Taishka Part 12

Once we made it inside of the old building, we turned on our flashlights. Even with out night vision, the darkness of the room proved difficult. There was no sign of other robots, but there were a lot of containers that seemed to be filled with liquid or gas. I couldn't tell what the place was supposed to be. We couldn't proceed further because the stairs that obviously used to connect to the ledge by the door had fallen to the floor. We turned back.

Fintan had become a bit braver and was no longer hiding behind the fence. She was looking at the water in the still river below her.

“What's up?” I asked.

She looked up at us from the ground. We stopped walking and rested on the walkway, looking into the water ourselves. It looked pitch black during that time of night.

“I was wondering what they needed this water for,” she said. “This was either put here by them or is just a collection of rainfall. Did you see anything in that building?”

“Looks abandoned. Can't see how they would be able to use it for much,” I said.

“I think we should set up camp,” Branis suggested.

We all agreed it was about time to rest. The lack of a schedule was proving to be an alien experience. We drove a few minutes away from the building behind some trees. They were the largest trees we had discovered so far. Fintan seemed excited that we seemed to be going in the right direction for healthier fauna.

“It makes sense,” she said as she was helping me secure the final tie on the tent. “There is even some grass around us now. Maybe we just landed in a cesspool and the rest of the earth is full of life.”

“It definitely has robots,” I said, reminding her of our previous encounter. “If they did that to one place, whose to say they haven't destroyed as much as they can?”

“That would be a shame,” Fintan said. I seemed to have made her sad.

“I don't mean to be a downer. I would love to see a rainforest,” I said.

“There would be plenty of food in a rainforest,” Branis said. “Our rations won't last forever.” They were carrying the food box as they mentioned it. I couldn't say that I was not hungry. We had not eaten for hours.

We entered the tent and ate plenty of our food. Washed our clothes in the washbin provided, and lay next to each other for the night. It was a cooler night than before, which was strangely more comfortable to me.

As soon as we awoke the next morning, Fintan had resolved to get samples from the river. We headed directly to it and let her machine roll around on it's own. We had to walk until there was a place where the water came close enough to scoop it with a cup, which Fintan did excitedly. Then we trekked back to the truck and had our machine spread out. She placed it in part of the machine and waited for some testing.

The water was a dark green and brown swirled together in the light of morning. Chunks of water plants were floating around in it. That must have been why the liquid the robots were taking looked so odd in their hose.

Once done, the robot sent the information to Fintan's arm mounted robot controller. “Damn, this is some pretty nasty stuff,” she said, looking at us. “A lot of it is reading similar to the poison from that fog, but there are microorganisms in this. I can't identify them. I hope not all the water on this planet is so awful.”

“Well we don't need to worry about that for a while. Your little robot will provide us with enough water for a long enough time, right?” Branis asked.

“It gets the moisture from the air and anything else it can. For now we have what is in the tub in the back of our vehicle,” Fintan explained. “That won't last forever, though.”

“I know that,” Branis responded. “I just think we should worry about that when we find a natural water source that doesn't look like it's full of moss.”

“Do you guys think we should get going?” I asked. “We should follow where those robots went. Or at least try to not be seen here in case they come back.”

“Sure. You're driving first, though!” Fintan said, running back to the truck.

During my turn driving we had crossed into a greener land. The wheels on the truck seemed to have a harder time on the softer ground, but continued to push forward with ease regardless. The clouds were a blanket over the sky, providing us with very few glimpses of a bright blue every now and then. I remembered the views from the space station and how this was probably going to be the clearest sky we would see. It looked a tad frightening to me, like the clouds were watching us and also keeping us hidden from the rest of our kind.

The truck jumped and skidded to a halt. My team members yelled, startled by the event. I got out to see what I had run over. It was a skeleton sitting just behind the back tires. Still had some rotting meat on it.

“Oh dude, sweet!” Branis exclaimed. They jumped out to join me, followed by the medic. “There's some wildlife around here. This isn't very old.”

Fintan grabbed a few samples of the tissues that remained and put them in her bag to examine later. She grabbed some of the plants that covered our feet too. They reminded me of images I saw of clovers, a very symbolic plant in ancient times. Not that I remembered what they symbolized. I hoped it wasn't death, although the idea of finding a rotting carcass in a field of death plants amused me for a moment.

We continued forward in the truck with Fintan driving. She seemed to genuinely enjoy the act of driving. A light sprinkle started to fall. I pushed the windows of our transportation closed so as to avoid gathering water, but Branis tried to gather some in a sample cup for Fintan by holding it out of their window. It wasn't long after the change in weather that we came across a paved road. It had definitely suffered some wear and tear and wasn't fit to drive on, but we decided to follow it's path.

It eventually connected to a few more destroyed roads and we kept arbitrarily choosing which one to follow. Until we saw tall buildings. We hadn't been able to get a clear view of them through the trees that took residence around the roads, but once past them, it was as if the city ruins had sneaked up on us instead of the other way around.

By that time the sun had started to set and we were still feeling the exhaustion from staying up past sundown the night before, so we decided to stop and set up camp again.

When the tent was finished, Branis and I stood by the entrance and looked over to Fintan. She had stopped and was looking at her robot.

“Hold on, guys,” she said. “I want to test the air again. It's bound to be cleaner than before. I mean, there are trees, at least.” We waited for the results and much to Fintan's surprise, they were perfectly clear. “Oh. Huh. Well uh... I guess we should test this out for real, probably,” she said, looking at her teammates.

“What? You want us to sacrifice ourselves?” Branis asked.

“Okay, fine.. I will... let the outside air into my suit for a few minutes. But I'm not taking it off completely.”

“Sure thing, kid,” Branis said, folding their arms. I stepped over and watched Fintan's face closely. She opened the vent on her helmet and breathed in the new air. For a moment she kept her eyes closed. Then she made a few strange expressions.

“Are you okay?” I asked, puzzled by her reaction.

“Yes actually. I smell something. Maybe the plants?”

“Aw dude, now I do want to take my helmet off,” Branis said. They were looking at us for approval, having learned their lesson before.

They both took their helmets off. I reluctantly followed, hoping there was not some invisible, unseen factor the robot had not detected. Once the helmet was removed, I understood what Fintan was describing. The scent was very odd. It reminded me of salad, but somehow damper. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. There were sounds I was not able to hear through the helmet. The slight wind brushed against my hair and the leaves of the plants around us. It was a strange feeling. I wasn't sure of how I could find comfort in such a new place. Fintan put her helmet on the ground and started taking off the top portion of her suit to reveal the tank top underneath. She knelt down and felt the grass and dirt.

“Do you think it's safe to keep our helmets off while we travel farther?” Branis asked. “Would be more comfortable.”

“We don't know how large this patch of cleanliness is,” Fintan said, sadly, “So we can't take that chance.”

Branis frowned. They were very adamant about not liking the suits we were given. I had to admit they were not very comfortable to wear for so long. I looked into the horizon where the ruins were. The sun was almost completely set, leaving the sky to be a bright red orange. Then I made my way to the tent, not wanting to be left outside in the cold. The others followed, including the robot.

Fintan finished her sample testing while me and Branis played a game of cards and watched an episode of a television show Fintan had packed for our adventure. It was comforting to see such entertainment so far from our home, and weird to realize that it was actually created on this planet originally. So if anything, I should have felt more connected to the past of the planet than to the space station. I didn't bring up those thoughts to the others and got defeated by my card game opponent once more.

It was in the middle of the night when I woke up. A shuffling noise was outside of the tent. I was frozen at first, but somehow managed to nudge my two companions awake. They lay on either side of me, silently looking around. Something was outside and had decided to investigate our camp. My first thoughts were of the robots we had seen, but Branis knew better. They crawled to the side of the tent that held our weapons and grabbed a smaller gun, making sure it was ready to use. Then they waved for us to get up and watch their back. We both stood behind them in the doorway, sealing the inside door flaps, scared, but ready to fight whatever it was out there.

Branis carefully unzipped the outside doors and jumped out quickly, aiming at our investigative visitors. They were small creatures, hooves on their feet and horns on their head. They had been startled Branis' sudden appearance and stood still. Then Branis took a few steps toward them and they leaped around, running away into the trees frantically. The hunter lowered their weapon and removed the bullets. We all looked at each other.

“That was amazing,” Fintan said.

“It was,” I agreed. “Do you think those are the kind of creature we found earlier? The skeleton?”

Branis thought for a moment before answering, “Maybe, but they seem smaller to me. Probably something similar, though. I wonder if they are something we can eat. Next time I'll try to catch one.”

“Good idea. We should test them even if we can't eat them,” the medic agreed. She seemed excited by the encounter. I yawned and suggested we return to bed, which we did quickly. I slept soundly for the rest of the night.

We investigated the new found ruins in our safe helmet suits to be careful. We did not know what to expect between all those buildings. Fortunately there didn't seem to be any more poison waiting for us. What we did find was as incredible as it was a waste of time. The buildings were mostly fallen over of collapsed. The few that remained standing seemed to have simply gotten lucky considering none of the other wreckage had knocked them over.

We walked around for a while, but after seeing some of the wreckage crumble while we were investigating, we decided it was safer to stay on the outskirts of the ruins. Just in case anything were to collapse while we were there.

There were in tact street signs and wires running in and out of the destruction. There was no more power to give them purpose. I was amazed by the amount of lost technology and resources that were in that single city alone. All of that steel, going to waste. Corroding while it lay there accomplishing nothing aside from being a testament to the past. We were the first humans to see it for centuries. The realization was overpowering. I talked with my fellow humans the entirety of the few hours we spent traveling around the pile of ruins. We were all in awe and a bit of shock.

When we reached the other side of the city, more animals showed themselves. Not the same kind that had caused us to wake up in the night, but shorter, predatory animals. We approached them in the vehicle and parked beside a pack of the creatures. They were ripping apart their meal, which I couldn't recognize from where I sat. Most ignored us, but a few came to look at us up close. They didn't seem threatened or confused by us and went back to their meal. We had all reverted back to our childhoods and excitedly watched the animals in their habitat.

After they were satisfied, the predators made a few noises and hurried off into the city. We kept on forward until we found another road leading away. We chose to follow it. It eventually crumbled into nothingness and we were once again without a path to follow. I wondered if we were wasting our energy with how aimless we were going about our adventure. There were more ruins of a smaller, less impressive town where we decided to rest for the night. There were plenty of birds in the area, which Fintan seemed happy about. I had no idea the mural on my wall features such noisy creatures. They seemed to scream in our presence.

Luckily the place we chose to build the tent wasn't too close to the birds, so their chatter dissipated. That changed in the morning, when their screaming had returned. The noise woke all of us up. We sat in bed and begrudgingly decided not to attempt sleep while the noise continued, so we prepared for the day.

I yawned as we exited the tent and watched Branis start to fold it up. My shoulder twitched a few times and I annoying turned around, wondering why I felt so odd. The birds had gone silent. I didn't even see any. I shrugged and helped Fintan get the robot into it's holder on the truck. Once all packed up, we set off again. In the same direction we had been going the day previously.