Last to Fall

ch 6

Alita~

Xanadis is a harsh change to my life of living in comfort within the empire. I used to think the political matters I dealt with before were the hardest things I’d ever have to overcome and in most cases, I did overcome them, with pride.

High society is a dangerous place in and of its own, one little rumor or slip-up could destroy entire households, so I often had to steel myself against my political enemies and find ways around their exploits in order to make things right and fair for the common good.

To most of my enemies, I was a fierce fighter who threatened their carefree lives but on xanadis... None of that mattered...

All the struggles I went through to grow in power were pointless and despite how strong I tried to seem before, I’m physically weak and incapable... Those who hated me before no doubt think I’m dead or squabbling through the mud trying desperately to survive...

I wasn’t overly powerful or rich, living in the lap of luxury never suited me. I didn’t like to be greedy, that’s why I chose to go into politics in the first place so that I could make things better for everyone... To make things fair, just like my father... But in the end, I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit, and now I’m struggling just to survive...

I’m good at negotiations, not building shelters and scavenging for goods, I lived a modest life being the heir to my household and continuing to keep our family name in the books... I wonder what my mother or father would think if they saw me now...stranded and alone on a planet that wants to kill me...

Varin... It’s been three days now...how much longer until he comes for me? Will he even be able to... He has to find evidence of my innocence and then prove that there was foul play involved in my case... That alone could take weeks... How am I supposed to survive down here if I can’t even find proper food or shelter...

Standing up I grabbed my bag and looked around, first I should find a place to camp then some food... Maybe I’ll even be able to get a fire going...

I started teaching the area for those fruits the alien had found before but I didn’t see any trees in the vicinity that matched the one the fruits came from. Going downhill I found a trail that seemed to be frequented by animals and decided the last thing I wanted was to camp out where a bunch of dangerous creatures resided.

Going back uphill I looked around and eventually found a large boulder. I figured this was better than nothing and I could climb on top of it if I wanted to escape any creepy crawlies...

Grabbing some nearby sticks and branches I made a pile and tried to see if I could make a fire. To my dismay, fires aren’t as easy as survivalists make them out to be, and I only managed to hurt my injured hand more in the process... After hours of searching and trying to get even the slightest spark, I gave up and decided to lay on top of the giant boulder I had found.

The treetops weren’t as thick here and I actually got a decent look at the sky from atop the boulder. Its pale blue was nearly grey and I wondered if the rain here was like that of homeworld’s... It almost sounded pleasant to have a light trickle of rain to come down and wash away all my worries...

I reached out towards the sky half hoping varin would suddenly appear and pluck me out of this nightmarish hell of a planet...but the chances of him getting to me before the wildlife does is...slim...

Looking off to the side I tried to take my mind off of everything, it’s probably gonna be dark out soon, I should try looking for food again...

Climbing off the boulder I noticed something on the rock, I touched the stone tracing the claw marks that seemed to have been left behind by some animal... Paying no mind to it, I walked through the trees looking for anything, berries, mushrooms, fruits, at this point I’ll try anything...

The rustle of a nearby bush grabbed my attention and I stopped, looking around for any signs of...well, anything...

Something felt off and I continued to look around as I walked. I soon noticed there were more scratch marks on the trees around me.

I jumped as a blurry figure moved from one bush to another beside me. I stepped back as a low growl could be heard and something else moved behind me, I turned to face it only for another creature to move on my other side.

More growing could be heard from different bushes and I frantically looked around realizing I was surrounded. I started to back up into a tree as a cat-like creature jumped out of the bushes in front of me and snarled, with saliva dripping from its mouth as it snarled while stepping closer.

Dread filled me as I pressed my back against the tree and stared at it in horror, it had six legs and a short stub for a tail, it also had short grey fur with dark splotches, and four long narrow ears were folded back from the top of its head, they all had black narrow eyes as well... Besides its sharp saber-like teeth the creature’s front feet had razor-sharp claws that looked like they might be used for climbing...or tearing their prey apart...

The one in front of me stalked closer slowly while snarling and as it came closer the rest of the ones in the bushes came out as well, keeping me trapped in. I looked over at one of them as it hissed at me.

I couldn’t conjure up any plan. I had no weapon and no food to bait them. I was completely trapped by at least five of these creatures that were the size of large dogs. I could only press myself further against the tree as the one in the front prepared to pounce.

I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my head expecting it to pounce on me and tear into my flesh but there was a startled yelp and I could hear the other creatures around me make a run for it.

Looking up at the one that was seconds from killing me it now laid dead, with a familiar long spear pierced through it.

What just happened...the creature was killed instantly with the spear through its backside and all the way through its chest… blue blood dripped from the spearhead that was pierced through its body and I almost felt sick...

Snapping out of the shock I was in I looked at the angle to see the spear was thrown from above...

Looking towards its origin I saw none other than the same alien from yesterday sitting crouched high up in a nearby tree, staring directly at me...