Stefan waited for the jolting to stop, but even with his escape pod snuggly planted in the planet's surface, his mind told him he was still spinning. His senses were confused, and his limbs were tense. He scolded himself for tensing during the plunge, knowing each second of tension would cost him hours of muscle pain later. As he waited for his brain to catch up with the stillness of his body, Stefan surveyed himself for injuries. When he found none, he sighed and closed his eyes.

The visions behind his eyelids were tangled fragments of memories that didn't belong together... His mother encouraging him to board The Ark, her dark eyes hiding the painful truth that she would not join him. The smell of soot and ash as the cinders from Yellowstone's eruption rained down for days upon days. The red and green shell of his pet turtle, Ralph—

Ralph!

Stefan spun around in his seat, his eyes searching for the fragile companion he'd snuck on The Ark. Luck had been with him that turtles could enter cryosleep and that he had been able to sneak Ralph in his chamber without the scientists noticing, but he was doubtful the escape pod had kept Ralph free from injury. In the sloping corner of the pod, the bold red design of Ralph's shell caught Stefan's eye. Stefan bent slowly to scoop up the baby turtle and whispered calmly, hoping that inside the shell, there was still a living creature able to hear him.

"Its ok Ralph. I have you." Stefan stroked the shell of the turtle and sighed. "Don't worry, we'll find you a pond to live in and everything will be ok. Ralph?"

Perhaps Ralph recognized Stefan's voice, that's what Stefan wanted to believe, or perhaps Ralph had finally recovered from the shaking and spinning of the crash. Either way, the unmistakable green and black stripes of his head slowly emerged from the brightly colored shell. Once his feet appeared and he began walking across Stefan's hand, Stefan knew his little friend was uninjured.

"Time to get moving, Ralph."

Stefan used the weight of his shoulder to pry open the escape pod's door, flooding the two Earthlings with a welcome burst of golden light.

From the sight of the planet from The Ark's windows, Stefan had doubted the scientists' assurance that there was a small amount of vegetation on the planet. He had expected a vast expanse of sand, like the dunes of the great deserts back on Earth. Instead, he was greeted with the lushness of alien grass and alien trees. The blades were not straight like the grass on earth, but rather twisted and turned in spirals, like a curly fur enveloping the ground. As he took his first steps, the grass was soft beneath the soles of his feet. It sunk beneath his weight, then spiraled upward again without the slightest trace of his footprint.

But Stefan's eyes could not focus on the grass. The trees were unlike anything he could imaging. The leaves were neither green, nor blue, but a beautiful blending of the two--some closer to green, others closer to blue. The canopy of teal leaves swayed above trunks of various colors and sizes. The bark of each type of tree was cloaked with streaks of beautiful color. Most of the trees were a single color, but a few boasted as many as three shades tattooing the trunk. Stefan admired the beautiful trees, running his free hand over the smooth bark and taking in their scent. As the thought creeped up on him that the bark could be poisonous, he drew back his hand and began his search.

There has to be water around here somewhere. He thought to himself. What did Grandpa say his grandparents use to do?  Stefan shook his head, his ancestors would be ashamed to know that he didn't know any of their customs or traditions, but more importantly, Stefan was ashamed to know that he hadn't bothered to learn.

He took a deep breath and let the sound of the planet fill his ears. Stefan froze, hoping for the sound of rushing water—there would be no animals to lead him to their secret watering hole, and GPS was some thing they might never have again. There was the faint sound of wind ruffling the blue-green leaves above him, and the muted sound of his and Ralph's strained breathing. Everything else was silent.

After a few unsuccessful minutes passed by, he continued walking. Tree after tree, rock after rock, the forest seemed to stretch on forever.  Of course, Stefan knew that wasn't the case, but he couldn't help marvel at the how much he had underestimated the scientists.

Stefan stopped again—he thought he heard something. As he stood still again, he heard a faint melody to his left. It was just a few notes, barely audible, sporadically dancing in and out of silence. Stefan knew it wasn't water, but the scientists' had reported that there was no animal life, let alone intelligent life, on the planet.

Where is that music coming from? Stefan wondered. It has to be another survivor... 

Temporarily putting aside Ralph's need for water,—while holding out hope that this direction would also lead him to water—Stefan set out in a light jog toward the sound. He hadn't stopped to think about the possibility of being the only one to survive the crash, and now that he'd found hope that he wasn't, it was all he could think about... The thought of dying on a strange planet all alone hit Stefan like a wave. He hoped with all the strength he had, that his ears had not betrayed him, that just beyond the trees, there was at least one more person.

It didn't take long for another pod to come into view—it was wedged between a large tree with lavender bark and a gray rock, that reminded Stefan of granite. The door of the pod was slightly ajar, caught by the rock. A thick arm could be seen through trying to force the door open to no avail.

"Hold on." Stefan called out. "I'm coming to help."

There was a loud exhale and the arm disappeared. "I have no idea who you are, but you're my new best friend."

Stefan chuckled. "I'm Stefan."

"Noah."

"Well, Noah, your door is wedged on a rock. I think I can move it though." Stefan inspected the rock for a moment, looking for the flattest section of the surface. When he found a semi-smooth place, he set Ralph down gently, then slid both hands beneath it. As he began lifting the stone, an involuntary grunt escaped his lungs. "Whoo...maybe I should call this a boulder. It's heavier than it looks."

Noah swore. "Don't tell me I'm stuck in here."

"Nope." Stefan sucked in more air, "Almost..." more air, "got..." and more air, "it." Still heaving, Stefan retrieved Ralph while instructing Noah to try the pod door again.

This time the door swung open easily and out stepped a stocky red-head with piercing blue eyes. He was older than Stefan, but not by much. His shaggy hair bobbed around his face and a wide smile spread across his face.

"Thanks man. I thought I was a goner." Noah started to give Stefan a brotherly hug but stopped when he saw Ralph in his hand. His eyebrows twitched upward as his eyes moved from the turtle to Stefan. "You found a turtle? I thought there wasn't any animal life."

Stefan shook his head. "This is my pet Ralph. I snuck him on The Ark when we left Earth."

Noah stroked the turtle's shell. "Hey Ralph, how does it feel to be the only known turtle in the universe?"

"I was started to think I was the only human left, then I heard you singing."

"Me singing? Man, I can't sing to save my life." Noah scrunched his face in confusion, then shook his head. "I heard the singing in the distance and then you showed up so I figured it was you."

"Definitely not. I followed the sound to your pod."

The two guys searched the area with their eyes, then looked at each other nervously. "So where'd it come from then?" they both asked.