Chapter Five: Victor Andrews

I came back to consciousness with a pounding headache, sitting up had made my head hurt so bad that I had to lie back down. I already knew this headache wasn't from a concussion, it was an effect of the toxic gas, coming from the vibrantly colored flowers growing on the bark of trees I had observed just before passing out. I had made note of the odd smell that made me light headed, and it had been strongest near the flowers. I had blacked out in my desperate attempt to flee the gas. It seemed weaker down closer to the ground, not unlike smoke. I crawled on my hands and knees until I was clear of the treeline. I knew I had to get back to the wreckage to see if anyone else had survived. I turned and glanced at the eye catching flowers, the compelling aroma still faintly detectable. I knew I was lucky not to have died. I slowly shuffled away from the treeline, I could see the still present smoke of the wreckage just to my North. I began walking that way, keeping an eye out for any hidden dangers.

...

I saw a small fire burning next to a large metal box, which one of the surviving crew members was currently welding together from sheets of metal. I saw something glint from the firelight on the ground in front of me and stopped. I glanced down at the source of the reflection to find an intact BioAnalysis pad sitting at my feet, I had just barely missed stepping on it. I crouched to pick it up. The screen lit up and displayed the startup sequence when I touched it, so I gently pulled out the micro-scanner attached to the side of the device and turned back around to the forest I had just explored. It seemed the crew was doing well on their own, so I was going to do some research on the alien flora for a while until my expertise was needed. I started with the trees on the outskirts of the forest, giving a wide berth to the toxic flowers from earlier. I found that the trees here produced oxygen, similar to the way the trees on Earth did, which explained the breathable atmosphere. The most common species I found resembled the oak trees of Earth, though they had nearly perfect circle leaves and gave off a strong, sharp scent I found rather pleasant. Another particular species of tree I found during my search had long, tough leaves that wrapped tightly around the bark, I was intrigued by this armored tree and studied it for a short while, scanning the leaves and bark before deciding to name it Cataphractus Panes. I had officially discovered and cataloged several species of new plants, naming them with a smile on my face. Cross that off the bucket list! My victory was short lived however, as I had to scramble to climb the tree to avoid the alien creature that woke beneath my feet, most likely disturbed by my excited jump. I observed in fearful fascination as the large, wormlike creature writhed above ground for a moment before fading back into the ground. It's green, plantlike fur rendered it completely invisible when it stopped moving, indiscernible from the grass around it. And just like that, I was trapped.