Unlike in his world, however, a second orb soon came into view, smaller than the first, but most certainly another moon.
Janus sat awestruck at the development, not believing his own eyes. He heard the gasp of one of the others as they took note of the undeniable presence of a second, gleaming moon.
“I think that confirms it,” Janus heard Erika saying to one of the others.
Several members of the group talked for a long time about the presence of the second moon and what it heralded. Janus had nothing to add to their discussion, and sat quietly as he continued to stare above in amazement and awe.
The blue-green sky had been no anomaly, and the strange creatures that had been witnessed were not merely undiscovered species. They were truly within a foreign world, a concept that Janus found to be utterly staggering.
Even Derek had grown very quiet and pensive, and Janus knew that fear’s chilly touch had not spared his stalwart and undeniably tough friend.
A thousand more questions were rising up within him, and it was all that he could do to suppress his spreading anxieties.
Each of the others dealt with the reality in their own way. Kent and Antonio gave voice to their laments, while Erika and Logan tried to instill some courage in the others, though Janus could still sense the nervousness behind their words. Mershad’s reaction was much like Janus and Derek, as he dwelled upon the revelation in a contemplative silence.
The chirping of insects droned on steadily in the background, as Janus watched the two moons slowly crossing the sky overhead with a feeling of wonder and trepidation. He tucked his knees up to his chest, clasping his hands together.
The old man had been right. The answer that they were in a new world stoked the fires of new inquiries, and Janus saw the wisdom in keeping things to their most basic element.
Dawn would bring with it a host of new worries and pressing matters, and Janus could only hope that the old man would return to them. If this was a world that was entering a violent age, and most could not be trusted, then Janus was not eager to have too many random encounters before they knew the lay of the land.
In due time, the full weight of the day finally caught up to each of the seven. They were all emotionally drained, and the four that Janus had met in the woods had already hiked a considerable distance, and were physically very weary. The seven were unified in their exhaustion, and despite the troubling certainty that this was indeed a foreign world, their bodies’ demands for rest finally became irresistible.
Before their focus faded completely, they quickly organized watch shifts for the night, with Derek and Erika taking the first one together. Janus had been ready to endure the challenge, but drew the second shift. He was quietly relieved that he was spared the early task and could get a little immediate rest.
He crawled into the shelter of branches and brush. He kept to one of the two open ends of the semicircular lean-to, so that he did not disturb Mershad and Kent when he was roused for his designated watch.
As he cushioned his head upon his tucked arm, he found that the hard ground was unforgiving, and that the air was thicker in the confined space. Yet neither discomfort proved to be an impediment to sleep as his weariness became irrepressible.
Listening with fading awareness to the litany of trees and insects, Janus finally drifted off into the arms of a deep and abiding sleep.
Section IV
LOGAN
When daylight finally arrived, it was accompanied by a faint tremor that reverberated steadily through the ground.
A sound like the distant rumbling of thunder, heralding a faraway storm, traveled through the early morning air. After a little time had passed, it became quite evident that both the noise and the potency of the tremors were increasing.
Logan, whose own restlessness had prompted him to take the final watch of the night with Derek, affording Erika a little more rest, had readily noticed the first subtle disturbances. The night had passed without incident, though the relative tranquility had not lulled the senses of either of them into complacency during their appointed watch.
Their presence in an utterly foreign world had helped to keep Logan’s own senses keen to the slightest sound or aberration. Furthermore, as Logan had come to appreciate, Derek already possessed an exceptionally alert, very disciplined disposition.
There was little incentive to any other orientation anyway, as, to Logan’s perspective, there was not much comfort to be had at hand. When he had decided to ask Erika to take over for the final watch shift, his back had felt like it had been transformed into dry wood after struggling in vain to sleep for a few scant hours upon the hard, unforgiving ground. Even after much stretching, there still were some serious kinks in his back that he had not yet been able to work out.
Logan and Derek’s looks of apprehension had increased, as the rumbles grew ever louder and the vibrations became stronger. Logan’s own unease stemmed from the feeling that the seeming thunder did not have the usual quality of a natural storm. He dreaded to think about what kind of unwelcome surprise might be greeting them, to start off this new day in an utterly strange land.
Mershad rose up from the ground nearby, where he had recently adjusted his orientation towards the light of the rising sun. He had just concluded some prayers, his pre-dawn prostration instantly revealing to Logan that Mershad was of the Islamic faith.
Mershad’s widened eyes and nervous demeanor reflected how he was feeling about the vibrations and rumbles. He looked to Logan and Derek, and all three nodded solemnly to each other as an unspoken consensus was reached.
Without sparing a further moment, the three roused all of the others from their slumber. The tremors persisted all the while, continuing in an unrelenting, ascending pulsation.
“What is it?” Kent asked Logan, groaning as he was shaken firmly upon the shoulder.
Logan backed out of Kent’s way, urging, “Get up! Something’s happening!”
Kent looked to be in a very disheveled state as he emerged out from under the makeshift shelter, a nervous frown upon his face as he squinted into the bright morning light. His eyes darted about warily as he became more cognizant of the disturbing sensations. The audible rumbles and shaking in the ground brought an increasingly apprehensive look to Kent’s face.
“I have no idea what it is,” Logan replied to Kent’s unvoiced query.
“That’s not like any storm or earthquake that I have ever been around before,” Kent remarked to Logan and Derek, as the latter approached them.
“No, it isn’t,” Derek replied curtly.
“It doesn’t recede or ebb,” Erika added firmly, as she came over to stand by them, her eyes already quite awake and alert.
Her brow furrowed as she concentrated, methodically looking to all directions. She finally squared her body almost directly towards the west, where the trio of Janus, Kent, and Derek had originally entered the borders of the forest.
“I’m pretty sure that it is coming from out there, straight in that direction,” she declared, pointing off through the trees. “And surprises aren’t always good. Maybe we should look into it for ourselves… before something looks into us.”
Antonio and Janus had emerged into the morning light by then, crawling out from deeper within the crude shelter of branches and foliage. They were swiftly brought up to date by the others, as a frown darkened Janus’ countenance, and anxiety gripped Antonio’s.
One by one, the others all looked about, concentrating upon the strength of the sounds and vibrations. Logan and the others gradually arrived at their own best conclusions, and announced them in turn, collectively finding that Erika was entirely correct in her assessment.