The wounded got placed in one of the last remaining buildings beside the barracks and the transmitter tower and armory,the remaining people help bury the dead to a big hole away from the ruins, the bodies reaching a bit higher than the ground ,they put them all together and leaving the hole open,the remaining soldiers count how many they were and go to report to Jorogumo "one thousand"
"one thousande people?"
"one thousand people and soldiers"
Jorogumo with the same unmotional face wave for the soldier to leave and she turns to the terminal.
The night falls and the soldiers guard the place, people trying to gather water from trees,breaking every branch with no result and everyone else gathers around with blanks and their clothes tight to them,trying to light a fire in this intense wind, Mason Aphrodite and Stan sit together, Stan holding the hand of Aphrodite, she gets ready to sing and then stops,Stan holds her tighter and see around him the people,silence occur for hours looking at the fading fire and suddenly a tall woman with wide vertical and horizontal eyes,he skin thicker than most of the other people and pulling a streak to her side with a short man pulling it to his side and saying "you people fromm uranus really stink like your planet" the man responds loud "just let me eat,im starving" the short man leaves the streak and the man of uranus falls to the sharp remains of the buildings dying instantly, people from uranus and jupiter get up and run to the short man, the uranians go first and lay him to the same sharp remaines, piercing his leg and trying to get up with the people of jupiter and others helping him,the jupiterians helping him sit down and wraping with bandages hes wound,some people look at
the uranians and the people from jupiter getting ready to fight while other didnt even raise their eyes from the fire that has faded
Jorogum shows up with her soldiers and gives them plenty of meat in three buckets and an uranians say "do you think we will accept something like this after our death of our kin?"
"im not intended to bribe you to stop"
"then leave us to deal with this short creatures"
a jupitarian says "look who is talking ,you cant even hear right you loud fuck"
Jorogumo turn to jupitarians with a deadly look and he shuts his mouth
"because i speak to them it doesnt mean you can open your mouth and say whatever you want"
the jupitarian doesnt respond and the uranian says "we see that you dont take any sides,nowdays its really hard to find people that they will not go against us even in the slightest and for that we will back down"
"thank you"
the jupitarian screams "it is not fair to leave these animals like this"
Jorogumo look at him again and instead of shutting it he looked wih the same look.
Jorogumo walks forward to the jupitarian having the distance of one breathe away and looking at him from above, she outsteched her hand a little more further in some rocks and says "you better sit now, before i leave the place and the uranians doing what they want" the jupitarian says "oh please we can kick their heads if we want"
Jorogumo lower her upper body looking him straight to his eyes "is that so?" the jupitarian look back and goes with the others to sit in some rocks far enough for the jupitarians and uranians to interact , the uranians take their kin away from the crowd,opening her palms to give her a rock from their planet and then closing them and bury her,they sit to their knees for half an hoyr and then they com back,staying further from the juputarians and not looking at them like the jupitarians do, Jorogumo walks to the center saying "i get a chance to talk with the transmitters to the USS and they said they will bring another ship to transport us"
a man from the crowd says "when will they arrive?"
"in two weeks they said,but as i see it with no sense of time,we must expect them in the span of nineteen to twenty suns"
most people still look at the faded fire and then the same man says "and what about us? How will we survive without the crops and only some meat?"
"the food can last up to three suns,but we can increace the quantity by hunting most of these creatures"
the same man says "then so be it,we dont have any other way"
"right now the only way to survive is for you to follow my lead " Jorogumo cough and says "in the morning ,we will leave fron here,it is not hodpitable here anymore"
a martian says"and what about the wounded?"
"most would be ready to move after some time, as for the others we will carry them in our last vehicles together with our recources"
"can you really carry all these things with only seven vehicles?"
"yes"
the man stops questioning and sits quite.
Jorogumo then says "i advise you to prepare from today,we never know if things can get worse in any minute"
Jorogumo leaves looking the uranians with the edge of her eyes and then the jupiterians, everyone turn their eyes in the scenery, the burned smell wpods and Stan look at Aphrodite,her eyes flickering a bit and her skin becoming pale again
"is everything alright?"
"yeah, i just feel a little nausea thats all"
Stan look at Mason and asks "do you have any medicines with you"
"i had them in the house,if you can call it this a house now"
the conversasion stops there and Stan look at two younger people than him one martian and one from earth saying the martian "i wish i was back to my home"
the other one draws with his stick a bald man close to his fifties and writing under him "youre goddam right" bith laughs and the martian says "these memes never get old"
most of the people including Stan sleep .
and in the morning as the green rays start shinning to their faces Jorogumo wakes them up , giving them food and saying "eat and then prepare to leave in forty munutes" everyone eat and start pakcking up whatever they could find, getting ready in lines and vehicles coming with the wounded and the recources, Stan watch as many go to the vehicles to see their people, many coming with smiled and many with tears and denial,in the crowd he see Kalevi with his face down.
the wind gets more intense and starts taking small objects away in the sky even buckets with food
they start moving as fast as they could, leaving the plains and going north,as they move further and further the winds start going back to normal,passing above rims and hard solid terrain until they find themselves looking at a flat peak of a mountain with trees in the right, the climb and they settle there, finding ground that can grow corps and food,even if this land is not big enough to feed them all, the soldiers get the wounded out fron the vehicles, trying to wake many of them and checking their pulses only to find many of them deceased .
Jorogumo says to them "throw them,we cant waste land now to burry them" the people look at her squizing their eyebrows together and many saying "you cannot do that,we have to burry the dead"
"look around you,we have very little land to build shelters and grow food,we cannot waste more land for our traditions"
the people couldnt agree with her decision but neither to bury them, they calm their selves and their faces and let Jorogumo throw them as the men and women watch the bois fall and crush down, with tears dropping to them from above, she then turn and let the drones take the piles of ruins from the vehicles and start constructing ,
the people gather the seeds and plant them,breaking branches of tree and water flowing through, less in quantity rhen their previous place and making lines for them to drink water and then filling buckets , the soldiers carrying a large object from their vehicles,being wraped around with black thick paler
and Jorogumo watching the places from the other side of the mountain.
Stan helps Aphrodite sit in the ground,feeling a nausea ,and sit beside her and asks "do you want me to ask a doctor for a medicine?" her spine shiver and jumps back "no its okay,i just need to relax and i will be fine very soon"
Jorogumo calls Stan to come close to her and he sees the world,an umbrella of thick red canopies covering a vast land and after that another bigger mountain than the previous he saw, with thin lines of water running through it and down to the rainforest, and a rim in its right, big enough to believe some that the lands are apart or ready to be apart, with the change of climate in the ripping land that remsembles a dessert with the sand seems to drag in the direction of the eastern wind.
Stan look with his eyes reflecting the whole lands and Jorogumo says "it reminds me of tales of the terraformed mars and earth,when vegatation bloom to an extent like this"
"its really beatiful here"
"i agree,but we cant watch it all day,we have to use our time wisely, i need you to help me"
"alright, what is it this time?"
"i cannot tell you or anyone else for now, it is something that will ensure us our survival until the USS comes"
"if it is to save us then i can help"
"splendid,tomorrow i will come when we are ready to begin,for today you will guard the place with people and my soldiers at night'"
Stan eyebrows lower " i dont think im the ideal person to hold a gun"
"do not worry,it will be only for this night and for two hours,beside my soldiers will protect you if anything happens"
"all right then"
Stan leaves and goes back to Aphrodite,seeing her missing from her spot and start serching in the crowds of people,then inside some trees, seeing her in the back of a tree vomiting .
Stan goes close to her saying "im going to bring a doctor"
Aphrodite says wih a hiss "Stan im going to be fine,just give me some time"
stan grit his first and yells "you said thia again and again,why dont you want to go to a doctor?"
Aphrodite grabs his hand and with her eyes beateous eyes she look at him and says, just a bit more time,until the night okay?"
"okay,but if you are still sick i will bring a doctor to check you"
"okay"
she makes a brief pause and then says "so,what do you say the two of us go for a walk?"
Stan point with his tumb back to the settlement and says "i better check what Mason does and then we can go"
Aphrodite smile at him and walks swiftly saying "lets go then"
they both go back to the settlement,watching Mason siting together with the people of venus.
Stan goes close to him saying "hey Mason,will you come with us for a walk and then sit in the woods?"
"im sorry Stan, i promise the guys that im going to hell them and then hang out with them for today,but we can do whatever you want tomorrow"
Stan lips curve a bit down and says "all right,stay with your buddies"
Stan grabs Aphrodites hand tight and walk away from Mason,as they walk with Stan looking forward and holding Aphrodites hand more and more tight she stops and takes her hand saying "Stan why are you so furious?"
Stan turn and look at her without speaking
"Stan do you hear?"
Stan snaps out and says "nothing im fine,im alright"
he curve a smile to his face again and says "lets continue" he outstrech his arm and Aphrodite look at his eyes and grabs it again.
They continue silent inside and Aphrodite watch as hands palp close and open.
He says to him "do you want me to sing you?"
he sigh and says "do whatever you want"
Aphrodite starts building up her sweet voice and start singing
"oh little boy
i know you keep everything inside
the emotiong boiling inside your mind
you kept them for to long
now please open your heart and show me who you really are
because i want to hold this burden together with you and only with you"
Stan stops and Aphrodite slowly open her arms and embrace him in her hug,tilting her head to his back.
Stan whispers "sometimes i just cant control it"
"i know ,i have exprierience with people like this,but you are doing really good job fighting it"
"but if i lost control even for once,i may hurt myself and others like you"
"even if you hurt me,i will stay with you "
"even when we escape from this planet?, will you never leave me?"
"never"
Stan then turn,kissing her and sitting down to a tree with her and Stan having her in his hug amd talking
"so when we leave,how exactly will you going to find me?"
"you will give me your number and your id in the zelane and i can text you and see your location or i will ask Jorogumo to tell me where you live"
"why ask her?"
"she said because i keep the people entertaint and focused on the brigt side if i ever needed somehing she would help me,if they are on a realistic level,by the way you never told me anything about you"
Stan look up to the leaves of the white tree,shaking and letting the sun rays hitting them right above them and says
"i live in germany,more precise in anhalt and i live with Mason in the same floor,we are both engineers with no job and i have a passion for music"
"so can you play any instrument?"
"no i dont have the money to go and learn and im not really good with self learning"
"the good thing is that when we leave from here and the USS rewards us you can start your lessons"
Stan smile "i cannot wait for that day"
Aphrodite look up to the tree and says "it reminds me so much of earth a nature dangarous and yet so beatiful"
Stan nod his head and grabs her tighter "now its your turn to tell me about you "as you know i like singing and i go to the streets and sing ,thats my way to earn money"
Stan disrupts her and says "with this voice you deserve your own stadium"
she smirk and drops a small laugh "thank you, butmost people nowdays prefare robots with their perfect voices"
"but these voices will never be alive"
she sigh heavily
"anyway lets talk ablut something else"
"tell me more about you"
"i dont have much to say ,i hang out with my two friends and live with my parents and taking care of them"
"simple life"
"yeah"
she make a short pause and continues 'so when i we will meet,i will like to meet your parents"
Stan eyes open wide and he hold Aphrodite tighter,piercing her skinwith his nails,she look at him with a tear coming down and gritting her teeth and Stan quickly stops "im sorry" he take his look away and she says "its alright,i shoudnt mention them"
Stan push Aphrodite gently and gets up
"where are you going?"
"i just want some time alone"
Aphrodite walk close to him with her eyes stuck on him and her eyebrows pulled together and touch his arm"lets just sit here a little longer"
"im sorry but i dont want to stay any longer"
"if you just leave because you think you hurt me im alright"
"its not only about that"
he inhales and continues "i just want to think"
he leaves Aphrodite as she watch the ground and goes far to the edge of the mountain,sitting in a tree and watching the view
