Andromeda

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say…”

Looking out in the vast emptiness of space, there is nothing but darkness in between the galaxies. Every glimpse of light is nothing but a speckle. I had forgotten what it felt like to feel the sun on my skin or smell the fresh air. It’s not the same when you live on a spaceship floating through space.

It kind of reminds me of when I used to go deep sea diving. There was no sunlight there either within the depths of the ocean. Everything was foreign and unknown. I also never knew what I was going to encounter. The same could go for outer space.

We have been in space for some time, exploring what could possibly be out there. I didn’t know what to expect, and neither did my crew. Years have passed, and we haven’t found any form of life. That was until a transmission came over the intercoms. Our radio had been cycling through every frequency just to see if anything would come over.

We didn’t expect to hear a horrifying scream. It sounded almost human-like, but we aren’t anywhere close to home to receive that kind of transmission. It was clear and crisp. That scream still echoes throughout my head as I maneuver our craft towards the source.

At first, I thought it was one of our colleagues playing a joke out of boredom, but our onboard technician confirmed that it came from Andromeda, the next galaxy over. We were all shocked and surprised. Not knowing what to think.

Maneuvering our craft, I don’t know what to expect once we find the source of our scream. We have been up for days hoping something else would come through, but nothing. It was eerily silent.

I thought it could have been a collective hallucination, but we recorded it. I listen to it every now and then just to see if I can hear something else, yet all I hear is that blood-curdling scream.

“Hey, boss.”

Turning around, there Michael is standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee.

“You catch anything else on the radio.”

I watch as Micheal sighs and shakes his head in disappointment. He was more excited than the rest when we first heard the scream. Michael always believed that there were other beings outside of our own galaxy and partially why he participated in our space venture into the unknown. Unlike me and the others who participated because of the money.

“It’s alright, we have seventy-two hours before we enter Andromeda’s galaxy.”

His face lit up with excitement as he looked out the window and finally noticed the bright light beaming from the galaxy. There were no words that could express the magnitude of emotions that were rushing through his head. That feeling quickly as one of the other crew members came rushing in. His eyes were wide as he just stood there pointing.

“Th-the radio.”

Michael ran out of the room as fast as he could, with me not far behind. Bursting into the radio room, there on the speakers was a foreign voice. Speaking in a language none of us have ever heard. The being sounded terrified, and Michael was quick to try and speak back.

“This is Michael…”

Michael paused and stared back at me with confusion.

“They are not going to know what I’m saying.”

I just told him to carry on and see if anything comes from our response. Then just at that moment, the being's voice changed. We all heard Michael’s name being said back in our native tongue.

“Michael, help…”

Then the transmission went dead silent again. Michael did his best to try and get the being back on the radio, but nothing. We had seventy-two hours before we entered Andromeda's galaxy, and we had no way of knowing where to go.