Several miles from the Great Lake sat another large civilization, formed along a river that fed into the nearby ocean. It was a younger colony, but the denizens had discovered a larger variety of fish than was in the Great Lake, allowing them a surplus of food that wasn't based solely on the weather. In time, the colony could have far surpassed it's sibling at the lake, but this would not happen. Those living there had seen the Tower fall from the sky in the distance, had seen the Goddess that had emerged from it, as well as heard (and very much felt) the massive eruptions that come from the volcano. Several smaller eruptions had occurred throughout the day. So far, there wasn't any sign of smoke billowing into the sky, but those would arrive soon. Those familiar with the volcano recognized the smell. Fortunately, this colony was far enough away from the volcano that it was unlikely that its lava would reach them. But that mattered little...for the Goddess was making her way towards them.

The tremors of her thundering footfalls struck fear into the hearts of those residing here. Most began to flee, unsure of where their legs would take them but hoping it would be far enough away from the wrath of the great Goddess. Waves splashed from the river, washing across people, crops, and homes, the last of which began to crumble under the pounding steps. The Goddess came to a halt atop the colony, her towering form hovering what was left of the ruined buildings. Though many craned their necks as far as they could, it was impossible to see the top of the massive being. Those religious zealots, most from the Great Lake, began to pray fanatically, hoping to earn some mercy from the unforgiving wrath of the Goddess. The more secular among the denizens yelled at the zealots, saying their words would not be heard, but still they tried. But when their prayers were answer by a thundering roar that shook the world almost as hard as the footfalls, the zealots knew all was lost. There was no mercy. This was the end.

Another eruption, this one much closer than before, boomed with a deafening din. How was this possible? Was the volcano by the lake becoming more powerful? No, of course not. This was the apocalypse. This was the end of days. The Goddess would spring new volcanoes from the earth and they would spew their lava and their poisonous gases for miles. Those, lost in their panic, who happened to flee towards the Great Lake would find more than just lava waiting for them. The monsters that had been unleashed by the Goddess had begun to make their way towards the colony, and they greedily leapt onto their new prey.

…

Natasha stared out across the ocean, rubbing her noisy and complaining belly as she did.

It was pretty here. This would definitely be a nice place to watch the sunset, maybe have a little picnic (the thought of Pod food made her stomach turn). This really was a lucky find on the Pod's part. She had an actual beach that she could be at, small as it was (there was hardly any sand at all). Still, at it was miles better than what she could have gotten, what she was statistically much more likely to have gotten, like a barren wasteland of a planet. The Pod would have been her only haven in that instance, which have been miserable, not only because of her stomach feeling like it was doing cartwheels.

Then the itch came, residing deep within her nostrils. A hand instinctively lifted up to the underside of her nose to rub, but there was no stopping it. Natasha rotated her upper body to the left a bit and looked down towards the ground, her eyes closing while her mouth began to open...

…

For a fleeting moment, the zealots had second hope that their words had been heard after all. The eyes of the Goddess finally began to drift down towards them. But this too was quickly dashed. A look of disgust came onto the face of Goddess, and with great force and a mighty cry, spat upon the ground. A deluge of saliva and mucus slammed into the crumbling remains of the colony, destroying what few buildings had managed to defy the presence of the Goddess, and laying a coating of sticky goop. There was only a brief pause before the towering being let loose another powerful spray. This time, more mucus accompanied the wet mist of saliva. A longer, but still short, pause came before another gust was fired upon the tiny population. By now, a thick coating of green goo coated the entire colony. Those who survived the impact now had to endure slogging through the thick mess to find any hope of escape.

The mess began to run into the river, which carried it into the ocean. There were no doctors, no medical researchers to fully understand what had just been unleashed. Tons and tons of foreign bacteria, viruses, and germs flooded the area and the water. Within hours, the epidemic would begin, infecting those survivors who blundered to other homes. The river was now ruined, its branching streams spreading the plague to all animals and desperate villagers who dared drink from it. The viral nature of these new diseases meant they would reach far corners of the planet within weeks. Those who never even beheld the Goddess would still feel her wrath, as the great pestilence began.

…

Natasha blew her nose, waded the tissue, and then tossed it into the ocean. The itch was relentless, however. Finally, she raised her right hand and inserted her index finger into the right nostril, where the itch was strongest. She dug her nail against the soft walls of her nasal passage, scraping off wet mucus and stuck on birds that she had unknowingly inhaled earlier. When the itch was finally gone, she extracted her finger and wiped against her hip.

Her eyes then returned to the ocean for a moment. She briefly thought that she might go swimming, but immediately rejected the idea. Even back on Earth, the ocean contained all sorts of crazy shit. Who knew what was swimming in there? She wanted no part of it. A glance up at the sky showed the sun was still high in the sky. Who knew how long it'd be till it was actually dusk on this planet. If the Pod was still repairing itself when the sun finally began to set, she might come back out here. It was good that it wasn't far from the Pod. She definitely didn't want to be out here at night. She hadn't seen any wildlife yet, but...

Natasha turned and began to walk back to the Pod.