BENEATH THE STORM
1197 Words
The following morning brought no answers.
Only more questions.
Captain Noah O'Connell sat in the temporary mess hall studying the images of the strange grooves Ryan and he had discovered the previous day.
Neither of them had mentioned the tremor.
Not yet.
Because neither of them wanted to say it aloud.
Something was out there.
And whatever it was…
It was big.
"Captain?"
Noah looked up.
Camille stood over him carrying a tray of protein bars.
"You skipped breakfast yesterday."
He sighed.
"Camille—"
"No arguments."
She crossed her arms.
"I'm a doctor."
"Deputy doctor."
"Still counts."
Noah smiled and accepted the tray.
"You're becoming terrifying."
"Thank you."
Nearby, Trevor poked his head out of Engineering.
"Captain!"
Noah turned.
Trevor emerged covered in grease and dust.
"Good news!"
Ryan groaned.
"I hate that sentence."
Trevor grinned.
"I restored power to Deck Four."
Camille's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
"No coffee machine though."
He lowered his head solemnly.
"May she rest in peace."
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I hate all of you."
"No you don't," Noah chuckled.
Ryan sighed.
"Yeah, you just believe that."
For a brief moment…
Things felt normal.
---
Hella Marner stood alone near the geological scanners.
Numbers flashed across the display.
She frowned.
"Strange."
Noah approached.
"What is it?"
"Mineral concentrations."
She enlarged the map.
"There are unusual deposits beneath the surface."
"Useful?"
"Potentially."
Trevor appeared beside them.
"Useful equals money."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"We're stranded on Mars."
Trevor shrugged.
"Positive thinking."
Hella smiled faintly.
"He's not entirely wrong."
Noah folded his arms.
"Later."
"Surviving comes first."
Hella nodded.
But Noah noticed disappointment flicker across her face.
Only for a second.
Then it vanished.
---
Three hours later.
Trevor nearly skipped into the command center.
"I found it!"
Ryan sighed.
"Wonderful."
"What?"
"The thing."
"The relay."
Everyone looked up.
Trevor grinned.
"Emergency communications relay."
He projected a map.
"It got launched out during the crash."
Camille gasped.
"Can we fix it?"
"Maybe."
"Where is it?"
Trevor pointed.
"Seven hundred meters east."
Noah smiled.
We need to get it back, it may be our only shot at getting out of here."
Ryan frowned.
"The weather's changing."
Outside the ruined windows, red clouds gathered.
Trevor waved dismissively.
"We've got plenty of time."
Ryan looked at him.
"You should know that anything can go wrong I a fraction of a second."
Trevor blinked.
"What's the worst that could happen?"
"Every time someone says 'what's the worst that could happen,' God starts writing."
Noah smiled.
"Ryan, you're oddly philosophical today."
"I'm sleep deprived."
"Same thing."
---
The three men departed shortly after.
Camille and Hella remained behind.
The wind had begun to howl.
Red dust swirled across the desert.
Visibility worsened by the minute.
Ryan checked the horizon.
"We should hurry."
Trevor pointed excitedly.
"There!"
Half-buried beneath the sand sat the emergency relay.
"See?"
Trevor said proudly.
"No disaster."
Noah knelt beside the device.
"Can you carry it?"
Trevor flexed dramatically.
"Captain, I once carried Commander Frost after he passed out during training."
Ryan frowned.
"I had heatstroke."
"You drooled."
"You little..."
Suddenly—
The ground trembled.
Everyone froze.
Noah slowly stood.
Another tremor.
Stronger this time.
Ryan raised his rifle.
"Captain."
Trevor frowned.
"Earthquake?"
"No."
Noah's voice became serious.
"Run."
The sand exploded.
Trevor screamed.
A monstrous creature erupted from beneath the ground.
Noah froze.
It was enormous.
Thirty feet long.
Covered in dark armored plates.
Its head resembled nothing earthly.
Circular rows of teeth lined a mouth large enough to swallow a person whole.
Multiple glowing eyes covered its skull.
And its shriek—
Its shriek sounded like metal being torn apart.
"What the hell is that?!" Trevor screamed.
Ryan opened fire immediately.
Blue energy rounds slammed into the creature.
It barely noticed.
The beast lunged.
Noah threw himself aside.
Its jaws snapped inches from his face.
"RUN!"
The three men scattered.
The monster burrowed underground again.
Gone.
Trevor looked around wildly.
"Where did it—"
The sand beneath him collapsed.
"No!"
The creature erupted upward and he disappeared in a cloud of dust and chaos.
His scream pierced the storm.
"HELP!"
Noah's blood froze.
"Trevor!"
Without thinking, he dove forward.
Ryan grabbed him.
"Captain!"
"It's got him!"
"I KNOW!"
Together they reached Trevor.
Only his upper body remained above the sand.
The creature had dragged him halfway underground.
Trevor screamed in agony.
Ryan dropped his rifle and grabbed Trevor's arms.
Noah seized his shoulders.
"Pull!"
The monster fought back.
The sand churned violently.
Trevor screamed again.
Then—
A sound Noah would never forget.
Crunch.
Trevor's scream became something inhuman.
"Noah!"
Blood sprayed across the sand.
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Oh God."
With one final pull, they ripped Trevor free.
The creature vanished underground.
Noah stared.
And nearly vomited.
Trevor's right leg was gone below the knee.
Trevor looked down.
Then he screamed.
---
"Move!"
Ryan lifted Trevor over his shoulder.
Noah grabbed the relay.
The ground shook again.
"It's coming back!" Ryan shouted.
The three men ran.
Behind them, the sand moved.
Following.
Hunting.
The creature erupted again.
Ryan fired wildly.
Noah emptied his rifle.
The beast screeched.
Then disappeared once more.
"GO!"
The wreckage finally came into view.
Camille saw them first.
Her smile disappeared instantly.
"Oh my God!"
Trevor was barely conscious.
Blood soaked Ryan's uniform.
"Noah, what happened?!"
"No time!"
Camille's expression changed.
Gone was the frightened young doctor.
In her place stood an officer.
"Medical bay!"
"NOW!"
Everyone obeyed.
Even Noah.
---
For the next three hours, Lieutenant Doctor Camille Dubois fought to save Trevor's life.
She cried.
She trembled.
But her hands never stopped moving.
Ryan assisted.
Noah held Trevor down.
Hella fetched supplies.
Again and again Trevor drifted away.
Again and again Camille dragged him back.
Finally—
Silence.
Camille collapsed into a chair.
"He's stable."
Noah exhaled shakily.
Ryan sat down heavily.
"Good."
Then Camille burst into tears.
"I thought he was going to die."
Noah hugged her.
"You saved him."
Ryan nodded quietly.
"Good work, Doctor."
Camille smiled weakly.
It was the first time Ryan had ever called her that.
And somehow…
That meant everything.
---
Night fell over Mars.
Trevor slowly opened his eyes.
Noah sat beside him.
"Welcome back."
Trevor smiled weakly.
"Did we get the relay?"
Noah laughed.
"Of course that's your first question."
Trevor smiled.
“Just asking because I'm not going out there ever. Not even in my dreams.”
He said smiling, then his smile disappeared.
Slowly…
He lifted the blanket.
Silence.
Noah's heart broke.
Trevor stared.
Long.
Quiet.
Then he looked up.
"Captain?"
"Yeah?"
Trevor forced a smile.
A broken one.
"Think they'll give me a discount on shoes now?"
Noah burst out laughing.
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I swear this man is clinically insane."
Trevor smiled weakly.
"Probably."
And outside—
Something enormous circled beneath the crimson sands.
They felt a rumble in the ground just outside the ship.
They all froze.
The massive creature circled the ship wreck before letting out a bone chilling screech and then returned the dirt where it lay.
Waiting.
Watching.
Learning.
The survivors had seen the first monster.
But the horrors were far from over.
- Writer
