Grow

by Heather Heckadon

  Looking up to Smith, we could barely see the look of shock through his helmet, but it was there. At first he gazed out for what seemed like an eternity, never moving. Then he began to search around, zipping this way and that. It seemed like he couldn’t move fast enough to take in all of the scenery.

  “Hey Smith, what’s it like up there?” Jane shouted.

  “I can’t even explain it. You have to see it,” he replied.

  “Well, I would love to but, you see, the thing is, I’m way down here,” Jane said sarcastically. “So, what are we going to do about that?” She turned to look straight at Spencer.

  “Oh!” he said off-put, and began to lift her onto the chair above.

  “Aella, you’re next,” he said.

  I quickly walked over and he wrapped his arm around one of my legs and lifted me up. Steadily, I rose to meet with the chair above me. Climbing atop the chair, I reached out for Smith’s hand on the next row, and he assisted me up onto the next line. Once there, I could clearly see out of the hatch. The sky was a brilliant blue with visible clouds, just like Earth. However, once I rose higher out of the hatch, I could see Circadia was very different from Earth.

  The pod sat in a field. Not a field of grass or clover, or anything from Earth. This was an entirely alien species, one I didn’t recognize. Green like grass, a large stem rose from the ground and splintered into a hundred different stems at the top, forming a grass-like flower. It was clustered together like in a wheat field.

  A brilliant line of purple surrounded the area. It took a moment to realize these were leaves on the trees. Every single leaf was a vibrant purple. The trees looked much like Earth’s, but so much prettier. So much different.

  “What is that purple stuff?” asked Smith.

  “They’re leaves on the trees! Trees do that to protect themselves. When some trees on Earth are subject to low-light situations, they undergo physical changes to make sure they are able to capture the most light. Then when they are exposed to high-light intensities, they have to make a change fast. Synthesizing anthocyanin is the quickest way to protect themselves,” I replied.

  “What the hell is anthocyanin?” Jane laughed.

  “It’s a chemical a plant can produce when it’s under stress or needs help, basically.” I looked to her to see her gaze fixed firmly on the line of trees. “I’m not sure what has caused it here, but it’s beautiful.”

  “Yeah,” Smith said, fixed in a trance looking out at the new planet. “But what made the trees stressed?”

  I thought for a moment. “Rumors must be true,” I said. “There’s obviously been a lack of light recently. I just don’t know for how long. Will be interesting to see if they bounce back.”

  Garrett popped up out of the hatch, scrunching us all together. “Can we stop talking about the trees’ feelings and get to the drop site please?” He pushed his way through us, slung a leg over the edge of the pod, and jumped down to the ground. “The ground feels really soft,” he said, sludging his feet around.

  I held my arms out to feel the breeze. The weather was mild, which I was appreciative of, but it made me wonder how long it would stay that way. We didn’t have any weather intel to let us know what storms would be like on Circadia, or if there even were any. Humidity hung in the air, making for great growing weather. Glancing around, I noticed everything on Circadia was brighter than on Earth; bursting with life as far as the eye could see.

  Realizing we were supposed to be helping the other pods, I quickly looked to the right of my helmet to see a blinking red light fairly close to us. “Hey guys, let’s go help the other pod. Looks like there's one pretty close.”

  “Well, get down here and we'll go,” said Garrett.

  “I’ll help you, Aella,” Smith offered, all smooth.

  Gently, he took my hand as I eased one leg down over the pod, then the next. He held onto both of my hands as he slowly lowered me down as far as possible, until he had to release me. I thudded to the ground, working to catch my balance. Standing up straight, I took the time to look around and smell the freshest air I had ever smelled.

  Eventually, everyone was unloaded from the pod and we set off in the direction of the neighboring landing site. We were unsure of what pod number it was, but were anxious to find out which team would be tagging along with us to the rendezvous point marked with a green dot.

  Beginning toward the pod, Spencer let out a holler. “I am so tired of this stupid helmet fogging up! It’s terrible! This suit is huge and hard to walk in. I’m done!” He began to take off his helmet as the entire team screamed for him to stop. Once the helmet was removed, he stared at all of us for an extended time. “You’re all idiots.”

  We all looked back and forth at each other, until everyone slowly started to remove their helmets. Laying our MACE suits in an organized pile, and lining the helmets next to them, we stepped back and took a look. Somehow the moment made it all feel real, and we carried on. It was a surreal vision to see the team walking on a wild, alien planet in stark white, skin-tight jumpsuits.

  The pod was about a two hour walk from ours in the direction of the rendezvous point. We hopped over creeks, sunk in the mud, and laughed the entire way. We were the only noise around. There were no animals or birds on Circadia, so every sound seemed individual.

  Approaching the white pod, we quickly noticed no one had opened the hatch yet. A sense of dread welled inside my chest. What if something happened to them? I thought. Surely they were not too scared to open the hatch of the pod. There was no numbering on the pod, so it was anyone’s best guess who the pod belonged to. Pacing around the craft slowly, the entire team made assessments about what to do next.

  “Can someone lift me up so I can open the hatch?” asked Jane. Looking around the group, she pointed at Smith and me. “You two, give me a lift, would ya?”

  Positioning ourselves in front of the pod like cheerleaders, Jane stepped into Smith’s and my hands and we hoisted her up. Grabbing onto the railing above, her feet gently lifted from our grasp. The sound of the hatch creaked and moaned as she yanked on the door repeatedly, until it busted open.

  We waited for Jane to say something. For someone to say anything, but there was only silence. “Hello?” she called, looking down into the pod.

  Squuuueeeeaallllllll! The sound of the hundred little pigs’ excitement from the hollow pod gave Jane a jolt of fear and she screamed, falling off of the pod. Loud grunts and hoof steps could be heard from inside the pod now.

  Garrett couldn’t control his laughter, as the rest of us ran to Jane’s aid.

  “Are you okay?”, “Is she going to be alright?”, “Are you hurt?” everyone asked at once.

  Jane sat up from the dirt, and began laughing—hysterically. She was laughing so hard she began to cry. “I can’t believe we found the pigs!” she yelled in excitement.

  “Did it look like they all made it okay?” asked Spencer.

  “Yeah, they sound pretty healthy to me! I’m no expert or anything, but they sound pretty good,” Jane replied. Visibly exhausted from the fear and the fall, she huffed some deep breaths and laid back down on the ground.

  “Well, we can’t exactly help those teammates to the rendezvous site, can we?” asked Smith.

  “We'll come back for them once I have my supplies from the landing site. It’ll take some time, though. They have an automatic watering system and feed bucket in there, so they'll be fine,” Spencer said. “They have fresh air now, too,” he said with a smile on his face.

  “Well, let’s leave the squealers here then and go meet up with everyone,” said Garrett, motioning in the direction of the landing site.

  Walking behind Garrett, we all took the opportunity to take in the landscape. The surrounding area was flat with scattered fields and bunches of trees. To the west, we could see that mountains rose from the ground in the far distance. To the east, rolling hills. It seemed we were in a valley. Every direction was a uniquely different view.

  The pu
rple trees mixed with the flower weed and it was gorgeous against the mountains in the distance. Creeks ran with clear, cool water. The breeze carried with it the sweet smell of berries and pollen—not pollution like back home. I couldn’t help but feel I was right where I always should have been. The need to change the world, to make a difference, was not possible back home. Here, that was the only option, and it was liberating.

  We walked along a path that had never been traveled before, never set foot on by man, for two hours. When we finally reached the rendezvous site, it was miraculous. The craft that had crash landed on the planet was much larger than ours. We were the first ones to arrive.

  The whole team paced about around the spacecraft cautiously. We had not seen this back at the dorms in New Zealand, so it must have been launched from somewhere else. Everything was top secret for most of the program, and we didn’t know what was happening any more than the next person did. Upon further inspection, we noticed there was Japanese writing inscribed on some of the handles and doorways.

  The craft was a large cylinder laying flat on its side. It rose high into the air, even in its horizontal position, about two stories tall. It was about ninety feet long, and sealed. The burn marks on the side of the craft were indicative it was not built with the same quality ours was. The network must have scrimped and saved money on the supply hull. We were lucky everything had survived the trip.

  “I see you found our supplies,” said Idris from behind us. The sight of the very large man walking up behind us caught me off guard. He looked full-on Rambo. Obviously, he had walked from farther away than we had, and from the looks of it, had moved a lot faster than we did. He was alone.

  “Where’s the film crew?” I asked.

  “They’re coming, slowly,” he said. “I couldn’t wait around for those bozos to get moving. Did you guys encounter any more pods on your way here?”

  “Umm, yeah, we did,” Jane said giggling, brushing the dirt off her ass once again.

  “We found the pigs,” Spencer said. “No idea how we’re going to get them where we need them. We may just have to set up the sanctuary for them by their pod,” he said.

  “We will make it work somehow. We’ll figure it out,” Idris said. “Anyhow, let’s get these supplies out. The other teams will be showing up shortly.”

  SPENCER, SMITH, AND Idris all had to work together to open the very large hatch door to the supply craft. The massive eight-foot round door screeched as it opened wide to show its contents. The dark abyss beyond the door loomed as I peered inside trying to catch a peek. Idris reached into one of his pockets and brought out his battery powered flashlight.

  Inside the large supply hull everything was strapped down and covered by the uniform white tarps. We were unable to tell what anything was. The only distinguishable difference was the teams’ labels slapped onto the side of each item. It seemed these supplies were for the architectural team, or the bulk of it, at least.

  “I assume we should probably let each team take out what they need, when they need it,” Idris said. “We don’t know what’s in here, and we don’t know how the weather will turn out there.”

  “Yeah, everything should be safe in here,” Spencer said, knocking on one of the tarps.

  We began to walk out of the supply hull when we noticed the next team walking in. Tiny specks in a faraway field, we were unsure of who it was. Once they came closer, it was clear the camera crew had caught up with Idris.

  Idris went out to greet them, shaking hands and apologizing for running off, or so we assumed. Immediately, they were ready to unpack and unload their supplies from the supply hull. With quick precision, they knew exactly where to find their film equipment amongst the plain white tarps. Before we knew what was happening, the cameras started rolling.

  “Just act natural,” one of the camera men said. I wasn’t exactly sure how to act natural with a camera watching my every move. It felt like they were waiting for me to trip or say something ridiculous.

  “Well, the other teams should be—”

  “Actually, Idris, can you repeat that and start over? I would like to get a shot of you saying that while looking out at the field. You know, waiting. Build the suspense,” the camera man said.

  “Oh, um... Okay. Yeah,” he said as he moved further out into the field. “Now?” Idris asked.

  “Yeah, go whenever you’re ready. We’ll be editing later anyway,” he said.

  Idris went through the same words he had just said once again. “The other teams should be arriving any moment now,” he said as he gazed out over the field in an exaggerated motion. The whole thing felt fake and forced.

  “Oh! Will they, Idris?” Spencer mocked.

  Idris turned to face him with a disdained look on his face. He was clearly not amused.

  Eventually, the other teams started trickling in from the pods, and the film crew caught the whole thing. They requested excitement, even if sometimes coerced, and hugs that would have never happened. Quickly, the project went to shit.

  Chapter Nine

  Communications were set up quickly between Circadia and Earth. Using softphones, the tech team was able to bounce off of Earth’s surrounding satellites and create a connection. To make things simple, we used the laptop to dial out and a headset to speak into. There was a ten second lag in the communications, as we were a bit further out than the International Space Station, but it was still effective.

  Calls to home were requested almost immediately, and we went alphabetically, by team, to speak with our families. Since I was on the agricultural team, and my name was Aella, I was first. I knew there were a lot of people waiting behind me that had wives and children, so I hurried.

  “Mom?”

  The ten second lag seemed like a million years.

  “Aella! I didn’t realize you would be able to call so soon!” she said.

  “Yeah, me either, Mom. Look I don’t have long so I have to keep it short. Circadia is beautiful and I am doing well. We landed with no problem and I will keep you updated. I love you.” The words came out strung together without pause, so that she would get the entire message at once.

  Ten second wait.

  “I love you, too,” she said.

  “Bye, Mom.”

  “Bye, Aella.”

  I clicked the button on the softphone to end the call, and handed the device over to Garrett. Garrett quickly dialed a phone number from a piece of paper he pulled from his pocket, and spoke in a hurried and hushed tone. I walked away and went to talk with Jane and Smith, who were standing in line.

  “I wonder who Garrett’s talking to,” I said.

  “Who knows? Surely no one loves him at home,” Jane said.

  Smith joined in on the laughing, “Guy’s an asshole.”

  “I don’t think he’s as bad as we all think he is. I think he just has a problem talking to people,” I justified.

  “Someone get a little too close in the simulator?” Smith asked.

  “No.” I felt my eye twitch a bit. “I just think there's more to him, that’s all.”

  Jane laughed off the conversation and sauntered away from us, away from the line. Her blonde hair bounced in the breeze as she walked, and Smith watched her intently until she was out of sight.

  “Isn’t she worried about missing her turn to call home?” I asked Smith.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I kind of get the feeling that there isn’t anyone to call,” he said. Smith looked down at his hands, then up to me, then away again, never looking at my eyes.

  “No, she has a dad. She told me that’s where she got interested in explosives. She worked at her dad’s quarry,” I said.

  “Yeah, Aella, I don’t think he’s around anymore.”

  My chest sunk and my shoulders fell forward. I let my dark hair fall in front of my face to conceal any emotion that may have shown. I felt terrible for Jane. I wanted her to be able to call home like I had, and be reminded that she wasn’t alone. Having no one to call home
to must have been tough, but I had made my call, so I had a mission.

  Running away, leaving Smith behind, I looped around the supply hull to see Jane sitting on an empty box looking out at the field in front of her. Her eyes pierced through the miles of land untouched by man. Her face was long and heavy, but her mouth held strong.

  “Hey, umm... you alright?” I asked. I approached her slowly and sat in the flower weeds next to her. It wasn’t really my thing to be the ‘comforter’, but I liked Jane. “Looks like you’re thinking about something.”

  “It’s nothing,” she said.

  “It’s okay if it’s something. We’re stuck here together. Your secret’s safe with me.”

  “It’s my dad. It was always just him and me against the world, you know?” Her head dropped and she smiled slightly. “I told him, just before he died, that I didn’t want to live in a world that he wasn’t a part of, and now I don’t have to.” A tear rolled from her eye. “I’m glad to have a new beginning, but I still miss him. I feel like I didn’t have to prove anything to him, and here it’s different, it’s a lot of pressure.”

  “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone Jane. You’re a badass. Who gives a shit what anyone thinks?” I asked.

  She smiled back at me quietly.

  We sat silently, looking out over the terrain. There was nothing I could say that could take her pain away, nothing I could think of that would make her feel better, so we sat quietly in each other’s company. We sat like that for many moments, until the tears stopped and she turned to look at me.

  “What’s your story, Aella?” she asked. “Seems we all have some crazy reason for being here, but you.”

  I laughed. “My story is that I don’t have a story. Absolute nerd with no adventure in her life who needed some excitement.”

  “Well, that seems quite different from the rest of us. Everyone I’ve talked to seems to be running from their problems, and you're here chasing some down.” She chuckled through her snotty nose. “I’m sure you'll find a story here, that’s for sure.”