Lavender & Ice

2. Crash Landing

Ashima's body shivered as she forced her legs to move further in the icy snow. She would be forever grateful that the emergency pod had a suit and rations in there. She would've died of hypothermia within minutes without it.

But she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. So she trudged along. She had seen no signs of life or shelter, but she wouldn't give up.

"If I can just make it to the top of this ridge, maybe I can get a better look." She told herself, trying to keep her spirits up. That was pretty much all she had been doing since her pod had crashed onto this frozen planet.

"OK, girl. Just a few more steps. You can do it."

She managed to reach the top, and the view took her breath away. Despite the dangerous, icy, terrain of this planet, Ashima had to admit it was beautiful. She could see a lake surrounded by mountains. Patches of dark green trees were scattered sparsely along the landscapes. She stood there a moment, catching her breath, but not quite able to as her body was shutting down. She glanced around for any sign of life. Dread filled her as all she saw was more rocky, frozen terrain. She was running out of time.

She sighed. "Maybe if I can get down to the lake, I'll find something. I don't know." She drew in a breath and held back the negativity that wanted to seep in. It wouldn't do her any good.

She looked around for a way to traverse down toward the lake but her mask and goggles were too foggy.

"This is a bad idea." She sighed again. "But I'm about to die anyway, so... no risk no reward, I guess."

She lowered her hood and drew in a deep breath, bracing herself for the cold as she lowered her goggles to hang around her neck and then removed the rest of her face mask. While she was thankful the pod had detected the air safe to breathe on this planet, her lungs and skin still protested as she took on the frigid air.

"This must be what Antarctica feels like." She commented as she gritted her teeth and began slowly walking around, looking for the best path. Her lungs burned but she wanted to enjoy the feeling of freedom on her face for a breath moment. The goggles and facemask were necessary but stifling.

She had barely made it a few steps when the ice beneath her shifted and she fell onto her back, letting out a scream as she slid down the hillside. She tried to grab onto something as she continued to barrel downward but her gloved hands only found icy snow. She realized she'd lost her face mask in the fall, and she knew her face couldn't stay unprotected like this long. But it wouldn't matter if she continued freefalling down a steep hillside. She looked out to see she was heading in the direction of the lake beyond.

"No." She said in disbelief. She knew what had to be coming after the slope she was on now. The chances of her reaching anything other than a cliff were looking slim. She managed to roll herself into her stomach and was giving every ounce of energy into planting her feet and hands into the snow, into grasping onto anything. She suddenly felt weightless as the ground beneath her disappeared, a scream leaving her lips as she fell through the air.

Her screams quickly stopped as she was enveloped in freezing cold water. Her face suddenly popped up into the cold air and she gasped for breath. Her entire body bobbed up and down in the water over and over as she realized she hadn't fallen into the lake but into a fast rushing river. The lake would come soon enough, she guessed. If she survived that long.

She didn't have the energy to fight the rapids as she floated down and she struggled for consciousness. Pain erupted through her entire body as two large hands grabbed her harshly and pulled her out of the water. She gasped loudly at the action and the sensation of the cold air against her wet body.

A face appeared before hers. Skin a pale lavender, markings across his face in a grid like pattern, ice blue-gray eyes staring back at her.

"He...elp" she managed to whisper before everything went dark. 

~~~~

"What is that thing?" The medical attendant asked as the others wrapped her in heat blankets to warm her.

"How should I know?" The male scoffed. "It was in the water screaming."

"Fill in this form."

"I don't know anything about the creature, I'm not responsible for it."

"You bring it in, you're responsible for it until it wakes and can be responsible for itself." She waved the form in front of him slowly. "Unless you want to take it back outside and leave it."

He huffed, looking over at the small thing. No. No, he couldn't just take her back out there to die. With a groan he grabbed the forms.

The attendant smiled. "Fill in your information and just leave the creatures information blank."

"Yeah." He grunted.

"We will attempt to get the thing stable and run some tests. Come back in five hours."

~~~~

"I don't understand why I have to be here." He complained as the medical attendant led him down a hallway when he returned just under five hours later.

"As her responsible party, it falls on you to make decisions for her."

"Her?"

"Yes. We had to remove her clothing to get her dry and warm. Assuming their anatomy is anything similar to ours, it's a female."

"OK. What decisions do I need to make?"

She opened the door and waited for him to enter. "As you can see, she has not yet woken. She was awake when you found her?"

He simply nodded, sparing only a glance at the woman lying on the bed.

"Did she say anything?"

"Only two words. I could not understand them, but I believe her meaning was clear. She needed assistance."

"And how did you find her?"

"I heard screaming by one of the rivers that flow into the lake, found her in the water, and pulled her out. It was only a moment before she lost consciousness and then I brought her to you. I know nothing more."

The attendant sighed, obviously not satisfied. "We will run more tests, see if she awakens. Tomorrow I will have to send word to the homeland."

He looked over at the small, sleeping female. The authorities likely would not take too kindly to an unknown species showing up on their planet."

"Do what you must." He said before turning to open the door. "Is that all?"

"Make sure to return to check on her each morning and evening." He opened his mouth to protest but she quickly cut him off. "As her responsible party, you need to do your part in checking in on her, and you need to be here for when she wakes up. Just stop by to check, it's easier than us finding you."

He nodded and left the room. Once he exited the medical tent and walked outside into the frigid air, he returned to his own dwelling tent, opening the materials provided for the upcoming trials, today he was specifically studying the areas maps and topography.

The waters were not only ice cold, but full of many other dangers. He thought to himself how it is a miracle that the small female survived.

There were only three days until the trials began. The first couple days will be more of a test to weed out the weakest competitors. The third day would be the beginning of the real challenges. If he did not study every detail of the map, every facet of every checkpoint, every hurdle, if he didn't know everything there was to know, he would not only be out of the trials before it really began, but he could also lose his life.

His mind briefly wondered what they would do with the small female then, with no responsible party. Likely throw her back out in the cold.