"Hah… where are we?" Lexus gasped, stumbling over tangled roots as ferns clawed at his shins. "Are we even close? Mistral had to be lying—there's no river, no lake, nothing!"
His voice cracked, the words dragged out between ragged breaths.
"Should we stop?" Lazarus muttered. Her legs felt like lead, every step a deliberate effort. Sweat ran down her temple and stung her eyes. "How long have we been walking?"
"About two hours," Laurel said, though she was breathing just as hard.
"Two hours? No way," Lexus snapped, dropping his pack just long enough to gesture wildly. "Your clock's busted. I don't get this wiped out from a two-hour walk."
"Or," Lazarus said dryly, "the gravity here's heavier than you're used to. Plus, we're hauling water and weapons."
"Alright, let's rest," Xiaolang said. His grip never loosened on his spear, eyes still scanning the dense greenery. "We rest."
Lexus didn't wait for permission. He collapsed onto the dirt, chest heaving as if the air itself had turned thick. Bob and Xiaolang barely slowed, their breathing labored but controlled—this terrain was nothing more than an inconvenience to them.
The forest loomed around the group, silent and unhelpful.
"Say… do you still remember where we came from?" Laurel asked. She turned back, eyes sweeping the forest behind them, worry plain on her face.
"Yeah. That way," Lazarus said, pointing toward the wall of verdant trees they had passed through. Her voice lacked confidence. "A compass would really help right now."
She fell silent after that, unease creeping in. We've been walking straight, she told herself. We should be fine. Still, the forest looked the same in every direction—endless trunks, overlapping canopies, no clear landmarks.
"As expected," Bob muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "We really need Mistral. Do you remember where the lifepod or how far we walked?" He shook his head. "With him at least we would have a compass."
His thoughts drifted back to the Mars colony—sterile corridors, glowing maps hovering in the air, and Mistral's calm voice guiding him turn by turn, never once hesitating.
"My smartbox has a compass," Laurel said, raising her device. The dim display flickered weakly under the filtered sunlight. She scrolled through her applications, her frown deepening as list after list passed by. "But without Mistral, I can't access it. It should be here somewhere…"
"Same here," Lexus muttered, tapping at his own screen with growing irritation.
"Don't worry. We are not lost," Xiaolang said evenly. "I know how to access the compass without Mistral." He glanced upward, squinting through the leaves. "If the sun sets in the west, then we're heading east."
As he spoke, a translucent compass flickered into existence within his view, hovering just above the edge of his vision. The software had always been there—buried beneath meaningless names like IMU, Magnetometer.exe, and a dozen other terms he barely understood. Warning messages flashed briefly, complaining about missing components and something called UGP.
He ignored them.
As long as the needle pointed somewhere—and kept pointing the same way—that was enough.
The forest stretched endlessly around them, a cathedral of green filled with whispering leaves and distant chirps. Warm air shimmered between the trunks, yet the soil beneath their boots was damp and cold. Each step sent dry leaves murmuring across the ground.
A faint rustle in the shrubs froze them in place.
From the undergrowth slithered a strange, tubular creature. It moved on four slender legs, while another four lay folded along its back like dormant limbs. Its mouth split open, revealing a pair of pale tusks that caught the fading light. With a quiet snort, it leaned back into the bushes and began nibbling red berries, blissfully unaware of the eyes fixed on it.
Its fur was deep brown, patterned with black stripes. Lateral eyes swept the surroundings as it chewed, calm and unbothered. The creature was large—about the size of a golden retriever. Though the children stood taller, its dense, heavy frame made it feel far more imposing. It glanced at them once, briefly, then returned to its meal.
Xiaolang slowly raised his phone.
Snap.
The sharp sound shattered the stillness.
In an instant, the beast flipped over. Its once-dormant upper legs slammed into the ground as it launched itself forward, sprinting like a bullet. Shrubs shook violently, then fell still as the creature vanished into the greenery.
"…"
The group remained frozen, staring at where it had disappeared.
"Xiaolang!" Lexus finally burst out, pointing an accusatory finger. "I thought you said we weren't supposed to provoke it!"
Lexus's voice trembled. He was bad with dogs, and that thing had been about the same size—maybe bigger, depending on how you looked at it.
"I only took a picture," Xiaolang said defensively. "I didn't know it would bolt like that. It's not like I was planning to hit it—unlike someone."
He then went to his smartbox, and set it on silent mode.
"Lazarus, can you continue?" Laurel asked.
Bob had already risen to his feet, eyes sweeping the trees and shadows around them.
"Yes," Lazarus said. Her muscles still ached, but standing still felt worse. Every second they lingered made the forest feel less patient. They trudged on for another twenty minutes. Then the trees thinned—and the forest finally broke open.
A lake spread out before them, its surface crystal clear, glimmering like sapphire. Sunlight danced across the water, revealing schools of fish darting beneath the surface. Across the lake rose a colossal tree, far larger than anything they had ever seen back on the colony—wide, impossibly tall, a living goliath towering over the plain. Its shadow stretched across the shore, where bushes sagged under the weight of ripe fruits and deep-red berries.
At the water's edge, the upside-down, boar-like creature from earlier knelt to drink. Nearby, a dozen six-legged animals grazed calmly, their metallic-looking backs gleaming beneath the sun. They looked like deer, but besides the four legs, they had a pair of forelimbs to pick the grass from the ground.
To the left, mountains and rolling hills framed the horizon. To the right, the dense forest pressed inward, broken only by a lone stone spire piercing through the canopy. Beyond the giant tree, a vast savanna unfolded—golden, open, and sunlit—fading into the distance.
"…Yes!!" Lexus shouted. "We found it! It's a lake! It really exists! Look—there are even two rivers feeding into it!"
He leapt into the air, exhaustion vanishing from his face as he stared at the shimmering water, salvation laid bare under the sun. He spun toward Bob and slapped his hand in a hard high-five.
"We did it!" Lazarus squealed, throwing her arms around Laurel and spinning her in a tight circle. Laurel laughed softly, relief pouring out in a long breath that seemed to carry her fatigue away.
A few steps ahead, Xiaolang stood quietly, spear lowered, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Then the water rippled. A black shadow stirred beneath the surface.
Then it erupted.
Four jagged limbs burst from the lake, latching onto the upside-down boar-like creature before it could even cry out. There was a single violent splash—and the beast was yanked under, vanishing into the depths.
The laughter died instantly.
Only widening ripples remained. No one spoke. No one dared to breathe too loudly. The lake returned to stillness, as if nothing had happened.
The children stood frozen, confronted by nature as it truly was—beautiful, efficient, and merciless.
"Let's go," Xiaolang said quietly. "We need that water."
He stepped toward the lake, careful, deliberate. His grip tightened around his spear, eyes fixed on the crystal-clear surface as if daring it to move again.
"Wait—that's dangerous!" Laurel hurried in front of him, heart pounding. "That thing just dragged a creature under. You saw it. It could do the same to us!"
"If we don't find water, we're dead in two or three days," Xiaolang said, his voice steady. "Bob and I can handle it. If it shows up again—stab it. All of you. Don't hesitate."
Laurel's chest tightened. He was right. And that was what terrified her most.
They needed water. Fear had already sunk its claws into her, but logic pressed harder. She drew in a slow breath, then another, forcing her hands to stop shaking before she nodded.
"…Alright," she said quietly. "You're right. We don't have a choice. Just—be careful. That lake looks like its territory."
Bob nodded once, jaw set, tightening his grip. Lazarus did the same, her face pale but resolute.
Lexus stared at them, wide-eyed. "You've got to be kidding me. We're really risking our lives for a bottle of water? What if it jumps out again?!"
"Then stab it," Xiaolang said flatly.
Lexus blinked, completely thrown off. "…You're insane."
"If you don't want to come, that's fine," Xiaolang said. "Just guard our backs and warn us if anything moves."
Laurel, Bob, and Lazarus edged forward with him, every step measured.
"I'm coming," Lexus grumbled, eyes flicking toward the strange grazing creatures and then back to the water. "But don't expect me to stick my hands in that lake. If that thing drags you under, we're leaving. Got it?" He didn't say the rest—but being left alone out here felt even worse.
The lake shimmered like liquid sapphire, clear and radiant under the sun. Beneath its surface, the dark shape still drifted—visible, distant, and dangerously calm. Close enough to remember. Far enough to lie.
Xiaolang crouched at the shoreline and held his breath. Slowly, he lowered the empty bottle into the water.
Ripples spread outward. Each one made his pulse spike. The bottle filled. Glug. The soft sound of trapped air felt impossibly loud.
He pulled it back just as the shadow below stirred. For a heartbeat, the dark mass slid closer—then veered away, sinking back into the depths.
Lazarus hurried over, already lifting her handheld spectrometer. The device blinked once… then again, before projecting its results:
[Water analysis complete.
TDS level: <250 ppm.
Primary dissolved solids: calcium, magnesium.
No harmful toxins detected.
CFU level: <100 cfu/ml.
E. coli: not detected.
Several unknown bacteria present.
Recommendation: boil before use.]
Lexus stared at the display. "After that," he snapped, "it's telling us the water's undrinkable? That's a lie. Look at it—it's crystal clear! This thing has to be broken!"
"let's test the river," Xiaolang said, ignoring Lexus' protest. His frown and sigh showed how disappointed he was.
He turned and moved upstream, where the lake narrowed into a shallow channel. Eyes alert, spear ready, he scanned the banks before crouching again. This time, he dipped Laurel's bottle into the flowing water, careful to keep his shadow from touching the surface.
The river was shallow—barely knee-deep—and sunlight reached all the way down to the rocky bed. For the first time since they'd arrived, Xiaolang felt a flicker of relief. At least here, he could see what lay beneath the surface.
The scan appeared almost immediately.
[Water analysis complete.
TDS level: <100 ppm.
Primary dissolved solids: calcium, magnesium.
No harmful toxins detected.
CFU level: <30 cfu/ml.
E. coli: not detected.
Several unknown bacteria present.
Recommendation: boil before use.]
"The other river might be better," Lazarus murmured, frowning at the display. It was safer than the lake—but still not good enough.
Xiaolang nodded.
Together, they crossed the clearing toward the second river, each step careful, deliberate. Every rustle in the grass made their hearts skip. Around them, strange creatures grazed in silence, alien eyes tracking their every movement with curiosity.
At the far edge of the clearing, Xiaolang crouched and filled Lexus's bottle. The water looked just as clear, just as harmless.
The results appeared.
[Water analysis complete.
TDS level: <400 ppm.
Primary dissolved solids: calcium, magnesium.
No harmful toxins detected.
CFU level: <200 cfu/ml.
E. coli: not detected.
Several unknown bacteria present.
Recommendation: boil before use.]
Another failure.
Laurel's shoulders sagged. "Let's go back to Mistral," she muttered, frustration tightening her voice. "Maybe he can figure something out."
They had done exactly what he'd told them—found the lake, found two rivers. And still, the spectrometer declared the water unsafe.
Laurel clenched her teeth. They'd walked for over two hours to get here. Then circled the lake for nearly another. Exhaustion pressed down on her, fear gnawing beneath it. Why wasn't this enough? Why did the world refuse to reward effort?
"Let's go back!" Lexus burst out. "We shouldn't have come here at all! I'm starving and thirsty! This whole stupid adventure was a waste of time!"
He kicked a pebble into the shallow water. It skipped once, twice, then vanished beneath the surface. All of it was for nothing.
"Wait," Laurel said, forcing calm into her voice. "The spectrometer said boil before use. That means this is better than the others. We'll take a sample."
Her eyes hardened as she glanced back at the device. I'll grill Mistral later about what he meant by 'safe water.' Did anything above zero count as unsafe? And what were TDS and CFU even supposed to mean in real terms?
"Here," Lexus said, shoving the bottle into Lazarus's hands. "I'm not carrying that thing. It's heavy. Must be over twenty newtons or something."
"Hey!" Lazarus puffed out her cheeks, nearly losing her balance. "You can't just dump it on me! That's not fair!"
Xiaolang crouched by the river again, unfazed. "I'll fill one more," he said calmly, dipping another bottle into the flow. "You'll carry it. We might need it later—for washing, brushing, anything."
"Tch! You just want me to suffer," Lexus scowled.
"Yes," Xiaolang replied flatly. "I don't like whiners. At least be useful."
"Tch… so arrogant," Lexus muttered. He grabbed the bottle anyway—and promptly shoved it into Bob's arms. "You're the big guy. Carry more."
"Lexus!" Lazarus protested.
"It's fine," Bob said, tightening his grip without complaint. "I'll take two bottles. Let's go. We shouldn't waste time arguing."
With their containers full and their tempers simmering, the group turned back toward the lifepod.
The forest swallowed them once more.
Towering trees cast long, crooked shadows as sunlight flickered weakly between the leaves. Their boots sank into damp soil, twigs crunching softly beneath each step. Insects hummed somewhere in the distance, steady and indifferent. Two long hours of weary walking stretched ahead—along the same winding trail they had taken before, fatigue pressing down heavier than the water they carried.
None of them realized yet—
There was another task waiting for them after this journey.
Survive. The world is evil. You must do everything you can to survive. Arm yourself, don't falter. It is either you or them. They came to rob, they came to steal. I will not let them. I will protect them… I failed ~ Xiaolang