Dream

It was all a blur, our sight hazy from the tornadoes whizzing around us. Our hope of possibly going home completely shattered, we were trying our level best to at least stay alive, but with our team slowly being killed by these.....things, one-by-one, even that seems to be impossible.

“Max!” I whipped my head around, hearing my name, followed by a strangled gasp, seeing blood spurting out of Malcolm’s mouth as a rigid thorn-like tentacle pierced through him from the back, his eyes wholly red. I screamed, tears streaming down my face, only to be cut short by a gut-wrenching pain, and blackness.

I woke up with a gasp, heart rapidly beating in my chest. The covers rustled, as a warm presence encircled me. Hands rubbed my hands, and a husky voice was heard.

“What happened babe?” Malcolm asked, eyes half-closed. “Worried about tomorrow?”

I shakily nodded, holding him closer to me, praying that the strange dream doesn’t come true.

“Babe, we worked hard for this expedition, and trust me, we will be successful.” He cooed, rubbing my arms in a soothing manner. “I guess.” I gave him a half-hearted smile. “Don’t forget, you are an amazing leader. We all know that you will do a terrific job.” He grinned, hope slowly blossoming in me.

“It’s just a dream, they never come true.” I reassured myself.

I was so wrong.

“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for our brave heroes!” Commander Ray yelled, seeing us. Thundering claps were heard as we entered the room, the tiny flame of hope in me flaring up to a strong fire as I realized that the entire world relies on us to be successful in this trip.

As the clapping died down, the commander stood on the podium. “As you all know, the Earth is dying. Overpopulation and limited resources being the primary problems, the human race will either eventually become extinct, or relocate to another planet in the future.

These brave men and women are risking their lives in order to ensure the fact that if it came to leaving our beautiful planet, we will have another home.” She finished, looking at us with warmth.

We smiled and waved at everyone, concealing the fear and trepidation in us. I squeezed Malcolm’s hand, him responding by drawing circles slowly on the outside of my palm. He looked at me, his eyes reassuring me, calming me down.

As we boarded the shuttle, the fear of the dream coming true was still there, overwhelming me. I quickly pushed it in the back of my head, focusing on the task at hand.

I was so engrossed in setting up equipment that I did not notice the presence behind me. “Max.” A familiar voice was heard, a voice I wanted to forget.

I stood up, and slowly turned around, looking at crystal-blue eyes. “Jasper.” I spit out his name, anger and hatred coursing in my veins, killing the fear. He smirked, looking me up and down, his eyes lighting up at my engagement ring. “So, Malcolm finally popped the question?” He asked, more like stated. “Yes.” I slightly rolling my eyes, discreetly hiding my left hand behind me, which didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Well, let’s see the ring.” He said, and grabbed my hand roughly, tugging me towards him. “That’s a beautiful piece of jewelry, I must say.” He said, subtly caressing my hand.

“What’s going on?” An angry voice was heard, making me whip my head to the source. Malcolm was holding a wrench, seething. “Jasper, let her go.” He said in the coldest voice possible, making me shudder.

“Ah, Malcolm, my old friend. How are you? Congratulations are in order, it seems.” Jasper said, clearly enjoying the effect he has on my fiancé. He let go of my hand and stepped back.

“I will go meet the others.” He said, smirking, and left. I looked at Malcolm, who was glaring so hard, he was making holes at Jasper’s back. “Malcolm.” I called, but failed to grab his attention. “Look at me.” He made eye-contact with me. “He is the past. You always let go of the past.” I cooed, grabbing his face with my hands. “We are stuck with him for a long time now, so try to not kill him, please?” I asked, making my best puppy-dog face, knowing he can’t resist.

He sighed and nodded. “Only because I love you, not because I am afraid of jail.” He said, making me smile and nod.

I was so busy talking to Malcolm, I did not notice the figure lurking in the dark corner, fuming with rage.

It’s been a long time since I last saw the beautiful blue line of the atmosphere, and I am actually missing it. Being cooped up in this shuttle with a fiancé and a douche of an ex-boyfriend who absolutely hate each other’s guts, it’s a little frustrating. We don’t even know how long it’s been since we have been travelling, but what we can vouch for is that it’s becoming unbearable by the minute.

Nowadays, I stay in the cockpit, my safe place. I know, it is wrong, but if I stay in that negative environment, I actually might kill someone. The only solution? Stare idly at the blackness littered with stars, in hopes of finding the planet, Prostorn.

This day was different.

My eyes widened at the sight of a grey planet. Happiness, for the first time since months, blossomed in me. I switched on the mic and, in my best pilot impersonation, spoke,

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We have officially reached our location. Please jump around and laugh in glee because we can finally get out of all this white background, and walk in a non-sterilized environment.” I said, chuckling. I switched on the auto-pilot mode and excitedly exited the cockpit, ready to hug Malcolm.

The sight before me stopped me short, my smile slowly dying.

“What the hell?!!” I shouted, startling the others. A droplet of blood arose from Malcolm’s head, and floated in the shuttle. “May I ask why are you hitting each other?” I asked, angry.

“Okay, before you place blame on me---“ “Good, we are on the same page then.” I cut Jasper off with a heated glare, making him falter. Malcolm cleared his throat, making me look at him. “Yes, Malcolm?” I asked snidely, my brow arched. “Jasper started punching me first, for no reason. I tried stopping him, but he didn’t seem to budge. That’s when I started hitting back, and a few moments later, you walked in, and lo and behold, here we are.” He said rapidly, making my anger flare.

“Alright both of you, pack up for the exploration. We will handle this like adults later.” I spit out, glaring at both of them, nodding.

I am stuck with kids, I thought as I readied myself for the potential answer of life on another planet.

At the door, I addressed my team. “Alright listen everyone, first order of business. We have to make sure that Malcolm and Jasper are NEVER together. This is utterly important.

Second, it will take us time to find viable results. Remember: the goal is to find life on this planet. So, soil samples, water samples, anything you find that holds a certain possibility of life, quickly test it. Do not take time. And last, before we start exploring, set up equipment.

Got it?” I finished, looking at all of them expectantly, everyone nodding in response.

“Well then, without further ado, let’s take a trip of our lifetime!” I yelled, with my team cheering with me.

As we exited the door, the sight took my breath away (not really, thank god for the astronaut suits). The grey planet that I saw from the cockpit was nothing compared to what I am seeing now. The soil seemed to shimmer, with giant rock-like structures almost everywhere. So far, there was no crater in view, but I am assuming that one or two might be there, which can help us with our research.

As we stepped down, onto the land, it seemed hard. It’s a rocky planet, my mind noted, as I let out a sigh of relief. “Alright people, start setting up equipment.” I said in the suit’s comms, with nods and “yes Ma’am” being received.

Suddenly, dust clouded my vision, almost making me trip. I brushed it away, but it still wasn’t clear. I huffed, trying to find some sort of cloth in my rucksack, when I heard a scream in the comms. I jerked my head to see Maria suddenly being lifted by what looks to be a…. tornado?

We all rushed to save her, but suddenly, she was engulfed by the tornado. “Oh my god it’s tearing my suit!!” was heard from the tornado. I watched in horror as white strips started falling on the ground. Screams were heard in the comms as my heart broke. “It hurts!” I started tearing up at Maria’s situation when the tornado finally let go of her. Her suit was absolutely ruined, skin completely bloody.

We started running towards her, but it was like our feet were stuck to the ground. The soil was somehow restricting us to go help our teammate.

Suddenly the soil shifted around Maria, it looked like it was becoming….. liquid? “Oh no. OH NO! QUICKSAND!” Alistair yelled. We all watched helplessly as Maria was swallowed by the soil. Tears started streaming down my eyes, and started collecting in the helmet part. I quickly shook my head, getting rid of the tears. “I am going in the shuttle for a while.” I said, my voice cracking.

As soon as I settled in the shuttle, I removed the helmet, wiped it with a disinfectant, and broke down. All the fear, burden of making this expedition successful, the engagement, Jasper, Maria, became overbearing. I felt something in me snap, and I cried my heart out.

Why me? What did I do to deserve this? First Jasper entering my life again, after 4 years, and now Maria, my good friend, a person with positivity and happiness coursing in her veins, I couldn’t even try to save her. What kind of a leader am I if I can’t even take care of my team?? I am useless.

Negative thoughts ran rampant in my head, my demons rising, taunting me, and making me feel worthless. My heart leapt in my throat, making it difficult to breathe. I started wheezing, choking on air. “Help me.” I managed to say, my throat constricted.

Spots started dancing in my vision, and my world went black.

“Max.”

“Max!”

“MAX!”

I woke up with a jolt, my head hitting a hard surface.

“Ow.” “Jasper?”

The hard surface nodded. Oh, I accidentally hit his head with mine.

“What happened?”

A loud scream was heard as soon as Jasper opened his mouth.

“That. That is something else.”

I looked outside the shuttle window to see Alistair in the air, being squeezed? He was stabbing at something, but it didn’t seem like it was working. The air? was squeezing him much harder, making him choke.

Suddenly, he burst apart, the planet’s gravity making his bits and pieces float, the blood forming various smaller bubbles, which were sucked by the air.

“He is not the only one. Almost half the team is dead. Only you, Malcolm and I are left.”

“Where is Malcolm?!” I yelled, grabbing his arm. The next word he uttered, made my heart stop.

“Outside.” 

It was all a blur, our sight hazy from the tornadoes whizzing around us. Our hope of possibly going home completely shattered, we were trying our level best to at least stay alive, but our team was decimated to half, with me desperately trying to find my fiancé.

“Max!” I whipped my head around, hearing my name, followed by a strangled gasp, seeing blood spurting out of Malcolm’s mouth as a translucent, red from Alistair’s blood, rigid thorn-like tentacle pierced through him from the back, his eyes wholly red. I screamed, tears streaming down my face, only to be cut short by a gut-wrenching pain, and blackness.

I woke up with a gasp, heart beating rapidly in my chest.