Cerebus || Book 2

Chapter 1: The Landing

Iris pulled on her last article of clothing and took one final look in the mirror. Their pod had landed, and she was about to make history and be one of the first human beings on Cerebus. It had taken her over an hour to shower off all the preservative gel she was encased in considering that she had been put to sleep for the entire journey. It took the crew 7 months to arrive at their destination, and she couldn't be more thankful for Earth's technological advancements, which spared her from being conscious for that long.

She ran a hand through her curly brown hair and took a deep breath before joining the other 19 at the front of the pod. They were told that the planet had an environment that was able to sustain human life, so any suits or equipment were not necessary. However, that didn't stop the hazel eyed girl from being just a tad bit nervous; no one has actually been on the surface yet, so did they really know for sure?

"You scared?" A blonde boy asked. They had chatted briefly when she boarded 7 months ago, and she vaguely remembered his name to be Tommy.

"Aren't you? We have no idea what's waiting for us out there. The air itself could kill us for all we know."

"Relax" He chuckled. "I'm sure the only things on this planet are trees and bugs. Worst case they have some mutated shit but that would be cool if you ask me."

"Fuck off Tommy, that's not helping."

The two began bickering back and forth, while others also entertained their own conversations.

The pod was buzzing with curiosity, nerves and some fear, but all was silenced when the doors depressurized and began to open.

"Oh shit" The blonde whispered under his breath. Clearly his fearless banter was just an act.

As the doors opened fully, the group walked out slowly with wide eyes.

The first thing that was apparent, was the blazing heat that hit with full force- it made Iris thankful that she was wearing shorts and a tank. The air smelt sweet, like fresh rain and sap, free of pollutants and all natural.

It was clear that they landed in a forest of some kind, as they were completely surrounded by trees and bushes with some appearances of wildlife. Everything seemed pretty earth-like so far, with the exception of size.

As hazel eyes scanned her surroundings, she observed that all the trees were abnormally large along with the flying insects and bugs that were floating around. Her skin crawled at this fact.

"Jesus" She whispered, as a massive flying thing just flew past her head. It didn't seem to have any eyes and was bright green in colour.

Her head turned to see that everyone else was admiring what was to be their new home.

"Crazy right?" A voice suddenly spoke.

Iris looked briefly at the girl who had seemed to appear out of thin air.

"Yeah it is. Can't say I'm much of a fan though, the bugs are huge!"

The girl laughed in agreement and they chatted more for a bit.

"I'm gonna do some more exploring. Wanna come with?"

Iris shrugged, not minding the opportunity. "Sure, why not."

The two walked further away from the pod, occasional sounds of awe and gasps of surprise following each step. The girl, whose name was Hannah, suddenly stopped walking and pointed at the sky.

"Look, the planet has 2 suns. No wonder why it's so hot."

Hazel eyes were shielded by a dainty hand, and she squinted so that she could see that there were indeed 2 suns. But something was missing.