My skull felt too tight, and I could hear a pounding in my ears; soft, rhythmic. It took a moment for me to realize that it was the sound of my own pulse.

I decided that as a good thing; a pulse meant I was alive.

From my lips passed a weak moan, eyes still too heavy to open. I focused instead on my breathing; another test of my lungs. They seemed okay. I could take a full breath. The belts had done their job, I guessed.

"Computer?" I waited a moment in silence, no answer coming.

That was less of a good thing.

Finally, I forced myself to open my eyes. The pod was darker than night, not a single light blinking across the console or in the ceiling overhead. In the blackness, I groped for the buckles of my belts. The moment I was free, I dropped from the seat and slid awkwardly across the floor a few feet.

Wherever we had landed, it wasn't level ground.

My mind immediately flooded with horrific thoughts.

I was at the bottom of some lake or maybe hanging hundreds of feet up a tree.

I rubbed my hand over the metal floor as if trying to coax a living beast out of sleep. "Hey, computer. I could really use a damage report."

The shuttle didn't answer.

Fuck.

As carefully as I could manage, I scooted across the floor. Based on where my seat had been, I had a vague idea of where the exit hatch was. I also knew that, were I underwater, it would never open. The pressure outside would be too much.

If it was air, though...

Blindly, I ran my hands up and along the wall, feeling my way toward the door. When I found it, I wrapped my hands over the manual release and jerked it down. There was a long hiss, and the pod was immediately filled with the sharp scent of damp earth and decay.

No more recycled and filtered air. After so many years of breathing nothing but, I was almost knocked flat by the sudden assault on my senses. Immediately, I switched to breathing through my mouth, giving my nose time to adjust.

I took another breath before standing awkwardly in the pod. I had to position myself in such a way that I could get the leverage needed to push open the hatch.

The door resisted, only giving way an inch at a time. Repeatedly, I had to contort myself, bracing both legs against the floor and my shoulders against the door. Each push revealed more of the world beyond, a shaft of light slowly cutting through the crack as it grew ever wider.

Despite being no closer to actual freedom, I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't trapped. I could see plants, earth, and all the wonderful things that let me know I was safely on terra firma.

That was enough.

I felt the strength leave my body, as if it had drained through the soles of my boots. My legs wobbled, and I dropped to the ground, sitting in the space between the floor and wall. I laid my head against the hatch, staring through the crack and to the space beyond.

It was eerily quiet outside.

The violent crash of my shuttle had probably sent all life running for cover. Yet there was something peaceful in the unnatural silence, filled only by my ragged breathing. There was no room for terror right now. I had survived the worst of it and, in that moment, I was thrilled.

I didn't know how long I sat, but it had been long enough for the shaft of light to move further across the floor. I willed myself back up, despite how lightheaded I was and how heavy my body felt. I resumed shoving the hatch open. It scraped the earth and mud, which was thankfully yielding. I forced the door just wide enough for me to slip through.

Beyond, my head turned, taking in my new surroundings. The trees weren't as I'd previously imagined; rather than impossibly tall, they were...

I had to carefully study them to make sense of what I was seeing.

It looked as if numerous trees had tangled together, forming one stout mass. Instead of every tree within the jungle joining together in a tangle, it seemed there was a limit. As far as the eye could see, there were countless tree-colonies comprising the dense jungle. Even overhead, it seemed that they didn't mingle. There were breaks in the canopy where the individual colonies refused to touch one another. It allowed rivers of sunlight to slip through and paint the ground in a soft, green glow.

Beneath the trees was thick vegetation, spread far and wide. It was a mess of vines and bushes, some sections growing taller than I stood. Some even crawled up the gnarled roots of the trees, groping toward more precious sunlight.

I glanced at the shuttle. Its shape was vaguely rectangular, though some of the edges were rounded smooth, except where the outer hull had been lost entirely. The nose of the pod was smashed to hell and back. My eyes drifted to the rear of the shuttle and then the jungle behind it.

The ship had left a clear path of destruction in its wake. Trees had been burned, mangled, and snapped. Beyond that, there was a long, deep gash in the earth where the pod had slid to a gradual stop. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if such a violent crash might have caught the attention of more than just wildlife.

No sooner than the thought occurred, I drove it away.

Right now, I needed to take stock of my supplies and figure out a game plan. With the computer out of commission, I was in trouble. I had no way to scan my surroundings for life-signs or resources. The computer would know where to find water, but I sure as hell didn't.

Wilderness survival was something I never thought I'd need.

"I'm screwed..." I whispered.