Two
Now that I was on land, I saw fit to take stock of my provisions. Eighty-two water potability tablets. Fifty squares of food. The thick plastic material of the ruined raft, though I had no means to cut it into any useful shape.
These things would not keep me for long. I tried to think about what that meant. Dying, and so soon. I think that perhaps in my old life I would’ve been afraid. But now, in the primeval rush of this survival situation, it felt far away and unimportant. I lived in an animal present. My future, what awaited me when my supplies run out, and indeed even my past before all of this happened felt remote and foggy.
I dragged the ruined raft far enough inland that it would not be swept out by the tides, and weighed it down with the heaviest rocks I could easily carry. A home base, if not a particularly attractive one.
From there, I decided to explore.
The most striking feature I encountered were the irregular glass monoliths that stuck out of the sand at odd angles, many of which were taller than me. They were an aquamarine blue in colour, and frosted to about chest height by the corrosive effects of the waves. Above that, they were of remarkable colour and clarity; the sort of quality that could drive a jeweller to envy.
I wondered, were these a natural geologic feature of this land, or a product of some civilisation? There was a certain procedure, I remembered, that you were supposed to follow if you encountered unknown ruins in your travels. Document and leave. Strictly no touching. Well, I wasn’t leaving, so I had no choice but to sully them with my presence.
I found plant life, too. A sort of feathery grass that sprung up from the sand in sparse patches, almost like the train feathers of a peacock. The downy barbs of each strand were so soft that they fell apart between my fingers, and at their core a flexible stem. Perhaps the basis for some sort of cordage? I would have to experiment further.
There might’ve been an animal. I’m not sure. Just a small, brown blur on the edge of my vision for just a moment. A quadruped, perhaps. No bigger than rabbit-sized. Or just my imagination.
I picked a handful of grass for me to study, and then headed back to my camp.