Dusk to Dusk

It has taken three years to reach this shitball of clay. The mining company I work for had sent a rover in advance to look for precious ores. The report they received back from the rover was that the upper regions of the planet consisted primarily of nickel. It also reported that it found no forms of life. With that information under their belts, they assembled a crew of miners, of which I am one.

The planet is RKT 607, and it circles a red dwarf sun. The planet rotates just enough to have a small amount of gravity but does not tilt on its axis. We arrived here three weeks ago and immediately began to set up our operations post. We can assemble one hut a day, according to how our shelters are designed, so we start with our barracks. Unfortunately, because the planet doesn’t tilt at all, the region we are located in only receives a faint amount of sunlight for five hours. It is basically dust allfor this time. We mostly work in the dark.

Our mothership has attained an orbital track above our post and shuttles down our supplies. It can also produce and manufacture items in small lots as we need them. When our officer in charge saw what it was like to work under these conditions, the chief immediately ordered some generators and lamps. Now we can see what we’re doing. The next unit built is the communications and security hut. Each unit produces its own atmosphere and gravity. Ahh, modern science.

We work in three separate crews. That way we each get one full day off to return to the ship for a proper meal, shower, and a comfortable bed for the night.  That’s the best part. It beats the hell out of sleeping on those cots!

While aboard the ship, a rumor starts drifting around that something was observed on a scanning device moving toward our post from the southern hemisphere.  There was no official word on it, but you know how rumors are. They take on a life of their own.

The next day, when I returned to work, I noticed that security had set out some alarm buoys along the south side of our encampment. When I asked one of the guards about it, he said they were there so that if our men got lost in the dark, it would set off the alarm. I asked him if they were there to keep out aliens. He answered, “No, like I said, it’s to keep idiots like you in. So go find something to do before I report you.” As I left him, I muttered under my breath, “We can wander off on the north side too, you know.” Honestly, the owners think we’re fools.

By the second week, we have built nearly all the housing and storage buildings we need. I’m glad too. I’m not too fond of all this building stuff. I’m here to dig holes. The mining should be pretty straightforward. The surface is mostly sand, and then there’s a layer of clay until finally we reach bedrock. That’s where all the fun starts. We’ll be mining then.

On my next day off, I’m heading down a busy corridor to the mess hall. Who should come up behind me but my buddy Mel. He glances around with his tongue in his cheek and says, ”Hey, you’ll never guess what I just heard.”

“What?”

I saw the head of security walk into the captain’s office and close the door. I made sure to pass by real close, you know, and I heard the captain say, “Missing.”

“Missing?”

“Yeah. But only like a question, “Missing?” More like that. What do you think that’s about?”

“That someone’s missing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too.

I squint one eye as I smack my lips. “Well, don’t worry about it too much. The corporation will never tell us about it. After all, it’s none of our business." That night, I had trouble sleeping.

On the surface, the security officer on surveillance witnesses a dark object rippling and swaying just outside the alarm buoys. Continuing to monitor it, he notices that the object, whatever it was, would stay just outside of the alarm buoy light range. All night, it shifted back and forth as if looking for a way around them. The officer ran several scans to figure out what it could be. The first one was to try and verify if it was alive. The scan returned that it was not a living thing. Next, based on how it moved, he ran scans to see if perhaps it was a gas or liquid of some kind, but both of those returned negative as well. “What the devil is that thing?” he thought. He watched it swirl and roll back and forth for the rest of the night. When the feeble sunrise occurred, the object disappeared. When filling out his report, he states that he could not identify the strange object, but he noticed it dislikes light.

On the matter of the missing man, it has been determined that he was researching past the last buoy and may have gotten lost. The company will send out a search party to find him during the brief hours of sunlight.

My assignment for today is to take inventory of all the drill bits and ensure the hydraulic pumps are ready, as we use water to cool the bits. Dressed in my helmet and spacesuit, I cut across the yard to the warehouse when I come across my buddy, the guard. I give him a quick salute. “Lovely evening tonight, isn’t it?” He barks back, “They are all the same, asshole!” God, I love bugging him. Suddenly, an unexpected lightenng storm comes crashing through the compound. The guard and I stand frozen in place, watching the bolts strike all around us. A lightning bolt hits the housing where the generators are kept, and all the lights shut off. We are left in the dark.

The guard raises his particle gun and speaks to me over his shoulder. “We’d better retreat and find shelter.” I agree and start running toward the last place I saw- the communication and security office. I hadn’t taken but a few steps when I hear this guttural sound behind me.  Finding my flashlight on my utility belt, I turn it on.  The guard has dropped his gun and is struggling with his helmet.  I see that his face is covered in what looks like oil.  Seeing the terror in his eyes, I notice that his skin is melting off his face right down to the bone! Somehow, this stuff has gotten in through an opening or hole in his suit. The stuff is killing the guard!  I run and snatch up his gun My stomach is turning and I feel like I might retch. I mouth, "I'm sorry." Wincing I pull the trigger. When the guard hits the ground, the stuff inside his suit oozes out and reforms. They are tiny little creatures! Thousands of them! That’s what the radar was seeing. They wouldn’t come close because of the lights.

The ones on the ground start moving in my direction I'm frozen to the groud with fear and disbelief. My feet take on a life of their own and I start running like hell for the communications hut. Looking over my shoulder, I see a wall of these bastards chasing me!  Barely making it I reach the door one step ahead of them and yank open the door then, slam it shut behind me. The wall of creatures hits the side of the building so hard that they pucker the side inward. Trembling, I back away from the wall. It’s pitch black inside the unit, so I switch on the light on my helmet. Examining the gun’s power pack, I see only a little energy is left.

Feeling my bottom lip quiver I cry, for there is no good outcome.  While I stand there thinking I should use the last of the power in the gun on myself, I see some debris falling from the ceiling. They’re tearing open the roof, and the atmosphere will rush into space. Smiling, I think, “Good, I won’t let them eat me!” Taking a deep breath, I remove my helmet and shoot a hole through the roof. A great rush of papers and objects fly upward through the ceiling. I exhale.