can find a way back before everything else realizes that.”