Rustle~
"Something is coming…" I warned the group. We didn't need to raise our guard up, it was never down. Faris and Nerissa were experienced enough to have been on one or two bizarre planets, they knew that just one slip up can mean the most painful and gruesome death.
I held a pistol in one hand, a short blade in the other. My hopes weren't on the gun at all, it wouldn't be surprising if technology didn't work here.
I was weary and tired, we all were. We've been walking through this forest for almost eight hours and yet in that time, we haven't encountered any signs of life.
The mysterious monster that roared didn't seem to be catching up to us either. It was almost like we were alone. Yet our guard has been up through the whole time.
Our bodies have been trained to endure much more than this, but the human mind is Fragile.
'This is really pathetic. You should have stayed behind and battled that monster instead of putting your team's survival first.'
The damned voice was getting louder with each passing second, and the cage that I've placed around it could barely hold on.
"There's nothing…." Faris said.
Normally, he wouldn't have dared question my orders, even indirectly like this. But I understood him. We can't afford to stay in one place for too long.
The thing about bizarre planets was how unpredictable they were, and this planet… This was one planet that sent shivers down my spine. There was something inherently dangerous and eerie about it that made me want to run away.
Especially that floating cube…
Rustle~
My eyes whipped towards my side, there was nothing there. At least I knew there was nothing there. I couldn't see anything, nor was there any smell and yet,...
'You know something's there…. Logic isn't everything, Alderic. This is a bizarre planet after all.'
The voice was right,.... I was right. But, even for bizarre planets, something that escaped all sense? And possibly a living being?...
I felt my heart slow and before I could control myself, the words left my mouth,
"I know you are there."
'Hahahaha.' the voice burst into laughter and I almost winced. I don't know what I was thinking listening to it, this stress must be getting to me more than I thought.
Instead, I raised my blade and slashed down.
'Wait!'
My hands paused instinctively, my eyes widened and I felt goosebumps. I wanted to glance around, to look for the source of this voice that was in my head, one different from mine, but I knew that would be a futile endeavour.
The source was right in front of me.
"Commander, what's wrong?" Nerissa asked.
"There's nothing there." Faris spoke once again. They have been looking at me weirdly since I first spoke to empty air and now they were beginning to wonder if I've lost it.
"Show yourself." I said, my voice low. Not out of threat but out of fear. A creature capable of connecting with my mind without my consent…. And it seems intelligent.
I didn't even dare think of what could happen….
Instead, I put on a brave face.
'Hah! I was right.' he was back and this time his tone was one of mockery. I wish he wasn't right.
"Holy….' Faris spoke under his breath as a being slowly took form before us. I felt my breath hitch, I could hear Nerissa and Faris taking multiple steps back in panic, their weapons ready to attack.
Before me was a being of alien beauty, purple and blue weaved together to form a tapestry of colours, a jelly-like transparent cap, strands of flesh that should have been leg but weren't, a humanoid head, neck and torso….
'A jellyfish?'
Its black beady eyes shone with intelligence, not even an ounce of fear in them as it looked me in the eyes.
"Who are you?... What are you?" I asked a bit absentmindedly.
"If you keep heading in that direction, you'll arrive at the Swamp." It said, although it had a mouth, it didn't move, the voice instead echoed directly in my head.
"Commander?" Nerissa asked but I couldn't give her a reply. Instead, I remained still, staring at what looked like a juvenile child of an alien species unlike anything I've ever seen.
'Come on! Follow your instincts! You should know better than to use logic on a bizarre planet.'
The voice was right, logic dictated that I killed this being right here and now, prioritize my team well-being and not give any chance to the enemy.
But I couldn't do it. I wasn't particularly against killing a juvenile alien, I've done so a lot of times for the safety of humanity, war didn't care about age. But that was precisely why I was hesitating.
The voice has always been quiet when I do such things, although I loved to ignore it, I knew it was usually right in a sense. For it to speak now….
"What are you?" I asked once again. I could sense the stares of my teammates, I also wasn't speaking, this being seemed to be able to read my mind.
"Medusae." It said.
Medusae?.... Sounds familiar…
The…. Creature, looked away from me, suddenly sensing something. I looked in the same direction but I couldn't see anything.
"You are new and that's why I came to earn you. If you get to the swamp, you will die."
"Wait!" I yelled out as the creature suddenly vanished from my view. I looked around, trying to sense where it went but I couldn't.
"Commander, what was that?"
"Binoculars! Get me a binocular!" I yelled.
Faris hesitated but Nerissa was quick to the uptake. She immediately whipped Faris around and went through his backpack, pulling out a pair of binoculars.
Although technology and the very laws of physics might not mean squat in this world, I could tell that there will be certain similarities, for example the difference in heat between living and non-living things.
And binoculars should still be able to retain their functions in a way even though slightly altered.
My thought process was simple, even if the heat of living things in the world were different from humans, it would most likely also be different from that of non living things in this world.
At least I'm hoping it will be.
Placing the binoculars in my eyes, I did a quick three hundred and sixty degree scan, I wasn't looking for a heat signature but a moving figure.
If normal eyes couldn't see it, that didn't mean abnormal eyes couldn't.
"There!"
I gave Nerissa the binoculars and she looked through before passing it to Faris.
"What are your orders, commander?"
"We give chase."