Earth: Criminal Rehab

Chapter Seven

Patrick

As a younger kid, I took Earth studies classes for granted. It just seemed like another pointless history class. What was the point from learning from a past that failed? I resented Earthborn people for sending us up to space, leaving us with limited resources. My parents would remind me that our ancestors were the only reason that we were still alive today. Still, I could not wrap my head around being thankful for people who set us up for failure. It was even more of a difficult task to be thankful when they locked us up. Surely, if they saw my intentions, they wouldn't have held me to such consequences.

If someone had told young Patrick Stump that he would be able to set his bare feet on Earth, he would have laughed. He never thought he would be able to see freedom, smell it, hear it, even taste it. But there it was. Right in front of my eyes. The sun was shining as a much tinier and less intense ball of fiery flames in the sky. Trees swayed in the occasional breeze. It felt so good.

I couldn't help but let my energy boil over. Pete and Mikey and Gerard were still sleeping. I crept around their bodies and jogged back towards the shipwreck. As I walked, I listened for other signs of life. Sure, the radiation was said to have killed all known animal and human species - as far as we could tell - but I found it hard to believe that such a magnificent planet couldn't sustain even one form of life. After all, the trees were still alive. Low shrubs and even exotic flowers sprouted out of the ground. There had to be more out there.

That's when the noise startled me. It had to be a coincidence that I had been thinking about it before. The noise came from the bushes. They rustled and shook. I froze and pointed my head in its' direction. Someone - something - was in those bushes. I had a rush of sudden bravery course through my veins and I approached the shrub. It shrugged and struggled, not knowing I was near. I took a gulp of air and reached my hand out towards the leafy, green mass. Suddenly, a brown head popped out. It was alert and afraid. I nearly fell over after it's surprise entry, but managed to stay on my feet to get a better look at what it was.

It was an animal. It had short, tanned brown fur. As it stepped further out of the plants, I noticed it's bony legs and slim figure, but it wasn't the only thing I noticed that was out of the ordinary. It turned it's head towards me...or rather two heads. The second head carelessly munched on the leaves, equally connected to the body of the first head. This time, I stumbled backwards and inched myself away from the thing. Its black eyes stared into me. I'm sure it was equally afraid as I was. I'm sure that it too had never seen such a creature before. Yet, for some reason, it was not afraid. It was as if no one had ever tried to hunt it before. It simply looked in a different direction and darted to the next leafy plant.

I pulled myself back onto my feet and watched it pass from my view. I tried to imagine what else was out there, waiting to be discovered. The thought excited me to no end. All I wanted to do was follow it and explore, but another sound caught my attention. It was a far less pleasing sound. There was a large rattling sound that filled the air. It shook the Earth, putting me back in the clumsy position of trying to stay on my feet. I grabbed the nearest tree and hugged onto it for life.

In the next few seconds, it seemed to stop. I opened one eye. I'm not sure what I was expecting to see, but it was as if nothing had happened. I stepped back away from the tree and looked down at my feet, then back into the trees. Like a baby, just learning to walk, I stepped, one foot in front of the other, and started walking. My pace quickened with my racing thoughts until I found myself sprinting towards the ship to see if everything was alright.

To my surprise, just about everything was how we left it. People were far more anxious, but after the recent event, it seemed understandable. Someone I vaguely recognized from the ship was pointing and barking orders at others. A younger looking boy was running away from him, crying his eyes out. Ryan. It hadn't dawned on me until heard that whiney, accusing voice.