First Signs of Life

I stumbled up the hill, tripping over my boots. The ice caps were proving more difficult to move across than I thought. Looking around at the barren landscape it was easy to feel hopeless. There was nothing except rocks, snow, and ice as far as the eye could see. When we came to the planet to search for life, I had anticipated the harsh conditions. I just hadn’t anticipated how fast chills infect the mind.

“You’ve got this,” I muttered to myself.

Looking ahead I realized I had fallen behind the group and was on a completely different route. Juan waved his arms at me, beckoning me to follow.

“Becky come on,” he shouted, “We want to make it back to base before it gets even darker.”

“Sorry guys! I’m coming, I’m coming,” I said.

I hurried to catch up but kept stumbling.

“Stupid boots,” I grumbled.

I squatted down to check if they were loose, but they were perfectly snug. Inspecting them further, I noticed something underneath. Lifting my foot, I saw a woody tentacle peeking out from the crystal flakes. Excitedly I started digging through the snow and found what looked like a root system.

“Look guys, I haven’t been tripping over nothing!” I pointed excitedly to the roots at my feet.

Juan hurried over and leaned close to the ground inspecting the roots. A look of excitement came over his face.

“Looks like we have our first sign of life!” he said with grin.

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Thanks for reading :)