Survival of the Happiest Part 2



	Smoke billowed from the wrecked tourist bus, polluting the air around it. The 
bus had taken up residence at the edge of a great forest. The trees closest to it had 
been set alight by the great flames that were eating up the remains of the wrecked bus. 
On the other side of the bus, there was a great desert that stretched as far as even the 
best eye could see. Some people had been thrown out of the confines of their seats on 
impact, and their bodies now covered the desert floor. The sand and gravel around 
them had been stained red by the blood that poured continuously out of the appalling 
wounds that they had suffered. Some people had been trapped in the bus, and had 
either died upon impact, or had been burnt to death by the vicious flames – their 
blackened bodies still strapped into the chairs that they had been sitting in. Only very 
few people had survived, but it would have been better if they hadn't. They had 
survived to suffer the pain of their wounds, and the upset of seeing dead friends and 
relatives around them.
 One man, however, had no friends or relatives to mourn. He sat, alone, 10 
metres away from the destruction, nursing his injured leg. John ripped a piece of his 
shirtsleeve off, and wrapped it around the gash in his left leg. He reached down into 
his bag, looking for food. He found some sandwiches that he had packed. He took the 
off the foil that was wrapped around them and was about to bite into one of them 
when he thought better of it. Who knows when I'm going to be able to get anymore 
food, he thought to himself. He decided to save the sandwiches for later, when he 
really needed them.
As he was putting the sandwiches back into his bag, John noticed a man a little 
way off, desperately trying to revive his friend. He wasn't having much luck. Fighting 
against the pain that was tearing at his leg, John rose to his feet and limped over to the 
man.
"Can I be of any help, here?" John asked.
	

	Leo looked up and saw a man about 18 years old standing over him. He wore 
a long sleeved shirt, with one of the sleeves torn off. Leo saw it wrapped around the 
mans left leg.
	"Er, yeah, my friend…when we crashed…he must of hit his head." Leo 
hurriedly explained, as he turned back to Dave, who was still unconscious.
	"Let me have a look at him." Offered John. Leo moved out the way to let the 
man sit down.
	"Do you think one of us should give him the kiss of life?" Leo asked.
	Suddenly, Dave sat up, exclaiming, "That's quite all right, I ain't that bad, 
Leo."
	Dave, being helped by Leo and John, slowly made it to his feet. He looked at 
the destruction around him. "Holy sh…" He looked himself up and down. There were 
rips in his shirt that revealed massive wounds on his chest. The blood that seeped out 
of them had soaked into the fabric around them. He looked at John. "Well, seeing as 
you tried to help me, it's only polite to inquire after your name."
	"Pond. John Pond. And yourself?"
	"Dave, and this is…" Dave started.
	"Leo." Leo finished.


	"Dekki hasn't come home," Gatta said, simply.
	Norco looked at her. "That doesn't mean they got him."
	"Oh, come on, Norco. You know Dekki as well as I, and he'd have been home 
by now if he was OK."
	Norco glared at Gatta. Yes, it was painfully obvious that Dekki had become 
another victim, but she didn't have to keep talking about it. That was the last thing 
they needed. Talking about it would just upset them, and they couldn't let that 
happen. They had to stay strong and keep their wits about them. Otherwise, they, too, 
would become victims.
	Moving the chair that he had been sitting on out of the way, Norco made his 
way over to the far side of the room. Hanging on the wall in front of him, there was a 
sword. It had been through many battles, yet it was still as sharp as the day it was 
made. It was shiny, you could see your reflection in it, as Norco cleaned it everyday. 
Well, Norco thought, a mans weapon can say a lot about its owner, so you might as 
well keep it clean.
	"And, why exactly are you looking at your sword?" Gatta asked, glaring at 
Norco.
	"If, as you say, Dekki has fallen victim, they might have just left his body. 
They do that sometimes, so that they can come and eat it later if they need to."
	"You can't go out there!"
	Norco lifted the sword off its rest on the wall, and turned to face Gatta. "If 
they have left his body, he at least deserves someone to try and retrieve it."
	"But, you'll be killed!"
	"Well, at least I will die in the good conscience that I tried to find Dekki and 
give him a dignified funeral." With that, Norco stormed out the door.


	Dave and Leo had grown fond of the man John. He had come from Earth, and 
Dave and Leo were very much interested in the stories he had to tell. They themselves 
were humans, as Mostia was an Earth Colony but they had never been to earth itself. 
The survivors of the accident had split into two groups; Dave, Leo and John were one 
group, and the others were another group. 
	"I think they see us as the outcasts," said Dave.
	"Why would they think that?"
	"Well, look at them, then look at us. What's the difference?"
	John and Leo looked at the others, then looked back to Dave, puzzled.
	"We're the only humans!" Dave explained. "And, I don't think humans are the 
most loved species in the universe."
	The other two nodded. It was starting to get late. Thick clouds had formed 
above them and were blocking out the final harsh rays of the day's sun. Suddenly, it 
started to rain. Thousands of drops of rain started blasting down from the sky above 
and soaking everything they hit. 


	The two groups of people hurriedly stood up and ran to the cover of the forest. 
The first group sat at the very edge of the trees, so the humans went a little deeper into 
the forest. As John was about to sit down, a man collided with him and they both 
tumbled to the floor. John picked himself up, and brushed the mud off of his clothes. 
He turned towards the man angrily.
	"Who the hell are you!"


	Norco looked at the man that now stood in front of him. " Get away! Get away 
from here!" He looked around and saw Dave, Leo and the others. "All of you – get 
away from here! Quick!" A growl suddenly shot through everybody's eardrums, 
immediately sending a feeling of fright down all their spines. The group of aliens ran 
out of the forest, but the humans stayed. 
	"Who are you?" Asked Leo.
	"It doesn't matter, just get outta he…" Norco didn't get to finish, because out 
of the trees around them a whole pack appeared. Norco ran straight out into the desert, 
as did Leo and John. Dave stood rigid, as he recognised what he saw before him. The 
pack ignored him and chased straight after the others out in the desert, whom were all 
running in a mad panic. Dave slowly made his way out of the forest.
	"Stay still!" He shouted. "Don't run! Everybody, stay still!"
	But they ignored him. Norco rushed past Dave, and tripped over a 
conveniently placed foot. Dave picked him up and held him in front of him.
	"Will you please stay still! Do you know what those things are!"
	Norco looked at him, a terrified expression upon his features. "Of course I do! 
They're the Cheetah People!"