"Come on. You are lagging behind." Laurel turned to Lexus, who lagged behind. They jogged along the beach, their steps hurried as if a timer had been put on them.
"The fruits aren't going anywhere. You don't need to run!" Lexus scoffed.
"Other animals might steal those fruits if we don't hurry!" Laurel said. "Every second counts!"
"Geez! You should have picked them yesterday then!"
Laurel glared at Lexus. His stupidity irritated her. Laurel knew Lexus could physically do better than her. He was just lazy. That's why Laurel scolded him. Why couldn't he understand that these fruits were their lifelines? If animals scavenged those fruits before they did, that meant less food for them.
"Bob. Let's hurry," Laurel said. Bob nodded, matching her running speed.
It didn't take an hour for them to reach the cliff. Laurel turned toward the forest. Laurel then slowed, her steps measured.
"What? Are you tired? Aren't we supposed to hurry?" Lexus snickered.
"There might be animals in this forest. I saw several flipping boars earlier. We don't know if there are other animals," Laurel said as she crept into the forest.
"Duck down!" Bob whispered. His voice was muted but carried a sense of urgency as he went for a nearby tree. A cloud reaper was seen eating one of the pigs. It crouched down, holding the pig's body with its forearms as its beak tore through its flesh.
The trio held their breath in anticipation. The grove where the fruits were lay behind the bird. They had two options: fight the bird like before, or wait until the bird left on its own.
"Bob, kill it! You are strong, right?" Lexus whispered. Bob clenched his grip on the spear Xiaolang made.
"No. We wait. It's too risky," Laurel interrupted. Thankfully, Bob didn't listen to the fool behind her. They might have won against this bird before, but that was pure luck. If this bird fought back, even Bob could get injured. Her grip tightened on the stone knife Xiaolang gave her.
Then, from the bushes, a dark shadow leaped. The obsidian crocodile lunged and snapped its jaw on its wing. Its four forearms wrestled the massive bird.
A deathly shriek reverberated across the forest. The bird fought back with everything it had. Its razor-sharp talon flailed against the obsidian scale of the scarab. Several scales tore apart, but the monster didn't relent its grip; its forelimb gripped the bird tight. Then, with another snap of its jaw on the neck, the bird cried out its last.
The children watched the scene with horror on their faces. The scarab dragged its kill. It was a fight, but it earned its prize. Blood oozed out from the scarab's wound; several sharp scales lay scattered on the ground as the scarab disappeared into the shrub.
"Alright. It's safe. Let's go and grab some of those fruits," Laurel said. They tiptoed their way into the grove. Laurel frowned. As expected, some of the fruits were already missing. The green crystal lay on the ground at the base of several palm-like trees, obvious and ripe for the picking. Laurel reached out for it. With a pull, the fruit came loose from the ground.
"Bob, here. How many can you take?" Laurel gave the fruit to him. Lexus followed suit, ripping the green crystal sphere out from the ground.
"I think I can bring four? These are bulky," Bob said as he tried to balance the crystal melons in his hands.
"Understood. You can bring four, and we each bring three. Lexus, here." Laurel gave a melon to him. After stripping one tree of all its melons, they moved to another. With a total of ten melons in their hands, they returned. Their steps were slow and silent.
Then, when they stepped onto the beach, their pace quickened. Faster, almost running. Their steps only loosened when they saw the familiar metallic gleam of their lifepod.
"Phew. One more trip and we are done," Laurel said.
"Hah? I am tired! Can't you do it yourself?" Lexus groaned.
"No. I am tired as well, but if we don't bring those fruits, we are going to starve tonight. Come on, one more run and you can take a break. It's going to take a few hours at most. Let's go."
"Geez. You guys can go by yourselves. I am staying!" Lexus scoffed.
"We are all in this together. If you don't help out, you aren't eating tonight!" Laurel scolded him. She didn't like to impose punishments like this. That would made her seemed like a tyrant. But without punishments, she knew Lexus won't listen.
"Geez. What a slave driver. I am going to tell my father when I return. This is bullying."
"Do you think I want to work like this as well? It's dangerous out there. That scarab might return. But if we don't collect these fruits, we are going to starve. Is that what you want?" Laurel barked. Her eyes glared at him. She suddenly took a few deep breaths and looked over to Bob. "Bob. Let's put these fruits inside and go out again."
"Yes." Bob nodded. They climbed into the lifepod, pulled up the hatches, and went inside, bringing the melons. They had to do this twice.
Then, once all the fruit was inside, Laurel closed the hatch and strolled along the beach. She didn't run this time. Her breath was ragged. Despite her exhaustion, she pushed herself.
It took more than two hours to return to the grove. Fortunately, the grove was empty. But they still tiptoed their way in, watching the shrub nearby ever so closely, fearing another scarab lying in wait. This grove was almost depleted, so they moved closer to the cliff.
"Let's pick these up. Lexus, Bob, watch our surroundings," Laurel said. Just as she was about to pull the first fruit, Bob interrupted.
"What's that? There is something shining there." Laurel's eyes followed Bob's finger as he pointed down the cliff.
"Huh? Where? New monster?" Lexus jumped behind Laurel. His eyes swept the surroundings. Laurel squinted, but apart from a small glint, she couldn't see anything either.
"Lexus. Try to take a picture of it. Your smartphone is the best among all of us, right?" Laurel said. She also took a picture with her smartphone. But after looking at the picture and zooming in, the image was still blurry.
"It's just junk," Lexus scoffed. He then shared the picture with Laurel and Bob. There, a metallic plate was stuck on a coral reef.
"That's a metallic plate! It's clearly manmade! This is a great discovery! This means this world has a sapient organism!" Laurel yelled with excitement. "Everyone, let's go and get it!"
"... But it looks kinda far. How are we going to get it?" Bob frowned.
"Yeah. It is just a metal plate. A scrap. Won't a photo be enough?"
"If we can't get it, I suppose a photo will be enough. But we must get closer," Laurel said. "We have to be sure. Maybe there is some information on it!"
"I agree." Bob nodded. "Let's go."
The children strolled along the cliff. Their steps light, lifted by the hope before their eyes. A metal plate. A seemingly mundane item, often considered trash to be disposed of in their colonies. However, it brought meaning. It proved that this world had civilizations. If there were civilizations, that meant they could go home.
But as they came near, they found a problem. The cliff was in their way. Laurel could see the metal plate more clearly. She wanted to bring the plate to the lifepod. But scaling the cliff would be risky. Just as she was about to give up, Bob came up with a suggestion.
"How about we use those vines over there? They look like rope. I think they could hold your weight, Laurel," Bob said. His finger pointed toward the forest. Deeper into the forest, the trees had changed into conifers with vines growing over them.
"Great! Let's do it. I will help you, Lexus. Watch the surroundings. Warn us if any monsters come," Laurel said.
Bob prodded the trees where the vines were. Then, using the knife he and Xiaolang made, he cut the vines, and Laurel tied one vine to another, forming a long 50-meter rope.
"Alright. Bob, Lexus. Lower me slowly," Laurel said.
"Why must it be you?"
"Oh? You want to go instead? Feel free." Laurel chuckled.
"Never mind. You can go ahead… Be careful." Lexus turned his head, realizing he had made a blunder. Laurel smiled and nodded. She then held on tightly to the rope after she made another knot around herself. She was the lightest of the three, so she had to do it. A leader sometimes needed to lead from the front. Inspire others. She took a deep breath as her body slowly lowered to the ground. Bob grunted. His hand clenched on the vines as he slowly loosened them little by little.
"Alright! I am at the base!" Laurel exhaled. Her relief was apparent. But before she could dwell on the revelry, a wave struck the stone where she landed, splashing seawater on her. She instinctively clenched the rope tight.
"Don't let go of the rope!" Bob yelled.
"Say… what if a monster came when Laurel was picking that piece of metal?" Lexus whispered. "Should we leave her?"
"...Let's hope it will not come to that, Lexus," Bob said. He then realized how reckless this stunt was. The vines hadn't been tested; they might break at any moment. There might be monsters in these reefs. The ropes might not be long enough. What should he do if such situations occurred?
Laurel hopped from one rock to another. Each leap brought her closer to the prize. It was a small metal plate, like the ones used for nameplates outside a room. Its paint was faded but still visible. Several symbols were carved on it. Alien handwriting she had never seen.
This sealed the deal. This metal plate was not from their lifepod. It proved that there were civilizations on this planet. They might not be as advanced as humans, but she would accept anything to ease their livelihood.
Clutching the metal plate to her chest with one hand, she held the rope tied to her with the other. She then hopped to another rock. Then another.
"Ahh!" Due to her excitement, Laurel almost slipped her landing. Thankfully, Bob had an iron grip on the rope.
"Watch out!" Bob yelled.
"I'm fine! You can pull me back now," Laurel said. Her body began to lift up, like in a worn-down elevator. Her heart raced higher as she climbed up the cliff. Lexus and Bob plopped on the ground, their breathing ragged. Despite acing PE class, even Bob had limits.
"Geez! You're heavy, Laurel!" Lexus groaned.
"Lexus. That's not a nice thing to say to a girl. I am not heavy. We are on a different planet with higher gravity, so I am heavier than normal. It is this planet's fault," Laurel said. "Well, I shall forgive you this once. Look! This proves that there is an alien civilization on this planet!"
Laurel held out the metal plate she had to the others.
"The engraving certainly didn't look like it was natural," Bob said.
"Right?" Laurel smiled. "Let's go back and tell the others. Ah, we still need to harvest some crystal watermelons. We will have a feast tonight."
"Geez. You sure look happy. What if these are evil aliens?" Lexus snorted.
"If they have civilizations, they should have trade," Laurel said confidently.
The group went to the grove and harvested crystal watermelons with spring in their steps. The sun had almost set. They returned just in time. When the familiar sphere came into view, Laurel saw Xiaolang and the others around the lifepod.
"Hey everyone! We returned! Look at what we found!" Laurel waved at them excitedly.
***
Everyone is dead. Mother, Father, Sisca. Why am I the only one alive? This bloodied hand. It's his fault. No. It's my fault. If only I came sooner. ~Xiaolang