Anden: Life Beyond Earth

By Vincent Lee

James Coleman wanted a simple life. Money, women and booze. Former crewman of the military, a job onboard the colony ship Pytheas fits right in his alley. Ship people from a dying Earth to a terraformed planet named Anden ready for colonization. Couldn’t get any simpler than that, he had imagined.

Reality had different ideas when the Pytheas is sabotaged and crash lands onto the planet. Stranded with little food and water, he is forced to find a way to survive and call home for rescue lest he be stuck forever. More dangerous since Anden turned out to be far more hostile than first imagined.

His helping hand, a computer artificial intelligence, technology and mankind’s industrial might of the 31st century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jan 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543762877

Vincent Lee

Vincent Lee is a mechatronics engineer whom writes about science fiction and fantasy. He does writing for a living in engineering technicalities and nuances in Malaysia. Besides exploring science, he enjoys gaming, studying politics and people watching.

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Copyright © 2021 by Vincent Lee.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

For my dear family that brought me up right

For my friends that supported me along the way

Last but not least, for you readers for taking the

time and effort to explore this story

CONTENTS

Chapter 1     Landfall

Chapter 2     Survive

Chapter 3     Manufactorium

Chapter 4     Defense

Chapter 5     Expansion

Chapter 6     Problems

Chapter 7     Discovery

Chapter 8     Survivor

Chapter 9     Food

Chapter 10   Cold Fury

Chapter 11   A New Year

Chapter 12   Swarm

Chapter 13   Mind Matter

Chapter 14   Autopolis’s Requiem

Chapter 15   Starfall

About The Author

About The Book

CHAPTER ONE

LANDFALL

W hen I thought things couldn’t get worse, life always has a way to defy common sense and screw things up. What actually happened? Aliens invading Earth? An intergalactic war? Someone stole my donuts? Well, let me tell you this story but before we get to it, let’s back up the time line a little.

It began with me aboard the ship called the Pytheas. I wasn’t anyone important or special. Just a regular tech guy. Maybe I might be a bit special; charming ladies left and right with my ripped body and awesome looks. I mean, what’s not to give for the dark hair and blue eyes? Chicks dig them.

Now, where was I? Ah the fateful day where everything turned to hell.

June 21st 3071. Ten o clock, EST. That’s Earth Standard Time for the guys stuck on the ground. Although everything that led up to it happened two days beforehand. It started just after I finished my shift of the day. Taking care of the ship was a daily annoyance. Monotonous feisty machine of sorts I tell you. Things tended to break for no good reason. The only upside was that wasn’t my problem for the night.

Customary blue jacket in hand, I was heading straight out for a good meal and movie when I heard. Coleman! I turned around to see the ship’s Chief Engineer. Davidov, Russian guy, bulky tough one. Not worth getting in trouble with him. Always catching me at the worst time ever for some god forsaken reason.

I answered, leaning an arm against the metal wall. Yes Chief?

Have you heard about the bombing? Russian accent still going strong. Thought he would lose it by the six months we’ve been aboard. Soft spoken though, standing right before me. Chill most of the time. Except when someone screws up. Then it’s all hell breaks loose.

What happened?

Davidov raised a fist at eye level before clamping it shut. Squeezing some imaginary orange with all the juice as some blood offering, probably. "Some svolochis rigged a bomb on our sister ship, Saint Maria two months ago. She survived but it cannot fly to Anden."

A bomb? On the ship that is to be part of humanity’s saving grace? Rather messed up right there. Swell, that’s some shitty news to hear. Who’re the wisecracks that did it? I said.

Those words became my biggest regret. For they condemned me into opening a can of worms; a very big one. Davidov eased up the fist of doom before sighing. Nothing conclusive but the Salvators make good suspects.

An involuntary groan from my lips. Oh great, those nut cracks who always preached about salvation of Earth. Not that they’re doing anything useful at the moment. I have to give them credit for tripling their size over the past few years. Desperate people made easy converts.

Davidov’s eyes were glinting. The ones you knew when you were the target. Anyway I have something in mind. Heard you had some military background and wanted your help.

Oh this was going to suck. Yeah, I was. Just a navy tech, nothing special.

Davidov nodded before patting me on the shoulder. A pat suitable for bears. Better than nothing. I plan to run a few inspections on the ship. Tighten security around and make sure things are okay.

Great, more useless work to do. We haven’t had anything for the six months on this trip. There’s no reason for anyone to risk their lives in bombing this ship. We’re light years away from any civilisation and bringing them to a brand new world for goodness sakes. It won’t be paradise but it would hell be a lot better than Earth right now.

Yeah, what I was saying right then was true. For Earth, oh Earth. Short summary, everything about our home world is a cesspool. Every single problem that you don’t want to have is in the blender. Lethal pollutions, check. Food shortage, check. Environmental instability, check. Political tensions on cloud nine? Check. You name it, you got it. Besides, if they wanted to bomb us like the Saint Maria, they’d do so once we just left Earth. One more thing since we’re at it. Why are you the one doing it instead of our actual security team?

Of all things, Davidov shrugged. "Remy’s indisposed as of now. Thought it’s better for us to take the initiative. Better safe than sorry, Da. When he meant indisposed, it meant totally wasted from alcohol. Damn Remy, Damn Davidov, Damn it all. Well, at least I tried. Bear man gave me another pat that shook my bones. I’ll treat you to some vodka if you lend us a hand."

Ah, Catch 22. Choosing between having dinner with the hot chick down at Logistics and a chat with the Russian badass who could probably throw you out of the ship with one hand. One makes you a winner, the other a spaced corpse wondering what the hell he did wrong. It took a lot to keep my swearing snug and tight. The long run option was definitely better. Alright, let’s talk it out at the cafeteria. No reason to starve while thinking this out.

Good, I’ll get the drinks. I’ll meet you there. Davidov turned and left Engineering. I took a detour down to Logistics in the next block. Our bunks were further from the cafeteria, I’d make good time for a quick one and back.

The trip was quick but it was short enough to fuss about the bad news and the ship. News with those Salvators are overrated. Nut jobs, sure but terrorists? Haven’t heard that one before. Maybe someone aboard Maria messed up and tried to cover it up to avoid losing face. Heads will roll but not that I care. All that matters getting this ship to its destination and back in one working piece.

The Pytheas, one of four colony ships entrusted in this so called Avalon program. Older than Maria by nine months. Half kilometre long, she could fit three thousand passengers, four hundred crew and send them off in a comfortable trip for a few years. Felt more like a cruise ship than the exploration they were going about. The engineers gave it the same look too.

There were some subtle differences though. Ship’s stern was larger, wider to fit the large thrusters. Four in total in two separate zones in case a pair failed. Nobody would be coming to rescue us. A cargo bay to fit everything all you could wish for and back while we’re at it. Where I’m heading to at the moment.

The blue lit corridor turned into bright whites of public space as I left Engineering. People of all ages and sizes scooted about their business in this area. A lot of noticeably rich or the wise guys. You could tell the difference by their pompous or far too casual nature. Well, this ship speaks everything about being comfortable and fancy. There’s even a swimming pool for goodness sakes. No way on Earth you would find a ship with grand facilities like these. For us crewman though, we don’t get to use good stuff often but it’s definitelya hell lot better than the old days.

Robots rolled silently along the floors, handling requests of passengers or crew. It cut the need for service crew members but were literally pain in the neck from looking down at them. White returned to blue as I dived deeper towards the rear of the ship. For someone planning to destroy everything, is someone really messed up in the head.

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Pytheas Logistics Cargo Bay Facility can be summed into one word. Chaos. Shrill motors hurt my ears when I pushed open the metallic doors. Inside the largest space at the rear of the ship was being scrambled about with autonomous machinery. Self-driven forklifts dug into storage racks squeezed into every available space. Each unloaded a pallet crate carrying dozens of plastic containers the size of handheld briefcases. A smaller drone took over, sorting through the stack for whatever it was looking for.

My target was the administration office on the right of the cargo bay entrance. Cold air grazed my neck as I weaved my way through and hurried into a square block filled with cubicles. Small and cosy place, enough for a dozen. Most of the seats were empty, especially that geezer’s. Good, very good. I walked towards the back and made my appearance by leaning against the door of the manager’s office. Hellooooo Monica.

Young, petite, brown hair and green eyes with those cute cheeks. Just my kind of woman. She looked up from her desk and smiled. Hey, what brings you around? That regulator faulty again?

I stepped in with a shrug. Nope, just wanted to chat with miss gorgeous. That’s all. Her office could use a change from the utilitarian towards something more fitting, fancier maybe. Simple desk, workstation, few chairs and a really big window to see things going down outside makes it look rather dull.

Monica shook her head as she turned her attention to the monitor.I’m flattered but I’m busy for the moment. Maybe another time.

It’s cool. I pointed out the window. It’s hell a lot of busy out there.

Monica commented, eyes still on screen. We’ve been conducting inspections on our cargo hold since we got the news about the Maria.

Damn, news spread fast. I raised an eyebrow. You’d think that they would try something here?

She rubbed the back of her arm. Davidov’s idea actually. Damn the Russian.

He asked me about it as well. We’ll form a plan to check the rest of the ship. I dropped onto the empty chair, catching a glance on a robot using a hook to latch one of the cases onto its back before squealing along the shiny white floor towards Decompression. Within the second largest room in the bay, the little case would be restored to its original form. Think all this effort worth it? The MSATCS does eat a good chunk of juice, doesn’t it?

She gazed outside. I hope so. Better to be careful than reckless isn’t it? Aw, you had to break my heart babe. At least before Davidov breaks it for real.

I checked my watch. That Russian should be heading for the cafeteria by now. My feet protested from being forced to move. Sure, maybe we can catch dinner later after all this settles down.

Monica raised her head with a smile.That’d be great, James. How about tomorrow? Perfect…

Tomorrow’s good. Gotta go. As brief as the pleasant chat with Monica was, it was time to leave.

I decided to walk through the public corridors instead of staff only routes. Faster, easier. That did leave me to be moving through groups of passengers, all nonchalant and enjoying their trip. If only they knew.

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The evening and day after had been a drag. Davidov arranged some of the guys to pitch in extra shift work. Vodka had been the reward but I’d say the stick was the more tempting reason. Despite the chance for nice booze, it was more tempting to stay in line and not be pressed into the job the hard way. Samy made a good example with his antics on day one. Although I couldn’t figure out how the man still managed to scrounge over a dozen packs of the good stuff for the job.

Our short discussion led us to an agreement. We would scour across the ship, section by section. Searching passengers was a no-no but we had some tools to sniff out the rooms out without breaching privacy.

I am no bomb expert but by far I carried the most experience in knowing what’s dangerous. Whatever extra research needed was backed up by one of the science crew in the bridge whom Davidov managed to recruit to our gig. That man had pulled a few strings to work something of this scale. Probably convinced the Captain in the midst of it to get such support.

Since that night, a few of us were divided into pairs and start to comb the ship starting from the rear. It wouldn’t look anything special, just using our standard maintenance scanners. Normally it would be searching for more mundane stuff like grease, oil and other bad gunk. Now they searched for chemicals and residues deemed possible risk of explosives. Which also consisted of a lot of actual stuff we already used, so it’s kind of a moot retrospect to get so many false alarms and sorting through.

By morning, the security team had been drafted into the plan. Chief of security, Remy Tolbert was probably distasteful about the thought but that wasn’t my problem. He’d have to bring up his beef with Davidov. While we worked on scanning cargo, they would deal with the passengers and covering the more dangerous parts of the ship. At least those lazy guys got the tougher job of dealing with angry passengers from being fussed around.

All that secretive hype going around and we got zilch. Nothing happened as the next day ended. Beyond the fact of being taken off the shift for this role, all of it just led to a lot of walking, waving the handheld tool, get nothing concrete and moving on. A long boring day of wasted time.

Dinner on the other hand was spectacular. The Galleria was one of the more refined restaurants in the food wing. Near the ship’s bow, violin in the background with a digital display showing the outsides of space made it an excellent spot for our little dine.

Monica chose to wore one of those cute dresses. Long to her knees, green fitting and totally matching with her eyes. Sweet sugar. Putting my posh self with a nice shirt and jacket to top it off, we kicked off that night on a good note.

We clinked glasses of wine in a small toast before enjoying steak and an assortment of deserts. Sure tastes better with good company.

Glad that your search gave the all clear? I asked.

Monica shrugged with a small smile. Pretty much. How’s your search going?

Chief’s been ragging us hard on this one. Pretty zealous in finding something that isn’t there. Eight people covering half of the ship in a day was good progress come to think of it. Even now in this great time of a meal, another eight unfortunate sobs were going at it; Searching every nook and cranny, cursing and swearing just as much as the ones before. How the Engineering team never forgets screwing everyone together.

She hummed. I wouldn’t know about that. Strange things have happened before many times.

That was centuries ago. We’re supposed to be logical and moral beings. Humanity existed for more than two hundred centuries. Wouldn’t we have grown far from barbarism by now?

Her response was to tilt the glass at my direction. Tell that to Earth, Salvators and the Santa Maria.

Fair point right there. I leaned back and conceded. Humanity despite all the intellectual and sophistry remained in its deepest core, a rather crazy bunch. Well, enough of dark thoughts. Spoils the mood and all. How about this, the stars look rather beautiful today.

Yeah. She gave a tired sigh, resting her elbows on the table. Staring at the displays of glowing little freckles on the black canvas mat of the universe. Yeah, looking at the stars is better than thinking of home.

A swig of wine eased my shoulders whilst continuing to move towards greener pastures. I’ve been meaning to ask. With your credentials, you could have had a nice job back on Earth. Leaning forward. Why did you choose to come here?

She turned back towards me. You first. What brought you here?

Pay is good. Barely any expenses. Food’s tasty. What’s not to like? Yours?

I like adventure. Her eyes were gleaming jewels. Being cooped up in the office on Earth suffocates me. Out here, the possibilities are endless.

You’re still going to be cooped in an office over there though.

Monica turned her lips into a playful pout. Small loss compared to the potential. Living within nature. The real thing that we humans survived in before everything became megapolises and slums. Standing in the open plains, not bothered by the smoke, noise or claustrophobia. Freedom. Different things. We’re so close to Anden. I don’t even know if I can sleep tonight. Anden, yeah our point of destination is just a day’s away. Why don’t you stay? For the new frontier.

I shook my head. Nah, while it sounds good but not interested. How about you stick along with me? There’s still plenty of exciting places on Earth. The tropics apparently were still holding out the excessive development.

Not even for a chance to live a better life in a new exciting place?

Fancy but no thanks. Earth may be a mess but its home. Nothing is going to change that. All I could ask for is a place to sleep and food on the table.

Earth won’t last for very long. Things have been getting worse as of late.

Maybe but definitely longer than my life will be.

Monica’s shoulders sagged. To each their own James. I won’t try to convince you anymore. I wish for the best for all of us. She reached for her glass as do I. Taste of sour wine filled my lips.

To each their own.

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Most of the ship had been scoured by the afternoon. Nothing and hopefully good riddance. Fortunate since the imminent arrival to Anden needed most of us to prepare for the unloading and power transfer from the ship’s batteries to the ones meant for the planet. That meant double checking the cargo shuttles, maintenance inspections prior to entering the planet’s gravity well. Lots of grueling unappreciated work.

At this distance, the planet was a marble, visible only on the largest zoom on the computer displays. Surrounding said marble was a thin wide ring of brown like scattered dust. Beside the planet was an orange ball of the sun. Automated cargo lifts moved the containers of cargo into the transport shuttles. Like a space bus, built to fit thirty. That ate the remaining few hours before we reached the planet’s orbit.

I knew we’ve arrived when the public address system blared an announcement.To our dear passengers, this is your captain Anthony Revans speaking. That caught people’s attention. Firstly, I hope that you were comfortable and enjoyed your time during these past six months since our departure from Earth. If you would look towards the visual displays, I would like to welcome all of you to the planet Anden Jord. My eyes turned towards one of the available screens following his announcement.

At first glance, I’d imagine looking at old Earth. Brown lands mixed with long stretches of green. White clouds added with a touch of red. Oceans, smaller than Earth’s but oceans nonetheless.

Anden Jord, raw and naked in form. I have to admit; the planet does look rather nice. Makes sense why some would like to find a life here. I stayed strong on my conviction though. Settle these people in their new happy place and then it would be another six months heading home in peace and quiet with the occasional annoyance of the twitchy equipment. After the impromptu announcement, it was back to business.

Or rather it was supposed to.

Coleman. Davidov’s voice on the radio. Get on channel three. A word with you.

I grabbed the radio hanging on my belt and flicked the switch. What’s up?

Someone picked up a reading in Engineering. The one’s we’re talking about.

Come on, you can’t be serious. There’s always chemicals there that’ll fudge the sensors. Still, I felt cold churning in my gut.

Sure but he made sure to check on that like you said.

How sure is he?

One hundred percent.

The cold grew stronger. Nobody except us and security can get inside.

Da, its worse than I thought. An inside job. Shit. Security and I are on our way. We need you. Meet us there.

And so our wild goose chase began. I dropped everything and hurried towards Engineering. Now is the worst time to be on the other side of the ship.

Sprinting across the main deck. Darting between crowds of people carrying their luggage, getting their rude glances and mutters. Whoever this guy messing with us is going to get a big fist in the face. Couple dozen times to begin with.

Shudder. Minor but it crushed my foreboding anxiety. Choking dread squeezed my throat tight. Mid strides, I reached for the radio and listened in.

Davidov called out on the engineering channel. Engineering, what’s going on?

The painful background static made it hard to discern who replied on the line. Fuel cell detonated. Engine one and two are on fire! Danger had become reality. Situation had just gone from bad to shit to utter catastrophe. I entered one of the staff only hallways and found the nearest system terminal.

Davidov questioned. Can you contain it?

No good! Suppression systems are down. Handheld extinguishers aren’t cutting it. Fire’s spreading and fast! I accessed the engineering systems with my access ID. What came next was sucked all the air out of my chest.

Pytheas fuel bays for engine one and two were on fire, blazing red temperatures across the area and climbing. Okay, its beyond catastrophic. Complete FUBAR.

Do your best until I get there! Davidov huffed before disconnecting. I opened up the video cameras inside Engineering. What I found was bright red. Flames everywhere and eating into anything it could grab its hands.

A few of our guys battled with fire extinguishers but against such an inferno, it’s not even a close fight. The fire being so close to the engines in the next compartment, it would be minutes before things get worse.

Bulkheads sealed shut in an attempt to choke the fire to submission. That isn’t going to work. Only standing chance they had to do that would be to cut off the fuel source from the fusion engines.

The floor shook, throwing people lopsided and off balance. The camera feed vanished to static. Reaching for the ship’s systems, the truth stabbed hard. Both engines are gone in an explosive collapse.

And the fire continued to spread along the other conduits to the next set of engines. Minutes before the same repeat and the entire ship would be good as dead. The pipeline was supposed to be sealed but it was failing to contain the fire.

Whoever screwed us over had been thorough. I reached to Davidov. Chief, they messed us real bad. The fire’s moving down the fuel conduit to engine three and four. We have to evacuate the ship.

No, we can still save it. Seal the lines and bulkhead the other sections.

Fire’s already broke through the seals. Too late for that.

Activate the fire suppression in the other rooms. Setup a front. Shut fuel feed to the engines. Hit the fire from two fronts!

Those rooms are lost. Systems going wacko all around. All causes pointing towards the saboteur. God damn him.

Pause before Davidov answered. "Svolochis. I’ll call for evacuation."

My task here was done. It was time to get out of the ship. I called for Monica’s cell. Nothing. I tried again but no answer. Logistics wasn’t that far off from Engineering. Probably making a getaway by now. The PA came online with the captain’s announcement. All passengers, please report to the escape pods. This is an emergency. Do not take your belongings and follow the orders of the crew in a calm manner. Hope everyone’s going to be alright.

As I turned for the shuttle bays, another rumble. Louder, eating into my bones. Shit. No time to save everyone. Following the explosion was met with screams. Queues of people broke into a chaotic stampede.

I dived into the crewman only areas for one of the crew dedicated escape pods. A third rumble, nearly enough to topple me over. Thank god the ship’s engines are divided into two with separate zones. Otherwise, we’d blow up like a overripe fruit right off the bat.

There, by the wall, one of the escape pods. Green lit and available. Slamming the button propped open the hatch. Other crew, particularly from the kitchen came over as I raced for the cockpit seat. Damn. Tight, tight, tight.

Our escape pod for sixteen was full in seconds. I hit the switch to seal the pod. Confusion was everywhere over the radio. There’s not enough escape pods for everyone. Pytheas was designed only for a thousand at max, not three. Without further ado, I hit the release button.

Metal clicked before explosive bolts ignited, sending the pod free. To all aboard, this is Captain Anthony Revans. We will begin emergency landing procedures on the planet. Those who cannot get entry to the escape pods, please return to your rooms and brace for impact.

Look at that! A crewman yelled. People moved to see through the round glass windows around the port side of the pod. I looked over my shoulder to see despair.

Our escape pod had cleared enough distance from the Pytheas. The ship’s tail was red hot, arcing along its back. Entire chunks had been ripped free from the back, its flame vanishing from oxygen deprivation. The ship listed along its starboard side, starting a dive towards the planet. Another explosion burst from one of the engines.

People were starting to freak out as I turned away from the spectacle, focusing on putting us somewhere on the planet. Preferably land. Worked the controls for a few minutes and got the pod pointed towards the largest continent and hoped that the pod wasn’t sabotaged. Thankfully the controls weren’t difficult.

Getting the pod oriented managed to calm down the freakiest of them. One of them ranting about how they’ve lost everything. No shit, we’re not out of the woods yet. Thank goodness another crewman managed to corral the rest into their brace seats. A word of thanks before I settled into my own and locked in.

Re-entry began, red waves burning along the outer skin. The camera display washed ablaze with blood fires. I felt my body crushed against the seat. Such G-force. The choking pressure in my chest was difficult to bear. And I have to endure this for twenty minutes?

Parachutes unfolded, trying to slow down our flying bullet. One of them snapped, leaving it off balance. Its when I knew that we’re screwed.

Vertigo filled my head as the pod began to spin out of control. Blood rushed my head, filling the world with red. Then, everything went black.

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Pain woke me up from dreamland. Headache the size of a sledgehammer throbbed deep in my skull. Blunt, direct and packed a punch. My eyes saw orange before tension on my shoulders nagged. Dangling upside down, hanging on by straps that knows how to be a pain in the chest.

Semblance of reality returned as I flexed my hands and feet. They wiggled, thank god for that. I pressed my hand gently onto my head. It stung but it proved myself correct, a dried cut along the forehead. My back ached like hell but on a whole, looked like there weren’t any critical injuries. Glad, I glanced around the escape pod to find out what happened.

Clear orange soil and blue sky in sight. Smell of heat filled my nostrils. The escape pod had snapped into two. The other survivors were dead. Broken necks at twisted angles or ripped bodies were enough clues. I had been lucky, being at the front within the pod, the least affected from the crash.

I reached to undo my straps when something moved. Or rather it splattered against soil. A human body, bloodied and chunks eaten off its arms. Oh shit. Its killer came to view. A creature, brown in its reptile scales. Claws the size of my hand with the head of a salamander. Bloodied sharp teeth chew along the man’s arm, ripping flesh and bone with intelligent deft pulls.

Shit. I need a weapon. Damn. Where? Emergency pack. There, in the locked shelf of plastic, on the opposite side of the pod. Despite my best stretching towards it, my fingers brushed against the shelf.

I raised my legs, unbuckled my straps and dropped to the floor. Damn that hurt. My drop unfortunately wasn’t unnoticed. The beast’s eyes turn to meet mine. Blue meets red. Shit, shit, shit. I leaned forward to the kit and hit the latch. The door opened and I saw a medkit and rations inside. No gun. Fuck. I turned over my shoulder to see the outside. The creature approached the pod, its forked tongues tasting my fear. It really wanted fresh meat.

My eyes darted around the place. A rod, a piece of metal, anything! The native crawled forward eager. I definitely didn’t want to be its lunch but those jaws are going to be a problem! Gun in a hanging holster. God bless you!

Reached forward, flicked the button and yanked the gun free. The alien pushed bodies aside as I chambered a round. Its mouth reached for my hands. Eat this!

Three shots to the face shredded it. It collapsed, half its face torn off by the bullets. Red blood spurted from its face down to the walls. I pulled back to the other side and waited. My ears rang from the shooting. Too damn loud in such enclosed space. Half a minute, nothing. Convinced that its dead for good, I stepped over it. Gun aimed at its head just in case.

Given a chance to study it, it’s darn similar to a salamander, a big one. At least the body looked that way. I think they had one of those back on Earth down in the east. Komodo dragons were smaller than this guy if my memory of them in the zoo were right. I stepped outside to get a better view of my surroundings. Man was I surprised.

Tall reeds of grass reaching up to my knees. Wavy green and easily bent from the touch. A good portion of