Tearing through the air at 100 miles per hour at around 20,000 feet was the standard way most operations started for me, but this time is different. The sky is not its peaceful blue riddled with puffs of clean-white clouds, and the air is not refreshingly cooling as it usually is from so high up. Rather, the sky is a canvas of an intense and brazen mix of reds, oranges, and yellows; even the most skilled artists would have difficulty recreating its entrancing beauty. The air is warm and heavy, and this is when the stark realization strikes me. This can't be Earth; only one moon illuminates the sky of Earth. There's two ominous moons beginning to appear out of this intense twilight. However, at the moment, a more pressing matter is at hand: the ground.
Gravity is still the same where ever I am, and the ground is speeding closer and closer with each passing moment. Covering the landscape is a vast jungle that seems to stretch on indefinitely. I cannot find a safe place to land, and so I brace myself for a harsh landing in the canopy of the trees. My automatic parachute opens as I violently smash into the tops of the trees. They rush by me in such a blur I only slightly notice the bizarre colors emanating from them. It isn't until I crash into one of the larger trees and fall to the ground that I actually observe my new strange environment.
The plants are not luscious and lively greens, but glow with neon colors of different assortments. All of the trees, grass, and plants have an acute glow that stung my eyes after a while. There are bright hues of blues, purples, and whites that remind me of the skylines in the great cities of America. I find myself lost in the captivating glow of all of these extravagant colors completely surrounding me. It is after some period of time that I realize it is time to keep moving. While it is an astonishing sight, remaining in the vivid palette of colors for much longer will not get me anywhere closer to my destination.
I proceed through the wooded labyrinth on this curious new world, and pay close attention to the miniscule features of the area. The various and peculiarly shaped footprints in the ground, and the many large scratch marks engraved into the trees I pass by. Something is off. Even the air seems to take on a different feel, as if it suddenly grew fearful and ran away, leaving me breathless. I do not know what I might encounter on this bizarre planet, but the obvious signs of damage to the timber and features of the environment visible make me all the more apprehensive to continue. However, I must no matter what the cost; failure is not an option.
Pressing on, I finally reach a clearing in the tangled underbrush of the jungle. It’s then that the source of the damage of the forest appears to me. A monstrously large creature in a deep sleep is slumbering in the center of this isolated clearing. The hulking mass is covered in a dense fur, and colored an ominous black with traces of bright red blood in certain places. Being too far to be closely examine the beast, I decide to creep closer. The strange animal has large golden claws that stuck out from a paw the size of my head. Without noticing, I step on a stray branch and the crisp crunch sound of the branch wakes the creature. Its eyes shoot open, displaying its bright green eyes with cat-like pupils, as it springs up into a vicious pose with a bloodthirsty snarl on its face . I stand, frozen in mortal fear, as the eyes of the monster lock with mine. Could this be the end? The simple arrival on a foreign planet cues my untimely death? No, I can't let it end like this. I still have a mission to finish.
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