Page 6 of Guardian’s Heart (Space Guardian’s Mate #1)

NOVA

Whoever had called out to me didn't give chase, a small stroke of luck I was more than thankful for. The moment I stepped through the first outcroppings of the forest, the light dimmed as the tall trees and their wide crowns blocked the rays of the sun.

Soon, the fact that my feet were still barefoot, and I was naked underneath the cloak became apparent to me once again. It happened the moment I stepped on a sharp rock, cutting the sole of my foot.

"Ouch." Cursing, I stopped running and sank onto a moss-covered rock. I lifted my foot to take a look at the damage but was suddenly overcome by the beauty of my alien surroundings.

Foot forgotten, for the time being, I stared at a large tree. Its many roots not only twisted over the ground but up the trunk and branches as well, making it impossible to see if the tree even had a trunk or was just a mass of intertwined roots. The end of each branch carried what appeared to be a small bush; well, small was a relative term since the tree's circumference was at least twenty feet or more. Half of my apartment could have easily fitted inside it. The thickest branches were at least five feet around and made up of tangled roots. The roots were of a dark, green-blue color, while the bushes atop were green.

Ferns that looked like they could have grown in every forest on Earth were also either green or dark aqua. The ground was littered with them. Same with a vine-like plant in orange and red hues.

Something that reminded me of Spanish moss—which made me so homesick, I felt a deep cramp in my stomach—grew off the trees. Trees that all looked like the one I had been studying, mostly smaller, but in the distance, I made out others that might have been even bigger.

The entire atmosphere and the light breaking hazily through the tree crowns reminded me of the forest I had grown up in. All that was missing was a body of water, like a river or swamp.

I listened to get my bearings. I heard something that reminded me of the trickle of a creek, another the rustle of something small going through the fallen leaves. A few shrill squeaks made me think of birds, but as much as I tried, I couldn't make out any kind of animal life.

I wasn't sure if they stayed away because of the spaceport’s proximity or if life was sparse here; either way, I reminded myself that I wore neither shoes nor had any weapons—a situation I needed to remedy immediately.

Hoping to find something useful, I patted the cloak the silver alien had given me. Discovering a set of pockets, I reached inside, and low and behold, I pulled out a small tablet or phone. That wasn't good. If this were anything like the devices at home, he would be able to track me. In my life before the invasion, I had hacked into databases for a living. Something I was very good at and didn't require me to interact with others too much. No matter how good my skills were, though, I doubted I would be able to hack into an alien tablet and disconnect the tracker. It was a pity, too, because this piece of technology would have probably been very helpful, even valuable.

Alright, so back to the task at hand. The head start I hoped I had made with my escape had just shrunk. Still, I needed to make time to fix my shoeless state. If I hurt my feet any worse, I wouldn't be going anywhere, and I might even catch a nasty infection.

I scrutinized a few of the leaves. Some were pretty thick and sturdy; they might do if I could figure out how to tie them around my foot. I checked on the cut, but thankfully, it wasn't too deep and had already stopped bleeding. Favoring my unhurt foot, I limped over to the tree, making sure not to stumble over any of the roots.

Just in case the tree wasn't really a tree but some kind of alien monster, I talked to it. "Good little tree, I'm not gonna hurt you."

I felt incredibly stupid, but hey, I'd watched my share of alien horror movies.

The Spanish moss was indeed made up of slender stems, similar to twine. I pulled on one, but it only came loose after hanging on it with my full weight. It was about five feet long, too long, but there was no way for me to cut it into two, so I had to break off another, which was even longer. It did well, though.

Having the leaves on my feet and feeling the unevenness of the twine with every step wasn't the greatest way of getting around, but at least the soles of my feet were covered for now. I would keep an eye open in case I ran into something more useful.

I left the tablet on the rock, imagining silver hunk's reaction when he found it, and even thought about staying just to watch his expression. But my daddy hadn't raised a dummy, and Missy had always warned that curiosity would kill the cat , so I opted to put as much distance as possible between us.

I followed the faint sound of trickling water until I reached a narrow creek. The water running through it was deceivingly clear, but again, my daddy hadn't raised a dummy. All kinds of nasty bacteria, fungi, parasites, or whatever could be in that water, not to mention that it was on an alien planet. Yet, sooner or later, I would have to drink water.

I decided to walk through the stream for now, and later, I would figure out a way to boil the water before I drank it.

The light coming through the tops of the trees was becoming sparser, it would be dark soon if this planet was anything like Earth.

I hadn't heard any heavy footsteps announcing the silver alien stalking me, but with night coming soon, I needed to figure out where to sleep and how to defend myself. Trees and ferns were still the predominant flora around these parts, but here and there, I made out curious mushrooms, and the further I walked, the more they took over. Some even reached my hips.

After a while, I stared at an especially gnarly-looking twisted tree—a natural opening in between the roots made for a perfect little alcove. I picked up a rock and threw it inside, ready to run if something came charging out, but it was only a small, mouse-looking creature with blue fur, making a nasty squeaking sound.

"Sorry buddy," I called after it as it scrambled away.

Thankfully, the air was moist, so I wasn't too thirsty yet, but it was only a matter of time before I would be. First things first, I grabbed a fallen branch and a piece of dead, dried root lying on the ground. Hoping that the same kind of physics applied to this world as they did on Earth, I collected more dried-out leaves and roots and Spanish moss that had fallen off the trees to make a neat pile. From there, I sat cross-legged to begin the arduous task of teasing a spark from the wood. I put the branch between my palms and began twisting it as hard and fast against the root as I could. It had been years since I had to make a fire this way, but as it turned out, I hadn't forgotten how, and the wood here worked the same way as it did at home—if anything, it seemed faster.

The sparks ignited on the dried moss and leaves. Carefully, I pulled my hair back and blew, teasing the flames higher. Once a small fire burned, I found more rocks to keep it enclosed and added dried wood and moss.

With the fire going, I felt more confident in my ability to survive this alien world. I searched until I found a large branch sturdy enough to be turned into a spear. Thanks, Daddy and Uncle Boone .

I hit two larger rocks against each other until sharp splinters fell off one. I used it to cut the length of Spanish moss , with which I tied the largest splinter to the tip of my spear.

There! Weapon!

I stood and looked at my shoes. They would have to do for now. I had other things I needed to worry about first, like water.

That proved more complicated. But not impossible. Collecting more sticks, I made a makeshift spit over the fire and tested the resilience of the leaves against the flames. One didn't seem to want to burn at all, so I used it to collect water, and with the help of more strings from the moss, I dangled it over the fire, waiting for it to boil.

The bottom of the leaf bowl turned black, but it neither leaked nor burned.

There is nothing more boring than watching water boil, so I busied myself by making a quick torch to inspect the hollowed-out space where I had chased the mouse from. The ground was littered on one side with mouse droppings, and on the other… hallelujah, were those nuts? My stomach rumbled at the idea. I justified that if Mister Mouse survived eating those, I should be able to as well. What choice was there? I doubted if I waited a few more days, my hunger would get any better, or a buffet would magically appear. First, I broke one of the bushes off a tree and used it to get rid of the droppings; then, I turned to my new best friends: the rocks. With the help of two of them, I opened the first nut, which reminded me of an acorn, only it was the size of a large walnut. The kernel inside was yellow and looked edible enough.

"Here goes nothing." I bit into it. It was much softer than a nut, almost bread-like in texture, and tasted kind of bitter, but nothing I couldn't handle.

"Thanks, Mister Mouse," I called into the darkening forest. I wasn't above eating the critter's stash, nor would I have been above eating the critter for that matter. Already, my mind was busy trying to remember how to make traps for small and larger animals.

In the meantime, the water had not only begun to boil but had been boiling for several minutes. I carefully removed the leaf bowl from the spit and hung it from a branch to let it cool, repeating the process with another leaf. Hoping my optimism would win out and I wouldn't drop dead from either nut or water poisoning.

My stomach was still growling, but I stopped at two of the nuts, just in case. Eventually, I would work my way up to more and maybe even try the mushrooms, but for now, the two nuts would do.