The gate at end of the plane was now completely open. It was time for us to jump. Pairing, everyone began to get close to the large opening and while getting ready to jump. My turn had come and James followed me.

So I did it, I jumped. Without even thinking. I just did it, and I never felt better. The air coursed through every part of my body. A moment later, I pulled the string and opened the parachute. The fall became slower and slower, until I finally arrived. I finally touched the ground.

Each of those who had already arrived had made their way, I took mine. So it should be. Each one worked on their assigned zone, but still not far enough from each other. I was impressed. In those months that had passed, the land had indeed changed.

We had landed near a forest of thin and tall trees. The crowns were now much greener than I remembered. That probably meaning it had rained enough lately, which was a good sign, since after the accident the level of raining on earth decreased.

I do not know why, but for the first time after a long time, I felt at home. I started walking, inspecting the environment and getting further in that forest. Everything seemed quiet, but I could not trust the silence of the place. Silence does not always mean something good. It mostly is something bad actually. And I was sure this would be no exception.

I tried to concentrate a little more and kept walking. The air was moving slowly, dancing through the leaves. The temperature seemed to increase with each passing minute. While walking, I was trying to visually examine the vegetation. I recognized some of the species that had been considered poisonous by the previous crews, and chose not to approach them. Other than that, everything seemed quite normal.

I do not know exactly when, but the night had fallen onto us. The sky was now completely dark blue and there were apparently no trace of clouds. Slowly, the temperature began to drop and cold air was now filling the place. I supposed, I was already far enough away from the ship to return, so I decided I would take the ropes that were in my backpack and climb a tree for the night. I assumed that would be safer, and maybe I could try and get some rest. Silence filled the place at that moment and no matter how hard I tried to hear a sound, it seemed as if everything was on mute.

***

I woke up suddenly, and not quite understanding what was happening. What had been complete silence yesterday had become a mixture of: a continuous buzzing and the sound of shattering trees. I inspected my surroundings as much as I could. The sound grew louder and louder, as the seconds went by. I also began to hear footsteps of some sort. But those were not the footsteps of any of the ship's crew. They did not even seem to be the footsteps of any human being. They were rather steps of what seemed to be something huge and heavy. But one thing was clear, whatever it was, it was getting closer and closer.

And then I saw him. There, about twenty yards away. It was coming my way after turning to the left. I was not sure whether that creature had managed to see me or not, but if It had, I must immediately get off the branch where I was now squatting. I went down as fast as I could. The last branch of the tree, the lowest one, I decided to jump from it. But I did not think about the considerable height and the fact that I would twist my ankle slightly when it reached the ground. Nor did I realize that the strides that that creature could give would be so long and swift. As soon as I got to get up, I had it right in front of me.

Shock hit me for a few seconds, but I reacted just in time to get away from him, or her, whatever it was. Now, it was a certain fact that it had seen me. And from what I saw, I could tell it would not go so easily. As he began to follow me, while I ran away as fast as my legs and my crooked ankle would allow me to.

Then I remembered. I had in my backpack a bow and a quiver with some arrows. Not many, but surely the ones I had would be enough. I took the bow as fast as I could and along with it one of the arrows. I struggled to run a little faster, and when I assumed I was at a proper distance, I turned quickly to aim at that creature.

DAMN IT! The arrow caused him no harm. I quickly took another and tried again. Once again, my attempt failed. What other agents used to say was true, these creatures could not be destroyed with common weapons. Then I reacted and realized that I now possessed the necessary weaponry to defeat it. I placed a hand on my belt and pulled out a kind of silver-colored gun with a shiny red line on each side. I guess that was its content. I aimed the horrible creature in front of me and tried to shoot, but it was faster than me and managed to hit my hand with his huge claw, throwing the gun aside. It fell off, completely destroying a tree.

"Very good aiming!" I whispered annoyed, to myself.

There was no way out now. Nothing crossed my mind. Not a saving idea came from this. So many years of preparation, for a horrendous creature to come and murder me on my second day on Earth. I closed my eyes expecting the worst, but the worst never happened. Instead, all I heard was a kind of whistling in the wind and then the body of that monster fell, making the ground tremble beneath my feet.

I opened my eyes cautiously and looked around expecting to see one of the other crewmen on the ship, but none were there. I turned my gaze back to that creature, now lying on the floor. With all the adrenaline and the rush to flee, I had not paid much attention to what that being looked like. His skin looked rough in some sectors and slug in others, both sides were a grayish color. Both his feet and his hands were huge, almost the size of three muscular men together. His teeth were somewhat sharp and separated from each other. His nose was flat, almost like a pig's. His eyes were large and dark. And what made me laugh, was the few hairs in his head. Although they were few, I must admit they were quite long. I could not understand how that creature fell so easily. Was it that he was escaping from the direct sun light and I had just managed him to stand under it? No, that would be silly. But there had to be an explanation for that.