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cramped again, when the mouthwatering scent of roasting meat drifted towards her on the breeze. 
    Oh, God…that smells so good!  
    Her eyes traveled the open space where she lay.  Around her stood a large network of vegetation.  Instead of the deeper green color of most Earth vegetation, these were lighter in color, more the yellowish-green of immature celery than the deeper emerald she was used to. 
    The ground beneath her felt slightly dry--not as arid as the dessert they’d traveled--like a layer of dry soil covered a slightly moister layer beneath.  Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position. 
    Where was Tarzan?  That’s how she referred to him… in her head anyway.  He reminded her of a character in an old vid-clip that she’d seen in her History of Modern Cinema class.  It was his whole ‘strong, silent, drag the chick away’ thing that brought it to mind, not to mention that way sexy fur loincloth thing he had going on.  Before drifting off that last time, she’d decided that Tarzan would be appropriate, ; especially since it wasn’t like she could just ask what his name was. 
    Since it seemed he’d decided to abandon her, it was probably a moot point anyway.  She was annoyed that he’d abandoned her while she was down.  He could’ve at least waited until she was up and able to defend herself before deciding to shove off.  What if she’d been bitten by a snake or attacked by a bear or a…whatever?  Who knew what freaky weird alien animals lived here. 
    Truth was she didn’t know enough about this planet to anticipate what its animal life consisted of.  Since, for the most part, there was very little vegetation and plant life, she couldn’t imagine that there were many herbivores wandering around.  So he’d, in essence, left her like a piece of steak for whichever hungry thing ambled by first. 
    The gnawing queasiness intensified, ; reminding her it’d been a while since she’d eaten.  Nausea kept her immobile while she waited for it to pass. 
    Gotta find something to eat.
    She regretted not using one of the protein packs she’d brought before she’d met her captor.  At the time, she’d figured on having to ration them until she was able to determine what was and wasn’t edible.  Since Tarzan stole everything, she’d have to figure that out sooner than anticipated. 
    She scanned her surroundings again.  From the amount of sunlight here, it was obvious that he hadn’t taken her that deeply into the brush.  The darker shadows that blanketed the vegetation a little farther in hadn’t quite reached her.  Turning towards the sunnier area, she listen cautiously as she made her way towards , what she hoped was , the edge of the… where ever she was.  She walked maybe six feet before she parted the lower growing bushes, which were still taller than she was, and stepped out into a larger meadow-like space.  The dense canopy was absent here.  The ground, which had been softly moist, was now hard and dry with a layer of small pebbles.  The aroma of roasted meat was much stronger, and her mouth watered.  
    Good Lord…that smell…
    In the center stood a fire pit.  Leo glanced anxiously around; she didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean there was no one here.  Glancing again at the pit, she noticed the large hip satchel sitting beside it. 
    So he didn’t abandon me…
    She frowned at the tingle of pleasure that that knowledge brought.  Stepping into the clearing, she made her way to the fire.  Her legs felt weak and unstable--the lingering effects of heat exhaustion, she assumed.  As she drew closer, she discovered the origins of her sensory temptation.  She had no idea what it was, but whatever he was cooking was…
    “My filtration system!”  She grabbed the large thermos like container beside the satchel.  “Why, that little thief…” she sat placing the overlarge bag in her lap, and began searching its contents.  “Where it is…where is