Page 14 of Ruby
Its kind will soon come looking and I do not want to be here when they do.
I struggle to get up from my sitting position and venture in the direction opposite to both locations of the aliens, knowing that I can only hope I do not run into them before I can find a place to rest.
The journey is long and relentlessly painful, taking me into the thicker clusters of the wilderness.
Here the plants are different colors, the ones at the top are still bright green but the ones at the bottom are deeper purple. The leaves and brambles are unforgiving, slashing against my legs and body. This does not hurt as much as the uncomfortable thrumming of my feet.
Members of the flock were not created for land. My legs were not built for traversing the harsh lands of this grainy terrain. It scrapes against my feet and I can feel the wounds starting to form. This makes for painful movement and I try to ease it by walking on the sides and supporting myself with my lower set of arms but it makes no difference and I fall forward on my face.
I feel helpless in a way that I have not since I was a fledgling and I want to call out for someone—anyone at all—who can save me from this but I know I am properly and utterly alone.
I watched the extermination of my flock and heard their mournful death songs.
I want to lie on the ground until my body becomes one with it but I have to keep moving. So I beckon on the wisdom of Nnaiv,the brash bravery of Tch’tek, and the strength of my flockmates to guide me through these unfamiliar lands.
This may not be my home, but I will find a way through it until I succumb. I will not let a trespasser have the satisfaction of killing me before grounding does.
I walk on the uneven ground until I hear the sound of running water babbling toward me from somewhere nearby. My hands push the leaves and their branches out of the way and I continue until the intrusive branches give way to boggy, wet soil and then to the banks of the river I had seen from a distance.
I don’t know where I find strength but I forget my many injuries and nearly break into a run.
I collapse into the water; the immediate relief to my wounds is almost too intense but I catch myself before I can make a sound, just in case there are any trespassers around me. I drink with my drums on alert and once my thirst is quenched, I survey the land before me. I don’t know how long I will have to keep on my feet or whether I can do it, but I am determined to try.
Despite my extreme reluctance, I cannot remain here too long.
Even one such as me, being so unfamiliar with the world on the ground and its customs, knows it is unwise to tarry too long at a watering hole such as this for predators to lurk in. Besides, those trespassers could realistically circle back here at any time and I am in no condition to weather any sort of battle.
I am going to have to leave.
I walk out of the water, slightly energized, prepared to keep moving. If not for myself, then for my brothers in the flock and the Shi’ell that fell in defense of them. Better to find a hole to die in than to give the trespassers the satisfaction.
6
Szhe’ka
The forest feels endless in its supply of brambles, bushes, and trees that all look the same yet are so different, but I trudge on.
The knowledge that I can be found by the trespassers and torn apart, or worse, at any given time is enough to energize me in short bursts but I make sure to also make my way carefully. It would not do to run into the arms of another band of predators in my quest for safety.
I long once more for the sky and her gentle comforts.
I cannot tell how far I have traveled or if I am walking in circles because it all looks the same to me and I am weak with hunger. I do not know if there are many sources of food besides the river I had rested at earlier but I’m painfully aware of the reality that I don’t have the stamina to hunt or chase down any of the smaller prey-like creatures that have scurried past me in the forest underbrush.
I find myself wistfully remembering the many blue- and silver-skinned prey that had populated the river, which had shied away from my earlier splashing. I bet they would have satiated my hunger had I had the presence of mind to be quieter while entering the water but I regret nothing. The water has been the only thing on this accursed ground that has reminded me, if only a little bit, of my home in the sky.
“Keep moving,” I say to myself, hoping that it is enough to breathe some life into my rock-heavy legs.
I drag myself forward before collapsing against a sturdy looking tree. Maybe my flockmates will understand my dying here, damaged and defeated in this unfamiliar and hostile planet but I begin to hear the bushes rustling from somewhere up ahead and a foreign language being spoken.
Someone was heading this way, two someones judging from the call and response.
Their scent is different, something I have never encountered before but from their strides, I can tell one of them is injured, even though I cannot tell what could have caused this. It would be safest to assume that they are hostile and prepare to fight for my life. This strikes fear into me and my eyes widen in panic as I search around me for somewhere to hide.
There is no need to run because I will be caught before I can make it far, but maybe I can hide from whatever this is.
With my movements still, I hope that they will venture farther away from me but my heart drops when the rustling gives way to proper footfalls. They pick up the pace and continue straighttoward me. I have to run but the pain in my legs and the multitude of injuries dotted all around my body remind me that it will be a fruitless pursuit and I might only end up being hurt faster.
If only these accursed trespassers had not removed my wings, I would only need to kick off the ground and flee the area, regardless of injury to my body.
