Through Thin Space

Chapter 5

There is nothing more exotic to ever happen to a being than waking up on an alien planet, with no memory of anything right before it, and running into someone else that literally just went through the same thing as you. Especially if that someone just so happens to be one of the closest friends you could possibly imagine.

Oh, and if what he says is true, he has abilities or powers or something similar. Like being able to control the very ground or nature in general. I saw the handiwork of the bear cow, so... I'm not quite sure what I need or want to believe.

So now here I am sitting on the lake shore, shivering to the bone in my damp clothes, all the while reminiscing about how the scene reminded me of home and my close friend sitting next to me like it was just another day. The sun was starting to fall, the sky turning into my favorite shade of orange.

Here I was, on my first day on an alien planet, while an even bigger planet hung in the sky opposite of where the sun set. So, based on reasoning, we were either a sister of the other planet or we were on a moon. Anyways, how did my first day go? Reminds of school in a way, like all the students were picking on the new kid. This planet or moon reminded me that I was small and insignificant.

Cheer up, Mac. You have everything going your way. Except for hanging over a cliff in a strange pod, nearly killed by an alien bear cow, and nearly drowned to death. But you found a friend and learned how to swim!

Jupiter turned towards me and started, "Hey, do you think-"

"No." I looked back at him. "She is not here, neither is Peter, Jerry, or whoever else was in that van."

A puzzled look crossed his face. "Wait, a van? We were in a van."

"I..." I stopped and turned away. I was positive we were in a van before landing here. I remember being upside down, someone on top of me. Then metal was tearing and... it was all black after that. "Nevermind." I muttered.

He sighed and turned away, looking out at tops of the trees just on the other side of the lake. He was thinking heavily. His massive neck was craned, his chin resting on his knuckle. He would have looked like a solemn golem, a loner in a wasteland, if not for the splash of freckles all over his face and curly mat of hair

Great. You just had to ruin someone else's day. Excellent job. You are doing something right with that brain of your's.

"Well," He attempted again, "want to at least walk around the lake? Find somewhere good to crash at?"

I shrugged and proceeded to stand up, the sand sticking to my jeans. I tried to brush some of it off and we began walking. My jacket enveloped me in a humid cocoon, hot air underneath a cold front, pressing down on my body and trapping my soul. Somehow, the heat, the sand, the water, and the jungle came together in such a contrasting view like that of an art piece. The whole surrounding was absolutely beautiful, for at least the faintest moment. That is, until I realize that the trees were pulsating with energy that apparently only I could see. The echoes of sounds from the jungle and the water moving gave off this feeling of drowsiness and serenity, pulling at my heart and inviting my mind to the comfort of peace. There was something quite poetic about it.

"So..." He trailed off.

"Yes, yes, you got powers and whatever else is going on. Are you going to keep rubbing it in my face?" I snapped.

"You might get some too. You don't have to be such an..."

"What? An asshole? I'm not sure if you noticed, but we're kind of lost on an alien planet! We have no food, no water, and nobody else to rely on!"

His eyes widened, then another puzzled look overcame his usual face. "Wait, alien planet? We're not on Earth?"

I turned away from him and grabbed my hair, pulling at it with all my might. Just before it actually tore off, I let go and raised my fist in the sky. I sighed and turned around. I said with reserve, "Yes, we are stuck on some moon of some planet that is not where we are from. Have you not looked in the sky at the big floating planet? Have you not listened to the trees?"

He looked at me with a funny stare. "Trees don't make noise."

I bit my tongue. "They keep making this pulsing sound, like the beating of the heart. Have you not even stopped to listen?"

He stared at me. "No, not really. Have you lost your mind? First you say something about a van, then we're on an alien planet, now the trees are humming together?"

"Says the guy who has earth powers."

He looked up at the sky. "Touché." Several seconds passed before he said, "Nope, I don't hear the trees at all."

He brushed past me and kept walking, not even letting me defend that the trees really are speaking to me. I could hear the steady rhythm of their symphony.

Cannot hear them. They are beating right now! Loud as a bell!

Maybe you are losing your mind, Mac.

Shut up.

Nothing was said back to that. Or thought. Either works.

We walked in silence for a good several minutes, the sun going down. I could tell Jupiter was about to say that we needed to establish camp when something like a bullet pierced my brain. I fell on my knees and felt something travel up my spine, waves of blood pouring out of me. I vomited that very substance, falling flat on my face from the sheer effort. I started shaking, and not the kind of shaking that one gets from not eating. My legs kicked and my arms bucked, wildly and without coordination. I rolled over onto my back, my sight fixed on the darkening sky.

I should be unconscious. If I remembered correctly, I am having a seizure. I did not have a history of it, but I remember that I should not be aware of the situation. I should be blacked out, seeing nothing but the shades of my eyes. Why am I awake?

I looked at Jupiter still standing over me, hollering at something other than me. I tried to glance to where he was looking, but I felt something in my mouth. More blood. But I did not feel any come up my throat...

Someone slid to my side and snapped their fingers in front of me. The darkness creeping in blinded me to their actual face, but the person was a girl. She then turned to Jupiter and said something, but I could not hear it. My ears were ringing, and I did not notice it until that moment. I could have sworn she said my name. But that was impossible. She could not have known me.

Her hand reached under my head and lifted my head off the ground. I jerked my neck and fell back to the ground, my eyes rolling to the back of my skull. More blood poured into my mouth, my jaw keeping the blood from pouring out. The dam burst open when something forced its way into my mouth. It felt like a hand, grabbing my tongue out from under my teeth.

The sky was night, and I could have sworn the jungle was beginning to glow. Mushrooms, moss, vines, they started to illuminate in arrays of purple, yellow, and blue. There was... something magical about it, something I wish I could experience without my muscles jerking me around.

Calm your mind, Mac. Your world is just beginning to open up. Reach into yourself and pull out your heart. Use only the mind.

After that, I did the first completely normal thing since landing on this rock: I blacked out.