Chương 1: Survival 101

Alarms blaring. Critical failure… Emergency landing procedure failed. Bracing sequence initiated. Impact in five… four… three…. Away. Slowly. They were moving away. My crew… Watching them fade away in the dark. Fists pounding that window. Palms sliding down the glass. I heard it through my speakers, their voices.

"Nova!" Until the distance between us grew too far. Then everything went silent. Their mouths were open. I couldn't hear them, but I knew they were screaming. Something inside me went numb, but I still smiled anyway. I pressed my palm against the glass.

"It's okay" I mouthed. Even though, it wasn't. But somehow… Somehow… I survived. I survived the wormhole, then the fall from orbit, and the crash that should've torn my body apart. I screamed so loud that I couldn't hear myself or the sirens. All I heard was sharp buzzing in my ears. When I woke up, I was here. The light blinded my eyes; I blocked it with my forearm. When my vision cleared, this place looked like home, felt like home. The air here was breathable and birds were singing.

Just for a second — just one — I felt relief. I was alive. I don't remember dropping to my knees. I only remember staring at the sky. Then I broke. Tears rolled down my eyes, I screamed loudly. Loud enough that my voice reaches till the heavens and I felt something. Something heavy, it cracked opened inside my chest. The winds were hugging me as if they could feel my pain, the birds were still singing as if they were saying it's okay. And that's where it hit me. My crew… They weren't here to hear this, to see this.

I wiped my tears from the back of my hand and forced myself to breathe slowly. I knew crying wouldn't change anything. I was alive. That's the only thing that mattered now. A flicker. At the edge of my vision. I blinked, and it was there. Lines formed into a rectangular shape, and text appeared out of nowhere. SURVIVAL LOG I frowned.

"Survival... Log?" The words had barely left my mouth when the screen shifted. The display changed. New text appeared. SURVIVAL 101 MEDICINAL HERBS: 0/10 HUNT ANIMALS: 0/10 CRAFT A WEAPON: 0/1 CRAFT AN ARMOUR: 0/1"Wait… What is this?" I wiped my eyes by rubbing my fists against it. I didn't believe what I saw in front of me. It didn't make any sense, but that wasn't the only thing that had confused me. Until I saw that. FAILURE: 12: 00: 00"Failure…? What the hell is that supposed to mean."

I stared at it for several seconds. I thought it was a hallucination, that my eyes were, seeing things that it shouldn't be. I chose to ignore and avoid what I was seeing and force myself to stand up. When I finally stood up, suddenly my legs cramped. I clenched my teeth and grunted with pain. My hands grabbed my calves. The pain was unbearable. I tried stomping my legs to knock the pain off but nothing happened, I wasn't able to walk.

The mental exhaustion had finally caught up to me and my vision started fading away. I dropped to the ground on my knees and fell on my stomach.

"What's happening to me?" When I opened my eyes, just barely and blinked, it was there in front of me. I rolled myself over and opened my eyes, it was still there. I shifted my head to the left— it followed. Turned my head to the right, and it still followed. The dizziness made everything worse. My eyes couldn't manage to stay open any longer; I was barely able to read. Just kept breathing heavily. I'd never felt this much stress before. But suddenly… The text changed. (DO YOU ACCEPT?) I let out a dry laugh.

"Accept what?"

"Accept that I'm all alone now."

"Accept that I'm gonna die." I whispered, and it still stayed. My eyes looked at it one more time, I exhaled with exhaustion.

"Survival, huh..." I thought I'd already survived the worst. What could be worse than that?

"Yeah, sure, I accept, whatever. Like this isn't surviving." I muttered. Those words slipped out carelessly. My eyes were closing. I heard a sound—a faint, mumbled voice. What was it? And everything went dark. I was out cold for a few hours. When I woke up, the sun was already settling down. My throat was sore, and my lips had dried up. I'd hit my head harder than I thought. Maybe dehydration had finally caught up to me, and I noticed nothing was in front of my eyes anymore. As if it was like a dream.

I waved my hand through the air. Nothing.

"But it was so real," I said. I covered my eyes with my forearm.

"Great," I mumbled.

"Now I am seeing things."

"Argh." I felt pain in my legs, pinched nerve. The pain had still lingered. My body was severely dehydrated. I limped back to my capsule. My eyes were searching everywhere for water. I swept a few of the things away with my hands.

"Where is it?", I whispered. Then I finally found a bottle.

"There". I grabbed the bottle and drank desperately. In a single breath, I drank the entire bottle. In that moment, I knew what being severely dehydrated felt like. After finishing that bottle, I gasped.

"Ugh..." And breathed. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I looked around in my capsule to see what I had left. Luckily, I found my supplies, which were still intact. I found some documents, my backup food bag, and a flare gun. Then I looked around more, I was trying to analyze my capsule situation. But I didn't realize how much time had gone by. It was already night, and the night got chillier.

I tried to turn on the lights and the heater, but the backup power had already failed.

"Just my luck," I mumbled. As I searched more, I found the matchbox. But there was nothing that I could burn. My eyes were searching for something... Then it landed on those documents, which were confidential. Would it matter if I burned these? Is it right? I would have been dead so what does it matter. Survival was the only thing that mattered now. Anyways it would still be useless here. So, I grabbed them, and I knew it wasn't enough to last all night. I need to find something else to last all night.

I went outside; the chills couldn't stop me from freezing. I hold both of my arms with my hands while my teeth were chattering…

"Does it have to be this cold?" The temperature was so low I could see my breath in the air. At this rate, I would not survive the night. My body still shivered as I picked up some twigs and some grass to light. But that was not enough. I still needed a shed to protect me from the wind. I couldn't light a fire in my capsule because it would attract beasts who were nearby in this forest, and it was the only means of transportation that I could use. There was only one way to survive this cold.

My eyes landed on the broken door. Half of it was stuck beneath the capsule. I started pulling "Arggh". The door was a lot heavier than it looked, I tried to lift it.

"Come on, you damn door." I pulled harder.

"Come on…" It took every bit of strength inside me to pull that door. As I pulled it out, it made me fall back to the ground.

"Finally." I picked it up and dragged it. Used it as a shield against that cold wind by leaning it against the capsule. It still wasn't enough. Wind blew from the sides.

"Still not enough… You got to be kidding me." I was frustrated. After all that, I couldn't stop the wind.

"What... now," I mumbled. I had to think of something. I had to survive this freezing night. How will I... My gaze moved to that bag. That bag was the only thing that would save my life.

"I think this will have to do, for now." I opened it. The parachute unfolded. The wind was so fast. It started blowing inside the parachute.

"No!" I grabbed onto it tightly. It was my battle against the wind. It started dragging me with it.

"I won't let you..." I started pulling. My eyes filled with desperation to survive. But I knew I couldn't fight that wind. I started flipping those ropes. The weight of that parachute got heavier. The more I flipped, the heavier it got, and I succeeded. I grabbed the folded parachute and used it as a cover to protect myself from the wind. I had built myself a little igloo. I gathered the twigs, grass, and paper and arranged them. Then I opened that matchbox. There were only three sticks left. My eyes widened.

Three chances to survive this night. Just three. I lit one, but my shivering hand couldn't keep the fire alive. The flame did not withstand it. I put down the match box and rubbed my hands. Faster. I breathed out to warm my hands. I grabbed the matchbox and lit the second stick, and another gust of wind came right through the covers — flap — flap — flap. It was stronger this time. The flame died again.

"No, no, no... this can't be happening."

"No...." I whispered. I looked at the last match. One stick left. My only chance, I have to lit the fire up with this anyhow. My hands were shaking worse now. The temperature was dropping fast. I could see my breath inside the covers now. I shielded my back against the wind current and took a deep breath.

"Come on, Nova. You survived that huge wormhole. You can light the damn fire." I lit the last stick with one stroke. It was little, but still there. I burned that confidential file first to burn those twigs and grass. Wind challenged me again. The flame started fading away.

"Oh no, not this time." I covered the fire with my arms. And I softly blew again and again. Come on, you damn fire. I kept trying repeatedly. Couldn't fail this time. I was determined and desperate. Then — It sparked. A little hope twinkled in my eye.

"Yes, just a little more." I kept blowing and the fire ignited.

"Yes, I did it." I laughed.

"Huh... Finally." My stomach growled. I should eat something. I quickly went inside and grabbed my supply bag. I pulled out a protein bar.

"Oh, I missed you so much." I grabbed a bite. The taste made my mouth water. My taste buds were demanding more and more. I kept eating. I didn't realize how hungry I was.

"Is this my last protein bar?"

"There has to be more." I opened another pocket for more food and found nothing.

"Please, there has to be more." Opened another pocket and still found nothing. I opened all the pocket and shook my bag downwards. Multiple things dropped outside, on the ground, no protein bars. But there was another thing that I saw, it wasn't food. It was them. Pictures. Their happy faces. Smiles and those memories.

"Mom, Dad, are you still watching from heaven?"

"Look, I survived. Again."

"I thought this time for sure I would see you. But I am still alive." I chuckled softly and looked above gazing at the night sky, through the tiny windshield on the door. I wonder what you guys are doing right now. I wonder if you are listening to me right now. I went through all the photos. I smiled, thinking about them. Until that picture came, and their faces popped in front of me. My crew... Iris... Tears were dropping on that picture. I bit my lip.

I tried to stop crying but the warm tears kept rushing down on my cheeks.

"I wish that I could see you again. To tell you I survived." My vision blurred.

"I don't know if you're alive," my voice broke looking at the picture on my lap.

"I don't know what I will do without you."

"I don't know if you made it through the wormhole. Or that if I would make it till tomorrow." I sniffed quietly.

"But I know this" I wiped my tears. The fire crackled.

"Our promise. Remember?" FLASHBACK: We were 12 years old.

"Iris, did you finish your homework?" our guardian, Ms. Diana Williams.

"Yes... Yes, I'll do it later, Ms. Williams." Iris said.

"No, do it now, Iris. How many times I have to tell you again and again, just do it or you can't watch TV tomorrow. Am I clear."

"Alright... I'll do it." she frowned. Ms. Williams walked to me and saw me writing in my notebook.

"Look at Nova. She is your best friend, right? She is doing her homework. Why can't you do yours?" Iris's expression didn't change at all.

"Nova, make sure she finishes her homework, okay?"

"Yes, Ms. Williams." She left the room. A few minutes went by. We were doing our homework.

"This is hard... I don't want to do it." she lay on her bed. I smiled. She kept staring at me as I was doing my homework. Suddenly she stood up and walked by the window. She went out on the roof.

"Nova, hey... come on." I looked. She extended her hand, smiling.

"But what about your homework?" I asked.

"Oh, not you too Nova, just come. I promise I'll do it alright." I grabbed her hand and went out. We were sitting on the roof of the foster home, looking at the stars.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Her eyes sparkled as she gazed upon them.

"You mean stars?"

"Yes." She said. Iris pointed at the sky. I looked up.

"That one. That's where I want to go." She said.

"Which one?"

"All of them." She grinned.

"We'll explore everywhere, Nova. You and me." She looked at me with those passionate eyes. I knew she meant every word of it. Her smile said it all.

"But what if we get separated?" I said quietly.

"What if we got lost?"

"Then we will find each other. No matter what." Iris grabbed my hand and looked at me seriously.

"Promise?" I asked. She held out her pinkie finger.

"Promise." I linked my pinkie finger with hers.

"No matter what," I repeated. ### I wiped my tears. The memories came back to me. I remembered that promise we made to each other. There was a fierce look in my eyes, a fire within me.

"For me, stay strong. For you, I will keep on living. And one day I will see you again," I said.

"I will find you no matter what. I swear it. Just stay alive for me." I clenched my fist.

"Just stay alive, Iris..." I whispered.

"I promise, I will find you." I slept that night with her picture clutched against my chest, the fire crackling softly beside me, the stars glimmering over my head. Morning came too soon. I woke up to the birds singing their song and the smell of smoke. My fire had burnt out to ashes. I opened my bag. I couldn't rely on these supplies forever. I needed to find resources. Water, food, shelter, and materials that I could gather.

I quickly changed my clothes, A brown bomber jacket over the grey t-shirt, green shorts and my multi- tool kit bag attached to my belt and my brown gloves I wore on my hands. I equipped myself in a proper survival gear and started exploring. Searching. As I walked in the forest, I stood there, just staring. Looking at the forest around me.

"What is this place?" I muttered.

"Were the trees here this big? I never knew." A flicker. In front of my vision. My heart skipped a beat.

"No, it can't be." Text appeared, exactly where it had been before. FAILURE: 00: 01: 00 One minute.

"What?!" I froze. Just stayed there staring at the Log, it took me by surprise. This was not what I expected.

"So… it was not a dream."

"But why didn't it appear earlier?" The display changed. THE LOG APPEARS IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, DURING QUEST ACTIVATION OR WHEN IT HEARS USER COMMAND MANUALLY. I blinked.

"So, you can understand what I am saying." The text changed again. THE LOG OPERATES ON USER'S VOICE COMMAND.

"So, what will happen if I don't complete this task?" My heart raced now. ACTIVATION: PREDATOR PROTOCOL.

"What does that—" the seconds on the display distracted me. FAILURE: 00: 00: 10"10 seconds! There is no way—" Counting down. 00: 09 00: 08 00: 07"No…. This isn't real. This can't be—" 00: 03 00: 02 00: 01 FAILURE: 00: 00: 00 ACTIVATING: PREDATOR PROTOCOL. I looked around me desperately. Had it started? Everything feels normal. Nothing's happening.

"Maybe it's just a halluci..." I felt the ground shaking. I felt a strange vibration around me. A tremor. THUD. And another tremor. THUD. THUD. It was getting closer. Louder. Birds were fleeing in the distance. And another one. THUD... THUD... THUD. It felt Heavy, as it got closer and closer.

"What's happening?"

"Are you causing this vibration?" I asked. The display flickered. The text changed. THE LOG IS PRODUCING INFRASONIC SOUND TO ATTRACT…

"No, no, no, no..." And my eyes widened as I read the full sentence. It was true. The log was real. I heard it before I saw it. A sound that made my heart hammer. Made my teeth ache. I turned slowly. … Looked back over my shoulder. I saw it. … The roar frightened me to my very core. My body felt goosebumps like never before. Its eyes met mine. For one frozen moment, neither of us moved. It was here. It was the apex predator. … Tyrannosaurus Rex. Every fibre in my body told me one thing. … Run!