After a night of hard work, the field was complete. After sleeping, the next morning, they went to the glade to inspect the field they had worked so hard on.
"It was just one night, but I think I can see them sprouting." Lazarus said.
"Should we water them?"
"Hm… I don't know. I think rains should be enough for them. Their natural habitat is in the plains. I heard plants could drown if given too much water." Bob muttered.
"Then, should we just leave them alone?" Lexus asked. "We aren't going to give them fertilizer or something?"
"We don't have that, Lexus." Laurel sighed.
"Erm… We actually might have some sort of fertilizer." Shingo looked away. "Mistral told me about manure last night."
"Manure?"
[Organic fertilizer can be made using manure or human feces that has been decomposed by bacteria in an Augmentum Plant Nutrient Triple X Plant. While plant nutrient devices are more effective, humans have used manure as fertilizer for centuries, almost from the moment they started farming tens of thousands of years ago.]
"Hah? Are you saying we should pour our poop onto the plants we worked so hard on yesterday? Hell no! I don't want to eat any fruit smeared with poop!"
"I'm with Lexus on this one." Laurel frowned. "Disgust aside, I think it would be bad for our health. We couldn't guarantee its hygiene."
"We wait then." Xiaolang said.
"Yes. Let's do our water duty for the day." Laurel said.
At noon, almost eight hours later, they had all finished their duties. Picking melons and boiling water were now routine tasks. Still tiring, but they no longer felt like collapsing after doing them.
"Look! They sprouted!" Anna said as she inspected the field Bob had worked on the previous night.
"Should we work on the field again?" Shingo asked.
"No. We aren't sure whether we can cultivate them." Laurel said. "Let's see whether we can harvest them first before planting more. I'm not sure whether we did the right thing."
With nothing to do, they lounged near the lifepod. Without games, homework, or parties, they looked for work. Bob went on to make furniture—a rough bench for sitting. He used scarab scales and bones as nails. Meanwhile, Xiaolang made bows.
Lazarus and Anna fell into sewing and crafting duties, making baskets and clothes by weaving leaves.
"It's hard. How did you do it so effortlessly?"
"It's not effortless. You just need to fall into a rhythm. Four steps. Insert it here, then here, then here. Then repeat." Lazarus said, teaching Anna with patience. Auscella mimicked her. After the fourth try, she could do it as well as Lazarus.
"Yay!" Auscella gave her a basket.
"Wow. Amazing, Auscella. You are smart!" Lazarus patted her head.
Meanwhile, Laurel fell into melancholy. Her eyes drifted to the horizon. The blue sea stretched as far as the eye could see. Civilization existed. But this island was abandoned. There was no one here. She needed to cross this monster-infested sea to reach civilization.
How? Even if there were no monsters, they couldn't do it. The sea was too vast to swim across. They would drown. Could they make a boat? With primitive tools? Even if they could, it would be shoddy. Could she trust a boat made by children to sail a real sea? She had never seen a real sea since birth. Not many had, in fact. Only those working to inspect the former Earth or other planets would have seen one. Even then, accidents were common.
If those scientists couldn't make a truly safe boat, could children like them do it?
Then, what about the monsters? There were monsters in the sea capable of tearing apart brand-new lifepods.
"Laurel. Are you thinking about something?" Lazarus pinged her through her NeuroGear.
"Yeah. Our future."
"Don't worry too much. If we pray and work hard enough, I'm sure God will show us the way." Lazarus cheered her on.
"Yeah…" Laurel wanted to believe. She wanted Lazarus to be right. But her mind simply couldn't think of a way to cross the sea.
"I will also think of a way to cross the sea. Who knows? Maybe that Loch Ness monster sleeps at night. Maybe it doesn't cross a certain area. Or maybe we could find teleporters or other devices inside the ruin. Or maybe another civilization has a boat passing through."
"Yeah. Thanks." Laurel said, thankful for Lazarus' encouragement.
In a world like this, Lazarus had kept the group's morale high. Her ideas didn't seem realistic, but she refused to drag the group down. She had to believe that one day, they would return. More than anyone else, her father needed her.
"I will go to the plains again tonight." Xiaolang said. It wasn't a suggestion, but a notification. He wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Huh? Didn't we still have some of those metallic onions left?"
"I believe we need more. By tomorrow, all the crystal watermelons will be exhausted. We need another food source." he said.
"...Understood. Let us come with you. We should prepare for the worst. Do you need anything?" she asked.
"I believe we should go as light as possible." He said as he thought about the rhinos. They were quite fast. They were also heavily armored and could even shrug off scarabs' attacks as if they were nothing. The only way to survive was to outrun them.
"Understood. Let's prepare for the night. We can store the onions in our food box." Laurel said.
"I wonder if we could cook them. They tasted weird. Maybe instead of eating them raw, we could cook them with salt and other stuff?" Lexus said.
"Be happy that we have something to eat." Laurel rolled her eyes. Lexus was more agreeable recently, but he still acted spoiled.
"I am bored. Let me join you." Lexus said.
"This is not a game, Lexus." Xiaolang said.
"I promise I won't go anywhere near the plains. I will stay in the forest with Laurel."
Xiaolang pondered for a bit. Letting Lexus come meant trouble. If he alerted the rhinos, he might endanger Xiaolang's and Laurel's lives. But Lexus had changed a bit, and Xiaolang wondered whether he should give him a chance.
"Alright. But if you cause trouble, I will leave you."
"I can go home by myself. I studied this island's map too, you know. I was wondering what the eastern corner looked like." he said. Then a thought surfaced on Laurel's mind. Could there be something at the eastern end? The photo from Xiaolang's phone hadn't shown them what lay beyond the eastern plains because it was covered by clouds.
"Okay. You can join." Xiaolang nodded.
The next night, wearing leaf clothes sewn by Lazarus and Anna, Xiaolang, Laurel, and Lexus departed for the plains. This time, they traveled farther east through the forest, reaching the southeastern corner.
"There is a beach here as well." Laurel said. They hadn't seen the beach from the mountain because it had been hidden by the clouds.
"That's right." Xiaolang nodded.
"There is nothing here. I thought I could finally find something. Tch!" Lexus spat. "Let's pick up the onions and go back home."
"Alright. I will go in and search for more onions. You stay here. Don't make any sound." Xiaolang said.
"Maybe we should go in too. It will be faster with three people." Laurel said.
"More people means a higher chance we will be found. If those rhinos realize we are stealing their food, they might guard the plains the next time we come here." Xiaolang said.
"Okay. Please stay safe." Laurel said. Xiaolang nodded in affirmation and departed.
"Hmm… There are no purple amoebas here. I wonder why." Lexus photographed the surroundings. He didn't know whether the pictures would be useful. He was merely copying what Xiaolang did. He wanted to contribute, no matter how small.
"You're right." Laurel nodded. Somehow, the purple amoeba population drastically decreased after they crossed the river.
The night passed. The glittering night sky was dull. Their sense of time warped. With nothing to do, the two children sat in silence. Lexus wanted to chat, but Laurel kept reminding him that they weren't in the lifepod. They were in monster territory. They had to remain vigilant.
"Here. One basket. Give me your basket. I will pick some more." Xiaolang returned after several hours and swapped his full basket for Laurel's empty one.
Lexus wanted to return to the lifepod already. The forest unnerved him. He didn't feel safe in this alien jungle. But they were already here, and more food was always welcome. So Lexus remained silent.
"Thanks. If you feel you are in danger, flee immediately, okay?"
"Yes." Xiaolang nodded.
"More waiting…" Lexus sighed. He considered taking Laurel's basket and returning on his own. But there might be scarabs in the river. It would be safer if they traveled as a group. He had already regretted volunteering for this journey.
A few minutes after Xiaolang departed for the second time, Lexus saw something moving. A fluorescent line extended from the beach. As the lines moved closer to the children, they saw snakes slithering along the beach. At first, there was only one. But then several others followed until there were a dozen of them.
"Look." He poked Laurel and pointed toward the beach.
"What are they?" Laurel looked at yet another monster on this island. She thought she had seen it all, yet she was wrong.
The snakes slithered on, passing the beach and hidden beneath the grass on the plain.
Laurel had even more questions after seeing the snakes' behavior. As far as she knew, the rhinos were omnivores. So why did they ignore the beach, seemingly afraid of these snakes? What could these snakes do?
The mystery only deepened.
I am tired. Yet, I can't give up. I am their leader, yet I can't do anything. I will be left behind. Should I give up? Lazarus is a better leader. Or maybe Xiaolang. His skills and sense of danger are the best. Or maybe Bob. He has the most experience crafting tools. I don't know whether I can lead them any longer. ~Laurel