Paul kneels down again and slowly moves out of the control room. He makes sure he still has all his belongings with him, before leaving the control room itself. Then he heads down towards the entrance. As he approaches the door, the thought crosses his mind, that there may be a guard on duty, the other side of the door. Paul just wishes he had something, anything, that he could use as a weapon to defend himself, but there is nothing now, laying around in the craft, that he can use. If only he hadn't locked himself out of the suit cupboard.
'Here goes.' Paul thinks to himself, bracing himself in readiness for whatever lies beyond this door. Paul triggers the bump and the door immediately opens and to Paul's horror, there is an alien standing the other side.
Before the alien has a chance to respond, Paul throws himself at the alien, taking it completely by surprise. It was about to raise something that looks like a weapon of some sort, but Paul's action has knocked it off balance, it falls backwards, letting go of the weapon. Paul seizes the opportunity and grabs the weapon. Whilst there isn't the slightest hope that he can figure out how it works, he can at least use it in a most primitive sense. Paul swings the weapon upwards and brings it crashing down towards the alien's head. The alien's eyes show its horror at what is happening, it has recovered from falling backwards and raises its arms to stop Paul, but it is just too late. The weapon comes down hard in the centre of the alien's head. It struggles to gain control of the weapon, but Paul has already raised it again and is bringing it down. The alien's hands have grasped Paul's arms and it is trying to divert the swing of the weapon as it comes crashing down again, to strike the same area of the alien's head. The alien slumps to the floor.
Paul has the chance now, to think over the encounter. He hopes the alien isn't dead, just knocked out. Paul would hate it if he had just killed another being, although it was a case of he had to do it in order to escape. Its one thing blasting people and things up in a game and another doing it for real. Paul bends down to check the alien, but remembers, he has no idea about the way these aliens bodies work, so he cannot really check if the alien is OK or not. He must get away from here and quickly. He stands up and climbs up the ladder, to the already open hatchway. The heat hits him, like he had just stepped into the path of a full on hair drier. He also can't believe how light it is, the sunlight is unbearable at first. Paul pops his head up and cautiously looks around for more guards. In the fractions of a second and rapid head movements, Paul assures himself that there are no more guards. He quickly emerges and finds the exterior ladder and is down it quickly. When he had done the quick scan of his surroundings, he could see that the whole area was surrounded by structures, without the least sign of a break in them apart from several entrances. There was however, a pond to the right of him. Paul has already decided that he must investigate this. He realises that he still has the weapon in his hand. As he runs to the pond, he quickly examines the weapon, he notices the same brown stains that he had seen in the craft on his first visit. That was obviously the alien's equivalent of blood. Paul disgustedly wipes it off the weapon, and the realises that this really didn't achieve anything as it was now on his hand and clothes. The weapon is basically a metal tube, with some handles down the side and some familiar trigger bumps also on the side. Paul decides he just does not have the time to experiment in order to find out how this thing works, he'll just take it with him and if necessary use it as a primitive weapon.
Paul is now three quarters of the way to the pond, he looks about himself and is immediately aware that there are what look like hundreds of aliens looking at him through their equivalent of windows. As yet none appear to have come out the exits. Paul thinking about that poor alien slumped on the floor of the craft, points back towards the craft as he continues to run towards the pond. He mimes the fact that the alien has been knocked out as he goes, in the hope that the aliens will send someone to the aid of the guard. But they just stand there amazed at this thing running away from their craft.
The pond has now been reached. Paul has quickly formulated a plan and it runs like this, the pond is probably connected with the massive water system the other side of these structures. So if Paul dives into it, he can probably find his way to some sort of freedom, by navigating his way through these waterways. He just hopes that his theory about this being water is correct and that it isn't a pool of acid or something like that. The liquid appears clear enough, although it has a slight brownish tinge to it, like the water streams that you often find traversing through woods. As Paul takes a deep breath, he detects a slight metallic odour. Well here goes, he has to test the water. He decides which finger he can afford to sacrifice and prepares to quickly dip it into the water, expecting to feel excruciating pain. He hesitates, like a non-swimmer about to dive into water. He knows he must not have much time now, before the aliens come out to get him. He hurriedly takes a look around him and confirms that there are now aliens emerging from all the visible exits and heading towards him. Some appear to be armed, but most are not. 'Its now or never.' thinks Paul to himself and he quickly dips the chosen finger into the liquid. Preparing himself for the worse.
~~~~~~
Chapter 13 Escape, But Escape To Where?
The liquid feels quite cool. Paul pulls his finger out half expecting to see it burnt, but apart from a slight brownish tinge, there is no sign of any change. Paul sniffs his finger, there's a metallic and slightly sweet smell about it. Paul looks about himself and there is now quite an army of aliens advancing rapidly towards him. He has no option but to take the plunge. He quickly pushes the weapon into his bag, takes a couple of big breaths and dives into the liquid. He plunges deeper and deeper down. Nervously he opens one eye, expecting the worst, but there are no effects. The liquid around him is quite light. Ahead but below him, Paul can see some sort of tunnel leading under the structure. It appears he was right. He just hopes with that army of aliens waiting for him above the pond, that this does not turn out to be a dead end.
Paul swims towards the tunnel and as he reaches it he pauses a moment to survey it. Sure enough it appears to head right under and through to the other side of the structure. Without further delay, Paul swims through it and out the other side. He is relieved when he emerges to the surface and can breath again.
This side of the structure has only a few curious and excited aliens peering out at Paul. Paul hopes that these aliens can't swim otherwise they will shortly be chasing after him. He surveys this side of the structure, there do not appear to be any exits facing out this way. Paul decides that he cannot hang around here, he must swim away and find some place of safety as quickly as he can, that is if there is such a place. As he faces away from the structure he can see that the shore in front of him, has no structures at all, instead it looks a bit of a wilderness, with rocks and occasional plants dotted here and there. Paul hopes the plants aren't just aliens taking a sunbathing break from their work. He decides to head towards this area of land, it is too close to the structure, so he does not plan to get out of the liquid and onto it. Something brushes past his chest. Paul glances down and sees a semi transparent eel like creature swimming around, it turns and heads back towards Paul. He decides that now is the time to resume his swimming activities in order to place the maximum distance between himself and the structure and this, this, whatever it is. It may be harmless, but Paul is taking no chances.
Despite trying not to swallow any of the liquid he is swimming in, Paul finds that he takes on-board several mouthfuls. Paul notes that it has a faint sweet taste, as if it has been laced with some sugar.
After swimming for quite a while, Paul finds that familiar dizzy feeling coming over him again. He must get to the shore before he passes out again. He can feel himself falling into that mid-state between being awake and asleep. He just has to reach the land. Paul struggles to stay awake and to keep swimming. Not much further to go and he will be there, if only he can s
tay awake. It is such a struggle to keep going. Paul starts to sink, then suddenly comes to again, and fights his way to the surface. He takes several deep breaths and sets off again for the land and this time he makes it, dragging himself out of the water. He just hopes that he is sufficiently away from the structures and the aliens.
The dizzy feeling takes Paul over again and this time he just cannot shake it off.
~~ Later ~~
Paul is surprised that when he opens his eyes, it is dark, he is relieved that the heat has died back and it is now so much cooler. Paul sits up. His ears, neck, face and hands feel quite sore. He wonders if it is an effect of the liquid he has been swimming in. Then Paul thinks that it can't be the liquid, if it was, the rest of his body would also be affected. The areas affected were only those that were not covered up. 'That's it!' thinks Paul to himself, 'Its this planet's equivalent to sunburn.' If only Paul had packed some sun cream. He laughs at the situation, here he is goodness knows how far away from the earth and he's managed to get sunburn out here in space. Paul takes some time to look up at the night sky and marvel at the fact that this night sky looks totally different to that at home, yet to glance up at it now, its just a collection of stars in a black sky. Then it strikes Paul that what is missing is the fact that there is no moon. Search as he might, Paul can find no sign of any moon. Although the next nearest neighbouring planet looks fairly large from here, but not as large as the earth's moon. Paul wonders if this neighbouring planet exerts any gravitational pull in the same way as the earth's moon does. If it did, there would be some form of tidal action with regard to the liquid. As Paul glances at the liquid, at first it just looks like a black reflecting surface, like a giant mirror, reflecting the light from the stars. As Paul looks more carefully he can see gentle ripples, that affect the reflected images.
Paul realises that his clothes are all dry now. He decides to have something to eat and drink. He wonders if the food he has been carrying in his bag, has become contaminated. Even if it has, he really has no option but to eat it, as there's nothing else. He doesn't know if any of the plant life around him is safe or poisonous to eat. Come to that he doesn't really know if the liquid he has been swimming in is safe or hazardous in some small measure. He settles down to eat the last few scraps that he has. He is glad that he has another of those energy drinks cans. Whilst he feels fine at the moment, apart from that background headache, he hopes that the drink will keep that dizzy feeling at bay again for a while.
There is no sound, no sound at all. On earth there is nearly always some sort of background sounds, be it insects, birds or mammals and come to that the sea, rivers or even streams. But here, nothing. Not even that familiar hum of a transformer. When it is night here, everything must just stop and rest.
Paul having finished his scrappy meal and drink finds that he wants to go to the toilet. But just where should he go? He at first thinks he could go into the lake, but then thinks it may actually be the plant people's water supply and he wouldn't want an alien having a wee in his local reservoir. So he decides to duck behind one of the larger plants and go there. The soil will probably be able to filter out any nasties. He sets about what comes naturally, but is most shocked when after a short period he hears a painful high pitched shriek. He wonders if he has hit a small animal, but there's nothing in sight. Then it dawns on him that it is the plant itself that is making the noise. Although Paul has stopped, the plant continues the noise, presumably still suffering from the wee that is seeping down into the soil. Then Paul remembers that wee contains an acid. He feels sorry for the plant now. He wonders if he should try to dilute the wee with some of the liquid from the lake. Paul sets about his mercy mission and retrieves the can that he has just drunk from. He dips it into the liquid, empties the liquid out again, after all he doesn't want to pollute the poor plant even further. As he dips the can in again, he feels something sliver over his hand. Whilst he can't see anything, he suspects its another of those eel like creatures that he had encountered earlier. Paul retrieves the can and quickly gets back to the offending spot where he had done the business, he tips out the can's contents. Then darts back to the pond again, dips it in again and again is quite surprised that something slivers under his hand. The plant settles down again as the second can full of liquid is emptied.
Paul feels much relieved that he has managed rescue the plant from his apparently thoughtless act. The problem that now exists is when he next wants to go, where should he do it, without causing any other plants pain and agony? For the time being however, he and the local plants are safe.
Paul decides that as it is cool now, he can take some time to explore this planet a bit more. He sets off in the direction of some rocks hoping that from such a vantage point he will be able to see just how far away he is from the nearest alien settlement and try and make some plans s to what he can do next. Thus far he has been avoiding areas where the aliens are based. At some stage he needs to find a new craft so that he can escape this planet. As he has just eaten his last meal, or at least the last food that he brought with him from earth, his brush with the alien civilisation will need to be sooner rather than latter.
The rocks seem to be further away than he at first estimated them to be, or is that because he feels so tired and is not able to move very fast? At last Paul reaches the rocky outcrop. He starts to climb up it. The effort it takes is twice that of walking on level ground. Paul has hardly gone any distance at all, when he finds he has to sit down again, to get his breath back. He breathes heavily, each breath seems to take such effort. It is almost as if he were several thousand feet up a mountain back at home. Paul cannot believe how difficult he finds it just to breath. He encourages himself to move on again and is soon struggling upwards again. It takes such effort to do this climb, back on earth he would have bounded up this simple slope. He cannot believe how wimpy he has become. OK he was never an athlete, but never this bad back home. Again he finds he has to sit down to rest and get his breath back. After a few minutes he sets off again. This process continues over and over again. Eventually he gets to a height that he has a reasonable view of the land around himself. He had thought that he was on a considerably large island and that he was a considerable distance from the structures that he had escaped from. However, he is most alarmed to see that whilst there is some distance between himself and his starting point, it is considerably closer than he would have liked. The other disappointing aspect is the fact that just around the corner is yet another structure that he would have encountered very soon. Paul hopes that this next structure is shielding another craft that he can steal in order to make his escape for once and for all from this planet. The thought of the fact that he now needs to walk down the other side of this hill, for hill it must be called as it is no mountain, the thought of walking down it, totally depresses Paul. But walk down it he must. Paul sets off trying to ensure that he doesn't go too fast and lose control. He is doing well, when the familiar dizzy feel overtakes him again. Before he knows it, he has tripped and falls. He tries to put his hands out to steady himself, when the dizzy feeling causes him to black out.
Paul wakes up again and is immediately aware of three things: He is no longer rolling down the hill; he is wedged into a small crevice of a rock; and his face and one arm are quite badly bruised.
Paul manages to prize himself out of the crevice. It is then that he gets the opportunity, without the rock face immediately in front of him, to see that he is back at ground level again. At least there is no more walking down the hill.
Paul sits up and decides to check the contents of his by now almost empty bag. Luckily the can of drink has escaped major damage, although it is quite dented, there appears to be no leakage. Paul holds it up to his ear, to make sure that there is no gas leaking. He catches sight of the description of contents and it reminds him of the other factor of photosynthesis that he had been
trying to remember earlier, it was carbon dioxide. That was it. Paul remembers the teacher writing CO2 on the board and the teacher explaining that dioxide merely meant two oxygen atoms, whereas Paul and others thought it was entirely an element in its own right.
The only other thing in the bag now is that alien weapon. Paul fishes it out and fears the worst, however it must be well made as there isn't even a scratch on it. Looking at the weapon reminds Paul that he still doesn't know how this thing works. He looks around for his torch but he cannot find it. He must have let go whilst tumbling down the hill. Paul looks around the area where he landed then scouts further afield, but still no sign of the torch. Without it, he is stuck here, it will be no good trying to steal a craft if he has no way to control it. Still no sign of the torch. Paul is starting to get panicky now. He must calm down, it will do him no good at all to lose control. But the thought of having to climb the hill again just in search of the torch is so disheartening. Thinking about things logically, he must retrace the likely path that he rolled down. He looks up the hill and identifies the place that he had started his descent from. He notes the rocky outcrops and predicts the effect each one of these would have had on the path he took down the hill to end up where he did. There's nothing for it, but to try and retrace his steps, in the hope that the torch has not rolled far off of that path.