Stranded on a Tiny Planet

In the city of Anashee, after much explanation...

Traynar was out of breath explaining the whole scenario to the Council before him. The Council was comprised of some of the most intelligent, powerful, and wisest members of the Anashee society with the eldest and most powerful female Elder Felreh leading. Many looked skeptical but still concerned.

“And you say it is at Bent Peak as we speak.” the Elder confirmed.

Traynar nodded.

“Did you see our chrysalis?” the family from before called out with hope.

“No. But, my mate Anu is keeping watch to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Did it appear aggressive?” Madala the female leader of the EFP and defense of Anashee tried to clarify with her bluish colored plumage raised.

Traynar shook his head, “Not that I could tell. It was sleeping. But it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I...I can’t even begin to comprehend the strength it possesses.”

The five Council members conferred quietly amongst themselves for several minutes. The gathered crowd in the chamber sat quiet and waited.

After a time Elder Felreh stood, “We have come to a decision. We will not interact, nor engage this creature. For all it knows, we do not exist. We will close the gates of Anashee and instill a ban on all travel outside the city until this creature moves on.”

“What of our young one? That monster still has her chrysalis! Will you do nothing to rescue her?” the elder male of the family protested.

Felreh addressed him calmly yet firmly, “We must ascertain where your chrysalis is first. If this creature does indeed have it, we will plan its recovery. I don’t want to reveal our existence prematurely if it doesn’t have the chrysalis.”

“But what if it comes to Anashee? What will we do?” someone asked aloud.

Elder Felreh nodded, “We will plan for that in the meantime. Hopefully, it will never know we exist and move on.” She turned to Madala, “Assemble your best fliers and station them at key points around Anashee. If this creature comes this way we must know as soon as possible. But do not be seen.”

Madala nodded and abruptly left. Traynar followed her, “What about Anu? She’s still out there with it!”

The commander thought a moment, “We’ll get to her by morning. It’s too dangerous to fly by night. Come on. We have plans to make.”

Morning...

Anu had watched the sleeping giant throughout the hours of night and light was beginning to glow beyond the forest. It appeared to be in a deep sleep and Anu had a bold idea. She needed to ascertain if it had the precious chrysalis and since it was asleep, she could conduct a quick search. But that would require a very up-close inspection...a very dangerous endeavor. However, she knew if that had been her chrysalis, she’d want everything done to get it back safely. She closed her eyes, steadied her breathing and quickly flew from her tree, up the hill, and toward the sleeping giant.

As she drew near, her guts tightened with fear as the alien grew bigger and bigger still. She blinked harshly, to keep her focus on flying and not fear. The giant alien was laying down, back to the steep base of Bent Peak, using its arms as a pillow. Its massive chest rose and fell with deep, hollow breaths; like wind rushing through an empty house. Anu flew over the titanic figure and then flew in closer to search for the chrysalis.

First, she quietly hovered near the giant’s hands to search, but there was nothing clutched inside. Anu began to fly down the length of its body and then noticed a pocket on the giant’s shirt. There was a bulge. Though she feared coming any closer she very cautiously flew toward the pocket to peek inside. The giant’s chest rose out at her with every massive breath, but she managed to reach out and grip the cloth top of the pocket to open it. She peeked inside and gasped upon seeing the familiar bluish green glimmer of the chrysalis nestled within the cloth prison.

It had the chrysalis!

Anu wanted to crawl inside and pull out the precious pod but knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to pull off such a rescue. Quite suddenly, the giant’s breathing changed its rhythm to something more urgent and deeper. Its massive body began twitching and then suddenly its huge limbs flailed violently. One of its huge arms swung out, passing a few feet over her head. The vorticity created sent the little scout spinning. Anu cried out with terror and suddenly dropped to the ground, her fear stealing her focus and flight.

“No no no no no no.” Anu hissed with frustration, “Not now! Not now! Come on!”

Stumbling on the ground and trying to regain her flight, Anu ran with all speed she could muster down the rocky slope to the safety of the trees. She covered her ears as the creature roared behind her. Somehow, like an astronaut bouncing on the moon, she began regaining her flight; touching off the ground and gaining air. Finally, she managed to fly up and into the trees.

“GET DOWN! DOWN NOW!” Merco screamed.

He flailed his arms and sat up with a cold, sweaty start. His breathing heaved with panic until realization broke through his nightmare.

No. Not on the battlefield. Not fighting anyone. The war was done.

Merco sighed heavily slowly coming around. By some blessing he survived, but his PTSD had violently asserted itself once again as it had many nights after the war. The nightmares of battle. The cold sweats. The gripping panic and adrenaline rush. However, the pain he was feeling in his skull wasn’t part of his nightmare, it was very real. His left eye was all but swelled shut from the punch to the face. He couldn’t see very well, and it hurt to open it fully. The left side was where the open wound was and it ached terribly.

Though not as sharp and pounding like his head, his stomach began to ache with hunger. He couldn’t remember the last thing he ate, but it had to be longer than a day he’d gone without food. He’d have to find something to eat or he’d grow too weak to do so and starve.

The bearded man touched the inside of his boot and smirked when he felt the small knife he hid there. Apparently, the mercenaries hadn’t searched him that thoroughly. With a knife he stood a slightly greater chance of surviving. Merco winced and forced himself to his feet, swaying dangerously.

Anu made it back to the shelter of the trees and landed on a large branch. She was breathing hard with panic. The deafening roar of the creature’s voice shook through the branches and echoed across the forest. Had its arm swung a bit lower it would've swatted her and probably killed her. She went tense and looked back.

Was it coming after her?

The gigantic alien was sitting up but it wasn't in pursuit. Its shout subsided and was replaced with deep moaning and hissing. They sounded like distress or pain noises. Anu looked out at the huge alien that was now sitting up and after several long moments it stood up, towering like a living monolith. Anu’s breath seized in her throat at the sight of it. Standing it was even more tremendous in size.

Where had it come from? There had never been record of anything that big on this entire planet. Was it an undiscovered creature that just emerged from the desolate wasteland or was it indeed an alien from another world?

Anu’s thoughts were abruptly halted when rhythmic tremors began shaking the forest. Anu gasped when she saw the giant being moving down from the rock face and coming right toward her! She froze, unable to believe the enormity of the creature that strode closer, like a living mountain on tree-sized legs.

Had it seen her? Smelled her? Was it coming to get her? Would she be able to fly if it tried to get her or would she fall like moments before?

She didn’t move and kept the trunk of her tree between her and the towering colossus. It was at the tree line in a few long strides and stopped. At this closer range she noted that the wounds on its face seemed to look worse than the day before. Its eye was puffed up so much that she could barely see it and its skin was blotched with angry purple and red marks. Its head wound was still covered but the cloth did little to hide its horrendous appearance. Anu watched as it scanned the trees pensively.

What was it looking for? Hopefully not her.

It looked around a few seconds and then gripped a tree several yards from hers. It cracked with protest as the powerful hands crushed the branches flat. Then with a horrible, earth-tearing pull, the alien yanked it straight out of the ground. Anu’s jaw dropped at the immense power she’d witnessed. It uprooted the tree like it was pulling a weed!

The giant shook the uprooted tree to rid the roots of dirt, held it up, and stared down its length. Satisfied, it began snapping off the branches until all that remained was a knobby trunk. It moved away from the tree line, sat down, and pulled out a small knife from the inside of his boot. Then, it meticulously began lopping off the knobs and slicing the tree trunk to a sharp point.

Anu watched, fascinated but then perturbed. What was it going to use that for?

A low rumble from the giant. It winced, massaging its stomach.

Anu swallowed hard and shrunk behind the tree trunk as far as she could. It was hungry. She envisioned herself skewered on the end of the deadly point, roasting over a fire. Horrible scenarios of the giant creature devouring countless Anashee citizens played morbidly in her head.

Was it a meat eater? Clearly this being was intelligent to some degree...but was it benevolent or barbaric?

After some time, the giant admired its handiwork of the makeshift spear and held it aloft, testing the balance and weight of it. It grunted deeply making several jabs at the ground before it decided the spear was adequate. Using the stick as a cane, it hefted itself up, rising impressively into the sky and strode back up to the base of Bent Peak.

Anu let loose a sigh of relief. It never saw her. She wondered if Traynar had told the Council everything.

Did they believe him? Were they going to send reinforcements?

The giant was up higher now, scanning the forest. Its gaze pointed northwest. With thunderous steps it began staggering in that direction. Anu watched it go. It wasn’t headed directly for Anashee...but it wasn’t headed in the opposite direction either. She thought a moment about what lay ahead of it but wasn’t sure. Very carefully and slowly, she let go of the tree and shakily flew up out of the treetops. The giant’s back was to her, so she flew higher to see where it was headed. A twinkling glimmer several miles away gave her the answer.

The Great Anashee Lake.

Though the lake was beautiful and a reliable source of freshwater, it was home to some of the largest and most fearsome creatures on their planet. Great, swimming leviathans that could swallow up Ansheeta and their ships in one gulp. It was a treacherous place not many would venture, save for a few brave souls who made their living on its waters. She had only been there but a handful of times, but never went past the shallowest of tributaries. Only fools dared to fly over the deeper reaches. And the giant was headed for that lake. Torn between whether she should stay put and wait for Traynar and the others to meet up with her or follow the titan to ensure it didn’t wander closer to Anashee, Anu hesitated.

She decided it was better to follow.

...

Not long thereafter...

Once the morning broke a small force of the EFP was dispatched to locate the giant alien that had been reported. Traynar led the chosen group to Bent Peak to find Anu and hopefully the stolen chrysalis as well. When they arrived, the alien wasn’t where he had last seen it, nor was his mate Anu. The group dispersed around the area and soon discovered prints and an uprooted tree hole nearby.

“Look at this!” a young green male flier known as Corzon shouted as he landed on what looked like a huge metal ring. It was as tall as any of them and almost twice as big around.

He had an awed yet horrified look on his face, “How big IS this thing?”

"Big.” Traynar stated emphatically. “That was around its wrist.”

Corzon looked down at the metal ring he stood upon and nervously flew up off of it.

Traynar was already worried since Anu wasn’t in the trees. Had it found her? Was she captured? Or... he didn’t want to think about it. He had to find her.

“Look! More footprints!” someone called out. “I think it’s going to Anashee Lake!”

Traynar looked in that direction, “All right. I’m going to fly to the lake. I’ll bet Anu followed it there. The rest of you disperse across the forest and warn the outlying communities to stay in their villages and homes. Like Elder Felreh said, it doesn’t know we exist, and it may move on without ever knowing we’re here.”

“Shouldn’t one of us go with you?” Corzon asked and pointed to himself brazenly, “You know, an awesome flier to help back you up?

“I can be stealthier alone. Just get the word out and someone report what we’ve found thus far. Now fly!”

...

Much later at the Great Anashee Lake...

Merco breathed a sigh of relief when he finally made it out of the trees and to the banks of the lake, he had seen from the rock formation. Where there was water there was life...hopefully some fish...or the closest equivalent this planet had to offer. He was starving.

But first he needed to wash his head. Hopefully the water would be clean enough for drinking as well as washing. With slight movement, so as not to aggravate the wound, Merco peeled away the bandage he’d fashioned. It had become stiff and crusty with dried blood. Despite his care, the wound screamed its pain across the breadth of his head. He grunted sharply and tried to see himself in the water. He grimaced at the beaten, bloodied face staring back at him. The gash on his head was wider than he initially thought, and it was very red...infected red.

“Damn,” he swore, “you don’t look so good, buddy.”

He bent over like an animal and took a quick sip of the water. After a moment he decided it didn’t taste bad or toxic, so he swallowed and drank more.

“Hopefully I wouldn’t contract some sort of alien dysentery." He thought morbidly to himself.

Satisfied, he rinsed off the piece of cloth until it looked less blood-soaked. Gently, he dabbed his head and eventually submerged his whole face. The water felt nice and soon he pulled his head up for air. Diluted, bloody water ran down his face and front until he wiped it away.

Despite the pounding of his head he began removing his boots, socks, pants, and shirt. Then he waded into the water until it was up to his knees and scanned the depths for prey.

...

Anu had followed the giant to the lake undetected. She landed and hid behind a rock far from the giant where she could observe, but not be seen. The huge being had quenched its thirst and then cleaned its head wound. Every time it touched its head it seemed in pain. Eventually, it shed its boots and most of its clothes except for the black glove on its arm before it strode out into the lake. Anu marveled how the deep water only came up over its knees. Along his shoulder she could see strange black designs that seemed too precise to be naturally occurring. She wondered what the designs were for.

Poised with its spear, the giant watched with a hunter’s eye. Long minutes of stillness passed before the giant thrust its spear down into the water. Anu held her breath, waiting to see if it had succeeded. A frustrated growl and a repositioned spear answered that. It missed. Again, it waited, not moving its titanic body. It thrust three more times over a stretch of time, unsuccessful.

After a long while, Anu was growing bored of the spectacle, but she didn’t leave her post. It was then, Anu was suddenly startled by a loud buzzing. She turned abruptly to see a clawed water wasp hovering over her rock. The massive predatory insects were twice the size of an Ansheeta and were known for their lethal stinging claws. Very aggressive and to be feared. Anu froze against her rock, staring the huge insect down. The purple stripes on its bright green body, flashed with aggression. Its wings beating with a menacing thrum.

Suddenly it swooped, claws extended toward her!

Anu screamed and flew off of her rock. It missed by mere inches. With a quick turn the Water Wasp was after her again. Anu tried to fly back over the trees, but the wasp was blocking her path. She had no choice but to fly over the lake. As fast as she could she zipped over the water, trying to remain up high. However, her mind was anything but clear and her flying ability was greatly affected because of it. She couldn’t maintain much height and sputtered through the air like a little plane running out of fuel.

“No no no! Clear your mind! Don’t panic! FOCUS!” she internally berated herself.

The wasp was gaining on her, its menacing wings vibrating the air behind her.

“FOCUS!” she screamed.

With a quick spurt of speed, she flew across the lake, gaining a slight lead on the wasp. It followed, unabated. The buzzing grew louder over her shoulder, but Anu refused to look back. If she saw the wasp gaining, she’d panic and wouldn’t be able to fly. She kept her eyes focused on the trees of the opposite bank. She could lose it there.

Suddenly, an explosion of water erupted from below! Anu instinctually tucked her legs in and looked back to see the wasp snatched out of the air by a gargantuan, gold-scaled leviathan, ten times the size of either of them. The wall of flashing golden scales reached its peak before splashing mightily back into the lake.

She heaved a sigh of relief, but when she faced forward she was staring down the gaping maw of a second leviathan hurtling toward her! She tried to dodge, tried to stop, but the voracious mouth was too big and too fast. In the blink of an eye she landed on the creature’s serrated tongue and its mouth slammed shut behind her. Anu flailed helplessly, trying to fly, trying to gain her footing and somehow fight back inside the fish’s mouth. But the instant it dove back down in the lake the cavernous mouth filled with water, sweeping her off her feet. She caught hold of the hard, inner ridge of the leviathan’s jaw and held on tight. Before she could react, the monster’s jaw violently popped up and down. The force was so powerful her grip was jarred loose. She scrambled to regain her grip, but the beast’s muscular throat hatch opened, and she was sucked down its dark, hungry gullet.