Speaker 1: Hello, I'm welcomed stories all the time. Glad you are here.
Let's get into it. My fascination were traveling to the
Stars began the night my sister tied. It was a
cold night we were up in the treehouse using the
telescope ground pipe gifted me from my seventh birthday, when
she jobbed a finger toward the sky, pointing at a
shooting star and shouting, we should make a wish Quenton.
I remember thinking it was a lot larger than any
I had seen before, and a few moments later it
got so big that it blotted out the moon with
deafening speed, assumed overhead, and smashed into the forest right
behind our house, toppling massive trees like they were mapsticks,
and scorching a trail of dead orf to an impact
sight the size of a small car. My sister and
I didn't even have to exchange words before we were
bounding down the rope ladder and rushing into the woods.
It was smaller than I expected, perhaps the size of
a bowling ball, but it was unlike anything I'd ever seen,
dark orange and glowing with the light of a thousand stars.
What is it? When he asked us, she reached out
to touch the stone. A moment later, she was screaming
and flailing on the ground as she clutched her wrist
with her legs buckle. I ran to her side and
looked at her palm, both frightened and fascinated to see
that every bit of her skin had been scorched off.
I carried her to the house, shouting to my parents
for help as she kept screaming. As I looked down
at her, I saw that the bones were beginning to
spread down her arm, scalding her body like a spurting disease.
She didn't stop her wills until we made it to
the hospital. Once in the emergency room, several well dressed
men pulled my dad aside and talked in hush tones
about what was happening. I didn't understand many of the words,
but none of it sounded good. Certain phrases like quarantine
and special treatment rang in my ears as I tugged
at Dad's coat. Is Renie going to be okay? Are
they going to make her better? I asked? He brushed
me away and tried to remain calm, listening as the
men told him they would need to take her knee
immediately before her condition got any worse. What's wrong with her?
Where are you taking her? I asked frantically. Dad signed paperwork,
and in a flash, they were wheeling my sister toward
a private ambulance. Quentin, Quentin, she shouted as she passed
me by. I will never forget the pannikin her eyes,
the flush melting that was to forming every part of
her body. She grabbed hold of my left arm, begging
me to save her. Her touch was like fire, and
I instinctively pulled away, feeling my own flesh turn of
dark black as she was taken away. We were told
they would update us in forty eight. I was about
her condition, but we never got a single phone call.
The stars did this to her, pop, and I'm going
to find out why, I remember telling Dad. In his
bitterness and rage, he blamed what happened to her on me.
If you hadn't filled her head with fantasies or spaceman,
she would still be here. No one cares about the
moon any more. Quenn, you need to wake up and
forget about it, he spat as he dismantled my telescope.
I promised him I would never bring it up. Again,
and for the next twenty years, I stayed true to
my word. Then I met Isaac. It was spring of
twenty twelve. I was busy frittering away my inheritance on
college courses that any sane person would avoid, like fringe
science and parasychology, when we bumped into each other trying
to check out the same book from the university's library.
Let's just study together and kill two birds with one stone,
Isaac suggested. Once we made introductions. Before I knew it,
I found myself admiring everything about him, from his decisive attitude,
his calming eyes. I soon learned that, like me, iick
dreamed of seeing the stars. Pretty crazy. Huh No, not
at all. I've wanted to be an astronaut since I
was a kid, but my dad told me it was
just a stupid dream. Yeah, I guess he isn't wrong. Ha.
I mean, it's not like the Space Program is going
around recruiting any more. That's not entirely true. NASA still
trains men and women every year for lunumissions, and most
of the one selected wind up station in the is
s HA. Sounds like you didn't give up on that
dream after all. Isick. Teased, Well, then let's do it.
Let's go to the moon. What oh. By studying and
putting ourselves out there every chance we get, we'll blow
them away, prove our dad's wrong, and make our own history.
What do you say? So that's what we did for
the next year. We took concourses in astronomy and physics,
engineering and geology, and went at every seminar, every rally,
and signed up for every conference in the space program.
We volunteered, campaigned and represented ourselves as much as possible
for the university, and even started our own club to
get the cause heard. One week ago, all of our
efforts finally paid off. The head master pulled us aside
with urgent news our recruiter from Florida had come to
speak to us. Isaac and I could hardly contain our
excitement as we were ushered into a private room and
suddenly found ourselves standing face to face with the decorated
officer of a space program. Gentlemen and Commander Alexiferis. Please
take a seat, the dark haired woman said formerly as
we shook hands. As you may have assumed, my presence
here is to determine whether or not you meet the
criteria to be approved as a candidate for an upcomingly omission.
Both of you have demonstrated over the past twelve months
your determination and skills when it comes to such an assignment,
so none of those abilities are in question here. What
you need to be aware of is the delicacy of
the operation. Signing up is tantamounted casting your old life away. Everything, anything,
and every one you ever knew will be a thing
of the past. You will become a part of a
classified group that is not acknowledged by any government on earth,
and you will be disavowed by all associates and enterprises.
In short, if you become a part of our team,
you will be ghosts. She gave us a cut smile
and encouraged us to discuss amongst ourselves the implications here.
You haven't even told us what we're getting involved with.
How can you expect us to be on board with it?
I wasn't quite as critical, but I did have a
few questions of my own. What was the deadline for departure,
would we be given the chance to change our mind
in the future, and most importantly, what would we be doing.
Alexa offered what little information she could but stressed that
any details would only be given once we signed on
the dotted line. I understood her need for discretion, but
ice it did not. This feels wrong. Could you give
us a moment, I said, pulling him out to the hall.
What's going on with you? Isn't this everything we've worked for?
I asked, in a hushed tone. I was about to
ask you the same thing, Quinton. I thought we wanted
to go to the moon, not become a part of
some condestined project. We don't know anything to base our
statements on, or even a way to verify who this
woman is. It all seems rather sketchy. Don't flack on
this now. What if this is the only chance we get,
shouldn't we take a leap of faith. It's just it
all happened so suddenly and without notice. I know we
said we wanted this, but can't we do the same
initiative we've always fought for? Right here? I could see
in his eyes that he had already made up his mind,
and it broke my heart. I thought we were in
this together. His stature stiffened and his expression grew cold. Um,
I thought, so too, looks like I didn't realize what
really mattered most. That was the last time he ever
saw one another. I watched as he left without even
so much as a good bye, and then turned to
see Alexa was standing there waiting for my own decision.
I remember thinking of all the people I wanted to
prove wrong, Now I was adding the man I loved
to that list. Over the next twenty four arrows, Alexa
transported me and two other candidates to an undisclosed location.
Even steppy foot in the friedle was considered classified, and
we retreated the way I imagined slaves were pushed down
to cargo holds and then quickly sedated. When we woke up,
all I could sense was a rush of cold air,
our surroundings assembling something akin to a dormant volcano. After
being given a chance to eat and shower, Alexa took
us to a conference room where an old skull projector
was hooked up. What you are about to hear will
change your perception of the world you are about to leave.
At first, I thought that it was all just for show,
to instill a sense of all in our mission, but
that all changed moments later, when the lives dimmed and
an image of a massive Luna outprest appeared on screen.
It looked to be the size of a small city
hidden among the craters. The structure you are looking at
is Fort Halsbury. It is the largest man made building
off planet, next only to the Iss itself. As you
may have guessed, much like the program you have enlisted in,
the very existence of Elsbury is considered top secret. She began.
The next few slides showed us pictures of the facility's
inner corridors, which included everything from a swimming pool to
a greenhouse. It was impressive to see, and I wondered
how long it had taken to build a place like this.
Came the meat of our discussion. The reason we were
chosen with already sixteen staff members aboard Emission will be
to assist and provide support for our current project, that
of colonization. Sorry to interrupt, but did you just say
colonization as in people living on the Moon. It's all incorrect, Yes, myam,
Owen Sanders. I'm going to have to ask you to
please hold off all questions until the end, mister Sanders,
water is the most precious resource in the Moon. For
the past six months, the team has been focusing on
attempting to breach this pocket of the lunar subterranean areo
we call Lake seven. It's about four thousand, seven hundred
feet in diameter and from our scans, as a seventy
seven percent they could be submit the other materials. Our
goal is to successfully mind this lake, along with other
locations and the Moon's surface, over the next ten years,
and you will be a part of that. I snapped
back as the next slide showed a large area beneath
the lunar base that was being mine. I couldn't believe
my ears, but the excitement only grew from this moment.
We signed a lot of NDA, went through weeks of
extensive training and even more to withstand the launch, and
finally we departed from Earth around mid morning. I remember
watching the globe fader we amid the stars and thinking
how lucky I was to be doing exactly what I
always wanted to do with my life. Lettle data know
about the secrets that the moonheat to offer would haunt
me forever. Landing and debriefing with the station's chief happened
around seventeen hundred hours, and we were given necessary immunizations
by the Status physician. I did my best to memorize
all of the names of the senior staff Cyrus Gordon,
Chief of Operations, Doctor Clara Rowland, Chief of Medicine, Alexa Ferries,
chief of Security, Professor Professor Francin Landry, Chief astro physicist,
Kala let Out, Chief of Maintenance, TJ. Armatage, Chief of Engineering,
and then my direct supervisor, Tylo Bay Chief science Officer
Owen and I would be working directly underneath him in
the weeks to come. There's a lot to take in
and then sure relegistives around in soon enough. But as
it stands, we're going to need all staff to be
on high a lot as we enter the subterranean Pocket
at seven hundred hours tomorrow. Our goal is to stabilize
the area, determine whether or not its a viable location
for creating an artificial ocean, and also to excavate all
resources and determine their usefulness to our primary mission. I
felt like I was on a roller coaster with all
the sudden revelations. That evening, I went to the observation tower,
which faced east toward the shadow of the moon, and
spent the night watching the stars and thinking about the
choices that had led me here. They looked different from
this point of view, don't they, Miss Landry smiled at
me softly as she joined me to peer up at
the expanse It's amazing, all these years of discovery to
come to the stars, and the answers to our future
might just be beneath our feet this entire time. I
guess that makes this place a little lonely when everyone
else is so focused in the lake all I don't
know about that. I like to think of the pike
as my fortress of solitude, she saved with the smirk,
and and when I inquired about the nickname, she gestured
to the angles of the tower and explained, surely you
noticed on you descend its peculiar design. I didn't want
to admit I hadn't paid that much attention, but thankfully
Landry brushed it off and said, either way, even with
all the water in the world, was still going to
need to study these constellations. Understanding the cycles on the
moon and even cataloging them is something that will take years.
I knew what it was like to have something you
wanted for so long be pushed aside. I figured the
moon was big enough for all of us to dream
boh five hundred iOS. I got up early, the excitement
of getting to work or the disorientation of my new
surroundings making it impossible to sleep. After a short jog,
shower and breakfast, I met Tyler at the main elevator
that descends to the core of our dick side. Owen
was already there, seemingly just as wide eyed and eager
as me. Let's go make history, he told me. As
the elevator shock and rattle through the lunar cross. During
the interim, we all donned our spacesuits, checking our internals systems,
and activated our comps. That was nearly six hundred by
the time we arrived at the tunnel. Taler and the
others had been digging for the past several years. The
massive drills they used look to be the size of
small cruise ships, and I marveled at the prospect of
being able to keep all the secret from society. Whistled
softly as Calub and Professor Landry set up everything needed
to break the final bit of cross which separated us
from the mysterious subterranean pocket. I was given the assignment
to monitor the pressure and geological activity on the small
substation that resembled something like and overdecorated tollbooth. The different
monitors streamed in a ray of date at mile lawnsuring
how all of the different machines worked together to break
through the wall of rock. As soon as Klob got
the drill activated, the pressure of alves and other reader's
immediately spiked, pushing through the lunar surface like it was
made of putt. The huge machines used the energy of
at least a dozen tanks, blasting and destroying anything that
stood in its path. Laundry was there at my side,
jotting down their readings as quickly as they came in.
And then all before our eyes, a final sigament of
the wall gave way and collapsed into nothing, and shut
off the machine, and we all held our breath, watching
as the cloud of dust and particles revealed what laid
behind the seal. What I saw was an impossibility, a
city of lights and angles, unlikeney me by a man
twisting in smooth architecture, mixed together to form a sprawling
metropolitisan maze of graysigurates, crystalline walkways and mabamated structures. With
a limited artificial light O drill and headgear supplied, it
was difficult to even be sure which side was up
and which was down. Worldlessly, we stepped through the broken
gate to the alien city, marveling at its beauty and silence.
What is this place, Calb finally asked, his voice filled
with anxiety and fear. Laundry, on the other hand, offered
hope and excitement to the discovery. This is the single
largest discovery in the past hundred years. Imagine it. Civilization
is proof of life outside our earth, possibly even our
solo system. These buildings are perhaps a million years old
or more, Tyler said, nothing, taking it all in the
group of us, keeping close to one another as we explored.
Something like a whisper of when filled the calms for
a briefest of moments. As I saw strange carvings upon
some of the buildings, an entire language of glyphs, an arithmetic.
I'm a tech, Landry said, reaching out to press her
glove against the stone. A flash of memory danced crossed
my mind. The whisper grew louder, and I heard Reniee griamount. Instinctively,
I grabbed Landry's risks before she could fill the structure,
and I muttered, perhaps we should perform some tests using
the machines first. For a tense moment, I thought the
whispers would run out any sane thought I had. Then
Landry relaxed and nodded, motioning for Caleb to get the
scanning equipment. I thought my premonition had averted a crisis,
but one was only just beginning behind us. The beacons
and the drill suddenly activated, and the massive vehicle tumbled
forward without a driver. Unshouted in surprise as the treads
of the drill pushed part more of the wall, giving
the vehicle ample room to move forward. But Owen didn't
even get a chance to climb aboard the lumbering vehicle
as it picked up speed. The only chance we had
was to get out of the way as it pushed
down segments of the ancient city and rolled straight over
Owan without even as much as slowing down. The sounds
of the tradesmassion and crushing bodylike tinfil is something that
I'll never get out of my head, mixed with a
screams as his lungs and spying were torn apart. It
only lasted a few seconds, but for the rest of
us it seemed like an eternity. The machine continued forward
until its mast into one of the massive strutches, and
shut down with a flash of smoke. As it collided
with the stone pylon. The entire city ground and shook,
as though the collective souls of the dead civilization were
unquieted with the arrival of our technology. A moment later,
we realized it was non ordinary impact all, but some
sort of subterranean quake. Tyler shouted to calib and I
as we were forced to leave Owen's mutilated body behind,
and a rain of stones fell from the top of
the drone back on the outskirts of the underground ruin.
We watched in horror as our chances of exploring and
learning more about it redashed to pieces. Piles of stone
and dout blocked the path, and the three of us
were fortunate to even still be standing as a quake
finally ended, Our combs folded with static again. At first
I thought it was the mystic whispers from the city,
but soon we heard the distinctive voice of Armitage Professor Landry.
Are you all right down there? We're a man down
and we've lost access to the tunnels. There was a
long silence as those above let the statement sink in.
Then at last Armitage gave an orator, well you'd better
head up top. I think shits just got a lot worse.
Eight hundred Iurs Day two. The ride back to the
lunar surface was one filled with silent horror and regretted
what had happened to Officer Sanders. None of us dared
to even comprehend the experience of finding the city or
the strange things that had happened here, and the stillness
in the air made me feel at ease. It didn't
let up. When we arrived at the observation deck. Armitage
and Commander Cyrus were waiting, both checking every system over
and over again, before finally making the announcement that somehow
I had anticipated, we've lost communication with Earth that quick
managed to disrupt our signals, will probably be on our
own for the next forty eight hours. Armitage had other
bad news. Several of the sectors of the moonbase would
need to be sealed off due due to rolling blackouts,
and maintenance would need to insured that resources were properly distributed.
Cyrus gave us assignments, and before dismissal Calab insisted we
give a small service for Officer Sanders. I was surprised
that I had the least to say about him, despite
the fact that I likely knew him longer than any
of them. My mind was too fractured by everything else
we had seen and heard. With a brief fulogy given,
Tyler ordered me to join doctor Rowland and making sure
that all of the crew were properly treated, starting with yourself,
he added, giving me a cold look of disdain. Was
he disappointed that I hadn't been able to save Owen
or did he think that my abilities as an officer
were lacking in some area I never knew. Ten hundred diars, maintenance,
sweeps and health checks were nearly done by this time.
As Roland and I moved to the staff of the
pike itself, providing them with needed medications, someone messed with
my data. I remember Clara saying as we gathered supplies,
the changes were made without consultation. What happened see for
yourself were aland said as she stepped aside and looked
at the glitching screens. Occasionally it would show strange mockings
and symbols that reminded me of the glyphs we had
seen in the subterranean city, and that alone gave me
a chill. Was it possible that some curse had been
placed upon us simply for opening the chasm? What do
you think it means? The doctor said. I didn't think
it would be proper for me to speculate, so I
quietly followed her towards the elevator and shuffled my feet uncomfortably.
What happened down there, I don't even know if I
could explain it, I admitted, as we made it to
the observation deck. I was hoping to find some sense
of normalcy here amid my fellow scientists. But once I
saw the disarray of the equipment that quickly fitted the
power was only functioning at thirteen percent, with only a
few key lights even glowing. In the dark room in
the middle, I spotted Professor Laundry staring up at the
massive telescope she used, likely on the daily basis. She
seemed to have a distant and confused look on her
face as Roland and I approached her. Ah, Doctor Roland,
what brings you here? Laundry? Asked us would check her vitals.
Trimander wants to make sure everything is all right after
the quake. Looks like you hit it pretty hard in here,
Roland answered. As I was putting the pressure cuff on,
Laundry looked down at the black and skin on my wrist,
her as widening as she pulled away. How did you
get that? It's nothing? It's a birthmark, I said reflexively.
Tuggy must leave down to hide the scar. That doesn't
look like any birth mark IFF ever seen, Roland pointed out,
as she too had a look. Something clicked for Laundry
as she stood up and had a frightened look on
her face. The stones you knew I shouldn't touch them.
You've seen them before, I grimisce and explain, not exactly,
it was just a feeling. When I was young, my
sister died from touching a meteorite. The two women silently
considered what I was telling them, before Laundry turned to
the telescope and remarked, perhaps that is also what is
happening here. Maybe we are all dying for descretion of
a tune. What are you two talking about? Does this
have to do with what happened to Sanders. Cyrus is
still not telling the crew, Landry said with a laugh
as she pressed her eyes against the telescope. Does he
think he's an Ostrich sticking his head in the sand
to hide from his problems. I think we're all just
a little on edge, I admitted a moment later, as
though to eccuma sentiment. Another loud alarm blowed across the
moon base. This is off, Sirpherus. We're detecting severe weather
in the northern sector of the base. All personnel are
advised to seek shelter, Alexis said over the PA system
A meter shower now, Roland whispered as we helped Professor
Lundry toward the elevator. This is no coincidence. Something down
on that chasm awakened a terrible evil. It's going to
destroy us all, Landry said frantically, as all of us
took the transport down from the observatory. I think he
might be overreacting, I told her. As I looked across
the quietly a landscape toward the northern valley, I could
see at least six massive stones from the sky careening
toward us, and my mind flashed back to those final
moments where he was alive. What if the same thing
happened here? One of the stones smashed into the eastern
zone of the Osbury, sending up clouds of dust as
our elevator shook and then ferros on its descent. The
sudden loss of power sent Professor Landry into a full panic,
and she clung to my shirt. Quentin, do you hear that?
All of us got deathly silent as we listened, and
I thought I heard the strange whispers again, but this
time they were far more vaint. Roland interrupted the quiet
as she tried the calm and remarked, I can't get
anyone to respond. We'll have to climb down. I realized
most of us were already wearing the needy gear, but
Professor Landry seemed against the idea entirely. We go out
there and we could die. Whatever this entity is seemed
to have some control over our machinery. Clara and I
ignored her concerns and started to gear up. We could
see that another media was spiraling towards us a ro day,
so waiting for another solution wasn't an option. With a
sense of urgency, I activated my oxygen supply and told
Landry to do the same. Ye stay here and you'll
die with or without the help of any cosmic creature.
I warned her. That seemed to jold her back to
her senses, and as we prepared for the cold train
of the exterior, Roland used one of the tools on
her suit to unlatch the emergency hatch at the bottom
of the transport. As the metallic frame floated toward the
void of space, Roland gave a silent countdown down, and
then went first, slowly drifting down the side of the
tower to the main roof of the base. I insisted
Landry go next, and thankfully the scatterbrain professor didn't object.
The meteor was almost on top of us. I swear
to you it sounded like it was screaming. In fact,
as I followed the others down the lawnfull it became
impossible to hear anything else except that mindless shriek. Then
the meter smashed directly into the side of the elevator
we had just been standing inside. As our magnetic boots
slatch on to the roof, bits of debris rushed down
upon us. Even with low gravity, the force of the
meta hitting the turret caused the shower of metal to
be didley. Thankfully, most of it scattered across the roof
of the base without scratching us. But as we all
looked back up to see what else had been damaged,
I discovered we were hardly out of the woods. Yet
the collision had split apart the meteor on its side,
revealing something emerging as though from an egg. I heard
Landry scream out in terror as it pushed apart the
rock Tumi it had been encased in for perhaps a millennia,
and the Strange, a morphous creature, appeared down at us
with the hundred eyes inside now, Roland said, as we
struggled to open the hatch to the Pike substation. Landry
stood paralyzed, staring at the alien like it was a
guard to be revered, and I growed to hold of
her body, forcing her through the airlock as we protected
ourselves from the invader. What the fuck is that? Roland muttered,
as the creature started to claw at the surface of
the roof. Before any of us got a chance to speculate,
we sawd the Strange being perform another impossible feat. It
seemed to examine the structure, as though searching for weakness.
Then before our eyes, it appeared to mount and flatten
its body, pushing through the thin cracks of the metallic
membrane to reach us. Landry screened again as we hurried
down the stairs, and the doctor tried the calms again.
Shut down this entire sector. Seal it off dowet now,
the doctor ordered. We were just barely past the first
barrier when the creature broke through, dropping on to the
floor behind us with a resounding fut The doctor made
the mistake of looking back like the wife of Lot.
It proved to be her undoing. Something caught a hold
of her foot and she fell. Landry hesitated to help,
but I pulled us alarm. The monster was nearly on
top of us and the seal was closing on the
other side. As Landry started to have a panic attack,
I activated the secondary seal, listening as Doctor Roland was
the monster's first victim. Puentin, what's happened? Alex asked over
the comes. Once both seals one place. I knew it
wouldn't hold off the creature forever, but it would give
us time to make it to the forward command center.
We're on our way to you. We'll explain what's there,
I said, as I help Laundry to her feet. Snap
out of it, I said, as I shook her. Her
puffy eyes darted toward the doors. We heard the creature
let out a howl and then suddenly grew silent. We
didn't stay around long enough to see if it was
going to do more than that. Eleven hundred iOS. Tyler
gave Professor Landry a milestive As I debriefed the commander
and Alex about the creature and the incident and the pike.
Both of them listened quietly, without saying a word as
I finished the astonishing tale. And then at last Alex
made the first inquiry. And you said, you lost all
functions to the systems. It was like the creature managed
to take them over, I told them. She gestured for
me to follow her over to one of the monitors,
where Armitage was reviewing security footage of the incident. I
watched his roland Landry and I descended after the meteor
struck and scrambled into the base, But there was no
sign of the creature anywhere, no indication that it had
ever killed the doctor. As the Professor and I closed
the door on feed. All that we had locked out
was the doctor herself. I don't understand that isn't what happened,
I suttered, as I stepped away from the screen. We're
considering on sealing the sector to have my security team
take a second look. Commander Cyrus proclaimed, No, you do
that and the creature will kill you. I told them,
but all of them gave me a skeptical look. Alexi
placed her hand on my shoulder and gave me a
comforting squeeze. What we experienced down below with sand was terrifying.
No one is denying that, and the meta storm has
likely also caused you injy stress. I stepped away from her,
realizing what she was implying. You think that Laundry and
I made it up, certainly, not in your mind. The
creature was quite real, and that's all. It was a
hallucination of your anxiety. Commander Cyrus responded, Then, how do
you account for doctor Rowland's disappearance? Surely I'm not hallucinating that,
I snapped back. Alexe let out of SiGe as she
glanced over to Willandry was finally calming down and remarked,
don't make me sedate you to Quenyon. The crew has
been through enough. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Fine,
open the seal. You'll see for yourself what the beast
did to Roland. I told them. Both Cyrus and the
security chief exchanged a worried glance, and then gave the orders.
I don't know what I was expecting to happen. Of course,
nothing was there, not even the fragments of Roland's body.
Let's try and find doctor Roland immediately. It's quite likely
she also may be experiencing these vivid hallucinations. Then come
with you, I told her, as I snuck a small
surgical blade into my pocket. I don't know what I
hoped to accomplish with this minuscule weapon, but I didn't
want them to find whatever was controlling Roland's body and
then have the element of surprise. Alongside Alexa and Tyler,
we marched to the base of the pike. I scanned
the corridor for the clal marks a strange monster at may,
only to see nothing at all. No twisted metal was
bent out of shape, not even a single drop of
blood from where Roland had dripped. It didn't make sense
what I had seen felt real. I puzzled over it
a moment longer. As we turned the corridor and I
saw doctor Roland lying still on the coal floor. Alex
called for two nurses to arrive with the stretchers should
check to see if Roland had sustained any injuries. We
can't even be sure this thing is Clara, I whispered.
Tyler glared at me, pushing me back as he helped
lift the physician off the floor. Vitals appear stable. She's
going to be or right, Captain Alexis said, with a nod.
I saw a moment of opportunity to test my theory
and scratched Kara's left wrist. A Two officers next to
me made a soft half in surprise as I nicked
a notary, but Roland didn't awaken and read blood drip
from the cut. Officer, I'm going to have to quarantine
you if you pull another stunt like that, Alexis knoled
as she grabbed the surgical tool out of my hand.
I was so sure it wasn't her, I whispered. I
watched as the medical team took her away, and then
stared down at the small drop of blood that now
stained the towel floor. What had happened here to make
my nightmares seem surreal. Fourteen hundred hours, Commander Cyrus ordered
Officer Armitage and the other maintenance staff to begin making
repairs to the Pike's elevator and to the other segments
of the Beasts that were affected by the meteor shower.
I also learned that Doctor Clara made a quick recovery
and has been assisting Landry and others on board the
Osbury to go up with a recent string of traumatic events.
Given that I too was affected by this, I have
chosen to see the doctor and to apologize for my
actions against her. Fifteen hundred hours, Roland arranged to see
me and to run anikiji to see if I may
be suffering from PTSD from Sandra's death. But I am
afraid I no longer feel certain of her trustreliness. She
performed the test perfectly, just like I thought she would,
But one thing I noted as she was messing with
her equipment in her lab. The woman cast me no
shadow upon the foe or any of the surroundings. I
double check as I stood up and noticed that I
could see everyone else's shadows, just not hers, whoever or
whatever this was. Whoever or whatever this is, it isn't
Doctor Clara Rowland. Until I can find out the truth,
I will be sealing myself in my quarters. Day four,
twenty one hundred hours. Sleep is something that takes some
time getting used to unlimit a gravity of the moon,
even under normal circumstances. The last twenty four hours have
been anything except, and I was bordering on hallucinations. I
insisted that I did not need a sedative, especially not
coming from doctor Rowland, whom I was still convinced was
not entirely human. So instead I sealed myself in my
room and forced exhaustion to take hold of my body
the old fashioned way to think. I came all the
way to the moon to explore, only to feel the
safest in a room no wider than a small car.
The familiar angles and soothing colors made me feel at ease,
and eventually I drifted off. Although after the experience I
had amid my dreams, I am quick to recognize that
perhaps since mania is a safer rep I was being
haunted by faceless creatures in the forest of my childhood,
trying desperately to hide in the darkness to the woods offer,
but the monster knew my every move. I paused to
catch my breath, trying not to let the scent linger
for too long to remind my adult brain it was
only a nightmare that I needed to wake up from.
But the incessant shrill cries of the beast made instinct
take over, and I kept running. I could see my
old home, the one Runer and I grew up in,
and I told myself that if I reached that place,
I would be safe. As though emulating this, the screams
from the alien grew fainter as I got closer and closer.
I was going to make it, but another voice rang
clear in my head telling me to stop. My sister
were Nie, don't, don't do it, Quintin, don't, she kept repeating,
crying out to me. A froze in the dream and
saw the monster right on top of me. It raised
its failing body to crush me completely. And it was
only in those last fain seconds of sanity I managed
to take over my body and awaken. When I jolted
from my bed, I saw strange yet from ely scratches
on my body, the nightmare had some connection to reality,
even if it was a tether, and I didn't fully understand.
I needed to work, the anxious restlessness of my mind
telling me that any more sleep could kill me. So
I began to wander the holes of the els, searching aimlessly,
almost for a sense of normalcy. I soon found that
none existed any longer. Here among the stars. Alexa and
her security detail were doing their best to keep everyone working.
The repairs to the eastern section, where the meter had
done the most damage, would likely take weeks to finish,
and the pick itself was closed down until further notice.
I thought you were given orders to rest, Tyler said,
as I approached where he and the remaining science officers
were sitting by Alena Drowne to go up into the
wreckage of the tower and take footage of it. I
figured I could see what you were screwing up, and
it might allow me to sleep, I countered, as I
saw them finish up the camera feed. Now they would
see everything it did when it traveled into that broken structure.
He set it upon a remotely controlled server. I asked,
how's I checked the specks. Just in case what he
said about the city below is correct, I felt a
sigh of relief worsh over me to think that at
least he was considering the possibility that I wasn't crazy,
But that only reminded me that everyone on the base
was still on edge, and nothing was given. As far
as answers, what do you think happened? I was put
to him. He shook his head, his eyes showing a
hint of fear that place was haunted. I know we
were meant to be scientists, but there is little in
our conventional textbooks that can explain what we saw there
with our own eyes. Physics cannot solve this, and I'm
afraid our commanding staff doesn't quite understand that. He told
me so, malt, Are you saying that we should try
less conventional methods, something connected to French science or the
paranormal Commander Gordon hired us for our field to study.
Maybe it was meant to be that yours included such
a noorthodox ideas. I shrouded it off and remarked, even
if that is true, how would we go about giving
something like that a triff? He didn't offer a theory
and return to work, almost as though he thought that
continuing our discussion was dangerous. Were Cyrus and the other
senior staff listening and on us. I decided my new
task would be to find Professor Lundry and make sure
she was all right. So I left Tyler to his
work and wanted the southern quarters. I was midway down
the flight of stairs to the base to Nasim when
I heard what sounded like scratching coming from inside the walls.
Given that I have been prone to hearing things in
the last forty eight I was that mounted to nothing.
I ignored it at first, but the more I tried
to quiet the noise, the louder it seemed to grow,
a constant, incessant frustration of nails and calls digging their
way out of the walls. Where was it coming from?
Suddenly all that mattered was figuring it out. I imagined
that if someone else with her in those corridors and
saw me wandering about, I would have looked like a maman,
and maybe that was the correct assumption to make. The
ires were racing by in the twilight as I scrumbled
to find the noise leading me back toward the library,
and quiet, seething voice told me this is where I
needed to go. Stepping inside, I found myself and made
the disarray of bucks, some powered all the way up
to the ceiling of the room. And also the scratching.
It was louder, hear, and more persistent, like claws on
a chopboard. It didn't take me along to find the source.
Professor Landry was standing alone near the west wall, having
cleared the shelves and pushed the case itself aside. She
was scrolling strange markings on the metallic plait in itself.
I recognized the symbols instantly as a glizz from the
city below. How she memorized them so quickly, I wondered,
as I slowly stepped toward her, trying to break her
from her methodical task of scrubbling. When she turned her
eyes to me, always saw was a blank void. The
Professor was called in a trance that was beyond her control.
She pushed me away and continued the writing, muttering to
herself the need to finish it, as though it were
some elaborate puzzle. I focused on the language as well,
trying my best to see if there were patterns to
the madness. Surely there were secrets beyond our comprehension, if
only we could make sense to it. What could this
possibly be? I whispered. To my surprise, Laundry broke free
from her had not extayed, and offered a guess, a
prophet of blood, a war to be raged between tea
guards both of discord and chaos, and our world the battleground.
Their bones tell us how it will end, the angles,
the intricate shapes that go bey under dimensions. We understand.
They are telling us a story quen. All we need
to do is open our minds and accept the call.
She hissed as she placed my hand upon the cold
metal surface. In a bizarre moment, out of vision, I
was suddenly back on earth, standing on a mounted up.
Laundry was gone as well, replaced by my dear sister.
When Nee look scared, her eyes wandered across the countryside
as she gested for me to follow. They are thick,
As I hesitated to follow. Surely this wasn't real. My
sister looked as though she had aged far more than
I remembered when she was alive, and the world around
us felt almost primordial, a place of ghosts and spirit.
But I saw no path to take me back to
where I came room, so I did walk would have
done at Wining Trailed or the Deep Valley. The dark
consumed everything here, and amid the shadows, I saw a
congregation of people that were waiting for us. Yes, it
felt as if they were intentionally holding off whatever their
intentions were because of our presence. A massive bonfire flickered
and tipnatized them as we drew closer, but I could
not determine from where it'd burned. They turned their attention
to us, eyes as placid as a swelling ocean, and
gave me a set of instructions. The shadow a spread
and rice to consume that which belongs to the undying.
Your blood must be offered to stop the infection. Take
the blade of unholy sacrifice. I didn't understand why I
will and the obeyed, but had reached toward the fire,
I made the scorching pain. I felt something sharp and deadly.
When I pulled up my hand, I saw that I
had retrieved dark file blade. Somehow I knew it had
killed many before me, and it would again strike down
hundreds after I was gone. I heard rnebeck for death.
She was burning again before my eyes, as a child
desperate to be free of the paint the blade could
offer her that I could be her salvation. They grubbed
her and pinned her to the ground, holding the blade
near her chest. She had fear in her eyes, but
I whispered that it would be okay. Let me help you,
I said. She didn't resist, and I plunged the knife
into her chest over and over. I had to finish it.
I had to help my sister from the pain she
was enduring. Then my sister started to fade away. She
was replaced with the professor that I had been speaking
with only moments earlier, except the wounds were still the same.
Landry was choking on her own blood, and somehow or another,
the knife, I thought, which was only my imagination, was
there in my hand. I dropped it and stood up,
my own clothes covered in blood. As I called out
for help, The archives were empty, safe from me. Then
I saw something beyond a nightmare. It stretched and pushed
its way out of Laundry's rot, pushing his skin out
of the way a puff fish could, But it was
like a waft of smoke that somehow had a form
of its own. It occurred to me this being was
reminiscent of the one that called out of Emethea, the
one Alexir and the Commander said did not exist, as
it used to melt it and destroyed Laandry's body. They
rose and found the security alarm, trying to get help
as fast as I could. I didn't want my own
sanity tested again if this creature could somehow slip her
way into whatever dream I had been born from. The
creatures slithered and pushed cross the tower for trying to
find me, shrieking into the air and hungry for my blood.
It reminded me of what the vision had told me
about these creatures. They were seeking vessels corporal forms to
control and guide as puppets. At my side, t J appeared,
pushing his way toward Laundry and calling out for more help.
I heard the creatures gnarl and began to hunt him,
and I held my ground, trying to tell myself this
wasn't real. Armor had reached down to touch Laundry and
tried to give her aid, the monster stretching its body
on top of him. Quentin, what have you done? He asked,
turning toward me. Yet he didn't react toward the creature.
Was it not there at all? Or was I the
only one seeing its wicked power, I moved toward it,
determined to see vomitage, even if it was only from
my own broken mind. I slammed toward the faceless monster
and pushed it against the wall. I heard j Cussen
exclaim something He was pinned as well. Would I harm
him the same way I had Landry. I could see
myself doing it easily. Then the creature began to melt
and use into him, his eyes and mouth mishing with
it as it entered his body. I told myself I
wouldn't let it happen, but I was powerless to stop it.
Others rushed into the room, seeing the violence, and took
us apart. I kept kicking and screaming until it lost.
Tyler plunged a syringe into my neck. Darkness was far
more welcoming this time. No nightmares were going to harm
me in this cold, dense folk. It was the waking
I feared nine hundred iyears day in five when Captain
Olexer reviewed the tapes. This time I knew what to expect.
My fractured mind was showing the monsters that only I
could see, driving me to the point of insanity, where
I was harming my tea emits. Landry was dead, the
loss of blood proving too fatal for her, and Homitage
was in critical condition, festering some infection that doctor Rowland
claymed she didn't comprehend. There's one thing that does fit
with your story, though, these symbols. We don't know what
they are, and yet they seem to possess you in
friends in, Alexa commented as she examined the still screens again,
what does it all mean? I whispered. I saw a
glint of doubt in her eyes. I sat up and
realized something. You've seen these symbols before. Tell me where
was it on earth? The captain nodded and admitted, It's
like a half remembered dream. It was an ancient book
of witchcraft and prophecy. I hardly can believe I forgot
it in college. A thing gave me nightmares. She turned
to where a mortgage was slowly coming back around, and
ordered me to stay put, checking on his vitals. I
hated to be on the sidelines, but what else could
I do. I was lucky that I hadn't been locked
away like a fairer animal. I watched from the soundproof
glass to see Ferri's reaction as doctor Rowland gave them
some results from the lab. The way the captain became
animated and I rate told me all I needed to know.
Something happened in the archives that couldn't be accounted for.
Perhaps the alien life from I had imagined was in
fact detectable after all. For some reason, this terrible revelation
was comforting to me fifteen hundred hours, day five. That
comfort didn't last long, though, for soon the madness we
have confirmed as being real finally to cold of Varmitage.
I was in an out of sleep, trying to rest
and recover, when I felt something move in the room,
and suddenly I was fully awake. I turned to look
around the room. Most of the technicians were busy to
lab work, but I saw that something was happening over
in the makeshift room they had given Armitage. His readings
were off the chart and his body was beginning to convulse. Hey, hey,
someone help, I called out, but the others didn't seem
to hear or care TJ sat up and looked straight
toward me. He took off his cardiac equipment and started
to limp toward me, and I panicked would he be
angry at me for trying to save him earlier. His
eyes looked wild and full of fear. We are enemies,
not in the forms we are familiar with now, but
one day we will across the stars our battlege, he whispered.
There was something forming from his mouth when he turned
toward one of the emergency seals that I called for
help again. The text were moving toward us, but I
was already too late. In a short moment, Armitage had
pressed the security code and the seal began to decompress.
The vacuum of space suddenly took hold of everything in
the room, papers and blasts, pushing toward the open airlockust
He Jay screamed into the voide. His body was broken
and twisted into the seal, hitting the walls, along with
several other technicians as they were all taken out across
the stars like garbage. Only the latches that I had
done my medical table kept me from experience in the
same fate. The vacuum continued for another few moments, until
at last emergency systems took over. When I was alone
the room, devoid of life from Armage suicide. There was
one thing I did not understand though, whether this was
an action of the monster that had taken control of
his mind or his last desperate act of free will.
I came to the stars in search of purpose, to
be a part of something greater. I am regretting that ambition.
Now I am forced to say goodbye to another comrade.
I've hardly had time to comprehend why this place has
turned on us, and now so many have perished. Worst
of all, I can't help but feel that I am
personally responsible for what's going on. There's something inside me
festering and screaming to control my will. I have felt
that ever since we discovered the subterranean city, and now
as we are struggling to understand what is happening here,
it is refusing to stay quiet. It has killed many
of the colleagues that I have only begun to meet,
and I think, if left checked, it could destroy us
all because, as I found out from the suicide of
our chief engineer, it is a call that can be
ignored forever. Seventeen hundred IRIS Day five, Captain Ferris, Commander Cyrus,
and my direct supervisor, Tyler White, which checking the systems
to make sure that what armatage had just accomplished. Couldn't
happen again. All airlocks seals require two person authorization now,
Cyrus said, as they offered mere respirator. But I didn't
need to catch my breath. I needed answers. Surely you
see now that we are under attack, Cyrus sighed. He
was tired and scared, but I could see he wasn't
sure what to make of the incidents in the Alsbury
thus far. What matters is that the generators will be
back up in six iris and we can contact the surface.
We should all consider heading back for reconnaissance. If we
aren't all dead by then, you mean, don't test me, Quentin,
I could have you thrown in a brig fall. What
you did to laundry, Heaven knows. I tried to convince
him to let me at you, Alexis said, sicking a
finger in my face. Cyrus gave a gruff bark, and
the security chief stood back. Then Cyrus made a short
summary of the events, as though it were all logically explainable,
and sanders were tragic accidents. The other accidents are a
result of mass hysteria. From what we know we uncovered
below our feet. It's a wonder that any of us
are maintaining sanity. We have shaken the very foundations of
our understanding of the universe. I knew arguing would get
me nowhere, so I merely saluted and asked where I
could be of service. Doctor Rowland hasn't said you're fit
for duty, Tyler reminded me. I huff at that, but
then I gave an idea. I can go see her
first thing in the morning, if that's all right with you.
Commander Cyrus pursed his lips as though he were going
to deny the request, but I added, I just want
to be useful. That's why I was recruited, wasn't I
Sarrus nodded and gave the approval. Now all I had
to do was make sure I didn't screw up my plan.
Considering how crazy it was, I didn't hold my breath.
Eight hundred dollars day in sixth Tyler came to take
me to Roland in the morning. Since the main medical
bay was no longer in use, the doctor was now
using the command center at the base of the pike,
assisting with a study of the meteorite that had struck
the tower. I thought you said you didn't trust her,
Tyler whispered as he walked down the south corridor. I don't,
but I need you to trust me, please, I said
as we got closer. I can't unless I know what
you were planning. I need to get a sample of
the doctor's blood. If I'm right and the alien host
is arriving inside her body, there is to be some
evidence of that. Jesus well, I guess I should have
known it would be nuts, Tyler said dryly. As we
entered the small makeshift clinic. Roland was nowhere to be found.
So while we had a few extra moments, Tyler forced
me to look at him. This could go very wrong.
YE know, and if it does, I know you have
to look out for yourself. I understand. I'm on your side,
but this whole mess is gotten out of hand. Quentyon,
I was wondering when you might show your face here.
Tyler made a short coffin to his face and remarked,
that's my cue to get back to maintenance. As I
was left alone with the doctor, she gestured for me
to set and remarked, I hear you've had quite a
few brushes with death since the last time we talked. Sadly,
it's always some one else that pays the price. Roland
nodded and said, Gordon tells me you want to be
fit to help with the repairs. And while I can't
see any issues with your physical condition, I am concerned
about the decline in your mental health. I told you
already I haven't been sleeping well, I said, trying to
brush it off. I needed her to be distracted, so
I muttered how many of her staff are left? Now?
We both know that you didn't come here for such idea, Banda,
Rowland said as she idly turned the tools on her
surgical tray and remarked, you've become convinced that I am
not fully human ever since you caught sight of those
relics in the cave below. That speaks a lot to
your psychological profile, you know, And what does it mean
in your professional opinion, I wondered, as I took a
step closer toward the doctor. It's only a natural instinctive
reaction to something you can't fundamentally understand yet. I was
scared to you, but I've seen that what has been
offered here is too great to pass up. Knowledge beyond
the tangible existence we ever thought possible. Why are you
telling me this, I asked nervously. Suddenly the perfect plan
I had outlined didn't seem like it was going to work.
Was it possible that the creature that was controlling her
could read my mind? We are connected ever since we
came here. You can't deny that we both have seen
experience more than our colleagues could give us credit for.
If so, why did you not vouch for my credibility?
You've had ample opportunities to do so. This was getting
out of hand, and now come I hadn't expected, and
yet somehow Roland was taking control of the situation. You've
become convinced I am the enemy here of Quentin. I'm not.
I can show you what you lack. You just have
to trust me, she said with gleaming eyes. I saw
an opening and a struck, grabbing a hold of the
scalpel and slashing at her droat. Immediately, I saw the
fungus spread out of her open wound and spit in
the alien's face. I will never trust an abomination like you,
I said, as I kept on attacking. I saw blood
and light streak from her face, But to my surprise,
throughout the entire ordeal, Rollin' was laughing, you will never
stop it. Never Behind me, the doors to the Commands
Center burst open, and Alexa ran in with the guards.
I didn't even get a chance to explain before a
series of electorates were sent through my body and I
tumbled to the floor. When I woke up, I was
in the break, just as Alex had been promising for days.
The voses inside my head were finally quiet, though, and
I wondered if I had succeeded in stopping the monsters
that were attacking us. It's not over. A whisper came
from the shadows. I jolted up to my surprise, seeing
claws features crafted in the wall. Her coosely VISs taunt
to me from beyond the grave. He wanted me to attack.
Death is nothing for these creatures, Quentin, Surely what happened
at the pike should have told you that I am
merely a vessel, as you, too soon will be. The
glorious battle is about to occur, and the earth will
be theirs, with us none the wiser. The spirit said,
as it shifted and swam through the metal. No, I
will fight it. You may think whatever you please. The
beauty of it is that you will believe you are
in control. I turned away from her mockery, fustrated that
my attempts to save a still scene to go nowhere.
I could only think of one final solution to get
back to Earth and warn them. I had to assume
that everyone on Elsbury was now infected, so asking for
help was out of the question. I was on my own.
I slumped onto the cotton the middle of the brig
to try and concoct a plane. As I slipped my
hands into my pockets and felt something there. Pulling it out,
I found myself smiling. It was the remote control from
the pip drone. Tyler had slipped it into my pocket
before I met with the doctor. I sat down and
studied the controls, thinking of how I could use the
drone to my advantage. My recollection told me that the
machine was tied into the network of the moon base,
so if I could access the control panel outside the brig,
it was possible it could get me out of here.
I needed to act without hesitation. It took me a
while to get the hang of the controls and begin
to pilot the craft, smiling to see that Tyler had
wisely kept it close to my current location in the
base of the pike. All I needed to do was
move it close enough to access the exterior of the
room I was fitted inside, and I could be free.
Moving the machine proved a little bit trickier than I
imagined it would be. It reminded me of the small
out if the Dad would get me for Christmas. I
could even hear Renee giggles. I bumped into every wall
on the way and narrowly avoided being stepped on. No
one would pay attention to the drone, and I would
use that to my advantage. The remote control that Tyler
had given me came with a tiny screen to see
what the drone saw, and it made me reconsider the
way I have been treating this place. I imagine the
moon being full of opportunities, possibilities, and structure, but the
holes were empty, the corridors devoid of any life. Was
this even meant to be a colonization project at all?
It didn't seem likely. I shrugged away the odd sense
of foreboarding and finally got the drone to the outside
of my door. In a few short moments, I had
gained access to the network to set me free. But
I knew my struggle wouldn't be over if I simply
walked out. Alex and the others would just lock me
in a tighter cell once they have realized what happened,
I thought. As I stepped out and checked the network,
I began to formulate a plan in my head. I
set things in motion by keeping the drone up my
side and sneaking into a nearby locker room. Before I
could begin, I would need to be certain I had
the proper equipment to make it to an escape pod.
I made it t j Old locker, saw his suit
still highing there, and got changed. It was a bit
disconcerting to wear clothes that belonged to a man that
had just died, but I needed to leave this place
without interruption. Once the space seed was securely on my body,
I checked the drawn again and finished the shut down operations.
With luck, I would be able to walk through Alsbury
and obstructed. As I imput the authorization codes, the voices
that have guided me here in the moon this entire
time grew like a hornet's nest being knocked over. Someone
was calming, alarms blared as I activated the suit's magnetic
boots and began to move to the east corridor. The
inter comminounced that it would take seventeen minutes for emergency
systems to recalibrate. I would only need half that much
to make it to escape pod. The noise of the
intercom and the screams in my head became so loud
that I almost became dissoriented as I made it to
the hunger bay, pleased that my bazaar escape plan had
somehow been successful. Don't move another muscle, Quentin, a voice said.
As I made my way down the steps to the pod.
I raised my hands defensively, turning to see Captain Alexis
standing there in her own seed where the pistol aimed
at my head. This has gone on, Toulon, Alexi said,
as the alarms grew louder in my ears. The shrieks
were telling me to finish her, to get out of
fear before she too tried to stop me. So before
she had a chance to act, I was rushing towards her.
She led a single shot fire, but the limited gravity
did nothing to stop me. I pushed the gun out
of her hand and pressed her against the wall of
the hanger, captain. You may think I'm insane, but this
is how I planned to save our species, I said,
as I pressed a few key buttons on her suit,
and watch shall lose oxygen. Alex's eyes widened in shock
until her skin became crystallized. Her skin as brutal as glass.
She was a frozen statue of pristine beauty in stark destruction.
My hands trembled as I used them to access the
escape pod and tried not to focus on the vile
deed I had just committed. My resolve had never been stronger,
and as I stepped into the pod, I realized that
I had made it. My resolve had helped me escape
this cell. A few systems came online as the noise
in the background faded away. According to the online display,
I would be back on Earth in a little over
three days. The door to the hanger opened slowly and purposefully.
As I looked out towards Ferris flirting corpse, an immediate
feeling of remolse overcoming me. They were all infected, all
threat to our survival. I toll myself as the door
was finished, opening the pot us one final time. If
the sequences were correct and oppressed, for confirmation, I was
jettisoned into the stars. A few short seconds later, my
eyes drifted toward the pike, reflecting on the strange discoveries
we have made there. Our species is not alone in
the universe, but it is also equipped to prepare for
what is to come. The strange angles of the pike
faded as my pot got further and further away, and
I saw the tower in a new light. Now it
looked dark and foreboding, an invitation to the darkness that
was spreading out across the entire base. Had we ever
had a chance to escape? Or was this cosmic convsion
something that we were only delaying. I pressed my hand
against the glass as the moon faded into the stars,
and sighed in frustration, wishing I knew the answers. Zero
hundred hours day ten, my pots slammed into the calm
waters of the Northern Atlantic right at the midnight ire,
a fresh late to be written on the history of
our species, the last few days in the moon already
fading to nothing but the memory. I sent out a
distressed signal, hoping that some one would come, But my
equipment told me there was a chance I might not
survive that long. Some inner strength told me to push
forward to warm others of the evil I had seen,
and it was the untap potential that kept me alive
until rescue came. Sirim ines, woman is thirty. IROs. I
was tested, given food and new clothing as I explained
to the crew of the ship that had found me
who I was and wide they needed to take me
to America immediately. I had to get the information I
now retained to the highest office possible as quickly as
I could. You won't be going anywhere, officer, not until
we determine exactly what happened up here, the commander told me.
I know you are frightened by my words, but I'm
telling the truth. We know that you think you are,
But we've been monitoring events in the Alsbury for some time. Soldier.
As far as we can tell, the only threat that
faced the crew was you. You went on a rampage,
concocted an alien invasion inside your head, and killed the
majority of the team. The commander snarled, I was a
loss for words. As they left me alone, a few
key moments of my lunar journey played out in my mind.
Sanders Landry, even Armadage. They were all scared of me.
I was the monster. It had infected me and used me,
not them. But whispers wriggled the way into my brain again,
and I realized what a fool I had been. I
had given this creature exactly what it wanted to be
on Earth. I was the puppet all along. I looked
toward the walls and saw the writhing mass of ghosts
and spirits, and just barely out of my view. Who
now was there right on the edge of my vision, smiling.
Now we are together, and that is the end. Thank
you for listening, and I will see you in the
next one.