East, through the open grasslands

"Let's go east," you say with confidence. "It's pretty open there, so we should be able to get a good look and a good feel for what sort of wildlife is around."

"Alright let's go!" Will says, enthusiastically.

"Yeah, let's go spend our precious daylight exploring in the one direction we actually can see from the ship. Great idea." Every word from Ryan drips with venom. You're glad he doesn't have a loaded weapon.

The three of you venture into the fields about a mile. From here, the ship looks a lot smaller, and everyone is out of earshot. The grass here is taller, coming to somewhere between your knee and mid-thigh, and appears to grow taller up ahead in the distance. You wonder if there are any animals in this field, as you've yet to see anything, when Will grabs you by the shoulder.

"Dude, look at that."

You look where he's pointing and spy a family of small mammals. The adult, which you are guessing is the mom, is about the size of a golden retriever, and her offspring are similar in size to a 3 month old puppy. They are covered in a tan fur and have heads that slightly resemble a deer's, but with a much longer, thinner snout. In fact, it seems like the entire animal is thin as a rail. They appear to be grazing on the grass, and pay you no mind, even when Will approaches pretty close.

"I guess they don't see a reason to be afraid of us." Ryan says, for the first time betraying a sense of awe and appreciation for this alien world.

"I mean, it makes sense. Why should they be? They don't seem to have any predators in this area."

"Come on, let's keep looking around." you say, authoritatively. "We can't spend all day looking at one animal, otherwise we won't be able to make the full circle." The others nod, and you continue walking east about another quarter mile. As it turns out, you don't have to worry about missing the wildlife, as the field here is full of the deer-like creatures. The grass is nearly waist high here, and you wonder why it is so much shorter where the ship crashed.

"Whoah..."

You look to Will and see him looking ahead of you. You and Ryan have been looking at the animals most of the time, and haven't looked up ahead as much. You follow Will's eyes, and see a virtual wall of grass. In the space of about 5 yards, the grass has gone from waist high to shoulder high.

"Should we check it out?"

The question came from Ryan, with a voice that betrays the same nervousness you are feeling. If you venture into that grass, you won't be able to see more than a few feet in front of you. And grass like that could hide an animal much bigger than the deer. As you ponder the move, one of the juvenile deer meanders right past your leg and into the tall grass. He feasts upon the grass around him with not a care in the world.

"Well, that little guy certainly doesn't seem to be afraid!", Will says with a chuckle. You and Ryan can't help but laugh as well, as the little creature gleefully bounces around, eagerly eating the taller blades. You watch him for another minute or so, when the wind changes. Behind you comes a frantic bleat, and before you have a chance to look, a full-grown female charges into the back of your knee, knocking you down.

"What the fu-"

She apparently wasn't charging you, as she's already 5 yards past you, running toward the gap in the grass where her young is feeding. It's too late. A feline growl echoes from the grass up ahead, and in an instant a dark shape pounces on the feeding baby. One pained cry is all you hear, then silence. Around you, nearly a dozen of the deer creatures are calling to one another frantically, and in a matter of seconds the entire herd is sprinting away from the tall grass.

"Damn, those things are fast!" says Will.

"Forget them, what the fuck was that thing in the grass?!"

You don't care right now. Only one thought is in your head: get out of the tall grass.

"Run! Back to the shorter grass!" you order, and for once, Ryan listens without a complaint. The three of you take off at a dead sprint and don't stop until you've caught up to the herd. If they've stopped, you must be safe too.

"I think we're ok now. I didn't get a good look at that thing, but it looked big. I don't think it would be able to approach without us seeing in the shorter grass here", you say reassuringly.

"Still, I think I'm ready to get out of this field." Will has a point, and you see Ryan nodding as well. "We need to make the whole circle today if possible. Where to next, Ben?"