Chapter 8

May 21^st 2043

I went for another flight today, just to go over my route and to take a look further south and west. My future home site still looks great. And if I ever choose to go exploring there are passes through the mountains to the south and west. It would take a couple days to a week to walk to them though, so I'll only go if I get ambitious.

After landing and parking my plane, I put on my backpack, shouldered my rifle, and headed upriver to look at the creek and start mapping out my route. It was a beautiful walk ... On the way, I saw a few deer-like animals but it was obvious they didn't come from earth. They had bluish-green fur and their antlers looked more like those on a moose, only backwards. There were also little squirrel-like animals that seemed to have six legs.

The trees were pretty odd too. They reminded me of redwood but they were blue. There were trees and plants that looked earthish, like firs and pines and maples and redwoods. There were also bushes of all kinds, including berry bushes, as well as other fruit trees in random patches. I didn't walk under any of the bigger trees without a good, long, cautious look first. I didn't want anything to jump down on me. That would be bad.

The fish looked like fish, only some of them seemed to fly and others crawl. I saw a few jump out of the water and flap their way up a waterfall. Others would crawl off rocks and into the water when I got close. Most just swam though.

At the waterfall, I went through a small patch of trees because I didn't want to try to get the pod five feet into the air to clear it. I've got a long way to move it and I don't want to wear out the thrusters too soon. I'm going to have to cut down a few trees to go around the waterfall, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

After the small patch of trees, there was a clearing but I didn't go into it. A wolf-like animal was lunching on a deer. Not wanting to cause a problem, I backed up until they were out of sight and headed back to my pod. I was pretty spooked, so I was extra vigilant on the way home.

After a sandwich for lunch, I set about digging out some wood-cutting tools. I'm still debating on using the chainsaw. I can clear the trees using hand tools but I don't want to be focused on that while some hungry critter sneaks up behind me. The chainsaw will be quicker and the noise will probably scare all the animals away. Even if it doesn't, it'll do more damage to any critter that tries to eat me than an axe would. The problem is, I have a limited supply of gas pellets. Yes, I have a whole gas can full but they'll run out eventually.

I'm thinking the safety factor will be worth using one of the pellets though. I just need a container to hold the extra gas. I do have an extra gas can of course. I just need to take the gas pellets out of it. Well, I wasn't going to haul it around full of liquid gas and pollute my limited air supply.

I decided to go with the chainsaw. I put the gas pellets from one of the gas cans into a baggy. Then I put one of the pellets back in and filled it with distilled water. After doing that, I dug out some wood-cutting tools and my wagon. Like I thought, it wasn't easy getting the wagon out but I managed without having to remove everything else. Of course, then I had to put it together. Once I had, I set everything I needed in it, then pulled it outside and parked it on the right side of the deck. I parked it so I had room to park my plane next to it once I had it deflated and back on its cart. I didn't worry about tripping over it though as there's a lot more room on the deck now that that I'm not attached to the ship. While I was in space, there was just a narrow corridor because of the docking mechanisms.

After getting my wood- cutting supplies together, I went out and deflated my plane. It took a bit to get it folded up and back on its cart. Getting it back on the pod was a total pain though. I would have towed it behind my pod, but the only way I could do that would be if the plane was still inflated. Towing it like that would mean I would have to cut down more trees for the plane's wingspan to pass through.

After securing the wagon and the plane cart, I went looking for some wood to make a ladder with. I figured I'd be needing one soon to get in and out of my pod until I had my stairs built. After that I can use it as a travois if I want.

I chopped down a couple saplings and started making a ladder. It took me a while but I got it done. The extra bits I tossed onto the fire. The fire was a surprise. It didn't burn with just yellowy/orange flames. There were also blues and greens. It was really pretty with the different colors.

I saw a few more re-entries tonight while eating dinner. I hope they landed safely.