Fragment 004

A small critter clambered onto an illuminant mushroom just inside the entrance of a cave.

“Oh yeah! Free meal!”

I grabbed my “perfectly” crafted spear and…

Swoosh!

“Gotcha!” I cheered and strode over to the fallen critter. Standing over the skewer creature, I pinched it between two sharp nails, raised it above my head, then dropped it. It fell straight into my mouth. Gone in one bite.

I dusted off my paws and reached for my spear…the tip had snapped off, oh well. I could always make another.

“After all that hard work, I could really do with a nap.”

I stretched, arching my back until it cracked with satisfaction. Earlier, I had spotted a nice raised rock inside the cave, perfect for a well-earned snooze. Before turning back inside, something in the air made my fur bristle and my ears twitch.

“That’s odd.”

I shrugged it off and focused on what mattered. Sleeping. I hopped onto the rock and curled up, ready to rest.

Crash.

“Huh?”

Not long after starting my nap a loud, heavy crash echoed through the cave. I shot upright, dizzy and disoriented. My vision was still blurred from the sudden awakening jolt, making it impossible to tell what had happened. But my ears worked just fine. Stones scattered across the floor with sharp clatters, while somewhere in the distance, a low rumbling hum began to grow.

As my sight slowly returned, everything came back into focus.

“Yikes, that was close.”

I looked down beside me, a large stalactite had fallen from the cave ceiling. I barely had time to process it before my attention snapped towards the rumbling sound. Now that… that was worrying.

I hopped down from my sleeping rock and crept towards the cave entrance. Giving my backside a well needed scratch. A cool breeze brushed against my fur as I edged forwards.

“What’s this feeling? What happened to the sky? Why is it that colour?”

The sky had shifted from its usual orange into an unsettling grey. Even during the night, the horizon normally carried its familiar orange glow. This was not normal.

I watched as critters dispersed frantically across the ground. Scurrying under whatever shelter they could find.

“It definitely can’t be right.”

As I lifted my gaze back to the sky, the rumbling deepened. Dark, wispy masses coiled overhead. Then suddenly, a blanket of blinding illumination crashed down from above, forcing me to flinch.

Without warning, something thundered into the ground beside me. The impact hurled me backwards into the cave. My head struck stone and darkness swallowed me whole.

Another loud thud woke me once again, no clue how long I had been out.

My eyes slowly dragged open. They felt heavy, as though some unseen force was holding them shut. I lay face down, staring at the cave ceiling through blurred vision. My ears twitched. A faint rustling sound stirred somewhere beyond the entrance.

I pushed myself upright through the haze, my memory slowly seeped back.

“Ugh…oh yeah…” I groaned as just outside the cave, something caught my eye.

“Is that… green?”

I stepped closer.

“That can’t be. But… how? Where?”

I gulped as I edged forwards.

“That’s…a tree? With real green leaves?”

A fully uprooted tree lay sprawled across the red ground, its leaves bright and alive against this wretched planet. I cautiously extended a paw towards it.

“Maybe I’m dreaming…”

My entire body suddenly jerked backwards. That rustling again. I had forgotten about it.

Just opposite the cave, at the base of the cliff, a row of dried skeletal branches lay tangled together. Something shifted within them.

I hid myself amongst the tree’s foliage, poking my head through the leaves as I edged closer towards the cliff wall. With every step, my heart pounded louder.

Again, the branches twitched and I recoiled back into the leaves.

Through the gaps in the tangled branches, I watched the rustling carefully. Then suddenly, a body sprawled out from within.

It was covered in bruises, scrapes, and a large bloody wound around its shoulder. But this thing… it didn’t look like me, nor anything else I had ever seen around here.

I froze, debating with myself. I could leave. Pretend I had never seen it. Move on.

That would be safer. I should definitely just go, right now.

Then a low groan drifted from the wounded creature. It was hurt. Maybe it wouldn’t try to tear me apart if I got closer…Maybe.

I sighed and cautiously inched forwards.

“Why do I have to be such a kind, caring soul?”