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A wave carries off a delta of pebbles around Grace’s feet as he sits at on the shoreline, pen tapping against his front two teeth. Propped against his knee is a clipboard that’s currently playing host to notepad labeled *Ecology*. The notes are academic, through, and incredibly dry. For the past few days he’s been trying to put his typical edutainment spin on the information, but nothing seems to feel quite right.
With a sigh he lays back, the stone crunching under him. It’s hard to make relatable lessons about an ecosystem you’ve never seen first-hand. Even Eridian kids can tell when you’re trying to fake relatability. A crunching on the beach that isn’t coming from his own butt draws Grace from his thoughts.
“Grace is sleeping, question?”
Opening his eyes, he squints as the artificial sunlight glints off Rocky’s Xenonite suit.
“Nah, just thinking.” Grace says as he sits up, a handful of pebbles determined to remain attached to his cardigan.
“Doubtful.” Rocky says as he sits beside Grace, rolling a large pebble around with one hand. They sit quietly for a moment as the waves lap against the shore.
“Hey Rocky. Is hiking a thing on Erid?” Grace asks.
“Of course. There is a reason you are asking, question?”
“I was wondering if you could take me on one in the wilderness reserve.” Grace asks. Rocky rotates as if to get a better look at him.
“No.” Rocky finally says. Grace blinks in surprise.
“No?”
“Wilderness too dangerous for Grace. Grace needs tools to see. Tools break.”
“Wow. Ableist much?” Graces scoffs. Rocky leans the top of his body towards him in the Eridian equivalent of shooting him a look.
“No. Reasonable. Going into wilderness unnecessary risk.” Rocky toots out. “Reason for wanting to go in the first place, question?”
Grace picks up his clipboard.
“Well, I’m teaching Erid ecology. But I’ve never even seen an Erid ecosystem.”
Rocky waves a hand at him dismissively.
“Grace has pictures.”
Grace sighs. His home office is fully equipped with an Eridian screen, just like the one Rocky used to see his screens on the Hail Mary.
“Ok, sure, but Eridian pictures don’t really capture what something really looks like to the human eye.”
“We go to the zoo again. Zoo is very educational about ecology.”
“Sure but it’s not the same.” Grace insists.
“You found it very informative last time.”
Grace huffs, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“Ok, consider this. I’m the first human to visit Erid. I’m a biologist. And maybe I really really really want to see an alien ecosystem firsthand.”
Rocky makes some disgruntled tones.
“Ok. But Grace will be careful careful careful.”
“Please, when have I ever not been careful.”
Rocky doesn’t dignify that with an answer.
---
Given that Grace rarely has reason to leave Graceland, it’s been a long time since the human transport vehicle has seen any use. Despite the title, it’s a typical Eridian transport that has had the back portion turned into a sealed atmosphere, which is large enough for Grace to sit in comfortably.
Eridian vehicles are thin chambers set on rails. The controls are fashioned from acoustic strings, which the driver can pluck to indicate their desired direction. The vibrations travel to the front of the vehicle into the rails, allowing the switchboard that controls traffic to order them along with everyone else. Though the body of the vehicle is acoustically transparent for Eridians, it’s completely opaque to the human eye. As they pull away from the docking area of Graceland, Grace focuses on not getting car-sick.
Directly in front of Grace’s dog crate is Rocky, currently going over the seams of Grace’s pressure suit. Past him at the controls is Adrian, whose gunmetal gray carapace stands in stark contrast to the burnt amber of the xenonite interior. The sound of soft metallic chimes fills the air when he moves, coming from piercings along his arms cast in the shape of animals. Grace recognizes a few of them from his textbooks. Small centapods with highly specialized limbs, two of which resemble the wings of pterodactyls, with the limbs behind functioning like the rear legs of a grasshopper. The front leg provides stability on the ground, while serving as an aerodynamic nose during flight. Grace has come to call them hoppers. The chiming of the bells inside the piercings sounds almost the same as their songs.
“Added two headlights to suit. Control by pressing here and here.” Rocky says, pocking the sides of the headlights. Grace winces as they flash in his eyes. He chuckles.
“They work, question?”
“Yeah. They work.” Grace grumbles, blinking the afterimage away. Rocky flashes the lights at him a few more times, the chirping of his laughter sounding like a flock of birds.
“You’ll have your flashlight too. Just in case.” Rocky says.
“This is so exciting! I want to know what color all the flora are!” Adrian says, waving the arms that aren’t driving. “I’m working on a survey correlating the size of barrel trees to mineral composition! Carrying all the equipment, not fun. But Grace carries himself! Can see the colors right away! Excite excite excite!” The cabin is filled with the sound hoppersong as he waves his arms.
Barrel trees are the predominant megaflora in this region of Erid. Their shape is like a mix between a barrel sponge and a nuclear cooling tower. Their deep roots draw cooled fluid out of the soil, running it along hot fluid from the surface. The resulting energy from the evaporation serves as the basis for many ecosystems on Erid. The tubules that move the fluid around inside the base of the barrel tree is highly nutritious and serves as a staple crop for the Eridians.
“You know, Adrian, you can always take one of my cameras out to your survey sites. I’d be happy to go over the images.” Grace offers.
“OOOH! Grace is going to regret that!” Adrian says before plucking a few more strings on the controls.
---
After about an hour of driving, the vehicle slows to a stop. And none too soon, as Grace is starting to look a little green around the gills. Eager to get out and about, Grace puts on his suit. He squirms towards the door, wriggling through Rocky’s limbs as he double checks that Grace has sealed the suit correctly. And then he’s out.
The headlights cut a slice of alien brilliance through the absolute darkness of Erid. The vehicle has stopped in a small plateau that interrupts an incline covered in barrel trees. These trees, however, aren’t like the ones near Graceland. No, these organisms rise up into the sky, most disappearing into the thick fog of Erid’s atmosphere. Entranced, Grace walks up to the nearest tree, pressing his hand against it. The surface is course and pale, like bleached coral. Calcium is a pretty heat resistant material, so it makes sense that the megaflora of Erid would evolve to use it. Wrapping around the structure are darker bands, looping in swirls like a loose candy cane. The barrel trees are natural draft towers, a cylinder twisted to increase the structure’s ability to support its own weight.
Adrian strides over, the sound of his piercings blending with the hopper song overhead.
“Color of this barrel tree, question?” He asks, pulling out a tablet and stylus to take notes with. Seems Adrian plans to take advantage of this rare outing.
“Well, the main body is white. Calcium, by the looks of it.” Grace says, running his hand along the surface until it meets one of the support bands.
“The support bands have a lot of reddish color to them. Maybe iron?” Grace says, leaning in and scraping his finger along it. “Yeah. Yeah I’m pretty sure this is iron.”
Adrian notes that down, walking up to the barrel tree and pressing an instrument against it.
“Good, good, good! I take sample and compare to Grace’s observation.”
Rocky follows behind them, stepping around the creeping growths of understory flora. He flicks a bit of mud off his foot as he looks up at the barrel tree.
“How old is tree, question?” Rocky asks, approaching it and putting two of his arms around. Grace joins in, wrapping his arms around the tree and touching Rocky’s hand on the other side.
“On Earth, you can approximate tree age with hugs. For a barrel tree, three hugs is ancient.”
“Three Human hugs or three Eridian hugs, question?” Rocky chirps.
“Funny enough, it’s pretty much the same.” Grace says, craning his neck to shine his headlights up the tree trunk.
“Hmm. Interesting.” Adrian says, making a note on his tablet. Comparative biology has been a pet project of his since Grace’s arrival for obvious reasons.
The group makes their way away from the ‘parking lot’. Theirs is the only vehicle there at the moment, clipped onto an achor just off of the main line they followed here. The ground between the trees is dotted with smaller domed structures, mostly being about the size of a dinner plate. Just like the barrel trees, their shells are a white calcium color. At the top they open, letting out long yellow fronds with thin leaf like structures. Grace steps closer to get a better look, noticing the shimmer of some sort of fluid on the ‘leaves’. But as he grows near, the frond draws back into the shell with a fwip, the top closing behind it. The sudden movement makes Grace jump a little, though he’s quickly approaching again.
“These are fog ferns, right?” Grace asks, trying to approach another of the plants. That one doesn’t seem interested in letting the human get close either. “They’re everywhere!”
Adrian nods, trotting along ahead.
“Rely on the vapor from the trees. Don’t do well in urban areas.” Adrian explains.
“That is good thing. Sap gets on anything. Sticky sticky sticky.” Rocky rumbles. He grabs Grace’s hand as he is reaching for one of the shells.
“No touching. Sticky suit would get dirty.” He huffs. “Cannot look with eyes, question?”
“Ok, ok, geez!” Grace steps back, putting his hands up in surrender.
They walk deeper into the forest. The fog, ever present on Erid, becomes more opaque the deeper they go. An effect of the trees. Even with his headlights he can only see about ten feet ahead of them.
“Does the fog effect your vision?” Grace asks as they head down the slope of a ravine.
“Yes. Far away sounds are muffled. Hard to recognize something until it is close.” Rocky says, tone a bit pitched. Taking pause, Grace looks down at him.
“Rocky, are you scared of the fog?” Grace asks with a slight grin. Rocky stomps one of his feet.
“Rocky not scared! Rocky is alert!” He prods the back of Grace’s knee, causing him to chuckle as he stumbles a bit. “Grace is distracted! And loud! Like big baby walking through woods!”
“What about Adrian? His piercings are making tons of noise too.”
“Yes, but is noises of hoppers. Covers Eridian sounds.”
And here Grace thought the accessories were some sort of dainty thing Adrian was wearing for aesthetic reasons. Turns out he’s wearing Eridian camo.
Further up the trail, Adrian chirps.
“Grace! Come look!”
The two hurry up to join Adrian, who is standing over the broken remains of a fog furn. The yellow frond lays partway in the path, withered. Spongy insides of a similar hue are visible from where the shell broke open. All over the frond are long segmented creatures baring five legs on either side. Protruding from its front is a splay of squirming tendrils, working to pick the dead front apart. They vary in size, though none are longer than Grace’s hand. Grace’s eyes glitter with interest as he squats down next to Adrian. In the light of his headlamps, the creatures almost sparkle, their carapaces translucent.
“A type of long-bug?” Grace asks, recognizing the kingdom despite not knowing the species. They’re easy to identify among Eridian species, given their bilateral symmetry. Adrian nods, scooping one up and holding it out. Grace takes it, watching as it scuttles around in his hands. Adrian shares the Eridian name for the species, which roughly translates to *mountain long-bug that eats leftovers after plant is cracked open by other animals*. Names tend to be more about description than being a shorthand way to refer to something in the Eridian language. Grace will come up with a human word for it later.
Rocky gives the long-bugs a wide birth, watching the pair from a few feet back.
“Their shells are completely transparent.” Grace says, holding the long-bug up closer to his face. Adrian whistles excitedly.
“Really? Can see inside, question?” Adrian asks, already having three more long-bugs in his hands.
“Yeah! I can even see the bits of food moving through it’s digestive track.” Grace says, putting his other hand out for it to crawl onto as it attempts to leave the foodless realm of Grace’s palm. Behind them, Rocky lets out a low noise of disgust. Looking over his shoulder, Grace tilts his head.
“You ok, Rock?”
“Yes. Will not kill the joy. But will stay over here.”
Rocky sits on a boulder beside the trail as the two most important people in his life mess around with creepy crawlies. While walking through a foggy forest filled with bugs and hopper shit isn’t his idea of a good time, the look of excitement on Grace’s face makes him more than willing to tolerate it. Sure, Grace learns about life on Erid all the time, but actually getting to experience that discovery firsthand is important to him.
The song of Adrian’s explanation of everything to do with the bug vibrates through the air, sounding so sweet that he can almost ignore the subject matter. Almost. Back on the Hail Mary, during their trip home, Rocky had sometimes worried that Grace and Adrian wouldn’t get along. Seeing them now, he realizes that concern was pretty stupid. The two could have been clutchmates.
He focuses his attention on their surroundings. While he has no interest in the bugs, he can still contribute by keeping watch. The woods have always made Rocky uneasy. It’s a natural anxiety to have. Many Eridians are afraid of the fog. Or, more specifically, they are afraid of what might be lurking just out of the range of hearing, hidden in the blank illusion between where the fog muffles sound and where one can usually hear out to.
His hearing is honed in on that boarder, listening for anything big moving around. Not seeing anything, he starts to relax despite hearing Grace describing the intestines of the bugs. While there have been many times Rocky has wished to be able to see like Grace, right now he thinks it’s a perfect day to not have eyes.
A wind blows down the hillside, stirring the fog, and for a moment Rocky can see a bit further. An odd-squished shape comes into focus a little ways back they way them came, too far off the path for them to have seen it before. Rocky stands, wondering what it might be. It doesn’t seem to be moving, so it’s probably not an animal, but it doesn’t look like a plant.
“Adrian? What is pile over there, question?” He asks, hoping it’s something that will catch the biologists’ interest. Partially because he wants them to have fun, but mostly because he doesn’t want to hear about the bugs anymore.
Adrian rises, placing the bugs back on the frond to continue their nasty business, and strides a few paces up the trail to get a better look.
“Scat. From a large animal.” Adrian says, Grace joins him, rocking up onto his toes to get a better look. Rocky squirms. The woods are gross gross gross.
“That’s a pretty big poo. What kind of animal left it?” Grace asks. Adrian hums thoughtfully, taking a few steps off the trail.
“Looks like hidden follower scat. Can tell from animal carapace in it.”
Grace looks at Adrian in surprise. He saw a hidden follower at the zoo when they went. It’s a large, predatory creature that’s a member of the same kingdom as Eridians. More conical in shape, the creature was as tall as Grace. Thinking back, he remembered reading the plaque, which explained how the hidden follower had adapted it’s vocalization vents to be on one side of it’s body. On the other side are a complex array of listening organs. Using mimicry, the follower is able to make itself auditorially invisible from one side, which it uses to hunt prey without their noticing. It’s a strategy that’s as fascinating as it is terrifying.
“Are we safe?” Grace asks, looking around nervously.
“Yes, safe. Scat looks old. Hidden follower migrates much. Likely far away.” Adrian assures before patting the side of his harness. “Just in case, Adrian has airhorn. And camouflage not work on Grace. Cannot be snuck up on.”
Airhorns are functionally pepper spray on Erid. Grace hopes they won’t have to use it.
“Done looking at bugs and shit, question?” Rocky asks, his tolerance for this topic of conversation having long since packed up shop and gone home. The soft song of Adrian’s laugh is joined by the gentle tinkling of their camo piercings.
“Yes, Rocky, we can keep walking.”
The wind continues to pick up as they walk deeper into the valley. Grace is thankful, as it lifts the some of the mist and allows him a better view of the alien landscape. The tops of the tallest trees are still hidden in the fog produced by the understory around them, and they look like leaves made from clouds. He watches as a flock of hoppers jump down from a nest bored into one of the trunks, swooping over one of the shorter trees to catch the updraft.
“Grace, wait.” Rocky calls from behind, and Grace realizes that the other two had stopped.
“Something wrong?” Grace asks.
“No. Just fork in trail here. They go to different spots. We are deciding.” Adrian says, holding a thin textured tablet that Grace knows to be a map. “Go up riverbed or go up mountainside. Grace have preference, question?”
Grace holds his arms out as he turns his gaze back to his surroundings.
“I’m a biologist in an alien forest! I’ll be happy no matter where you take me!”
Looking around, he sees what must be the riverbed path, eye going wide. The carved canal, currently empty of fluid, is choked with massive boulders and fallen barrel trees. Since it seems like it will take a moment for Rocky and Adrian to make a choice, Grace decides to climb down to get a closer look at some of the vegetation growing on the rocks.
Stepping close, his breath catches for a moment. Growing over the surface of the rocks are groups of bluish gray plates radiating in concentric layers of kale-ish shaped growths. He runs a hand over it. It looks exactly like shield lichen.
An unexpected pang of homesickness hits him. He remembers going on a hike not much different from this one. It was during his undergrad, and their ecology class was doing a survey on lichens. Most of his classmates weren’t thrilled with the subject matter, but he thought the organisms were beautiful. Their biology is fascinating too. Two completely different organisms working together to overcome the odds. The memory fades, the dappled shade of aspens is replaced by the rolling fog of the barrel trees. It makes him wonder if barrel tree roots communicate like Earth trees. He’ll have to ask Adrian about it.
Looking back up at his companions, he pauses. Two different species, working together. That’s how he is with Rocky. Once again, nature has rhymed with itself. And, despite everything, the melody of nature appears to be one of comradery. The biological metaphor is so tooth-rottingly sweet that he has to keep his eyes from watering. There’s no way to wipe his face in the suit after all, and he would be embarrassed to share what had gotten him so emotional.
Seeing that Adrian and Rocky are still discussing which way to go, Grace turns back to the not-lichens, trying to see what varieties grow in this riverbed.
Back up the trail, Rocky taps his foot on the ground to get a better look at Grace before turning back to Adrian.
“Rocky thinks we turn back. Not want to push Grace too hard.” He says. It’s was odd, getting used to the idea of being able to hear Grace, without him being able to hear Rocky. But it’s certainly convenient in situations like this, where he knows Grace would disagree with him. “Has no way to intake fluid in suit. No drink since drive. Going all the way up either trail will be too long.”
Adrian sways, considering Rocky’s position.
“Rocky look. Grace happy happy happy. Does not seem like he needs fluid now.” Adrian says.
“Adrian does not understand, humans forget things. When Grace is excited, Grace forgets to take care of self. Will not notice he needs fluid until too late.” Rocky says to which Adrian hums.
“I see. Grace will be sad.” Adrian says, running a claw over the map.
“Adrian sad too, question?” Rocky asks, stepping closer.
“Only small sad. Wanted to take mountain path. Show Grace how vegetation changes at elevation.” Adrian admits, turning towards the path sloping up into the fog. “And wanted to know how far Grace could see, if above tree fog.”
“Rocky will upgrade suit. We come back and do mountain.” Rocky says, which makes Adrian perk up. “One condition, no talking about shit next time.”
Adrian laughs.
“You were the one who asked, Rocky.” Adrian points out.
“Could have let me be ignorant. Tell Rocky it was nothing.”
Adrian laughs as he puts away the map. “Can make no such promise. Cannot help but answer if you ask. You know this.”
Grace’s impromptu survey has taken him a decent distance up the riverbed, though he makes sure to stay within line of sight of his companions. He’s not interested in become Erid’s first missing 411 case. The fog is lighter here, with shorter trees seeming to struggle to take root on the banks. It gives the ravine an almost cathedral like quality, the towering white barrel trees reaching up into a ceiling of clouds. Given the debris and erosion marks the river must move pretty fast when it’s full, sweeping smaller plants away. But no force of erosion is any match for not-lichen!
Interestingly, Grace has yet to find any actual water in the riverbed. He had expected to at least find a few standing pools in the protected areas under fallen trees, but so far nothing. He becomes distracted from his not-lichen activities as he looks for signs of liquid. It takes a few moments, but he finally spots something. Just a few feet behind him, he sees a thin stream of muddy liquid pouring down between a couple a rocks. Curious he climbs back over to it, before giving pause. He just looked at some of those not-lichens, right? How did he miss the water?
Looking around, he spots another steady little stream. It’s right next to a not-lichen that’s bright red and covered in little pale bumps that he had just been looking at. Ok, now he knows for certain the liquid wasn’t there before. Did him climbing on the rocks disturb the riverbed? He can’t see how, given how small he is compared to everything around him.
Hearing the sound of his companions walking down the trail, he waves at them and points at the muddly liquid.
“Hey! The river started flowing!” He calls out in excitement.
Rocky tilts.
“Flowing? Is Grace certain? Should be dry right now.” Rocky says. Adrian doesn’t say anything, breaking into a gallop along the riverbank.
“GRACE LEAVE RIVERBED NOW NOW NOW.” Adrian calls.
Grace practically falls over himself in his eagerness to comply. He’s never heard Adrian raise his voice, and his blood runs cold with panic even if he doesn’t know why. Adrian skids to a stop on the riverbank nearest to him, Rocky following a few feet behind, seeming to be just as confused as Grace. But Grace knows better than to wait for an explanation.
Besides, mother nature seems eager to explain for him.
He hears it first. Like a freight train running down the ravine right towards him. Recognition clicks in his brain right as the wall of muddy liquid slams into him. A flash flood.
Even with the protection of the xenonite suit, the impact knocks the wind out of him. His feet quickly lose their footing, and he feels himself being dragged away by the flood. Head popping back above the surface, he can hear Rocky and Adrian calling out his name.
On the bank, Rocky feels his feet start to move on their own, moving him towards Grace. But Adrian grabs him by forelimb, yanking him back.
“No! Rocky get swept away too!” Adrian says. He lifts his body up, getting a better look at Grace, his taller carapace allowing him to see further downstream.
“Follow.” Adrian says, breaking off into a gallop. Rocky follows, though he quickly falls behind the faster Eridian. Both of them are slower than the flood, which is swiftly carrying Grace away. Calling out for him, Rocky watches as the human attempts to fight against forces more powerful than his body can push back against.
The natural corridor of the ravine falls away. Instead, he’s in the Hail Mary. Alarms are going off. They’re spinning. Spinning too fast. Grace cries out as his back slams into a boulder. Rocky can’t reach him. He’s dying and Rocky can’t reach him!
He feels empty air under his front foot, and his insides flip before he feels Adrian grab him and pull him back from the edge. The riverbed runs deeper down, but the bank cuts of in a sharp drop. Rocky watches helplessly as the damned river pulls Grace out of sight.
“Grace! Grace we have to help Grace!” Rock says, gripping, Adrian. Adrian gives his arm a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s ok, Rocky. We’ll find him. He was ok. Your suit protected him.” Adrian says.
“No! No, Grace was pressed hard against panels! Saw Grace bleeding.” Rocky says, his voice pitching higher and higher. That makes Adrian pause before understanding.
“Rocky… Grace wasn’t bleeding.” He says, running a claw down his arm, speaking in a deep rumbling tone. “Listen to me, Rocky. Take a deep vent. You’re on Erid. Yes, Grace got swept away, but I saw him and he wasn’t hurt. We just have to walk downriver and find him.”
Rocky leans against Adrian, steading his venting. The tunnel of Hail Mary’s control room melts away. Hoppersong gently replaces the blare of the alarms. Gravity feels normal. He’s home.
“Ok. We go.” Rocky says, beginning to climb down to follow the river.
---
Grace has never been a fan of amusement park rides. Getting shook, spun, and dropped has never been his idea of a good time. Being swept downstream by a flood on an alien planet is ten times worse. However after the first few seconds of panic, he remembered that he’s in a pressurized suit. It’s not like he’s going to drown. And despite the force at which the river carried him off, he’s not hitting anything that hard. Ok it’s a little hard but living with Eridians has made him pretty used to bumps and bruises.
Knowing now that he isn’t going to die, he focuses on trying to get out of the water. Easier said than done. The stuff is still moving, and it’s thick with mud. From the splashing he can tell when his head is above the surface, but the muddy stuff must have coated his headlights because he can’t see anything.
Eventually he’s able to catch himself on a fallen tree, and with a grunt of effort he pulls himself up out of the water. Climbing up a little for good measure, he lays down on it, catching his breath.
“Rocky? Adrian?” Grace calls out breathlessly. A pang shoots through his chest at the memory of their frightened calls from the riverbank. They must be so worried. Mentally, he kicks himself for wandering off on his own. Leave it to Grace to ruin a perfectly good trip. Rocky will probably never let him leave Graceland again. Maybe it would be for his own good.
Straddling the log, Grace tries to wipe the mud off his headlights. A crunching sound makes him freeze. Feeling around, he touches the inside cone of the headlight. Reaching to the other side, he finds that both are in identically inoperable states.
Uh Oh.
It’s alright! No need to panic! Rocky packed him an extra flashlight just in case something like this happened.
Aaand of course the flashlight is no longer in it’s holster. Because why would it be?
For a moment, Grace sits still, the darkness of Erid pressing in around him. He remembers briefly what seems to be an old memory. A time back in highschool maybe? His class went on a cave tour where they all had electric lanterns, and when they were at the deepest part of the cave, the guide had them turn them off so they could experience true darkness.
This was different though. Because as the blood stopped rushing in his ears, he started hearing all the sounds of the forest. Hoppers chirping, critters scuttling about in the fog ferns, the water bubbling past underneath. True, Erid might be a world of darkness. But that’s only the case for him.
Every other animal in this forest can see him clear as day.
For a couple minutes, he stays on his log, calling for Rocky and Adrian. He decides to scoot along the little world of his log then, and finds that thankfully one end is leaning on the bank. Crawling, he feels his way a good couple feet from the river where he bumps into the trunk of a tree.
The best thing to do when you’re lost is to just stay put. That’s especially true now that he’s without his sight. Besides, Rocky and Adrian know where he went. Just not how far. And he doubts he was swept that far downstream. Though… he can’t quite be sure. The experience was pretty disorienting. Closing his eyes, he leans back against the tree, groaning as the aches of his misadventure begin to make themselves known. Alright, maybe he has more than just a few bruises.
He keeps calling out for Rocky and Adrian.
Then he hears something moving.
At first he thinks it’s his companions, calling out to them again. But when there’s no response, he realizes that must not be the case. Heart racing, he backs closer to the tree, though he knows he has no way to hide himself. There’s nothing around to defend himself with either. Barrel trees don’t make sticks. He listens quietly for a few moments, but it doesn’t come again.
Maybe he just imagined it? Or maybe his imagination overplayed the sound of a hopper foraging on the forest floor.
Yeah that has to be it.
At least ten more minutes pass before he works up the courage to call for Rocky and Adrian again. And this time, he’s certain he can hear something moving in forest behind him.
Nope.
Nope, nope, nope.
Whoever made up the advice about staying put when lost has obviously never been lost on Erid without a flashlight, because every instinct in his body is telling him that he definitely won’t be found if he stays put. And so Grace begins to crawl.
Freaked out as he is, he still has his wits about him. If there really is something following him, he won’t be able to get away in his state. His best bet is to try to meet Rocky and Adrian halfway, and hope whatever it is doesn’t realize he’s blind and helpless before then. Easy enough.
First things first, he needs to figure out what side of the river he washed up on. It wouldn’t help much if he started crawling away from where Rocky and Adrian are. Carefully scooting up to the edge of the river, he dips his hand in the water. Relaxing his arm, he feels the direction the liquid is flowing. Looks like he came out on the same side he went in. Good. That means he won’t have to figure out how to cross this thing.
And with that, he begins to crawl his way upriver.
---
Further up that river, Adrian and Rocky are making their way in the same direction. As Adrian helps Rocky down another drop, the sound of xenonite catches Rocky’s attention.
“See something! Over there!” Rocky says, hurrying over. As he gets close, his hearts drop. It’s xenonite, but it’s small. Far far too small to be Grace. Did Grace’s suit break? The though almost pushes him back to the point of panic when he gets close enough to the object to see what it is. He relaxes as he realizes it’s just the flashlight. It must have come loose in the river.
It appears to be in on piece, which makes him feel more confident in the suit.
“Found Grace’s flashlight, question?” Adrian asks as he steps up beside him. “Still works, question?”
Rocky flicks the switch on the side of the cylindrical device. Nothing happens. At least, that’s what it looks like to him. He runs his claws over the flat top. When designing it for Grace, he wanted to give himself a way to tell if they were on. The solution was simple. The clear xenonite glass on top is much thinner than the kind in Grace’s suit, allowing heat to escape. While Rocky can’t see the light, he can feel the heat from the bulb.
“Yes, still works. Very helpful. Grace can see us from further away now.”
Visibility is actually pretty good now. The rush of water carried a lot of the remaining fog away, giving a much better range of sight, at least along the riverbank. Grace wouldn’t have wandered off into the woods though. No, if he moves at all, he’ll be making his way back upriver to meet them.
A few more minutes of walking and they come to a fork in the river.
“Damn.” Rocky grumbles, watching as the liquid carries on in two directions. Grace could have been carried off either way.
Adrian approaches the bank, rising up to his full height to get a look down the far fork.
“I don’t see anything either way.” He says. Rocky thinks for a moment, clicking the flashlight on and off.
“You see further. Stay here in case Grace comes up other way. I keep going down this way.” Rocky says. Adrian hesitates but then agrees.
“Alright. I’ll look at the map and see if there are any easy places to cross, just in case he’s down the other way. If he comes up that way and we have to move in order to get him across, I’ll leave a mark in the tree here. Then we’ll start making our way downstream to meet you, if you aren’t back by then.”
---
Crawling isn’t the most efficient way to move. It’s not the most dignified either, but no one on this planet would know that. And even if they did, he has plenty of things to distract him from his embarrassment right now. His nerves on on a razor’s edge, every sound around him sending a thrill of fear down his spine. It’s mostly nothing. It has to be mostly nothing. Some of the sounds he even recognizes. Hoppersongs. A lot of them are the same ones he can hear in the city.
Yep. That’s it. All those noises are just little alien birdies. Grace does his best to forget that some hoppers are almost as big as he is. But those kind don’t live up in the mountains. Right? Yeah… Yeah he distinctly recalls them being a volcanic planes species.
He hears it again. The sound of something moving, almost alongside him, several meters off into the woods.
All doubt has been wiped from Grace’s mind. Something is in the woods, and it’s following him. Whatever it is, it only moves when he does, or when he calls for Rocky and Adrian(which he has since stopped doing.) There’s no doubt in his mind that whatever is out there is stalking him. To what end? Well, there’s the main reason animals stalk things. Food. But Grace isn’t food. His biology would make him quite yucky to any Erid animal looking for a quick meal. But of course, he can’t just explain that to the boogyman in the woods, can he? And by the time anything found out that he isn’t edible, he will be very dead from broken suit-itis.
Still, there’s nothing Grace can do about it except to keep moving. Crawling forward, he screams as his hand collides with something solid, only to find it’s just a place where the exposed stone of the ravine goes up. The realization that he’s run into actual stone and not alive-alien-stone almost has the chance to give him a sense of relief. Then the tail end of movement in the foliage registers in his ears.
He wants to scream, to cry out for Rocky and Adrian to come save him, but he knows that will only make whatever is out there move faster. Reach him sooner. So he swallows his fear and keeps going.
A small flicker of light cuts over the next ridge for a moment. Grace blinks. Was he starting to see things. He’s heard that happens when you’re in absolute dark for too long. Or did he make that up just now?
No, because it comes again, flickering against the tree-trunks further up the river. There’s only one source of light in this forest right now. His flashlight.
Desperate for rescue he hops to his feet, but the light is far off. The ground around him is still pitch black.
“Rocky! Adrian!” He calls out, his voice cracking with desperation. The sound of his own name spoken in Eridian bounces off the walls of the ravine. A sob of relief shakes his chest, though the joy of imminent rescue is quickly undercut by the sound of movement.
It’s closer. Grace doesn’t know how he can tell, but he knows it’s closer.
Instinct overcomes logic as he breaks into a run, stumbling over the uneven forest floor. He collides with a tree, which knocks him back to the ground where he feels one of his legs slip back into the river. Scrambling backwards, he pulls his leg from the muddy liquid and pushes onward. The light is getting closer, waving around in the air above the river like the bat-signal. Grace runs into the next ridge, which is only a bit higher than his waist. He scrambles up over the edge.
“Grace Grace Grace!” Rocky squeaks, bordering on the upper limit of what Grace can hear. Grace scrambles towards Rocky, reaching out his arms as the Eridian collides with him.
“Grace is ok, question?” Rocky asks, and Grace feels as he starts to inspect the suit for any punctures.
“There’s something following me.” Grace says with a shaky voice. Rocky pauses his checkup, standing taller on his legs to get a better look around.
“Rocky no see anything.” Rocky says after a few quiet moments. Grace lets out a sight of relief, leaning against Rocky fully. Whatever it was must have run off when it saw Rocky.
“Grace not hurt, question?” Rocky asks again, tapping along Grace’s suit to get a look for himself.
“No. Nothing that won’t heal in a few days, anyways.” Grace says, feeling exhausted.
“Good good good.” Rocky says. “What was Grace thinking, question? Wander off. Could have died! Stupid ass!”
Grace groans.
“I didn’t know that would happen!”
Rocky huffs.
“Exactly! Grace not know! Not know is dangerous! Grace could have died!”
The worry in Rocky’s voice makes Grace’s heart hurt. Why didn’t he just stay up on the trail with Rocky and Adrian? Speaking of.
“Where’s Adrian?” Grace says, looking around.
“There was fork in river. Adrian stayed in case you came back other way.”
Grace nods. That makes sense.
“I’m sorry, Rocky. I… I should have been more careful.”
Rocky hands Grace the flashlight.
“Is ok. Grace learns. Grace knows next time.”
Grace nods and stands up.
“We go. Should not keep Adrian waiting.” Rocky says, beginning to go back the way he had come.
Beginning to follow, Grace pauses. Slowly, he turns his flashlight towards the woods.
“Jimmeny Cricket!” Grace yelps. Standing not ten feet off into the woods is a tall, conical creature with stony skin and five long legs. The side facing him is covered in vent-caps, all flexing in what sounds like complete silence. Two of the legs on the cap covered side bare sharp curved claws. For holding prey, Grace assumes.
A hidden follower.
Rocky continues along, passing the creature without a second glance, though he pauses when Grace calls out.
“What is wrong, question?”
Grace can feel himself starting to shake.
“I… Rocky it’s not gone.” Grace squeaks out. Confused, Rocky lifts his body to try to get a better hear of the direction Grace is looking. He starts to speak, but then the notes die in his vent.
“Oh, shit.”
For a moment they all stand there. Rocky rotates, clearly trying to get a look at the creature.
“You really can’t see it?” Grace asks, moving closer to him.
“No. You see it good though?” Rocky asks. Grace nods, pointing the animal out. Rocky focuses on the spot.
“Is… Area of wrongness. Not easy to tell like at zoo. Too many other sounds.”
“Adrian has the airhorn?” Grace says. He jumps as the creature moves, vents puffing as it walks in a crablike fashion in the direction they’re heading. Rocky grips Grace’s arm.
“What happen, question?” Rocky asks.
“Uh, it moved. It looks like it’s following up the stream. Maybe waiting until we walk into the woods?” Grace says.
“Soil on bank too soft. follower too heavy.” Rocky speculates. That’s a good enough reason for Grace.
They start moving, their unwanted hiking buddy eager to follow along. Grace is shocked by how silent the creature is. Though, it would have to be. The only nose it makes is the occasional cracking of it’s front two legs against the shells of the fog ferns. Makes sense. That’s the part of the body that comes after the noise cancelling. That must have been what Grace had been hearing.
Rocky forces Grace to walk on the side of him closer to the river.
“Wait, but Rocky, I can see it. You can’t.” Grace protests as Rocky herds him along.
“Grace can see over Rocky. Human body weak. Big animal hurt it, human die. Animal hurt Rocky, Rocky will get better.”
As they round the next bend, the soil becomes rockier. Grace grabs Rocky as the creature starts to move closer, positioning itself ahead of them.
“It’s cutting us off.” Grace says, pointing to the creature. It continues to move, settling down about ten feet in front of them, directly in their path. Rocky shifts uncomfortably.
“We go around.” He says, starting to move towards the woods. The follower responds immediately, moving back around. Rocky had already stopped, and Grace realized he had let out a scream.
“It… It’s so fast.” Grace whimpers, pointing out it’s new location.
“Need other way around.”
“What about the river?” Grace says, not daring to look away from the creature to check if the swell had died down.
“No. River still bad. Rocky can’t swim.”
Figures.
The follower seems to be getting the sense that the jig is up, as it starts to move forward despite its large clawed feet sinking into the mud. Grabbing Rocky, Grace pulls them back in the direction they came. The follower follows, closing the distance it’s been maintaining step
By step
By step.
A loud horn cuts the air, making Grace jump in shock. It has a greater effect on the follower, which retreats a few steps. Adrian gallops down the bank, airhorn in hand. He holds it out and fires it again, producing a sound loud enough to hurt even Grace’s ears. The follower lets out a deep rumble and runs off into the woods, disappearing into the fog.
Rocky staggers a bit, and Grace props him up. The airhorn is a pretty imprecise deterrent. Adrian runs over, checking up on both of them.
“Everyone alright, question?” Adrian asks.
“Rocky thinks it’s time to go home now. Statement.” Rocky mumbles.
No one disagrees.