To the Ground

1.1 To Start Civilization

    The boy with thick, corkscrewed hair stepped out of his space pod. His red, ragged converse was held between his fingers as he stepped onto the grass with bare feet. He lowered himself to the yellowish-green ground, running his hand over it. His brows furrowed. He had never thought grass to feel so rough -- but smooth and soft like climbing through silky bedsheets. His gaze turned upwards to the sky. It was bluer than anything he had ever seen, a smile forming on his blemished face. Earth was more than beautiful. After being in space his entire life, it was both exciting and overwhelming to be sent to Earth after it was deemed innoxious. He had worried about his safety the entire journey down, wondering about the many ways the inhabited planet could kill him. Now that he stood before the cloudless painted atmosphere, his concerns washed away, and he was left with nothing but dimples on his cheeks and joy in his heart. He stood to his feet once he heard a pitchy voice call out.

    "Hey!" A girl shouted, "Hey! I found somebody! I finally found somebody!"

    The teenager looked left and right but found nobody. There was nothing but a mixture of green, blue, and brown for as far as he could see.

    "Over here! Behind you!" The girl let out a happy giggle, "I can't believe I found you!"

    He turned around and was faced with the owner of the dulcet voice. He lowered his head to look at her, for she only stood as tall as his upper abdomen. She stared up at him with a friendly grin. Her charcoal eyes lit up with excitement. The sunlight illuminated half her rich skin, the other half covered by his shadow.

    "My name is Dahlia."

    "Jasper. Darwin." He shook his head as his cheeks flushed, "My name is Jasper Darwin. Just Jasper."

    Dahlia chuckled and hopped up and down as fresh delight coursed through her veins.

    "I landed, like, ten minutes ago. I thought I'd never find someone. We've got to find the others!" She spoke, "How many of us are left to find? Twenty-three?"

    Jasper could hardly keep up with her quick sentences but nodded. She moved past him, causing her to squint her eyes at the sudden sunlight in her eyes. She kneeled over, rubbing them with her fists. A hand was placed on her small arm as she groaned in discomfort.

    "Are you okay?" Jasper asked in a panic.

    "Yeah, I just never thought the sun would be so painful down here." She whined.

    Quickly, Dahlia recovered from the sun's rays and began to lead Jasper into the forest. She was tough to keep up with, for her feet moved just as fast as her mouth. Though, he was grateful to have someone there for him almost immediately after landing. Being alone for so long would've certainly sent him into a panic attack.

    "Do you think the government is watching us?" She asked.

    Jasper shrugged.

    "I'm not sure. Maybe."

    "But why would President Zaiden choose to send teenage orphans?" She went on. "He could've sent scientists. That would've been smarter. Not to mention our lack of preparation. Maybe they're sending us down more supplies on a separate dropship. Probably not."

    Jasper thought for a moment and agreed. He knew the government chose them simply because nobody would miss them or be suspicious of the act. The government held secrets, and sending parentless teenagers to the ground was one of them. He knew something was going on when President Zaiden declared that orphans were to fend for themselves in a private division of the ship. Jasper had never really had many friends, but the fact that he didn't recognize Dahlia despite living in the same section for years made him realize how cruel life was on S.S Sefarina. He hoped Earth had better plans awaiting.