We ran, bare feet skidding along the floorboards, dreams flung over our shoulders as we plunged into nightmare. The soldiers had found a route, an underground passage that led to the old fire station, leading from the cellar.
We could hear their footsteps on the stairs as we grabbed the girls, trying to lead them out onto the roof, where we could drop to where the boys had hid the precious solar flares, the ones that would buy us precious seconds.
Celeste. Refusing to leave, screaming about her son, about how they’d make good on her bargain. My fingers in your elbow, pulling you away, Celeste clutching at your coat, pulling you down, slowing your down, the other girls pulling me away, out through the window into a black, starless night.
You were a lesson to us all. Dragged through the streets and tied to the disused train tracks, the magnificent Lana Lilac, with her amethyst eyes ringed in bruises, her head shaved and her fingers broken. Fingers that had sketched every inch of my skin. I didn’t believe them. You’d have gotten away, I know, and I waited in the woods for weeks, waiting for you to come. Then.
They spoke about a laird with violet eyes, the cruellest of them all. I heard him mentioned as I stood in line for bread, doubled over in the street with my coins falling from me and into the gutters, like tears.
A twilight procession, they said, that evening, to show his strength, his power; the way that they were becoming.
I tucked my hair into my coat, and stood at the back of the crowd, as his horse and his army slouched through the city. The women bowed their heads, the children stayed still, silent. I pushed through, my heart beginning to gallop. I needed to see if it was true. An old woman tried to pull me back as I stepped over the line, into the path of the procession.
He looked up as he neared, throwing back his hood to peer more closely. A flash of purple, eyes like amethysts; like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Somebody pushed me to my knees, and I could hear his horse snorting, his boots crunching on the gravel as he dismounted. I felt the whoosh of air as he raised his sword, heard somebody begin to weep. They wanted me to beg, to plead, to cry and ask them not to take my life. But they already had.
I closed my eyes. There was nothing left that I wanted to see.
Nicola Belte lives in Birmingham, U.K, and is a part-time MA student, part-time pint-puller, and an in-between time writer of increasingly weird fiction. Her work has been published by Spilling Ink Review, Paraxis Magazine and Flash Fiction Online, amongst others, all of which you can find at her blog, here: nicolabelte.blogspot.com
Story illustration by Robert Elrod.
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Red Sands
by Douglas Poirier
NASA has compiled the following transcript in an attempt to ascertain the events that led to the failure of Ares 1, the first manned mission to Mars, and to address concerns regarding the recent unscheduled departure of the command module from Martian orbit. As directed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, this transcript contains only the transmissions of Captain James L. Hargrave. Maintenance transmissions have been excluded unless otherwise deemed pertinent. This document has been classified TOP SECRET, and is not intended for public distribution.
2025-April-10 13:31:27Z Hargrave (Command module video): This is Captain James L. Hargrave, mission report, month three. The sleep is ghastly, or at least waking up is. Twenty-eight days is a long time to go without using basic bodily functions. The experience is very similar to the worse hangover I have ever had.
All systems are nominal. I’m sure you can see that on your end, Mission Control. My sleep chamber is functioning properly; IVs and feeding tubes are in good shape with no signs of infection.
Major Dorset is doing well - all her charts and numbers look good. The computer is set to wake her on schedule in fourteen days.
I’ll be starting the mandatory exercise shortly but I’m really looking forward to cleaning this odor off of me. I tested the Torpor Project twice on Earth and I never remember smelling this bad.
Not sure if this is an issue. I’m dreaming. I checked the monitor and it shows no signs of brain activity as per the Torpor Protocol. According to the computer the drugs are suppressing all brain activity and a persistent state of coma has been maintained between periods of revival. Still I’m dreaming. In my dreams, there are shadows moving all around me. After a short time they engulf my body. I think the dream occurs during the revival period, when my mind is starting up again. It’s likely my unconscious is grappling with the transition. Recommend adjusting the mixture for the Torpor Protocol before the next sleep. Hargrave out.
2025-April-10 15:44:52Z Hargrave (Command module video): That’s affirmative, Mission control. I’ll complete a full diagnostic on my sleep chamber. That new mix should do the trick; thanks for the help. I should be back in my chamber in approximately ten hours, fifteen minutes. Catch you in four weeks.
2025-May-06 13:33:21Z Hargrave (Command module video): Captain Hargrave, month four. We have safely passed the halfway point to Mars.
It was another rough transition from torpor. I’m surprised my body is reacting this way. Maybe it is time to adjust the hormone therapy as well.
How is Helen doing? Is she having similar issues? I see you told her about my dreams. She made me a dream catcher out of paper. Unfortunately the dreams didn’t go away. They are similar to the earlier ones except this time there is a voice. It is calling to me from a far off place. I’m open to suggestions. Hargrave out.
2025-May-06 16:21:13Z Hargrave (Command module video): You guys took a little long to reply. I hope you will keep me in the loop with all your concerns, Mission Control.
Glad to hear Helen is not having any issues with her sleep. Not sure if I agree with your plan. I understand why you want to monitor my dream state but won’t letting me dream during torpor be risky? That’s the purpose of the chemically induced coma, right? So our mind is not aware of the passage of time even on an unconscious level.
You’re right, though. What other choice is there? If the dreams aren’t addressed the mission will have to be scrubbed and no one wants that. Okay, let’s do it your way.
2025-June-05 13:22: Hargrave (Command module video): Hargrave, month five. All systems are nominal. My tubes are looking a little ugly, request permission to change them. I feel better this time around, more rested. The change in hormone therapy seems to have worked but the dreams continue. They’re different this time, off the charts scary. I hope monitoring my dream state helped. Were you able to make some progress on the coma cocktail?
My dream was a vivid and cogent memory of my parents. My mother and father were archeologists and dragged me everywhere they went. When I was seven, they took me to a remote part of Mongolia, convinced they had made the find of a lifetime.
On one of the lower Himalayan peaks they discovered a column which they believed belonged to an as yet undiscovered civilization. It was octagonal and made of a dark green stone. Its surface was pitted with hundreds of small runes.
Weeks, then months passed as my parents attempted to identify and decipher the writing. They had no success but after speaking with the indigenous peoples, they learned of a cave in which the locals described ancient structures.
A lost and ancient civilization was buried under the mountain. That cave dominated my parents to the exclusion of all else. They remained inside its dark foreboding depths for days at a time. If it were not for the kindness of a local family, I would have likely starved.
My parent’s last expedition into the caves lasted for weeks and they were long overdue. I was afraid they would not return. Finally my father emerged but something was wrong. He was covered in dried blood. Large black and red flakes of the stuff coated him, particularly around his mouth. It was not possible to tell how much of the blood was his and how much was not. His eyes were glazed over and his expression suggested his mind had snapped. I wanted to call out to him but his appearance stopped me.
He attacked a
native woman like some rabid carnivore. Men came to subdue my father but he was berserk with bloodlust, biting and clawing anyone who got too close. More than one man lost a chunk of flesh to his gnashing teeth. Finally, they shot him.
Before my father died some semblance of awareness returned to him. His last words to me were, “James, I have touched the face of God.” My mother’s body was never recovered.
Not all of you know, but all of this is in my records. I really thought I was past it but here it is all in my dreams. Right now, I still feel pretty good but deep down I know the seeds of madness are growing. I must admit that I am questioning the decision to let me dream. The data you gained gave you something to work with, I hope. Going forward I don’t think it a wise decision to let me enter torpor in anything less than a coma-like state.
I know that I was not the first choice for this mission because there was a question about the trauma in my past. The truth is, I was happy just to be the alternate. Bet I’m not the only one regretting I was tapped as a last minute replacement for this mission. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the mission alive. I am open to suggestions. Hargrave out.
2025-June-05 16:04:42Z Hargrave(Command module video): Mission Control that’s an excellent idea. I’ve already programmed the computer to wake Helen. Because we are reviving her two weeks early, she’s in for a bumpy ride so I’m bringing her out of it slowly. She should be conscious in thirty-six hours. I’ll be back in the sleep chamber by then, please say hello for me.
After we arrive at the Red Planet we’ll reassess my condition and decide if the mission continues. There is no turning around until we get to Mars. So as far as I’m concerned, we are a go. Helen is sure to have some questions for you, so don’t send anyone home early on your end.
2025-July-31 13:50:56Z Hargrave (Command module video): Mission control, this is Captain James Hargrave, month seven. I’m looking out over the Red Planet. It’s gorgeous, reminds me of a marble I had when I was a boy.
It’s good to be back. Looks like your plan worked. I feel great, mentally and physically. Both Helen and I are awake. It’s nice to speak to another human being face to face again. I apologized to Helen for having to pick up my maintenance shifts for the last two months.
Keeping me in torpor for the last part of the trip seems to have worked. Helen told me you guys kept her out for two weeks so she could monitor my situation and make any needed changes to my sleep chamber. Apparently, you guys adjusted the formula more than once. Well, whatever alterations you made worked.
So without further delay, here is the maintenance report. Both Helen and I are awake and doing well. All feeding tubes and IVs have been removed without issue. The command module has deployed its solar panels and all systems are powered up. Our landing window is coming up a little faster than we had planned, approximately forty-six hours. Preparations are on schedule with the Mars landing module and should be complete in ten hours. All we need now is for you guys to turn the key on your end and give us the green light.
2025-August-02 15:41:49Z Hargrave(Mars landing module Audio): Mission Control, this is Captain James Hargrave and Major Helen Dorset from the Mars landing module. We are releasing the docking clamps and preparing to disengage from the command module. By the time you receive this transmission, we will already be on the surface of Mars. Hargrave out.
2025-August-02 16:19:29Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text): Mission control we made it. We had a rough landing though. A freak wind tore off one of the chutes and blew us off course. Our landing was a little less than controlled. We made liberal use of the retro rockets but still left a trench a quarter mile long in the sand. You should have no problem locating our position via satellite.
The bad news is the landing module is a total loss. Our gear is scattered across the Martian desert and most of that is now useless. We have lost our uplink to the command module and have no way of receiving transmissions.
There is some good news. I was able to repair our transmitter but we aren’t able to generate a very strong signal. Until we reach the habitat, all communications will be in text format.
Mars global positioning has us almost ninety-six kilometers from the designated landing zone. Pressure suits are stable and the inflatable dwelling is set up and working. In the morning, we’ll collect our things and start walking to base camp. I’ll have a more detail status report then, Hargrave out.
2025-August-03 12:36:16Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text):We are all packed up and leaving for the Habitat. Both of us sustained heavy bruising as a result of the landing. We are in some pain but nothing we can’t deal with. If you are thinking we are lucky to be alive, you’re right. Wait till you see the wreckage from the satellite photos.
Our food and water situation could be better. The fact is we can’t carry all of it in one trip anyways. Our pressure suits are in good shape and the embedded voice-to-text systems are operational. Short range communication systems between the suits are functioning properly as well.
The dwelling requires a lot of juice to inflate. Pumping in all this thin Martian air takes a lot of time and electricity so I’m limiting our transmissions to approximately once every twenty-four hours to conserve power.
We have our work cut out for us. According to my map, we will have to circumnavigate a small unnamed canyon to reach base camp. Wish us luck. If we don’t make it to base camp in four, five days tops…well, you know what that means. Next contact in twenty four hours. Hargrave out.
2025-August-04 12:42:32Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text): It gets real dark here at night. The lander photos from earlier missions just don’t prepare you for it. A deep blackness cloaks the land. You can only escape it by looking into the sky. Phobos and Deimos are definitely the brightest objects but not nearly as bright as our moon. Beyond the moons, the sky is filled with stars. I’ve never seen so many. I can even see earth, it’s beautiful. A view like this wouldn’t be possible back home.
Our progress is slower than I expected. The low gravity combined with the pressure suits makes walking awkward. I am hopeful though. We should be able to reach base camp before we run out of supplies. Hargrave out.
2025-August-05 12:38:07Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text):Mission Control, we’ve had an accident. While traversing the rim of the canyon at what we thought a safe distance, the sand under us shifted and drained into the canyon, carrying us with it. Fortunately, as Martian canyons go this one is small. Still, if a fall from this height occurred on Earth we would be dead.
We did not emerge unscathed, however. Both of us received several sprains and multiple minor punctures to our pressure suits which we have repaired. Like I said, it was a long fall but we are alive.
While searching for a way out of the canyon, we discovered steps carved into the natural stone. They wind up the side of the canyon for at least a kilometer. They are not some trick of nature and had to have been carved by intelligent beings. They are old by any reckoning and we were stunned when we found them.
We climbed the stairs and made yet another discovery: buildings in the rocks. These structures were massive and composed of a substance I could not identify. It is possible that we only saw the tops of these structures. There could be a whole city buried here. The rock of the cliff face looks to have formed around the buildings in the remote past. That rock is millions, perhaps hundreds of millions of years old. We observed hundreds of sedimentary layers within the rock of the cliff face and it is likely this whole region was under water at some point.
As exciting as the find should have been, we both found the experience unnerving. The shadows here seem to move. A trick of the eyes, I hope. Helen swears she sensed a presence. It’s not a scientific conclusion, I know, but it felt as though we were being watched so we left as soon as we could.
Hargrave out.
2025-August-06 12:31:44Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text):Mission Control, our position is currently a day’s journey south by southeast of the canyon.
The satellites should be able to see us.
We made a second discovery shortly after we left the canyon. Rising five feet out of solid rock was a dark green octagonal pillar. It visibly pulsed with an unnatural green light when I touched it. The similarities of this pillar to the one in my dream are uncanny. I assure you it is real, I am not hallucinating. We have taken many pictures of the object; I’ll upload them as soon as we reach base camp.
This is a monumental find but we dare not linger. The incident at the canyon has added significant time to our journey, maybe too much time. We must keep moving if we are going to survive. We will return to explore the ancient city, but for now we must move on.
Hargrave out.
2025-August-07 10:37:16Z Hargrave(From the surface of Mars. Text): Mission Control, our situation is deteriorating. Exhaustion has taken its toll both physically and mentally. Helen insists that she has seen shadows moving just outside the reach of our lamps. When we broke camp this morning, we found footprints in the sand. They came right up to the dwelling then moved off in another direction. I wanted to follow the tracks to see where they led but thought better of it. Helen is terrified, it goes without saying I am a little unsettled myself. We have unpacked our side arms and are now wearing them. Helen has seen shadows in the distance for the past two nights and refuses to let me turn off the light. I confess that last night I thought I saw something as well.
The following facts are staring us in the face. Food and water are almost depleted. Our oxygen tanks are empty and we have had to resort to the chemical re-breathers. I am going to use the synthesizer to extract oxygen from the last of our water. This will use up our power reserves and we won’t have time to recharge the solar cells.
So here is our plan: we’re leaving everything behind except ourselves, our suits, and the Mars GPS. We’re going to march until we drop. Do us a favor and activate the habitat remotely, we’re not going to be in any shape to do it ourselves. I’m guessing twenty hours. If we’re not at base camp by then, we’re probably dead.
Lovecraft eZine Megapack - 2012 Page 48
