Chapter 2 - The Beach

Adam spent a few long moments staring up at the sky in sheer awe of the planetary ring extending across the horizon as he contemplated what could have happened. He remembered coming home and going to bed as well as his dream of lying on a warm beach… Or was that even a dream? The sound of the ocean a few hundred meters away and the warm atmosphere must have been real since he could still feel the same heat on his body even now after waking up. This should mean he was moved here while sleeping. ‘Wait, am I dead?’ He looked down at himself to see if everything was in order, 2 arms and legs, a head, and no signs of any injuries. He got back to his feet and started to make his way out between the path of bushes he was sitting between. On unsteady legs, he started making his way out of the patchy cover of the tropical forest and made his way to the vast ocean expanding out in front of him. There seemed to be another island to his right quite a distance on the horizon but other than some light gray stone and green, he wasn’t able to make out much more. He scanned the horizon for anything else but was only met with water. His eyes kept drifting up to the sky as the rings of pale blue reflected the abundant light from the sun in all directions. It looked like the rings were glistening in the sky like a shattered disco ball. Adam was mesmerized by this optical marvel when he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Turning to his left and staring out across the ocean he noticed a darker spot seemingly right below the small waves. Focusing his vision on that spot fifty meters or so from the beach, he noticed what appeared to be a snake or tentacle slivering right below the water's surface before it descended into the depths. Adam's reaction was swift and immediate as he turned around and started putting distance between him and the ocean. ‘Fuck this, I’m not going anywhere near that bloody thing’, His imagination was running wild as to what sort of alien monster was lurking just out of sight.

After briskly jogging his way back the the treeline near where he first woke up, he then froze in place as a memory suddenly came back to him. The loud screeching noise that woke him up. Until now he wasn’t paying attention to the different sounds around him, too preoccupied with his bizarre situation but now that he was on guard about possible threats he immediately realized the noises in the distance that he first associated with tropical birds were most likely anything but. Realizing for the first time that he is well and truly alone in a different world and probably surrounded by all sorts of alien creatures that wouldn’t think twice about having him as a snack. Fear truly began to take hold as his confusion was overwhelmed by his sense of helplessness and dread. “What the hell is happening” his breathing accelerated and his head was feeling heavy but before he began to hyperventilate and break down, Adam clenched his fists until his knuckles started going white and slapped his face. ‘Now is not the time to lose your shit, Adam, focus on what you know’ he was always good at remaining calm in bad situations but this was really pushing his limits. He was no stranger to the outdoors and was more than capable of camping out in the wild so he knew that food and water were his first priorities. “If I had known I would get teleported to an alien beach, I would have worn something other than boxer shorts and a T-shirt, although at least I’m glad I didn’t sleep naked I guess.”

The coast he was on seemed to stretch rather far and was relatively even, allowing him to peer down at least 2 kilometers down the beach before his view was obscured by a small cliff with more stones jutting out of the water in front of it. The other side however was mainly covered in dense vegetation so he couldn’t know how far it extended. The didn’t appear to be any large volcano or mountain in the sky above the dense canopy of exotic trees so he wasn’t sure if he was on an island or not. The sun was starting to make itself known now as it was a few times hotter than Earth’s and the vegetation was his best option for some shade. He decided he could start looking for any freshwater within the exotic forest but he knew that if he went too deep he would no doubt come face to face with some nasty monster.

The next hour was spent walking up and down the beach, while listening intently for any noise coming from within the giant mass of green, while also never letting his guard down against the waters and anything that may lurk within. After having identified a less densely packed zone closer to the stone cliff, he made his way inland in hopes of finding food and water while also avoiding anything that may consider him a snack. The trees and plants were a diverse mix of all sorts of species but their defining features were their bright green colors. Almost every plant had the same shade of green and appeared at least twice the size of any normal tree on Earth. “At least I won’t run out of oxygen” Adam watched many documentaries about Earth’s past eras and recalled that there was a time before the dinosaurs when the atmosphere was very oxygen-rich because the plants grew to enormous proportions and would release huge amounts of oxygen in the air through photosynthesis. This also resulted in insects becoming humongous to absorb as much oxygen as possible. This thought gave Adam a terrible realization. ‘Don’t tell me there are giant man-eating centipedes here’, the mear thought sent shivers down his spine as he continued advancing with renewed vigilance. However, despite his efforts he couldn’t find anything to use as a weapon. He found some stones he could throw but no sticks suitable to be fashioned into makeshift spears. Most of the plants weren’t made of wood but rather some sort of rubbery material that could bend without breaking. Anything solid enough was too big to be of any use since only the trunks didn’t seem to be made of the bright green rubbery wood everything else seemed to be. The leaves and vines were also unusable for him although thoughts of making makeshift shoes were floating about Adam’s mind as the sand felt pretty hot on his feet and walking around barefoot would severely limit his ability to run from giant centipedes. For now, however, he needed a place to set up camp and find food and water. He decided the best place would be on the beach as it was the only open space but he didn’t want to be completely exposed so he decided to check out the rock cliffs along the beach. With careful steps, he started making his way up the least steep spot he could find to get to the 3 meter elevated ledge on the side of the cliff. It was easier than expected as despite the incline and the relatively small available purchase for him.

It was only now that, while standing on a fairly flat 5 meter surface jutting out off the cliff face, he noticed how light and flexible he felt. Granted he has spent most days wrapped in warm clothes but still, he felt stronger, sharper, and more flexible than before. The air also seemed to feel more refreshing and healthy although he spent most of his life in colder climates and this is an alien world after all so it was logical that this air had a slightly different composition. ‘Now that I think about it, should I count myself lucky that I landed on a planet with breathable air or unlucky that I somehow fell through space to begin with’. He couldn't tell if the sun had moved but he didn't want it to get dark and be lost in the jungle so he continued to explore the jagged cliff face in order to find some shelter in a cave or something. The ledge he was on was only a few meters wide but stretched quite a bit up away from the ocean so he followed the uneven path ahead. After a few minutes, however, he found what he was looking for. A crack along the wall that seemed about the size of a car. He hesitated, not wanting to run into this world's equivalent of a bear, before carefully making his way inside.

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It was high enough that he could stand up, but both the ground and ceiling were very uneven with stone clumps hanging from the ceiling. He kept his head low to avoid any injuries and was careful with his footing as he made his way further in. He couldn't hear any noise inside but he made sure to keep an eye on the entrance for if he needed a quick escape. The cave wasn't very big actually so he ruled it out as being an animal's den. It was actually quite square by cave standards. There was a few meters of room on either side of the rock and in fact, the left side of the cave next to the door had a small fist-sized hole in the wall letting more light in which helped him see the end only about twenty meters away. It would create a nice little cliffside room if the floor and ceiling were only a little more level. Every so often, points of light can be seen dancing along the cave floor as the perpetual moving planetary rings reflected the sunlight through the cave entrance. Adam decided that this would be his home base for now and his empty stomach's complaints made him move on to his second task, finding food without becoming it himself.

Adam climbed down the cliff face and was careful to memorize its location before heading into the jungle while keeping the tall stone cliff in view behind him. It was only after a few minutes of travel through the less dense part of the jungle terrain that he lost sight of the cliff amongst a sea of vegetation. He was hesitant to go any further without a good landmark, he was likely to get turned around in the dense jungle and the last thing he wanted was to spend the night in this freaky alien jungle with its strange-looking plants and bone-shilling cries and far-off screeches. In fact he was surprised he hadn't come across any wildlife yet. ‘Although this is their home turf so they may be watching me right now amongst the trees and I have no way to tell’.

He was on the lookout for anything that looked edible but the only thing he could find was different types of leaves, dark green vines of various sizes, and lots of other exotic plants he had never seen before. The vines however seemed to be like ropes. He tried to rip off a length from a small vine dangling down from a branch but he couldn't break it off as no matter how he pulled, squeezed or bent it, it simply remained intact. He even tied it in knots a few times and it acted just like rope, except it was far more durable.

After giving up on trying to get any, until he could get something sharp to try, he made his way to a less dense area. There was a massive pale lime-colored tree ahead and no other plants seemed to get too close to it, leaving a perimeter of grass around it for a few meters. Adam was immediately interested in it as he got closer to the large tree as not only did it resemble a pale broccoli with its dark green dots at the ends of its branches but something else also caught his eye. Hanging not too far from the ground was what appeared to be a pale blue fruit similar in shape to an upside-down heart and the size of a watermelon. Adam had no idea if this thing was edible or even a fruit but what he did know was that this was the only thing that seemed like it could be food that he had found so far and he was willing to take this risk since he might not find anything else at all to eat otherwise. Besides, he can always just take a small bite to make sure it's edible before eating the whole thing. But before any of that, he needed to get it down.

Unfortunately for Adam, like most things in this strange jungle, the small stem that connects the fruit with the branch was impossibly tough and determined not to let its load go without a fight. He scanned the large tree for more fruits but they were all too high up and therefore out of reach. He started looking around for a stone he could use as a tool and eventually found one after making his way back in the direction of the cliff. It was in the rough shape of an elongated pyramid about the size of his palm. It was a flat pale grey color and seemed pretty strong judging by its weight but he wasn't thinking of sharpening it into a knife but instead opted to use it to gouge out a piece from the heart-shaped fruit to make sure it was actually something edible before he wasted any more time and energy. Adam carefully pushed the pointy side of this stone into the fruit and only now noticed its skin was covered in dim honeycone patterns that ever so slightly glowed a faint pale blue color and felt warm to the touch despite being covered by its unique tree's many branches. It wasn't as easy to open as a watermelon, as the exterior took some considerable strength to get through but once the tough outer layer was pierced the inside gave no resistance. Before he could pull the stone tip back out from the dozen centimeters of the fruit, a transparent liquid started dribbling down the fruit and dropping onto the floor. Adam put his finger over the hole and then put it in his mouth to taste it. It was as if he just had a cool glass of water on a hot day as the task of fresh, sweet liquid entered his body and he immediately placed his mouth under the pierced fruit and angled it to drink as much of the delicious liquid as possible.

After a few minutes of drinking, the liquid stopped coming and Adam was pretty sure this was some sort of alien coconut fruit. He expected to be able to crack it open to find the edible part of the fruit. The liquid inside was probably sweet water so at least he found a source of freshwater for the time being and it seemed to have fully restored him. It had been at least a few hours since he woke up and he hadn't eaten or drunk anything since then, not even his morning coffee but that sweet liquid was like magic as it completely washed away his fatigue and made him feel more aware and full of energy than he has felt in a long time. He didn't even feel hungry anymore even though his stomach was demanding sustenance only minutes ago. With newfound energy, he started sharpening his stone into a makeshift knife to be able to cut down the fruit but after at least an hour of sharpening his stone and desperately trying to cut the fruit down, he ended up just poking several holes in the top of the fruit near where it attaches to the tough stem and after making them close enough to each other, he grabbed the fruit in both hands and yanked it down with his whole body weight. He then made his way back to the beach where he sat down with his exotic fruit and started hacking away at it in order to gain access to whatever food the fruit was hiding as well as the rest of its wonderful juices.