Chapter I: Stuck

It would be the 6th hour we have been on this world and almost nothing has happened. It became even more ominous than when we first arrived. Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? For those who haven't, Murphy's Law states that if anything could possibly go wrong… it will. If that's pessimism or realism, it doesn't matter. The point is that things were going too well for my liking.

Graham and Celeste were walking in front again and Jennifer and I at the back, following. Residing between us was a silence so deafening… I must've really ticked her off. It didn't really matter to me. Everything comes and goes in life. Everything is temporary.

We came upon the spot where we left the ship and alas, my suspicions were proven correct. The entire ship, along with a piece of the ground, was gone, as if it just vanished into thin air.

"I-Is this a sick joke?! Where the hell is the ship?!" Celeste began panicking, which caused a chain reaction amongst the other two as they followed. Panicking before thinking it through. If I was petty, I would've said something like 'I told you so…'. Fortunately, I was not that shallow.

"Maybe it's just some kind of hallucination? Yeah, that must be the answer, right?" Jennifer rambled on, as usual.

What was quite surprising, was the fact that Graham remained silent. However, his face revealed more than enough. His arms were shaking a bit. Normally, I wouldn't, but even I felt a tad bit fearful that our leader was panicking like he did. Then, he spoke…

"I am afraid it's not. The ship is gone… stolen. Probably by something on this planet." He spoke. His voice was wavering. I felt sorry for him, so I had to speak up. What a drag this is going to be.

"Or maybe something stole it that wanted off this jungle. First thing we need to do is track its whereabouts. I am certain the systems are back online by now… unless of course said something made a jump. But likelihood of that is well below 30%. Judging by the hole in the ground, our mystery guy most likely does not know how to pilot the ship and maxed out the thrusters downwards, so they probably didn't get far."

Silence befell them. They stared at me for at least 20 seconds before saying anything.

"How… are you this calm and rational? Aren't you scared or fearful in anyway? Your face looks so… normal." Jennifer asked, baffled by my demeanor and attitude towards the situation.

"Yeah, it is kinda weird. Are you… human, Michael?" Celeste asked me… suspicious of me as usual. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I am always prime suspect to everything that goes wrong. First, they didn't suspect any sentient life on this planet, now they suspect that I am an alien. But I'd rather not complain, or I'd probably seem more suspicious.

"It seemed illogical to panic, so I acted rationally. Honestly, I was suspecting of something to go wrong from the beginning. Not this specifically though. And Celeste… your accusations truly hurt me. What makes you hate me? What have I ever done to you? Nevermind… let's just find the ship and get off this planet."

"He's right. Arguing amongst ourselves is not going to solve anything. Let's get to work. Jennifer and Michael, track the ship down and pinpoint its location. I want coordinates. Celeste and I will set up camp for the night and prepare the weapons. I have some food in my backpack if you guys didn't bring any." Graham said valiantly like a leader, and everybody listened to the last detail. Sure, when he does it, it's cool, but when I do it, I'm suspicious.

We set up camp for the night. Jennifer seemed to be the only one of us who did not bring food on her person, so she ate what Graham had in his backpack. I got my laptop out and the set data cache I had of the ship, preparing to get down to the problem at hand. They set up two tents and Jennifer and I entered ours. After we ate, Jennifer and I got to our mission of locating the ship as Celeste and Graham sharpened the weapons, we had outside of their tent… romantically of course.

A few minutes or so passed and not a word was uttered between Jennifer and I… until we pinpointed the location of the ship, of course.

"Is that…? Did we just find the ship?" She asked as if there was any doubt. There probably was. Her sense of distrust stunk like a sewer, but I didn't really care. I guess I should probably respond.

"Yep. That is her. Looks like she's about 30 kilometers from here, north. If earthly coordinates work similarly on Planet Alpha, then it would be… 62 degrees North; 75 degrees West."

"We did it! I must go tell them!" She said excitedly. I grabbed her hand before she got up.

"Maybe we should just enjoy tonight. We don't know what lies ahead from here. Let them enjoy themselves."

She nodded as she sat back down. I averted my eyes in a respectful attempt to not make eye contact. Silence entered once again, however this time it was not awkward or anything. It was just… quiet and… normal.

"I'm sorry for acting like a douche. Everybody is entitled to their opinions and me being angered by yours was kind of wrong. I'm sorry" She apologized sincerely. My heart stopped and my brain lagged in that moment.

It was as if I couldn't comprehend the fact that she apologized. Those were words that I never really heard before and she apologized to me of all people.

"Oh… I guess I'm sorry as well. We did make a groundbreaking discovery and I brushed it off as if it were meaningless. I apologize."

She smiled and giggled. An odd reaction, I thought. She turned to me and gave me a high five. Honestly speaking, I was baffled, really. Social queues and actions were not really my forte, to say the least.

"That means we're cool now."

Her words brought peace. I never thought a phenomenon like this could be possible. Those words shot a sort of medication into myself that without my noticing, I smiled. I let my guard down.

"You have a nice smile. Why do you hide it? You should smile more." Jennifer said. I unknowingly chuckled and made eye contact. I felt comfortable. My uneasiness and restlessness faded into the abyss of my conscious. It felt… wonderful.

Jennifer then hugged me as she then would get up and get her sleeping bag ready. She smelled nice… womanlike, I guess. A perfume-like odor invaded my nose. She smelled like primroses and lavender. I then followed her example and got my bag ready as well.

Celeste and Graham sat outside by the fire. The dimly lit fire settled a lighting perfectly that highlighted Celeste's features. It brought perfect shading on her face, bringing out her doll-like eyes and dilated pupils. Her small, pink lips popped out more and her thin waist seemed more visible. They held hands as Celeste laid her head on Graham's shoulders. They really had something special.

From a carnal male's perspective, Graham was a very lucky guy.

I went to sleep after that, Jennifer was already asleep. I couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked.

-Chapter I End-