Chapter 2
Strange Planet
Jimmy gathered a few tools and rope he thought they might need in the search for their father. He stored them on his backpack. He stashed some food and water on Amy’s backpack and headed out deep into the strange new world. A.R. followed after.
A.R. recorded the distance and area they covered. Tirelessly, the robot also scanned the plants and kept saying “Species: Un-known” after each one.
“A.R. Stop scanning, please!” Jimmy insisted.
“Command acknowledged.” A.R. ceased the scanning process.
All the plants, trees and grass were unfamiliar and unusual. There were shrubs of mushroom-like plants the size of houses. Trees rooted by three or four trunks and showered with purplish leaves.
As the children passed through this alien valley, a plant with three long purplish colored leaves seemed to move. They were startled. When Jimmy walked closer to see what it was, a lizard-like animal the size of a house cat, jumped onto his helmet. The creature was maroon in color and the three leaves were its tail. Along its belly and chest, it had a bright blue colored stripe.
“Aahhh…” Jimmy cried as he stretched his arms out. “Ok. Nobody move. A.R! Scan it and tell me what it is!” He slowly shifted towards A.R carefully trying not to spook the animal.
“Scanning… Species: Un-known.” A.R. acknowledged.
“Stop saying that! I know!” Jimmy snapped.
“Command not registered. If you know the name and classification of the species, please input into A.R.’s memory drive.”
“No, I don’t know the name of… I mean…” Jimmy grunted, grabbed the animal from his helmet impulsively, and shook it in front of A.R. “I want to know if it’s dangerous. Is it… going to EAT ME?”
“This specimen has a hollow beak.” A.R. observed. “IT-is ideally designed to chew plants, vegetables and fruit. Its eyes are above its head for a full 360-degree view of its surroundings, which comes in handy when looking out for predators. Its tail is specifically used to blend with the environment, most likely to hide from predators. IN other words, IT-is virtually harmless. “
“Thank you!” Jimmy sighed. “What about this blue coloring on its belly? What’s it for?”
“Bright coloring on animals is most likely a display for mating courtships, camouflage…” A.R. explained.
“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.” Said Jimmy relieved.
“…Or IT-is poisonous…” A.R. described.
“Aaahh.” Jimmy quivered and released the animal. The little creature sped through the ground and leaped into Amy’s helmet.
“Aw… I think it’s cute.” Amy giggled as she grabbed the small animal with both hands. “Can we keep him, pleeease?”
“Whatever…” Jimmy mumbled. “Let’s just keep going. We got to find dad.”
“Yay…” Amy rejoiced. “I’ll call you—Noodles.”
With Noodles in her arms, Amy, along with Jimmy and A.R., continued their journey northeast, looking for any trace that would lead them to find their father. It was not long until they had to sit down and rest. The sky was getting cloudy and grey as if a storm was coming.
“Man…” Jimmy noticed the meter on Amy’s oxygen tank, resting on her lower back. “Our oxygen level is running low. It’s almost half-way.” He looked behind him and said, “We may have to turn back.”
“But, what about dad?” Amy worried, “We haven’t found him yet.”
“I know…” Jimmy sighed. But it was not a moment after that he remembered something he brought. “Wait, I got something that might refill our oxygen tank.” Jimmy reached into his bag and grabbed a box-like gadget.
“What is it?” Amy wondered.
“It’s a tool that can take oxygen from the elements like soil and water.” Jimmy replied and turned to A.R. “A.R! Scan the area for signs of oxygen.”
“Scanning…” A.R. reported, “The air of this planet is 42% oxygen, 53% nitrogen, 3% carbon dioxide, 1% argon, and 1% of other gasses. It is sufficiently capable of sustaining human-life.”
“Wait… You mean we can breathe the air?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes. That is correct.” A.R. reassured.
“Well, so much for cool gadgets…” Jimmy stashed the oxygen-extracting item back in his backpack. “Ok. I’ll try it first.” Jimmy held his breath then pressed a button on the multi-function device of his suit. The glass faceguard retracted into his helmet. He exhaled deeply and inhaled through his nose.
“Wow. The air is so clean here…” Jimmy claimed. “And my face tickles.”
“That is due to the atmospheric pressure…” A.R. informed. “You will most likely not encounter any serious problems.”
Suddenly, a bellowing ROAR echoed through the valley.
“Ok. You may have a serious problem.” A.R. warned.
Noodles was scared and struggled to break loose from Amy’s grip. When she let go, Noodles dashed to a nearby shrub and stretched its tail outwards, to apparently hide from the roaring monster.
“What was that?” Jimmy and Amy looked around but nothing was within sight, until they heard the nearby trees and bushes twist and break. “Um, Amy, I think it’s time to run.”
Jimmy grabbed Amy’s hand and started running away from the sound. “What about A.R.?” Amy cried.
“He’ll be fine. Come on!” Jimmy urged, when a dinosaur-like beast emerged from under a four-trunk tree. It was long and elastic and dark colored. It had two giant fangs on its bottom jaw and two smaller ones in its upper jaw.
The creature had just awakened and saw an opportunity for a quick meal. It released a hissing bellow and chased after the children. Jimmy and Amy ran as fast as they could, moving faster than they would if they were on Earth. The large beast was quick but had trouble slipping through the dense forest.
Noodles also raced through the valley trying to get away. He passed by the children at lightning speed and dove into a hole on the ground. Jimmy threw Amy into that hole and then jumped in after, desperate to escape the predator.
They rolled deep inside the burrow. It was dark but at least the predator could not follow.
“Amy, are you ok?” Jimmy feared.
“Yeah, I can’t see you.” Amy uttered. “Where are you?”
“Turn on your night lights.” Jimmy suggested and both felt their way to a button on their right wrist. Their astronaut suits lit up like Christmas lights – Jimmy’s suit glowed orange and Amy’s shined in purple.
“What do we do now?” Amy wondered while looking around.
“I don’t know.” Jimmy stated. “We can’t go back outside. That Mean-o-Saur or whatever it is… it’s still out there.” The monster was huffing and puffing into the way out of the burrow, trying to get in.
“There you are!” Amy rejoiced when she saw Noodles. He spun and rolled on the ground before he crawled deep into the burrow. “Let’s follow him.”
“Amy, wait!” Jimmy cried when he saw Amy chase after Noodles.
“Come on! I think he knows a way out.” Amy urged.
Jimmy brought his faceguard back down until it was air-tightly sealed again. It was to make sure they did not inhale any dangerous gasses buried within the earth.
The children followed Noodles through a network of tunnels—having no idea where they were going. Eventually, they arrived at a small room showered with glowing green crystals.
“Whoa!” Jimmy and Amy were amazed. The crystals varied in sizes. “I’m going to take one and show it to dad when we find him.”
Jimmy grabbed one of the small glowing crystals and stashed it in his backpack.
Noodles cuddled up near the crystals. But while he found the room temperature down there quite fitting, it was a bit too warm for the children. Thankfully, their astronaut suits were fully capable of keeping them cool, but only for a limited time. They had to find a way out of there.
“Come on, Amy. We can’t stay here for long.” Jimmy called and began to crawl away.
“Let’s
go, Noodles…” Amy tried to grab Noodles, but he scampered away from her. “Noodles wait!” She cried and chased after him.
“Amy, let him go…” Jimmy reluctantly shouted.
Noodles took a few sharp turns through the tunnels, until there was light shining through one of them. They had found a way out.
“See, I told you so.” Amy bragged to Jimmy.
Out of the burrow, they gazed at what seem to be an endless sea of plants they have never seen before and a massive volcano in the distance, all shrouded in fog and the rumbling sound of thunder.