Page 45 of Stranded with the Alien

“What is it?”

The shelter was trembling as if being buffeted from all directions. Vahn pulled open the flap and the sound grew louder.

In the next second, he caught Kara’s hand and dragged her outside. A deluge of water sluiced over her and drenched her to the bone.

Rain. It was raining.

Twenty Two

It wasn’t just a shower. It was a torrential storm, a biblical downpour. Kara laughed out loud as she turned her face up to the heavens.

Water filled her open mouth – glorious, cool, thirst-quenching water. Her bone-deep fatigue was washed away, along with the dust and dirt of the days-long journey.

Beside her, Vahn sank to his knees and let the torrent pour over his shoulders and back. His hair hung straight between his shoulder blades and his muscles gleamed.

Thank Ayanlesh, he thought. The gods had intervened. Another moment, another second, and he would have spreadeagled the little human on the floor and…

“The canisters!” Kara gave a start.

Running to fetch her backpack, she unscrewed the containers and stood them in a row to fill up. As soon as one was half full she gulped it down, offering a second to the Vraxian.

She thought she’d never be able to drink enough again.

A few meters away the lake was filling up. In the fading light, she thought she saw movement in the water. She pointed it out to Vahn.

“I thought everything was dead in there. It was full of bones.”

“I suspect the lifeforms on this planet are adapted to sporadic rainfall,” he said. “Maybe eggs survive in a dormant form until they come into contact with moisture.”

Something flipped out of the water and submerged again.

“Incredible.” Kara was awestruck. Vahn gestured towards the nearest tree.

“It is not just the animals. Plant life is regenerating too.”

Buds had appeared on the branches. Even as Kara watched, new leaves unfurled, sending clouds of insects into the air as they were dislodged.

“How is it all happening so fast?” she wondered. A flock of small birds appeared from nowhere, swooping and trilling as they picked the insects out of mid-air. Vahn got to his feet to watch.

“An evolutionary survival technique, I imagine. I suspect this planet has just entered its rainy season and everything has to reproduce before the next dry spell.”

“How long do you think it will last?”

“No way of telling.” Vahn stroked his chin thoughtfully. “If the lake fills up there should be plenty of water for a while. Until the next dry season.”

Kara shrugged.

“We won’t be here that long. We’ll be rescued before then.”

“Will we?” Vahn raised a brow. “We do not even know if your beacon is working properly. It is entirely possible we may yet have to face another drought.”

The thought of being trapped here for that long made her heart plummet. She rubbed her arms, the rainwater chilling her skin. Looking for her jacket, she saw she’d left it outside the tent. It was soaked.

Vahn saw her shiver.

“My jacket is in the shelter. Use it to keep warm.”

“What about you?”

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