Futuristic Into the Dark

[Lenchan]

After another bought of intense labor, the woman dropped herself level with the next platform. Having barely made it, she decided it best to call this good. She propped herself up on her elbow and took in the surroundings. Plant-life was thick and bountiful in this world. Arthur will be able to make great use of this for us. She thought briefly back to the irrigator and Estorl’s notebook, lost forever most likely. Though she’d already memorized every detail of its contents, her hands felt strange in response to the thought of never holding it again. She smiled softly and looked up to the sun again. It didn’t seem to have changed position in the sky much at all. Unfortunately, she doubted the likelihood of finding the others before it did.


Lowering her gaze back out in front of her, she took in the surroundings. Again, for the few miles she could see there was nothing but fauna. A colorful blob fluttered in and out amongst the leaves and she studied it carefully. Perhaps the source of squawking she heard earlier? It was bigger than any bird capable of flight back on Earth, but it looked non-threatening. Truly it looked like lunch as Islia’s stomach lurched and grumbled in agony. She dismissed it and continued scanning before laying her eyes on another ridge about two or three miles west of her position. It was high off the ground and contained a cavernous hollow ledge that would shield them from the environment. It also looked fairly illuminated from what she could see . No caves for larger creatures to hide, and another quaint waterfall glistening along its side. Perfect. But it would be a long trek to get there and she wasn’t sure if she’d be capable of the journey, let alone Sebastian.


They would at least set out in that direction and make a temporary camp along the way if they had to. She spent an extra few minutes memorizing the details she could pick out from the fold to serve as landmarks and then made her way over the side of the cliff to descent back to the ship. She carefully angled herself over the top of the ship and loosened her grip on the vine, letting gravity take control. She fell swiftly but notably slower than expected, making her ponder what the gravity of the planet was in comparison to Earth. She did struggle a bit to stand earlier, though that was most likely more a byproduct of her injuries than anything else. She was reminded then of her freefall and tightened her grip, slowly to a soft plunk of her shoes tapping the remaining parts of the roof.

 

[iTrinity]

The planet's gravity was in fact lighter than Earth's. Though it may be very slight, it may be noticeable to the survivors of Earth. Purple birds that called this planet home, huge, beautiful birds spread their song as they soar through the massive trees that seem to cover the planet endlessly. Something about this planet just seemed so... Welcoming. As if the wildlife didn't mind the sudden presence. Perhaps, they would be able to function on this planet for the time being.


Sebastian looks over at her, home-made knapsack slung over his shoulder. He holds his nifty, curved walking stick in his right hand, still obviously using it to support himself after sustaining heavy injury. "Find anything?" His gentle voice calls up to her, his relaxed smile still solidified on his lips. He had managed to find his glasses. One lens was cracked, but it was better than nothing.


He approaches her, regardless of her response. The exhausted Doctor offers his hand out to her, "Let me help you get down. We don't need two of us getting mortally wounded,".


​

 

[Lenchan]

One of the other survivors, Anna, approaches Adalric tentatively, concern littering her expression as she tries to show courage. Watching the man talk to himself made her hesitant to even approach after the disaster that’d just occurred but she pressed forward towards him anyway. Stopping just a few feet behind him she chocked out a call, her voice trembling audibly in fear.





“A-Adalric… Is…Is that you? Thank the heavens someone …someone else made it out alive.” Anna dropped her eyes to the ground between them feeling the tears she’d been holding back well up and spill over her eyelids in uncontrollable streams. “Joshua – he’s – Oh god!” Her face turned ugly with pain, completely overcome in emotion. She just sat there in a useless heap on the ground, letting her tears flow.


@Alite

 

[Lenchan]

Islia eyed the young man with careful eyes then limped over to him, taking his arm to save face but dropping her weight onto the opposite side. “Thank you” she nodded in dismissal, knowing the man wouldn’t be foolish enough to think she weighed nothing. She left go of his arm and put a bit of distance between them before turning to him. “How are you feeling?”

 

[iTrinity]

"As good as one could feel after what just happened," He still speaks quietly, unable to raise his tone. Sebastian takes notice of her intentionally distancing herself from him. This causes him slight feelings of guilt and mistrust, though he tries to disguise it by sighing. "Let's just.. Go," He taps his walking stick on a nearby box, looking at his feet.

​

 

[PingFire]

"H-huh?" The beat up box shifts and Erich slowly opens the top of the box, looking around. With a groan he climbs out of the box and holds his side while he wipes his bleeding forehead. Stumbling Erich losses his balance and collapses onto the ground, his shaking breathing being the only thing confirming that he's alive.

 

[iTrinity]

"Son of a bitch," Sebastian curses lowly under his breath, laughing softly as he looks down at his apprentice. "Erich. Nice to see you hid like a rat while we were crashing and burning,". The young man chuckles and prods his student and friend with the end of his walking stick, "Get up, you're in better shape than either of us,".


Sebastian looks up to Islia, "Uh.. Islia, this is Erich. An old friend of mine from Med-school. I was his tutor,". He grins and looks at Erich again, "Smooth as crunchy peanut butter,".
​

 

[Lenchan]

((Pause... clarity loading...))

 

[PingFire]

"Shut up.." He groans and rolls onto his back with his arms sprawled out on either side of him. He gives a soft but pained chuckle. "Heh.. Peanut butter.." He lets out a low and soft sigh, slowly pushing himself onto his feet.

 

[Lenchan]

“Right. I’ve found somewhere perhaps suitable for us all, once we find the others.” She turned away from him and considered herself for a moment. She had questions she’d wanted answered and it wasn’t like her to sit idle on them. “Sebastia-“ Islia jumps in alarm and moves to subdue the unknown entity, but quickly realizes it’s Sebastian’s assistant. Her face contorts in bewilderment and confusion as she restrains her assault, watching Sebastian greet the young man in warmth. Islia’s eyes stare in quiet contemplation as the young man responds in kind. What in the actual fuck. She noticed the blood as he wipes it away. “Islia Bulvardo.” Her voice was soft but curt, more out of habit than actual reservation. She was working hard to process all the unusual feelings rustling about and fogging her mind. People were just so tiring. She nodded towards his head, continuing “Nice to meet you Erich. Are you injured anywhere else?” She observes his forehead from a safe distance, careful not to intrude in his personal space, looking for a wound. “Where you in that box the entire time?” Idiot… just like his teacher, she mused.





@PingFire @iTrinity

 

[PingFire]

He looks over at Islia and gives a slight nod. "Yeah... I think I have a cracked rib or two.." He looks at both her and Sebastian current condition. "Although it could have been worse.." A small smile crosses his lips as he glances at Sebastian. "And no.. I was not in the box for the entire time. It was simply the closest thing to me when everything started to blow the fuck up."


@Lenchan

 

[Lenchan]

A smile spread across Islia’s face in response to the snarky remark. It disarmed her, making her realize how abrasive she must’ve seemed. “Fair enough. Glad to see that you made it just fine. I’ll have to employ your methodology in the future.” She glanced up at the sun again, logging its movement, though fog had started to settle around them. “We should move before we lose all visibility. The camp I spotted will be at least a two hour hike, perhaps longer considering our mobility.” She leveled her eyes to the sack at Sebastian’s feet. “We’ll split up the load so we can cover more ground.” She stated the sentence declaratively to let Sebastian know she wasn’t interested in debating over the topic.

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Your body is doomed, but now so is your mind

The Alien had gorged itself happily amongst the dead Survivors and local fauna that had been injured during the crash. One of the large purple birds had caught its attention. Grey eyes tracking its flight through the air, the creature thought about climbing up one of the large trees which filled its vision but thought better of it. There was still fresh prey here at the crash site, and it had never been a being to waste food. It scoured the wreckage for survivors, it left the ones in groups alone, seeking to pick off the alone, dead, or dying.


As it did so it came across a young women, her stomach had been pierced with a large metal shard of shrapnel from the ships twisting and turning during its decent. She didn't look like she was going to make it even with medical help, there was simply so much blood. She couldn't even find the strength to raise her head long enough to scream at the oncoming Dredge. The Alien towered over the helpless female and cocked its head to the side thinking. So far it was full, plenty of dead bodies to go around but while feeding was important, its quarry was still not in sight and had not been scented. Reasoning, long dead and misused kicked in as it stared at the women and destroyed upper sections of the ship.


It knew the ship had been ripped apart and sections had flown off, but just what direction should its search begin in if the prey was not found here? Well, it thought to itself, leaning down to meet the female eye to eye, grabbing the dying womens face in its clawed paw. It knew enough about Terran physiology now that this could work.


The Dredge opened its mouth, tongue waving excitedly and the women braced herself to meet a similar fate to the man had upstairs. But no... This alien had a different idea in mind for her. The creatures tongue shot out and slammed into her throat, piercing thought the skin and latching onto the spinal cord behind it. No blood issued from the Terran, or any other type of reaction save for a lurching body jerk and a widening of the eyes as she can feel the things tongue latch onto the central nervous system relay and follow it up, sliding along those nerves until it reached the brain where it then latched onto it. Those small little frayed endings on the creatures tongue looked pretty but they served a dark purpose. In order for a Dredge's host to survive the exhausting ordeal of hosting one, the Dredge must take control of certain body functions and the like to make sure the heart doesn't go into cardiovascular shock or the like. It did so by tapping into nerve endings and understanding the biological code in which the relays sent messages. But... what was to stop one from going to the brain and controlling a host directly?


Those little tendrils dug into the womens mind like razors, tearing apart anything inconsequential all the while reading, filing away anything that could be of use for its survival later on. A memory was just an electric signal remembered by muscle memory in the brain, they could be read like an open book. The creature was in a hurry however, it discarded anything that wasn't of use. If the women, Maria was her name, as she struggled, impaled by a tongue and held by talons, was in a better condition she could have possibly fought the creatures invasion of her mind off but alas. Deaths door is not a place one wanted to be fighting a battle of wills. The Dredge's presence filled her mind like a black ooze, reaching every nook and cranny that she tried to hide in.


The woman Maria had been on her way after the Dredge freed itself to see if she could help Sebastian in any way seeing the man was in a small state of shock, also to tell him that Everyone was with him on this potentially last journey when the ship hit the atmosphere. The Dredge watched how the landing played out from the females perspective with a one track attention mindset. It was in luck, the female did witness the direction in which the other sections of the ship had landed in. Distance away was unknown but the direction was all that it needed.


The Alien withdrew its tongue from her mind and body. No hole from where its tongue had punctured her as it moved away from the dying female. The Dredge stared off in the direction of which the other ship had crashed and lifted the human women up in the air and swung its arm around to hold her over the side of the ship. The Terran's legs dangled over the 50 foot drop. Maria stared the Dredge in the eyes, the Dredge cocked its head to the side studying her for a moment. Then opened its fingers and let her drop.


Down below, the survivors who had gathered were discussing the best course of action to follow when the girl flew past their floor, visible due to the non existant wall on that side of the ship. They gathered around the edge just in time to see her hit the ground and blood splatter everywhere from the impact.


One of them looked up and gasped in shock, catching site of a massive tail slithering over the side of the ship above them. The survivor points and the whole group watches it slowly follow whatever it was attached to back to the ship.

@Alite


@Anyoneelseatthedamncrashsite

 

[Maki]

(Also I'm sorry if my post don't match the length or detail of yours. I try, I'm just not as creative.)


Caitlyn woke up to an aching body, throbbing head, and a facefull of dirt. What the fuck happened? She tried to remember the events that lead up to where she was now, but everything seemed fuzzy. All that came to her was a loud boom, presumably an explosion, that rocked the ship. After that everything went black. Caitlyn brought her head up and gasped in surprise, nearly screaming. The medical supplies she had been carrying to the others was strewn around the ground, much of it in ruins. On top of that, People's body were laying about., and some squirmed and groaned in pain. Oh God, this is bad. This is really bad. She tried to stand up, but a strong pain brought her straight down. She yelped in pain, and looking down to see what had caused it. Blood covered her leg and a deep gash underneath it. Caitlyn felt light headed at seeing this. "Someone help!" She cried out, not thinking anyone would hear.

 

[PingFire]

Erich gives a slight nod and takes a few things from Sebastian to carry in the box he fell from space in. After filling the box he seals it and wraps it vines from the surrounding forest making some painful looking straps he pulls the box onto his back. The box itself is light, no more than two pounds but the contents inside weight about ten to fifteen pounds. "So where is it that we're going?" He asks while shifting the box on his back. The vine straps digging into his shoulders.


@Lenchan

 

[Ironrot]

Sally blinked her eyes open. She was lying on the floor of the food locker, Arthurs arm drapped over her. With a little effort, She crawled out from under him.


"Daddy?" She asked, sounding uncertain. Arthur didn't respond. Sally put her arms on his chest and pushed him. Arthur rolled a little, then sank back into the same position. Still not sure what this meant, Sally walked the length of the father. She pulled back his left eye-lid and shrieked. Arthur's eye was an almost solid, blood red. Sally run backwards, flattening to the wall. She couldn't get the image of the creatures red eye's out if her mind. She ran forward again, throwing her weight against her father. She grabbed his shirt and pulled and pushed.


"Daaaaddddy! DAAAADDDDY! Wake Up! Wake Uuuuurrr-rrruuup" She shouted, puffing her cheeks up in frustration. Sally gave her father a strong kick in the side then fell over backwards. She sat for half an hour, sobbing into her knees, hiding her face. She had never felt more alone.


Eventually, fear and hopelessness succumbed to boredom. The food locker door had been bent outwards by something large. Sally wondered outside, bottom lip a-quiver. What if the monster was still out here? What if noone else was nearby to help? Sally slowly explored into the ship that had for so long been her home. Without the people, the place was so alien. The steel walls were so suddenly so cold.


Sally heard someone shouting not far from here. She walked around a corner, her face contorted, and stood a few feet from Caitlyn. She made eye contact for a brief moment before she started wailing.


"MY DAD'S HURT AND HIS EYE IS RED AND.. AND.. HE WON'T WAKE UUUP"


( @Kayzo @Floodwater31 )

 

[Maki]

Caitlyn looked up at the panicked girl, honestly surprised that such a small person would be the one to survive such a bad crash. Though it was great to see another survivor Caitlyn would've rather seen an adult, as they could've been much more of a help.


"How far away is your dad?" Caitlyn asked, propping herself up on her arm.


@Ironrot

 

[Lenchan]

Islia tied the rest of the contents securely and holstered them up over her shoulder, tying it like a sling around her torso and warning Sebastian not to protest with sharp eyes. They softened as she slide them over to Erich and nodded again before turning back out towards the thick cord of trees before them. She studied it briefly, making note again of the nearest landmark and pointed off in its direction. We don’t know enough about the planet yet to be accurate but, “It’s northwest from our relative-facing position. Again, about three miles. There’s a river right before it that we’ll have to snake around and our midpoint it a nesting grounds for our purple aviary hosts.” Lowering her hand to hold the knotted supply pack in place, Islia looked over her shoulder, hesitantly. She decided to keep the last of her thoughts to herself and looked ahead, taking a breath and setting forward in a slow, but steady pace.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian nods at Erich, "Thank you," He mutters softly. His hand drifts through the cloud of fog that had started settling around the remnants of The Last Dawn's flight deck. "Let's all hope this isn't lethal in higher doses,". He shivers at the thought. What if this fog was in fact toxic? The idea of the air around them seeping into their lungs and killing them from the inside out caused him to shake his head a bit.


The Doctor pulls three scrap squares of cloth from the makeshift knapsack, tying one of them around his own mouth and jawline. As they walk, he offers two more to The Girl with Cobalt Hair and Box Boy. "Put these on, just in case. The plants here will be releasing foreign spores. Who knows how the human body will deal with those,".

 

[Lenchan]

Islia takes the cloth from Sebastian and smiles softly. She was trying to make peace with her own mind and there was no need to appear hostile to her two companions. “Thank you, Sebastian. Please let me know if you need to rest.” She brought the cloth to her mouth and tied it securely behind her neck. Wincing, she was reminded of the hole in the back of her head. She touched it briefly, feeling a crusted shell of blood. Let the river at the end of this and the promise of a long soak be your motivation, Isis... Isis? It seemed so natural to refer to herself as such. Never before had she been called that. Why was it so familiar? Her brow furrowed momentarily as she turned away from the man and moved past Erich. “This way.”





The uneven ground was treacherous and faulty, waiting for a misstep or dared glance away to snatch at Islia’s legs and send her stumbling forward. She didn’t falter however, her eyes laser focused, carving the most efficient way through the brush with little register of the actual environment. Every few moments she allowed herself to wince at the pain crawling up through her leg before it was completely habituated, numb and irrelevant. In those same moments, she glanced over her shoulder making sure the two men were still behind her. The task seemed as laborious to them as it did to her but the determination and focus from them equaled her own. She turned away and continued, taking one of those dangerous moments to steal appreciation from the beautiful, eerie calm, serene and completely enveloping; it seemed to stretch forever in every direction. This was not a complaint. She pondered absently if the Earth was like this once, before humanity and hubris had taken its toll. Of course it did, but it was nothing like that now. She supposed at the end of all this, they could be glad to be the first humans to settle here and take part in thi- trip. Islia's heart skipped a beat as she caught herself with a nearby branch, laughing sharp and low and expelling air in a sigh at the fresh wave of pain, she calls over her shoulder. "Be careful here - its quite rugged." What a dumbass, she mused quietly, unaffected.

 

[PingFire]

Erich takes the cloth and ties it tightly around his head so it covers his mouth and nose. He walks behind Sebastian with a slow pace, whinching in pain every so often as he breaths. "Hopefully the birds are the only other thing on this planet.." He looks around in the sky to try and spot any pillers of smoke. Sure enough he does both far and near. "Heh.. Would you look at that, we've hardly been here and we already started to pollute this planet.." He looks down at his feet as he continues to walk forward with the group.


@Lenchan @iTrinity

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian steps carefully. He takes extra care, seeing as if he fell his fate would likely be a lethal one. Due to this he trails behind them quite a bit. His breath was heavy since his lungs were still recovering. He was in pain. Each step sent a searing flame of agony up his spine, slamming into his head like a brick. The Doctor didn't want to stop, nor could he. Who knows what lurked in the bushes of the dense wilderness.


He tries to keep his eyes on his two companions. If anything were to happen to them-. Islia tripped. For a moment, he held his breath. Sighing in relief as she caught herself, he shook his head. Islia had to be exhausted past comprehension by now. The last time she was about to sleep, that terrible.. Thing, awoke.


That thing. Up until now, Sebastian had forgotten about it. Fuck. Where is that? Did it perish in the crash? What if.. It could be with the others.. Hunting them like a coyote to cattle. He shook his head. He couldn't get stuck thinking about those he had no chance of getting to right now. He had to focus on the two in front of him.


Box Boy. The nickname he would forever call Erich by. A friend older than Adalric, Box Boy had been friends with Sebastian since they were shitting themselves in diapers. Those days were simpler. Running about the playground, tackling each other to the ground in a rougher bout of tag. Sebastian copying off of Erich's Math homework, and Erich off of Sebastian's English. This brought a smile to his face in the setting sunlight, a small giggle escaping his lips.


Then there was The Girl With Cobalt Hair. That wasn't something he would ever call her, but hey, that's what he could identify her by. His thoughts of her were mixed. Some were warm and protective, others were cautious and distrusting. He wanted to think he could follow her to the ends of the Ear- well, he'd already done that. The ends of whatever planet they were on now, then. But he also noticed her body language. The furrowing of her brow, the distance that she continued to put between them. He longed to know what she thought of him, as her opinion was placed above all others' in his mind.


The forest started coming alive while night fell. It was odd, perhaps, this planet wasn't dominated by animals with conscious thought, but by plants. He tilted his head at this thought and observed the area around them. Luminescent pods drift down from the trees. The roots that surround them also begin to glow softly in certain spots, pulsating as if they were beating like hearts.

 

[PingFire]

Erich stops for a moment to take in the surrounding of the glowing plants and roots. Shaking his head he starts to walk again. He looking back at Sebastian, A concerned look crosses his face as he speaks in a low voice. "Do you need any help Sebastian?" His voice has a tone of concern as he tries to avoid falling on his face. Not watching feet Erich stumbles a few times but manages to keep upright.

 

[Lenchan]

As the planet's sun finally began to set below the trees the familiar shades of night bled into the pale sky darkening its color and officially ending the day. Islia couldn’t help but take note as the fauna surrounding them began to luminesce in a brilliant array of color. As the sky darkened, their lights brightened and Islia’s eyes sparkled like that of a child’s in bewilderment and awe. Never had she been witness to something so fantastic. It reminded her of the first time she’d watched Estorl working in his shop, her stubby, tiny fingers clutching tightly on the far edge of his desk, struggling to lift her eyes above the metal surface. She’d always gasp in rapture at the brilliant electric blue light reflecting off its surface and the shower of red sparks that erupted like the fireworks Estorl had showed her in the pictures he possessed. By the time Estorl found her, the city was on its way to ruin, long abandoning the frivolity of fireworks. The sparks were the closest she’d ever come to witnessing them first hand.


The memory sent a flood of emotion through her body. She sucked in air and turned to the two men behind her, her eyes helplessly aglow. “Fantastic.” Was all she said, before setting back on the path. “Just a bit further and we’ll reach the river. We’ll stop there for tonight”

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian shakes his head, "No thanks, Box Boy. I'm fine," He grits his teeth and continues forth, desiring that they leave him to his thoughts for now. He was troubled by the thought of his friends and passengers dying and a few other matters that he wished not to make public.


His gaze locked on Islia for the moment she turned around, cold and distant instead of calming and relaxed. When she turns again he looks back at his feet, continuing to use the branch he had acquired as a walking stick. He taps the end of it on roots he passes, noticing how they area he pokes lights up brighter. Their footsteps show in the form of luminescent, almost ghostly prints. The grass, or at least, what seemed to be grass they walked on was glowing green. Where they had stepped it glowed white. This planet was alive and the plants were somehow conscious.
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