There was a clearing as well, naturally, where the Raxxian craft had touched down, the scorched ground a clear sign of what had arrested their descent and kept them from being scattered across the landscape. Olivia headed to the broad leaves nearest and wiped them with her finger, directing the dew condensed on them into a container drop by drop.
It was time-consuming and tedious, but there was more than enough moisture in the air to have generated a fair amount of dew to collect, and that water was essentially distilled and pure. Whatever else she found, well, that would be a crapshoot. And without iodine tablets or fire, they’d have to risk it when it came right down to it.
She spent an hour gathering dew before the air temperature rose enough to evaporate the rest. Olivia climbed back into the downed ship and left her haul with Harper, then set out once more, this time in search of a more substantial water source.
The smell in the air was that of verdant nature, and Olivia was all but certain there was a body of water nearby. All she had to do was find it.
As it turned out, it only required twenty minutes of trekking to come across a small creek trickling through the woods. The vegetation around it was thick and lush all the way to the water’s edge, which was a good sign so far as she could tell. If it was toxic, odds were the plants would have died off where it touched.
“I come bearing water,” she announced when she brought the first of many vessels back to their former prison and current shelter.
Harper sniffed it. “Is it safe?”
“Good question.” Olivia picked up a scrap of metal and scratched her forearm, dripping a few drops on the wound.
“What are you doing?”
“Testing it. Kind of like how you test plants to see if they’re toxic or not. If the skin gets irritated, you know it’s bad. If not, odds are on your side.”
“Another lesson from the ex?”
“Ha, no. That guy was all about conspiracy theories. Nature stuff was mostly my dad, actually.”
“Not a conspiracy nut, I take it?”
“Not at all. We camped when I was little. He’d been in the military, and whenever we’d spend time out in nature, he loved to teach me little tricks. Knots, how to pitch a tent, how moss grows on the north side of trees. That sort of thing. Anyway, he died when I was still pretty young, but I never forgot the time we spent together.”
“Sounds like a cool guy.”
“Yeah. He was a pretty exceptional man. Mama always hoped I’d find someone half as good as he was. Guess I proved a disappointment in that regard.” Olivia pulled a long piece of wreckage from the pack she’d fashioned and handed it to Harper.
“What’s this?”
“A weapon. I didn’t see any animals out there, but this is for just in case.”
“Whatisit like out there?”
Olivia hesitated. Seeing was one thing, but describing an alien world?
“Actually, it’s quite beautiful,” she finally said. “Tall trees, lush plants, but all of it colors we wouldn’t expect normally.”
“Sounds pretty.”
“It is. And when I get back, if it’s still light enough to be safe, maybe we’ll get you outside for a proper look. But for the moment, stay in here, okay?”
“I think we’ve got enough water for now.”
“We do, but I want to see if I can find anything that looks edible.”
A smashed green blob lay smeared on the deck. Raxxian food, shaken loose in the crash.
“I think I can pry open the food ball dispenser unit, but I have no idea how many might be in there or if they were destroyed in the crash,” she continued. “Can’t be relying on Raxxian leftovers forever, now, can we?”
“Definitely not. And who knows? Maybe plants taste really good here.”
“Let’s hope so,” Olivia replied, heading for the outside once more. “I’ll be back soon.”
And with that she stepped out of the ship and back into the mysterious alien wilderness.
