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The ridge Serenity had seen earlier was not a ridge at all. It was a dark forest. This discovery made Serenity simultaneously dejected and grateful.
Her dejection stemmed from the fact that she was much farther from the canyon than she had previously thought. She remembered she and Patrick had passed a strip of forest during their skrik ride the previous night, and it had been about halfway between the canyon and the nith ship. If this was the same forest, then she still had a long way to go.
She was grateful, however, for the shade the woods provided. She had been walking for what felt like an hour under the oppressive weight of the blazing sun. At this point she was dripping sweat. She could practically hear it seeping out of her pores and sizzling in the heat.
Stepping into the cool blue shadows of the forest, Serenity sighed with relief.
Much longer in that sun, and she’d have been burnt to a crisp. She had naturally dark skin, but a body could only take so much solar radiation. The itchy tingle on her chest and shoulders told Serenity she’d had her fill.
Yeah, she would definitely develop a burn before the day was through.
But right now, that was the least of her worries. The entire canyon tribe was depending on her. And Hruk was depending on her too.
Serenity wandered deeper into the woods, her eyes darting about for any sign of danger. God only knew what perils could be lurking in here.
The forest was incredibly dense. Huge trees rose up like dark columns from the soil, their trunks furred with thick green moss. In between, the ground was covered in a wild undergrowth of ferns and weeds.
It was a shocking change after the barren wasteland Serenity had just left behind.
God damn this stupid planet.
Back on Earth, Serenity had loved watching old movies. The really old ones from her grandparents’ time. Some of her favorites were theStar Warsmovies, and in those movies every make-believe planet had one biome. There was the desert planet, the ice planet, the swamp planet, and so on.
Well, that’s not how things were on this alien world.
This place had every type of habitat and climate you could think of. She’d seen snow fields, jagged mountains, grasslands, wastelands, swamps and now this damn near impenetrable forest.
Basically the planet was like Earth, except everything was out to kill you.
Still, Serenity couldn’t deny that there was a strange beauty to this place. But she couldn’t allow herself to be lulled in by the scenery around her. She had to stay alert. She moved slowly, cautiously inspecting the ground before each step. There could be more of those slugs around. Or worse…
Serenity ventured deeper into the woods, and before long she heard the rush of water. Soon the foliage opened before her, and she found herself standing on the edge of an angry river. The water churned and crashed over dark round boulders. Huge standing waves of white water rose in foamy peaks.
Shit.
There was no way Serenity would be able to swim that river. Not in her semi-weakened state. The current would pull her under and she’d be drowned for sure.
Maybe there was a crossing farther upstream. A fallen tree or a natural stone bridge.
Maybe this river even connected with the stream that flowed out of the canyon where the tribe was camped
But the river wasn’t the only problem.
It was almost noon already. Overhead, the sunlight was lancing straight down through the diamond shaped gaps between the leaves.
Serenity did some mental calculations.
As an ukkur, Hruk had been able to run flat out without stopping. He could keep a steady pace of about thirty miles an hour. Serenity could only do a small fraction of that. Back when she was in marathon running shape back on Earth, she could manage about five miles an hour. And in her current state, still partially drugged, hungry, and half-dehydrated, she would never make it back to the canyon before nightfall.
And on top of all that, there was this stupid river to contend with.
A lump ached in her throat, and tears stung her eyes. It was hopeless. She needed Hruk. It was the only way.
Serenity sniffed back her tears.
She was letting her emotions get the better of her again. She must not do that. It was pointless to stand around crying like a little girl. She needed to act, and fast. The clock was ticking.
Her mind raced, trying to come up with some idea.
