Atlas wasn't able to get back to sleep after his dream, so he eventually got up and told AGS-9 that he wanted to keep moving.
"Maybe you're still not elevating your head high enough. You have trouble sleeping when you take in too much butane gas, Atlas," AGS-9 observed as he put out the fire with his foot, the metal exposed and covered in soot from having put out dozens of fires in the same way.
"I think it makes me have flashbacks too..." Atlas was rubbing his neck while he stretched from the uncomfortable sleep.
"The crash again?" asked AGS-9. Atlas nodded.
"The day we left, too." Atlas stumbled. He must have stood up to fast. The blood rushed to his head and he fell to his knees, dizzy.
"You haven't been eating enough. You're getting weaker," said the android.
"I'm fine!" yelled Atlas, breathing deeply and getting back up. He dusted himself off, which was pointless. His body was covered in a layer of dried sweat and sand that didn't seem to be going anywhere. He didn't smell very good, but the sand both covered the numerous blisters he'd collected from exposure to the acid rain over the months and protected him from more of it. Atlas had come to call it Life Sand. "Let's go!"
They moved a lot more quietly these days than they did during the first few months. There was nothing left to make small talk about, even between a boy and a robot. Any talking they did do seemed to be brief, blunt, and short-lived. The sand they'd kick up when running through the trees provided a monotonous soundtrack. Every once in a while they'd travel through a clearing with no sand and a floor of metal and rock. AGS-9's feet would clang against that, but their voices were nowhere to be found.
It had been a long 6 months out in the alien wilderness and Atlas still wasn't sure if it was more luck or skill that had kept him alive this long. He figured it was skill, but AGS-9's programmed skill and not Atlas' own. He owed the android for safety, food, water, and shelter. There weren't very many structures like the big hollow stump they had fought the first rats in, so most of the time they stopped to rest it would be in a small, vulnerable, and make-shift campsite in the middle this strange, metallic forest. It didn't make for a very comfortable rest when Atlas never felt safe.
"Aegeus! My legs hurt again today. I have to walk. I'm sorry," Atlas called out as he slowed to a walk, rubbing his hamstrings.
"There's no need to apologize, Atlas. You're doing remarkably well. I'm proud of you!" cheered AGS-9 over its shoulder. It slowed to a walk as well, but didn't look back. Atlas smiled. He knew the android was just programmed to be optimistic and try to boost his confidence, but he had given up on disliking the robot. Out here AGS-9 was his big brother. Atlas loved him.
They walked, they jogged, they walked some more. Atlas had heard about what Earth was like for humans with nighttime and daytime, but on the space station they only had to deal with manmade lighting that they could control. The sun never set on this world either. There was no pitch black night time, just brighter and dimmer forms of the same everlasting dusk. The omnipresent cloud cover dispersed the local star's light from one horizon to the other, no matter where it was actually coming from. It meant that Atlas and AGS-9 would travel and rest as much as they wanted, whenever they could and their internal clocks (Atlas' being biological and AGS-9's being programmed) didn't really get in the way. Still, searching for signs of the wrecked ship for so long with no trace was starting to wear on Atlas' spirit.
After another long, painful time spent traveling it was time to rest.
"Are you sure we're still going the right way?" asked Atlas.
"I am as sure as I can be, Atlas. Besides, there are mountains in the distance and I plan to utilize the vantage point to see if we can't spot the crash site from there. We're probably only a few more hikes away," AGS-9 was already gathering rocks and scraps of fallen metallic wood for the fire. Atlas, satisfied with the android's answer, bunched up a pile of sand and laid back on it. He was out like a light, and quickly breathing in noxious butane gas again.
"Atlas! Wake up, Atlas!" It felt like he had only just closed his eyes when Atlas was abruptly awoken by AGS-9's alarming yells. The android was standing over him, extending his one remaining arm, which was holding out his other, removed arm for Atlas to grab. AGS-9 pulled him up and let go of the limb. Atlas was wielding it like a club, like he always did, and he knew why AGS-9 had woken him. Rats were coming.
As Atlas psyched himself up to do some quality rat-bashing like he had been used to doing by now, he also struggled to fight off the weariness that was overtaking him. He wasn't able to focus. It was that damn gas.
'Just concentrate on killing these rats and then you can sleep,' Atlas promised himself. It seemed as if as soon as he thought that, a rat-creature he didn't notice before came from behind and charged through his legs, knocking him back over. He tried to swing at it as he fell, but missed. Several giant rats converged on him and one bit his arm like a tinny clamp. He screamed out.
"Help! Aegeus!" the android kicked another rat away and ran to Atlas, rolling over one in order to grab the one that had bit Atlas by the tail and throw it 10 yards away through the air. With the technique of a karate master, AGS-9 kept his back to Atlas, protecting him as best he could, as more rats kept coming at them. It wasn't long before the excitement calmed, the remaining few rats scurried, and AGS-9 helped Atlas inspect his wound.
"I think you'll be okay, Atlas. This will heal on its own if we keep it wrapped," it said. Having learned their lesson the hard way before, both Atlas and AGS-9 were still keeping one eye each on their camp's surroundings. Sure enough, the glow of the rats eyes reappeared. This time, though, there were more- a lot more.
"Aegeus..." Atlas didn't know what else to say. There were more rats facing them here than they'd ever seen in one place so far. This wasn't good. The rats did something else new, too. They all stood on their haunches, revealing the unique designs that each one of them had. Swirls, stripes, and patches of blue and green marks vividly reflected light from each rat-creature's stomach. Atlas had never noticed how mesmerizing they were since whenever he did get a good luck he was either trying to kill or eat the things. Atlas swiveled his head around. They were completely surrounded by these rats. One of them started making the mechanical whining noise Atlas had started interpreting as a battle cry. The countless others joined in until the whirring was deafening all around. The dizziness from before started creeping back up into Atlas' head, but he shook it off and took a deep breath.
"Scream, Atlas! Scream bloody murder!" the android reminded him. It was a trick AGS-9 taught Atlas early on to get his adrenaline pumping to help him fight off the rats. Atlas screamed. AGS-9 screamed too, if only to support Atlas. The android kicked their newly-started fire towards rats at one end of the perimeter and they ran towards the other, engaging in combat. Atlas and AGS-9 worked well together after fighting so many of these creatures together over the months. One of them would flip a rat onto its back and the other would strike hard while it was vulnerable. For others, they would just hit them in the head as hard as they could and hope it worked out. Atlas never enjoyed these fights- especially the killing- but as it was a matter of survival he knew by now that holding anything back was a mistake. They had had many campfire conversations about creative ways to kill the creatures and it was so ingrained in his mind by now; so second-nature to the 14-year-old that what happened next left him feeling very strange.
Atlas had collected his fair share of injuries, cuts, bruises, and bites on this planet, but this fight had accounted for 3 bites already and he saw that two of them were bleeding significantly. He fell to one knee while AGS-9 approached him. "Stay there, I'll take care of the last couple," the android comforted Atlas before moving towards the stragglers.
"Wait," Atlas gasped, exhausted from the fight. He felt something different about one of the few remaining rat-creatures in particular. He watched as it almost seemed to comfort one of the dying rats next to it. It grabbed a limp paw in its own before turning and making eye contact with Atlas. Why was it looking at Atlas? What was it thinking? What was it feeling? Was it in pain- emotional pain? Did it lose a loved one? A brother? Guilt, sorrow, and shame washed over Atlas. From far away Atlas couldn't be sure if he was hallucinating or not, but he also could have sworn the markings on this one's stomach were arranged in a spitting image of Earth.
"I'm sorry...maybe we can try to be friends or something," said Atlas with a tired, forced smile. "I know we hunt you guys so I can eat, but I really, really hate killing you just to win a fight." The rat let go of its fallen comrade's paw, stared at Atlas for a second and scuttled right up next to him. Since Atlas was already kneeling, and the creature stood on its haunches, it was nearly as tall as Atlas in that moment. They stared at each other from a foot apart. One of its paws reached out and touched the wound on Atlas' arm, getting blood on it. Atlas winced, but shook his head at AGS-9 who looked ready to strike the rat down. This moment was absolutely surreal for Atlas and he didn't want to move for fear of scaring the rat away, but he did the next thing that came to mind. Atlas wiped the blood from his own wound and reached out to the rat's stomach. The rat didn't flinch at all as Atlas painted 6 dots on the creature. It was the same way he drew the space stations in his doodles of Earth. When he was satisfied with his work, Atlas chuckled and looked at AGS-9. AGS-9 had no reaction yet. The blood suddenly started glowing and seemed to burn into the rat's skin, leaving glowing orange marks in its place. "Your name is PJ!" yelled Atlas at the rat as it scampered off into the woods.
That was the end of the tension and the last Atlas and AGS-9 saw of any rats during the rest of their trek towards the mountains. During the next few days of hiking they talked a lot about what the interaction meant and how they would handle any future confrontations with the creatures. Atlas had developed a theory that they were part robots, like AGS-9, and could understand English. He referenced what the soldier had been yelling out on the ship before it was attacked.
"That's a good theory," AGS-9 said, "but I think it's more about what you feel than what you say, if that's the case."
"What do you mean?" Atlas inquired.
"We'll talk about it later. Look, we're here!" Distracted by fresh conversation, Atlas was surprised that he'd failed to notice that they had reached the base of the mountains. AGS-9 continued, "Up we go! Maybe we'll find a good place to camp near the top. Way less butane gas up there!" Atlas wasn't sure how safe he'd feel sleeping on an exposed mountaintop, but the thought of getting a good rest outweighed it.
They started hiking up the mountains, which were still pretty dense with trees towards the bottom, but as they got higher and higher the sand because less present while loose pebbles and rocks became more. There also seemed to be less metal threaded through the rock of the mountain when they were higher. Finally, after hours and hours of climbing, the two reached the summit. It wasn't the tallest mountain in the range they found themselves in, but the view at the top was incredible. Looking behind them, Atlas could see the path they'd taken over the last week or so, but the sheer vastness of terrain was so hypnotizing that he wasn't really sure where they'd come from beyond that. He joined AGS-9 in looking ahead.
"I don't see anything," Atlas said after a few minutes. He was hoping the android's superior vision did.
"Neither do I," AGS-9 almost sounded disappointed, but Atlas knew better. "It means there's still a long journey ahead," the android turned to Atlas, who was resting his hands on his legs and breathing heavily. They had just hiked for hours and the air was a little thinner at this altitude. "Atlas," AGS-9 followed with a pause, "I think we need to find somewhere to camp for a while." Atlas shook his head.
"I don't need to sleep right now," he said.
"I don't mean just to get some sleep. I mean settle down for a while. I've been watching you, Atlas. You're getting weaker as we go and I don't think you'll survive at this rate, knowing how much farther we'll have to go. You need to regain your strength and then some. You're very tough now, but we need to make you tougher." Atlas wanted to argue. He didn't want to stop for anything until he found his parents, if they were still alive. What if they stopped here and that's what made them too late? Atlas wanted to say these things, but he had come to trust AGS-9 fully, so he looked down and nodded his head.
They split up a bit, but not out of shouting distance, and walked around the mountain ranges looking for a good place to set up a long-term camp. Atlas wasn't looking too hard, because he assumed AGS-9 would scan, analyze, and find the statistically best place for them. After an hour, though, Atlas looked up when he thought he felt a raindrop. What he saw was a cave near the summit of a mountain. It had a covered plateau at its mouth and sheer cliff facing on every side. He got AGS-9's attention and then started climbing up the rock wall.
"This is an excellent choice," AGS-9 patted Atlas on the back once they were both in the cave. It felt a little like the flight deck of The Persephone to Atlas because they had a panoramic view out into the wild from the protective cover of the cave's ceiling, and the ground just fell away at the plateau's edges. It was safe. It was elevated. It was dry. It was a good spot.
"It feels like home already," said Atlas, with a rare smile of relief.
"It deserves a name," suggested AGS-9. Atlas thought about home, and how this camp was going to give him a chance at getting healthier so they could keep going.
"Camp Wellspring."