A  Dark World

 by Oliver (Clifton Park)

Part 1: Discovery

 Chapter 1: Where Am I?

 I sat up in total darkness. There was nothing, nothing but a few stars in the sky. “Geez what a ride,” I thought. In a flash of light I went from smooth ride in a top of the line billion dollar space shuttle to a sudden crash collision that dropped me off in this dump.

“Fasten your seat belts!”

The Commander had shouted. I knew we were in a rough situation at that point. But why did we crash? The shuttle hadn’t lost power and there wasn’t engine failure or anything so… Oh I don’t really know what happened. I mean I was just the technical assistant. The luckily PhD fill in assigned to take pictures. I didn’t even have a science degree for god’s sake. I tried to stare out past the wreckage but I really couldn’t see anything. This was the darkest nightfall I’d ever seen. This wasn’t a hallucination or dream, so what was going on?  I stopped observing for a moment to try to think and get rid of all this confusion “Now where I am? What happened here?” I thought. I knew that I crashed and I remembered the impact that flung me in my chair. But I didn’t know where I was. What was I doing here? Where was here? I hadn’t heard a sound from any member of my crew since the crash. “Hello, Hello,”I whispered. Nothing, there were no signs of any survivors except for me. There was no commander, no medic, no one except me the lowly assistant. I was all alone.

 What was that going up my nose? I swatted all around me, but the air continued to pour into my eyes and shoot past my eyes. Suddenly, I felt my lungs tighten up. I coughed and gagged and fell to my side. What was I breathing?  The air here, it was breathable but it was thick and different. It agitated my nose and eyes.  Gasses consumed my lungs and got into my eyes. It was like a poison, a toxin that was everywhere. I covered my mouth with my shirt. I decided only to take in low doses of the air and to breathe between my teeth. Otherwise I would choke to death. The atmosphere here must either be weak or nonexistent. “My God where am I?” I thought. “Better yet when am I.” I sat still for a moment in the remains of my shuttle and tried to remember what happened. I left on August 31, 2043 and was in hyper sleep for 16 months. Wait no it was longer than that. I remember my superiors discussing some sort of technicality. They knew there was some kind of mistake with our hyper sleep chamber but they didn’t know what.  Something wasn’t right because we weren’t supposed to crash. How did we crash?  I continued to sit there not moving or speaking because something might hear me. I was paranoid and for good reason. I did not build much confidence from sitting alone in the dark. All I wanted was to take some pictures. Not get diced up by a Martian or something.  I waited for light and the brightness of day but every hour I waited it seemed like it was getting darker and darker. “I can’t stand this any longer!” I thought. And wait… its cold too.  I ‘m cold, no I’m freezing. Why the hell is it this cold? Maybe it’s winter time here. But wait, why was there the snow? I sat there puzzled. “The air is cold and toxic like. But there’s no snow and by chance I can half breathe on this planet. This makes perfect sense,” I thought. Well I can sort of breathe I guess that was my first good sign of the day, or maybe it’s still night.

Not only was I alone but I felt defenseless. I couldn’t see anything any, I couldn’t even feel for anything. When was it going to get light out? “What if I’m blind?” I thought. “What if I hit my head and now all I see is darkness.  Ahh or maybe I am… maybe I’m dead. I’m in the damned darkness of hell. This place is absolutely horrible!” I wept like some kind of bratty little girl and I pulled at my hair. This wasn’t fair. What did I do to deserve this? I was angry and scared, and that was not a good combination for me. But then something came to me.  One little thought jumped into my head, and it scared the hell out of me. Maybe I was underestimating my situation. Maybe I crashed somewhere worse than hell. Up until then I was just nervous, I was just shaken up and exaggerating the horror of my situation but now I had taken on a different mindset.  There was no house or a bar for me to sit and drink my problems away or just clear my mind. No, this was about survival. I was on a strange world and I had to make the best of it. I stood up and pushed past the wreckage. We had really hit the ground hard. The impact had made a large pit in the ground and it would’ve killed me if I hadn’t been strapped in. Thank God for my seat belt. I guess I was the lucky one. I was in the perfect position to survive the crash. I was in one of the back rows of the ship, just far enough away not to be killed by the direct impact or impaled by the scrap metal. Yup, I had definitely survived for a reason. I just had to hope that it was a good one.

Finally I gave up my wait for light and I decided to try something very irrational. It was something that would test all the luck of the universe. I took 10 steps forward. I was lucky not to fall in to big nasty hole, or run straight into a rock or something. Foolishly I thought I was on a roll I walked another 10 steps. Then 15 to the left then 30 to the right then 50 straight until I was walking 500 steps in a random direction. Then I stopped and turned around and saw nothing. “CHRIST, where’s my ship?!” But I had no idea what direction I’d even come from. “AHH, why did I do that, 3 years of training and I decide to walk in the freaking darkness! OK, Ok, Ok, now where AM I!” I thought. Why did I do that? One little mental pep talk and I got so freaking full of myself.” Arrgh!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Immediately I covered my mouth. “Oh my God what if something heard me?” I thought. I couldn’t see anyone, but I couldn’t see at all anyway. Why the hell did I scream on an alien planet? I stood there silently trying to look all around me. But of course I saw nothing. Chills tickled my spine and the thick putrid air began to shoot into my lungs, but I didn’t care. I was too afraid.

After five minutes of no intrusions, I stopped my constant observation and began to relax. “Okay, James what am I gonna do. I need to do something,“ I thought. “ I can’t stand here moping forever. Where should I go?” I thought intensively, squatted and ruffling my hair . I didn’t really know which direction I had come in, but I had to go one way or another. I didn’t think I could find my way back to the shuttle remains, so where to? Hesitantly I decided to go left.  It was simply because my left shoe was untied. At the time I felt confident with my decision. I bent down and slowly tied my shoe, a task that isn’t so easy to do in pitch black conditions. “Alright I am going left,” I thought. I smiled, sort of, puffed up my chest and started to walk left. That was the worst direction I could have gone in.

Chapter 2: The Walk

I will say that I had never walked that far in my life. I guess I had made some kind of path for myself even though I couldn’t really see anything. It was agonizing to not know where I was going or even see where I was going. My feet were achy because these big ass boots weren’t meant for a long and terrible walk. I only had these because we planned to rendezvous at the U.S. Global Command Moon base. I was supposed to be jumping around and taking pictures in zero gravity, not walking in the dark! As I continued to walk still I heard nothing, not a sound. What kind of a place was? But I was too tired and sleepy to even think about it. Every few minutes I would start to doze off and start to fall to the ground, and I would have to catch myself, rub my eyes and keep walking. When I signed on for this mission they didn’t say anything about the chance of this happening. “98.6% chance of success” they had said. I guess I got the 1.4 % chance of crap. I had always trained for a decisive organized mission. They told me I would be part of a well trained crew, the best of the best communication systems, and even three square meals a day on my mission. They forgot to mention the possibility that I might land on a cold, dark, lifeless rock all by my god damn self! Every minute I would have to push myself to keep walking. I had no encouragement or even drive to keep moving. I was just so scared that I would get eaten alive if I stopped. I kept walking, but slowly my walk turned to a painful shuffling of my feet.

I couldn’t feel any presence of time. Was it midnight? Was there even a midnight on this planet? It felt like it should have gotten light out already. I was sick of the gloominess, the silence, and complete horror of this darkness. If I could see maybe I wouldn’t feel so damn tired. I kept trudging along like a little broken soldier. My knees were beginning to buckle on me and I felt my angles begin to go numb in pain. I didn’t dare scream again and I didn’t want to give in to the weakness of my exhaustion. My initial few moments of walking had turned into this. My hope and pride had become a knell of fear.  Pain had  shot up my legs and tightened my muscles. My proud walk had turned into a limp and a dragging of my feet. “I need a drink,” I muttered to myself. I had to have water; I would’ve killed for water. I would’ve hung myself for a popsicle or a milkshake.  I trudged on some more grunting in my exhaustion and then I couldn’t go any further. My legs were wobbling and I had no energy physically or emotionally left for me to stand. The numbness was driving me crazy. I could no longer walk straight or even stand up straight. “I need a god damn break,” I muttered, half dazed by my need for rest. I struggled to stand up.

 The horrific air had started to fill up my lungs. I coughed and covered my mouth with my shirt, trying desperately to breathe.  My mouth was dry and coarse like dirt. My eyes weren’t even open anymore. The thick, dense air was finally too much for me or anyone to ever bear. I must’ve walked for at least 20 miles, maybe 30 miles. I was done. I couldn’t see anything taste anything hear anything and I didn’t have the slightest idea where I was going. My legs were giving out and my feet were numb and cold. I looked up and saw nothing I looked back and saw nothing. I looked to the sides and saw nothing. I looked straight ahead and saw absolutely nothing. “The hell with this,” I moaned as I fell to the ground, I closed my eyes and lay motionless and lay motionless in this strange new world. I was at a point where I refused to move but I dared not fall asleep. I had to get out of here. I had to escape the darkness or I really would go blind.

I awoke to the sounds of nothing. I was still alive and still breathing because it seemed that I was beginning to adjust to the thickness of the air. There was no breeze, no movements, no nothing. “Why should I wake up in this hellhole?” I thought.  I lay there on that cold, disgusting ground. It could have been worse. I could’ve woken up strapped to a table with aliens prodding at my organs.  At least nothing had bothered me in my sleep. I laid there not knowing what to do next. Until my head started getting a little sweaty. But how could I be sweating? The ground is frozen for god’s sakes. I slowly opened my eyes and a wave of light rushed into my pupils. The sun! It was finally day time. I jumped to my feet. The sudden rush of warmth was overwhelming. I knew the day would come, damn it, I knew it would. Eager and excited I spun and looked around anxiously and I saw… I saw, rock? All around me was a valley of rocks and sand like a dried up ocean. There was nothing alive and there were no sounds louder than my own breathing. “I’m not dead or blinded or dreaming, so where am I?” I said. What was with all these rocks? They covered everywhere including the ground I had lain on. Everywhere I saw these gray rocks, an endless sea of them. But why were they cracked! I had walked this far to see a bunch of rocks everywhere. There wasn’t the slightest sign of an alien tree or a bush. I wasn’t just disappointed with this sight, no I was pissed. When I spun back around I saw the same emptiness in every direction. I started to think that I liked this place a lot better in the dark. “ Wait my ship! I can back to the shuttle, back to food and water.” I thought. There was bound to be something useful. My camera was there so I could take pictures of, of, I guess I would have to take pictures of a bunch of rocks. But where was I. I had to be miles from the wreckage if I had walked all night. “Damn,” I muttered. “Damn it!” What direction should I go in? I thought about it and tried to remember where I was going. “I was going left, before I lay down,” I said to myself. “I think I’ll keep going left.  I stood up and looked down at my feet there were big holes in my boots so that my feet were sticking out. But I didn’t dare take those off on alien ground. I looked at the tattered collared shirt that was dangling from shoulders. The stitched letters of my name on the shirt, James Morgan technical assistant, were almost faded completely. I took it off wiped my brow, before leaving it in the dirt.  I looked at my white pants stained with dirt. They were ripped and torn but I still needed them to keep warm at night. My brown belt was also very distressed the finished leather had been ripped apart. My clothes were a disgrace, my moral was obliterated, and I had no idea where I was going. But I had to find something. Even if it was just to preserve my mental stature.  I  started off with a slow walk almost a limp that turned into a slight army jog through this barren waste land. I was thankful for the daylight because every now and then I would come across a small pit or a rock that I needed to jump over. Other than that, there was nothing. But why was there nothing? There was air to breathe, the ground was icy, and now there was some sun. So why was there nothing?

I continued my march for another hour or so until I came to something. Finally there was something to see. I ran to it, full speed and stopped short when I was about ten feet away. It looked like, like a bone? It was blackened from something but it was definitely some kind of bone. I paused for a moment and looked around, being very observant now. Sure enough all around me there were bones, all around. There were thousands upon thousands of broken, blackened, pieces of bone. “Damn, “I said.  “Damn, these don’t look too different from...” But I stopped because I thought I was thinking too hard. I thought this loneliness must have been putting crazy ideas into my head. I thought I was just losing it a bit.  I guess I had stopped thinking too because I picked one up. Yup, I took that first one off the ground not bothering to think whether it was a mine or something. Even after my big losing my ship scenario I still just chose adventure over caution. I just plucked it like a daisy. Luckily, nothing happened. I squeezed it and felt its rough texture. It had definitely been burned, not recently but it had certainly been burned. So there was something here. Something with bones and a skeleton. And it looked as if they’d burned up. I swung the bone above my head and juggled through my fingers. It was sturdy, so it had supported something strong. Not something too enormous, but not a squirrel or something. “Maybe, I’m alone here,” I thought. I walked a few steps before I stopped worriedly. Another idea came to my head one that scared me. “Or maybe I’m not alone.” I thought. I looked at the bone in my hand. “Maybe it’s me, and who ever burned them.” I gulped and my heart started to race.  Sweat poured down my face and on to my face. Slowly I backed up, away from the direction I was going in. I must have backed into a rock or something but I didn’t know that at the time. I thought I was right in front of a Vulcan and it scared the living daylights out of me. I ran, not looking back. I kept running until I was out of that grave yard.

Chapter 3: The Bridge

I ran for close to a half mile before I finally slowed down. I stood firm on the ground and spun around, with my fists up in the air. No one was there. I was relieved but still paranoid and afraid. I took off the belt on my pants and tied the leather end to the end of the bone in my hand. Now I had myself a leather whip with big metal buckle on the end, just in case I needed to rough up Mr. Spock or something. I held my new weapon and walked slowly straight ahead.  After a few minutes I was relaxed again. My tension had died down and I my breathing was back to normal, normal for this putrid air anyways. And just as my heart rate was starting to slow down a little bit I saw him.

“What the hell, what the hell is that?” I whispered to myself.  Luckily for my sake, he was sitting on a rock with his back to me. I slid out of the way, hidden by a large rock of my own. “Green scales and freaking clawed feet and armor?” I said quietly to myself. “Where the hell am I?” Slowly I backed up about 20 yards from Mr. Martian so that we  were a good thirty yards away.  “H.G Wells didn’t say anything about this,” I said. I looked at him carefully. He was slimy looking and his smell, it was horrible. He reeked of decay and rotting fruit and vegetables. His scales were covered in dirt and encrusted with mud and rock. This freak needed a bath. What was he doing? He seemed to be just sitting there, idling or killing time. What was he waiting on? This beast was strong as well. I flexed my muscles tightly in comparison to me. His arms tripled the size of mine and he wasn’t even flexing! I wasn’t a small 200 lbs. either. With him sitting down I couldn’t make out quite how tall he actually was. I was about 6’2 and this brute was a hell of a lot taller than that. So I was sitting to a muscular, probably 350 lbs. plus, 8 ft monster. Jesus Christ.

 I looked inquisitively but I couldn’t tell whether this was a sentient being or an over grown crocodile who was going to rip me to shreds. His teeth and mouth were at least four times the size of mine. No hair though, so I guess under my terms he wasn’t a mammal. I had done some foolish and dangerous things up until now, but I was not up to run up to King Kong Crocodile and get eaten alive. I didn’t plan on talking to any aliens anyway. Even if I had my camera this brute didn’t seem like the type who would enjoy having his picture taken.  I moved to the right a few steps so I could get a slight look at its eyes. They were gold-like and evil looking in nature. Maybe I was just being prejudiced, but how else was I suppose to think of an alien.  At least it didn’t have a crocodile snout or something. I readied my whip just in case croc man was going to turn around and lunge for me. Should I attack and try to capture him? No, I decided that was a bad fight to pick. I sat there waiting but he didn’t turn around. Instead he stood up on two feet and ran straight ahead, never looking back. I stood there for a few moments relieved that the alien was gone. But being the adventurous idiot I was, I couldn’t just live and let live. As soon as he was a good distance ahead of me, I started to run myself. I followed him eagerly, like a moth to the flame.

 “Damn, this lizard runs fast,” I whispered. I had gone into a full sprint, trying to keep up with him. At least I thought he was a male. “Alright Mr. Crocodile,” I said to myself. “You better slow the hell down or I’m gonna blow a lung.” Of course the beast felt it was necessary to contradict my request because he started running faster.  At first I thought I was just chasing a fast lizard but then he hit like thirty miles per hour. I stopped in exhaustion and put my hand to my lung.  Where was he going? Slowly I started to walk after him.  It looked as if he had run me into some kind of desert. Thousands of dunes consumed the landscape and surrounded me.  I kept walking until my rocky path turned to a blanket of dirt. “The hell with this I need to see where I’m going,” I said to myself. I decided that I climb up one of those sand dunes and just take a good look around. It seemed like a fine plan initially, but my freaking boots started to fall off every time I to climb. Eventually I had to use my as a little pick in order to make any progress. At first I was leisurely going for a nice climb. But I did not want to be in the desert when it got dark again so I decided to hurry. Why oh why did I have to be here? I was just the freaking camera boy who was supposed to sit on the shuttle and make the nice little documentary. This should’ve been my big break, my reach for fame. I even used to imagine my name in all those global record books. James Morgan age 24, youngest man in space. That’s how it was supposed to happen.  Instead I was gonna got “James Morgan first man killed by the croc god.” “Why me damn it, why me?” I shouted miserably.  But I kept climbing, and I didn’t stop until I reached the top of that sand dune. At least this mediocre venture was successful. I looked; I looked all around and saw sand. Ha, I traveled trillions of light-years to see a desert. Or did I travel further. I still couldn’t remember how long I’d been sleeping. We were on a mission to a planet NASA had named Vetra 1.

“GO, explore man’s final frontier. Expand American and human influence. Discover extraterrestrial life forms,” they had said. It was a crock, but sadly I believed it. NASA just needed to prove we were making some progress; otherwise the U.S. government would invest all their money in all the freaking wars that were going on. Was I on Vetra 1? No they assured us that there were no life forms on Vetra 1. We were just looking for traces of water or some funny looking rocks. At least there was some wind now because the dirt moved like waves in the ocean. It was a great natural spectacle, and it was definitely something better to look at than all those bones. Now where was my little lizard friend. I cupped my eyes with my hands and looked out. Mostly there was lots of sand, but just past the last sand dune there was a small bridge. I sat there unsure of whether to follow lizo or to turn back while I still could. But then, now of all times I got my stroke of genius. I needed to go to the bridge.  Common sense had finally dictated a path for me to follow. Granted it was elementary common sense, but nonetheless at least I knew where I was going.  “Bridges are usually built over water,” I said like a giddy school boy. “And I want some god damn water.”

 I turned around and started to slide down the sandy dune.  In a way, I guess it was sort of fun. Not rollercoaster or movie fun, better it gave me several moments of exhilaration. Upon reaching the bottom, I cracked my whip several times in an act of pride before racing towards that bridge. At this point I was on the verge of total dehydration. I had to drink; no I was at utter desperation. I was not a weak little flower, but I was no Superman either. I raced for that bridge faster and faster. My tongue was almost hanging out my mouth like a freaking dog I was so thirsty. I kicked up sand I was running so fast. It was like a sandstorm behind. Soon the bridge was in my sight. It was solid metal and almost chrome looking like a shiny new car. “Who built this?” I wondered. But I really didn’t care. I just wanted my drink.  Gradually I slowed down as I came to the bridge. I breathed heavily, my hands reaching above my head. I walked quickly to the start of the bridge and looked down.

I didn’t see shit. There definitely was no water. “Damn it,” I shouted. “I ran like a deer for a freaking empty riverbed.” I yelled and kicked dirt into the river bed. It was empty and as barren as the desert above it. It was dried up and rocky with no trace of anything, let alone some water for me to drink. It wasn’t a small river either. Actually it was enormous. This part looked about a few hundred feet wide and like fifty feet deep. Who the hell knows how long it was? “Man, where’s the water? This whole thing is a dried up prune!” I had nothing, nothing to drink and nothing to look forward to. I looked down at the river head and got an idea that wasn’t half crazy. “Maybe I should jump?’ I thought. “Maybe I should jump head first and just die!I don’t want die in this desert. So why don’t I die under the bridge so that lizard can look down at me.” I was disgusted with myself but I had no alternate mindset to turn too. That shuttle was beyond repair and the goons that built it were probably in another galaxy or something. I had nowhere to go.  So why shouldn’t I jump. I didn’t have time to think it over because I looked up and saw that I wasn’t alone.

Two lizard alien men stood ten feet away and looked straight at me. They were looking at me, glaring at me, daring me to come closer to me. I put my hands up slowly trying to calm the tension between us, putting the whip on the ground. “I come in peace,” I said. “I’m an astronaut an explorer, I’m not a threat.” Still they stood unresponsive. Their bony claws retracted out of their fingers and toes and they took a step closer.  I reached down for the whip, grabbed it and cracked the ground in front of them. “Back you bastards, back!” I shouted. I stopped and the two aliens began to circle me. Their green scales shined bright in the sunlight and their eyes glistened as they stared me down. They weren’t too fond of my display of bravery. I looked behind me and saw that in a blink of an eye, those bastards had flanked me. “Whoa, wait I’m not your enemy I don’t want any trouble with you.” Obviously they were listening because they started to growl and screech. It was disgusting, and  the sound of their chatter and screams was agonizing. It pulled at my ears. I covered them but the hideous sounds kept pounding through and racing in to my ears. “What the hell do you want?” I shouted. But the screaming just kept getting louder and louder. I couldn’t take it. I cracked the whip violently but they would simply step out of the range of my blows. I stopped for a moment and stared them down. They looked back at me confused but continuing to approach me.  I wiped the sweat off my brow turned and ran. I felt pretty confident for a few seconds as I started to dart away from those alien bastards. But I forgot those lizards could go from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. I didn’t get ten yards before they were on top of me. As I started to pick up speed the faster of the two dove and grabbed my ankles viciously. I screamed and spun backwards as nailed my head down against the metal bridge. I lay there for a few moments dazed and disoriented before my eyes slowly began to close and my movements came to a sudden stop. Who knows what happened after that?

Chapter 4: Holes

It was just fate that slowly I opened my eyes not knowing where or when I was. I guess I was just destined to be freaking confused all the time on this God forsaken planet. And, I, I couldn’t move? Why couldn’t I move? I was strapped down with chains of some sort around my neck, stomach, and legs. It was damp too. Sort of like a cavern or and underground chamber. I couldn’t sit up or even look up, so I turned my head to the side to get a better view. It was cleaner than I expected. The outer walls were cave-like, but there was white tiled floor and chrome looking finish all around me. It was the same design as that damn bridge built over no water! I was still thirsty, but at least It wasn’t as hot and humid in here. And, was there, air conditioning? I think that there was. Okay so these things weren’t so primitive. Perhaps there could be some negotiation. A way for me not to get my head slashed off. I didn’t have much to barter with other than some organs I wasn’t willing to give up. Hey, maybe they just want to talk, I hope. My head still stung from the crushing blow of the bridge. It was throbbing and I felt the thick bruise on my forehead. I must’ve been out cold. Thank God those lizard men didn’t eat me in my sleep. I continued to look around and I saw there was also a glass door held in with metal plates.  It had just been slid open.

Two alien looking things entered through the doorway. At least they weren’t those same lizard bastards. No, these were something different. These guys were scary looking but they definitely didn’t look anything like me.  They stood the same height as men and the same build but their faces were disoriented and a droopy looking red color, like, like they needed something. It was almost as if they were missing a spark or a gene. Like they were malformed or they came out wrong. Maybe I was just thinking too hard though. Maybe these guys just needed facelifts or something. I jerked and turned, trying desperately to break free but it was no use. They intended to keep me here. The only question remaining was what in god’s name were they gonna do me.

I looked up and saw their putrid faces looking down on me. They were disgusting almost disgraceful. What did they want?  I jerked shaking the table. I wasn’t gonna wait for them to cut out my heart. Oh, no if these bastards wanted my brain they would have to fight for it. The stronger of the two aliens grabbed my shoulders and thrust me down violently. I turned my head and saw his filthy fingers beside me. His hands were the same size as mine, but his fingers were deformed looking and crooked. For some reason they weren’t speaking, not even to each other. It was probably because they had their mouths covered up. These cowards couldn’t even show me who they were. “Please I come in peace, what do you want? “ I asked. Suddenly the other alien came at me with a needle looking thing slowly he lowered his arm towards and started to push it into my chest. I shook violently kicking my legs and trying to get away. “Get the hell away from me!” I shouted. What were they putting into me? I turned side to side trying to loosen my bonds, but it was no use. These doctors had chained me down too tightly. Slowly the alien with the needle turned to the small dusty counter that was across the room. Immediately I tried to sit up. But the other alien held me down. “Let me go damn it ahhmm…”  He covered my mouth and jerked my neck to the side. After a couple of minutes the other alien came back with a drill looking thing it had rough edges and  a triangular point that began to rotate as he pressed a small round bottom on its metal covering. “Damn was that electricity?” I thought. Slowly he started to bring to drill down towards my ribs. I fought off the hand of my other captor and screamed in distress. “Get the hell away from. “ I shouted. Slowly he began to bring the drill down towards my ribs.  I turned my ribs away from him, shaking the table. Immediately the other alien grabbed my arms and spread me out straight on the table. I kicked violently at the other doctor but my legs couldn’t reach. “Keep your freaking drill away from, damn it!” He pressed the cold metal drill to my skin. I shook like crazy shaking the table up and down. I growled at him viciously and yelled for mercy. But he wouldn’t stop. He started drilling. The damn bastard was drilling a hole through my chest. I wailed in pain. Nothing had ever hurt like this. The drilling sensation made my body shake all over and made my heart beat faster and faster. “Stop you bastards!” I shouted. Blood spurted out of my chest like a volcano and sprayed all over my body. The drilled burned and churned and my flesh. Finally it stopped. Thank god it stopped. My legs relaxed but I continued to groan in pain. “You god damn alien bastards.” I muttered. My ribs ached and my flesh burned and bled like never before. I would take the darkness over this. I’d take jumping off the bridge over this.  I looked at my chest and saw that there was not one but three perfectly round holes drilled into my chest. And those aliens, they just stared at me. Those bastards wouldn’t even show me their faces. I glared at them and shook my head in disgust. “What are you bastards gonna do next?!” “What’s it gonna be?”

Slowly I was blacking out. I looked up and saw those aliens start to move me. It seemed like they were wheeling me around or something. I relaxed and let my eyes begin to close and my head dropped down on the table. I didn’t want to die here, I refused to die here. I was just going to close my eyes and sit peacefully. I was in too much pain to yell anymore or to fight back. The blood kept coming and my side felt weaker and weaker. Thank god they hadn’t freaking drilled my heart. They kept wheeling me, because they were taking me somewhere. I didn’t care where, there was nothing worse they could do. I was all alone, my spirit was completely broken, and the pain was unbearable. So they could do whatever the hell they wanted. I came to a freaking terrible planet that gave me no hope and kept me barely alive. So I sat and kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to know what they were going to do next.

Chapter 5: An Answer

I awoke, breathing heavily and painfully. Where was I now? I sat up slowly, pain shooting in my bruised ribs. Was I, was I in a city? Yes, I looked down and saw I was lying on the remains of a concrete pathway. Granted it wasn’t the best sidewalk I’d ever laid eyes on but it was a sign of civilization. It looked as if it was torched or maybe even bombed. In fact the entire city looked to be obliterated. All around me were decimated buildings that were gradually falling to bits. I stood up to get a better look at the whole street and saw every building demolished and toppled like bowling pins. How wonderful this entire planet is a freaking wasteland. And, and everything was sand? And glass?  What the hell happened here? Something big must’ve made a desert of this whole freaking world. It’s just my luck that everything else is dead except those lizard men.  These aliens certainly didn’t build this. Their freaking clothing looked decades ahead of all this crap. Ha, maybe they blew it up; maybe this was their warzone or something. I mean it looked, was it nuclear? I sat for a moment puzzled still totally confused. “Was there nuc- nuclear war?” “No I’m losing it.” I thought. I felt the sharp pain jolt into my rips. I looked down at my side and saw blood spurting out of the holes in my ribs. I couldn’t make the bleeding stop, it just kept flowing faster and faster until I had to press my hand down so hard my fingers hurt, in order to even contain the bleeding. “Ah, I’m gonna bleed to death,” I shouted. Why the hell did they drill holes in me? I could’ve just stayed on earth if I wanted to be full of holes. If I wanted to get shot, I could a just stood on the street of my home town at 1:00 in the morning if I wanted to be full of holes. Ha, on top of all this bleeding they felt the need to take my shirt and pants. Now not only was I mad but I was looking for a fight. I had nothing for warmth, no food, and soon that damn darkness was gonna come. “Thanks a lot!” I shouted. “You lizards just made my day! You even took my bone for god’s sakes. At least it scared them when I started spitting all over. Yup, they didn’t like too much with my contagious astronaut spit. But why’d they send me here. Why in this crappy city? Did they not have prisons? Geez I almost thought these guys were advanced. I sat back down on the sidewalk thinking about what a hell of a day I’d had. I was surrounded by millions of crazy lizard men and I still had no idea where I was. Nothing here made any sense. If there were life forms then where were the god damn plants? I collapsed in distress, my hands covering my face. I had nothing. I just wanted to take some pictures or something and now I was gonna die alone.

My bleeding intensified and for a moment I thought I was gonna black out. I fought and fought to keep consciousness. I tried to keep pressure on it but there was no use. I pounded and stomped on the ground. “Ah, this is un- bear- able! “ I wailed. “Have some freaking mercy!” I lay there almost blacked out. I was a goner. I, I was about to be just one of those freaking piles of bones! Some freaking stupid astronaut was gonna come along and make a whip out of one of my ribs and prance around like a new age Indiana Jones! I cried, no I wept in pain and in complete horror. I couldn’t get those lopsided alien faces out of my head. I looked down again at the holes. The whole experience was… I couldn’t even explain it. Those bastards should’ve just drilled holes in themselves. Yah, I would’ve done all the drilling too. I’d put some many holes in each of them. Now there’s an idea. I sat there, sulking and thinking. What did they want, what was with all the science? Why me? Why do I get the… Suddenly I heard something.

There was a slight clang of rock and metal, just loud enough to scare the hell out of me. Something was near. I gulped and my heart started to race again. The blood loss had just become the worst of my problems. I didn’t want to see another droopy ass doctor or another alien bastard. I squirmed, trying to turn towards the intruder. I couldn’t look up. I was too tired and weak to lift up my head. “WHO’S THERE! “ I shouted. No answer. But there were steps now.  These were soft steps, not the sounds of those lizard monsters. It was coming closer and getting faster and faster. It was running to me, racing to me. My heart beat got faster and faster and sweat flowed down my face like a waterfall racing down the mountainside. I was scared now. After my last encounter with alien life I wasn’t too enthusiastic with my new friend arrival. I was already about to lose it and now this. “WHO’S THERE?” I shouted, louder this time. Suddenly and abruptly the footsteps stopped. Whatever was there was about to make its move. Slowly I lifted my head and looked up. “What the hell?” I said. My mind was playing tricks on me. This bald, pale, thing looked human. I stared at him observantly, and he stared back like I was the freaking alien. “Um,” I mumbled “Mr. Alien sir I come in peace.”  Still he said nothing and his chapped lips were tightly closed. He continued to stare at me with his big; I guess those were his big brown eyes. “Hello, answer me damn it!” He looked confused and slowly it looked as if he was going to back away. I wasn’t about to take that. I kicked his frail little legs out from under him and he stumbled down on the concrete. Finally his mouth started moving but I was unsure of what he would do next. I didn’t want him to bite me or something. “Please man,” I said. “If you understand what I’m saying, please just tell me where the hell I am.” He looked at me as if in comprehension and nodded his head. My god he actually understood! Slowly he lifted his hand and beckoned me to come closer. A little reluctantly I sat up as his mouth started to come closer to my ear.  But he stopped it seemed to be out of fear. “Please,” I begged. He lifted up his head and looked me straight in the eye with his piercing gaze.

“Earth,” he said.