Chapter 5: Survival.

" What just happened?" Henry blurted after kneeling on the ground, he just saw his whole get murdered. He just saw the only thing that can take him home get destroyed, he just saw one man destroy sixteen men and a spaceship and he realised that there is no going back to Earth. He is stuck on this planet and he won't get to see his family again till he dies.

" Haaaa." Henry shouted as he cried. He stood up slowly but he soon fell back to the ground and he noticed that he had sustained a cut on his leg. Grunting in pain, he looked around and he didn't even see any living thing around him, just brown sand, maybe they landed in a desert. He finally struggled to place his feet on the ground and he limped slowly towards a bag he saw on the ground, opening the bag he saw a first aid box in the bag, joy overwhelmed him before treating the deep cut. After treating the wound, he strapped the bag on his shoulder and he stood up and picked a knife he saw on the ground. He walked towards a body a few metres away from him and he saw that it's Gad's body with a large metal lodged in his left eye. Henry was sure the metal pierced his brain then killed him. Sighing, he saw another body and his other comrades bodies although bodies were not complete. Henry fell to his ass, angry and sad, these men didn't deserve to die, not at all. They just wanted to protect their world, their loved ones and their families and here they are, killed brutally by someone that they didn't even know. Henry didn't know what to do with the bodies, until an idea hit him. He dug the sand with his hands and he buried the bodies of his comrades before covering their bodies with sand, at least they deserved that. He searched around where the battle happened, he couldn't find anything that would help him, just a few clothes, the food they brought with them were destroyed with the ship.

" How am I going to survive without food, weapons and water?" Henry asked himself after searching and he didn't find anything. He knew he couldn't stay there, he had to move and see if he could find anything on this planet. His survival is not garantured on this planet but he would try to survive and go back to his family even if the odds are stacked against him. After burying his comrades, praying over them for a minute, searching for things that might aid his survival. He walked away with a bag that had first aid materials, a knife, a picture of his wife and daughter and three clothes. He just continued to walk with no specific goal or destination in mind, after three hours of walking he was so tired and hungry that he almost collapsed. The sky was already dark, it seems this planet also has night times just like Earth, he could barely see anything, everything was so dark but he still kept walking. He ignored his fatigue and hunger as he kept walking, when he saw that he couldn't continue to walk again because of the darkness, he found a spot on the brown sand and he laid three clothes on the ground and he slept on the clothes with his bag as a pillow. In the morning, with the sun shining brightly, Henry suddenly shot up as he reached for his knife after hearing a loud caw that resounded in the desert. He looked around and he saw the large bird that he saw earlier with his teammates before their deaths, the bird was flying around him but it didn't attack him. Henry didn't move his body as he looked at the bird, the bird didn't attack but it might attack him if he made some aggressive movements, seconds later the bird flew away. Henry heaved a sigh in relief, packed his clothes before putting them into his bag then he continued to walk with his knife in hand. He felt hunger pangs as he took each step but he kept moving, he finally arrived at the end of the desert and he saw a forest just after the desert. Entering the forest, he saw different mysterious creatures flying, crawling, moving around and he considered killing some then eating them. But he didn't know which creature is edible, he might just eat the wrong animal then die. Henry kept moving in the forest but he didn't meet any human on his way, that was until he heard a low hiss. Henry heard the sound because of his advanced hearing, he became alert and he held his knife properly, preparing for any assault. Just like he expected, he saw a large snake with blue scales crawl towards him swiftly. The snake had its mouth open and Henry saw the rows of white and sharp teeth in the snake mouth.

" Just a snake." Henry muttered as he took an assault stance.

" A very big one though." Henry added as the snake almost hit him. Before the snake could hit him, he stepped to his left and stabbed the snake's neck with his knife but to Henry's surprise, the knife didn't hurt the snake. The knife didn't even scratch the snake's skin, Henry quickly jumped away from the snake when he saw that his knife didn't hurt the snake. Immediately he landed, the snake hit him with its tail and Henry was blown away. Henry spewed blood as his back hit a rock, he quickly stood up but the snake hit him again and he was sent flying again. Henry quickly stood up before the snake could reach him and he ran towards the snake that was also gliding towards him. Henry jumped up as the snake glided under him, Henry landed on the snake's back and he stabbed the snake's back but the knife didn't hurt the snake. Henry kept stabbing the snake but he continued to get the same result, but he was stopped when the snake moved its body in a way that threw Henry against a tree. The snake quickly crawled towards Henry and it opened his mouth to bite Henry but Henry quickly moved away and he punched the snake's neck. Henry saw that the punch hurt the snake a bit so he punched it again on the head but before he could punch it again, the snake bit his left hand. Henry screamed loudly in pain, the snake's teeth were really sharp but his hand wasn't ripped off because he still had his armour on him. Henry couldn't pull his hand away from the snake's mouth and he started to rain punches on the snake's head. After a dozen punches, the snake released Henry's hand and before the snake could recoil, he reached for his knife and he stabbed the snake's abdomen. In pleasant surprise, the knife found its way into the snake's body and the snake bled profusely. Henry smiled as he kept stabbing the snake until the snake laid on the ground, dead. Henry fell to the ground, tired and hungry with new wounds on his body. He almost fainted but his body was already altered to survive in difficult situations so he stood up and he looked at the big snake that laid on the ground. He sighed as he fought back his fear, he reached for his knife and he skinned the snake. He feared that the snake was poisonous to the body because he wanted to eat the snake! After skinning the snake, he threw the snake's skin away, unknown to him, the snake's skin is a very important material in making magical weapons. He cut the snake's meat into several pieces and he placed them into his bag until the bag couldn't contain anymore then he found some dry wood, made fire and he cooked the meat. After cooking the meat, he reluctantly placed the meat into his mouth and the meat really tasted good in his mouth. He ravenously ate the meat, after three minutes, he felt really full but he still needed water.

" Let me keep moving, the smell of the snake and its blood might attract some unwanted visitors." Henry said as he packed up and he walked away. After taking steps, he heard loud growls approach him quickly, Henry quickly ran away but he couldn't run very well because of his injury. Henry was irritated that some beasts had appeared again after killing one beast. He quickly realised that he couldn't escape the beasts, so he quickly climbed a tree. The beasts already got to the snake body and Henry counted twenty beasts eating the dead snake. The beasts looked like dogs on Earth but these beasts had green skin and a very large head that possessed large sharp teeth. Henry was happy that he quickly climbed a tree, he was going to wait till the animals left but that was until one of the beasts saw him on the tree.