And the Sands Turned Red

The earth as my Ancestors and Elders knew it had long since become something of a myth instead of reality. The Elders told of how our Ancestors had been warned time and time again that they were killing their planet but time and time again, they failed to heed those warnings. Their world was thrown into peril with nations warring against nations for control of remaining resources. Lost in the haze of war, humanity forgot about the long term effects of their nuclear holocausts.

All natural resources had been depleted. The water became so toxic all marine life died and floated to the surface. Radiation polluted the skies and soon poisoned the air. Man and animal alike died. As though that were not bad enough, the oceans began to boil and what few safe bodies of water they had were gone. That’s when the Elders say that our Ancestors came to the stars.

Unbeknownst to the majority of survivors there were groups of scientists, engineers, mechanics and much more putting all of their combined efforts and resources into building a ship, they called her ‘The Legacy’ because she was humanity’s last hope. The Legacy was built to be a generational ship, giving humanity a few centuries to try and find a new earth-like planet. That meant there were plants for crops, plants to feed the animals and also fruit trees. The animals were said to be creatures like chickens, rabbits, creatures that could multiply fast and be more cost effective in the long term.

This generation ship would also house a school for the future children where they could not only learn about the history that sent them into space but also learn from it. They would also be taught how to take care of the ship and when they were old enough they would be given jobs. Our Ancestors thought their plan was perfect and had they been given enough time to fully stock this ship, it would’ve been. But as fate would have it not all of our Ancestors were lucky in making it to the stars.

Apparently some of the others who weren’t going to be on the Legacy got wind of it and stormed the havens created by the scientists. Our Ancestors barely made it and with a little more than half of their full supplies. The first several years were hard on everyone aboard but slowly our Ancestors settled in and achieved peace and prosperity. Albeit for a short time.

They spent five hundred years roaming the galaxies for a new home. They had been plagued with one misfortune after another. First the Division where everyone divided into two factions, neither able to make decisions on how to further proceed as the Legacy was not meant to be in space forever. Then the Sickness happened. First it started with the animals, then it came for our people. One by one they fell.

Man, woman and child..

Elders and children were struck the hardest. After that they had to deal with food shortages until they could figure out how to farm something that wouldn’t die. They created a robust plant that I no longer remember the name of. It resembled something that looked like a potato but it had the nutrition of protein and carbs. Its roots gave other nutrients we needed. It could be boiled or roasted, mashed or cooked whole. It was versatile.

Almost a hundred years ago the Elders created the Keepers. They realized our history was disappearing. Those things they brought from earth were no more. How could they pass on the knowledge of how they came to be? What to avoid in a new world? What would they do if another sickness came through and wiped out all of the Elders? This was the reason they chose young Keepers who then grew up and when they reached thirty-five they began training another Keeper. I studied under my mother, just like her mother and her mother before her.

I am now the last Keeper.

We have less than one hundred people on board the Legacy which is also falling apart at the bolts. Every day we are forced to fix something quite literally out of nothing. Almost every six hours there was one alarm or another going off. I can’t remember the last time I simply heard silence. As if on cue a siren sounds and red lights flash, I looked out of the bay window.

We’re near an unknown gas giant, it was bright orange in color with streaks of gold. There were many moons around it, the closest to us was a beautiful pale blue. A rumbling beneath my feet brought me back to the present. That wasn’t normal.

“Interior Structure Stability has reached Critical Stages. Please head to the nearest Evacuation Pod.” The message repeated at least three times before I was able to get my body to move. That was when I felt the first explosion. It happened somewhere on the lower decks but had enough force to send me flying through the air as it blew out the floor behind me. I slid to a stop down the hallway, smoke and flames were everywhere. I could hear the screams and cries of those trapped.

I’ve never felt so powerless. I didn’t have a choice but to make my way to the escape pods. I reached them a moment later quickly climbing inside. Thankfully this one was single use only and I was able to quickly strap myself in the seat in the middle of the pod. I could see outside. It was no longer just darkness. There were chunks of the Legacy hurtling towards the little moon. I wasn’t even sure if that moon could hold human life. I guess I was about to find out.

“Launch Countdown!” I screamed as another explosion rocked the ship.

“Countdown Sequence Initiated.” A computer voice responded through heavy static, “Three.. Two…” Before the computer could say one another explosion happened, this one bigger than the others and sent my pod spiraling out of control. I clung to the harness for dear life. Tears stinging my eyes. This was not how I imagined I would die.

The pod shook with the force of a thousand tremors. I was almost certain that it would crack the glass on the pod. After all, they had never been tested to my knowledge.

Somehow time seemed to slow down and speed up, it felt like forever and instant till my pod entered the atmosphere of the moon. There was a giant body of blue moving liquid on the surface. Parts of the ship floated. My heart was beating faster and faster, I found myself wondering if it was possible for the heart to break free of the bones surrounding it. It sounded almost as bad as dying in a ball of fire.

Several moments later or maybe it was a few seconds I saw something else in the moving liquid. It held strange colors I had not seen before and it looked solid.

“IMPACTING in Five… Four… Three… Two… One..”

-Unknown Amount of Time Later-

“All Life Support Systems Critical. Please Exit the Evacuation Pod. I Repeat, All LIfe Support Systems Critical, Please Exit the Evacuation Pod.”

I don’t know how many times this message played before I fully came to. At first my vision was blurry but after blinking several times I could see all the lights flashing red. I tried to unclench my fingers from around the harness but I noticed it was harder to move. I thought maybe my hands and arms had fallen asleep but when I tried to move my feet and legs I could barely scoot them an inch.

It was just my luck the moon I crash landed on would have more gravity than what the ship did. About six messages played before I was finally able to unbuckle the harness letting it slowly slide off of me. Already it felt like a weight off my shoulders. A flash across the skies caught my attention, it was like a streak of bright white light feathering out into tiny veins. A second later the pod shook with the sound of a hundred explosions. I screamed covering my head. Fire was still raining down with pieces of the ship but surely that couldn’t be what was making that awful noise! Again and again this happened, each time felt and sounded louder than the last. Clear liquid hammered down onto the pod with enough force I thought the glass would crack. Once again I had little faith in the pod.

For the second time in my life I was absolutely terrified. I screamed everytime the explosion sound rocked my pod. The moving liquid that surrounded the mass of land beat against my back. I could only assume the pod had become wedged against something when it landed. I had not been awake so there was no way for me to know. I stayed huddled inside the pod willing the computer would shut up. I was afraid to go out until the explosive rumbling and streaks of light stopped. Only when the skies became clear could I see the beauty that had been hidden.

I could see the gas giant and several of its moons. There were rivers of different color lights moving as if they were alive and then there were the stars, so white and vivid. It was quite literally breathtaking.

I felt dizzy.

-Unknown Amount of Time Later-

“Oxygen Levels Critically Low. Please Exit the Evacuation Pod.”

Once again it was the pod’s automated messages that woke me. My body felt so heavy that all I wanted to do was close my eyes and go back to sleep but I knew that would be the end of me. I would suffocate if I didn’t get out of here. Slowly I forced my body to stand using the metal arms of the chair to push against. I was out of breath before I even attempted to walk over to the door.

I hesitated when I reached for the latch, was the air even breathable on the other side? I didn’t know, we hadn’t gotten the chance to find out. I didn’t feel I had much of a choice. I could stay in the pod and suffocate or I could go outside and potentially suffocate. I tried to lift the latch but my arms felt weighted and the latch barely moved. Now my heart was pounding and it felt like it was getting hard to breathe. With more urgency I tried harder to open the latch holding my breath as I did, after a few tugs it still didn’t move. The breath I had been holding came out in a hiss and for a moment black dots spotted my vision but I didn’t pass out. I gave the latch one last tug and to my surprise it opened. I waited for the lack of oxygen to kill me but I was greeted with a cool air whooshing inside and caressing my cheek. I could breathe albeit it was harder. I had to take shallower, slower breaths. I could hear unfamiliar clicking sounds and heavy footsteps. Slowly I stumbled out of the pod only to see darkness so deep it felt like a void. The only light came from the stars and the gas giant, it was even more intimidating outside of the pod.

Again I heard the clicking and more footsteps to my left. I swallowed hard, turning my head, my eyes widened in horror. There were two creatures standing at least ten feet tall with two muscular arms and a broad torso but then it turned into a strange bug-like body with four spindly legs. At the end of their lower half was a large barb. They were standing over an escape pod with long metal poles. One flicked his wrist and the pole’s end became needle sharp. It stabbed it through the pod. The other was holding the torch, it was bright enough I could see the sand and it had turned red.

My heart went to my throat and my stomach dropped. Without thinking I turned and forced my body to try and run. I felt like I was going in slow motion, my muscles burned with the strain and my lungs burned for air. I felt dizzy once again and then my legs gave out, throwing me into the cool sand. Every hair on my body was standing on end, I had an impending sense of doom, I knew I was going to die here. That fear kept me army crawling, if I couldn’t run, I’d fucking crawl.

I don’t know how many times I blacked out before I felt the cool touch of grass or what I assumed was grass. I knew little of earth’s physical appearance but I could only assume this planet had to be similar if I was still alive. I still had another 50 yards before I made it into the treeline. I was certain those creatures were behind me, they were going to stab that shifting pole straight through my back. My adrenaline was in overdrive now and I was moving faster than I had been a moment ago but I didn’t dare try to stand nor did I try to focus on breathing. I had to make it to the treeline before those things found me.

I didn’t want to die.

-Unknown Amount of Time Later-

I woke to the sound of a fire crackling and the smell of something unfamiliar cooking. My stomach growled in response. Groaning, I forced myself to open my eyes. I didn’t see the moons and planets. Instead I saw dirt, rocks and what appeared to be roots. I laid there in silence for several moments. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t run, I could barely breathe. All I could remember was not being able to crawl to the treeline. I went as far as I could before my body had just given out. Did I scream? No, that was senseless. That led to my next question, who found me and where the hell was I?

From the shadows a figure began to emerge, they were at least 8 feet tall, broad shouldered but this one had two legs like me As it came closer I realized that it was not human like me. It had a reptilian face resembling the raptors that were in a few of the children’s books on the Legacy. Its eyes glowed gold in the torch light it carried in its clawed hand. Further down it appeared human until you saw the knee down where it was slightly bent with the feet of a raptor, one larger claw. Its body had shiny black scales that glittered in colors I didn’t have names for. Strange enough it also wore a black body suit that appeared to have built in light armor. Around its neck was a silver collar like necklace with a small clear crystal in the center of the throat.

“What.. Who are you?” My voice quivered. I doubted it could understand me but I didn’t know what else to do. I was trapped on a bed of some sort with a dinosaur walking towards me. Being stabbed in the back sounded better than eaten alive.

The circle inside the necklace began to glow blue for a moment and then the lizard-creature moved its mouth. At first all I heard were sounds that sent chills down my spine but then it spoke,

“You are safe, I found you before they did. My name is Xen.” It said, “I have made food, you’re too weak to try and walk right now. Allow me to carry you?” I chewed my lip nervously, but nodded. It was right, I couldn’t do this on my own no matter how independent I was. It picked me up as though I weighed absolutely nothing, its muscles rippled faintly under the scales, they were softer than I thought they would be.

Xen placed me down next to a burning blue fire. I couldn’t stop staring at it, I had never seen blue fire, let alone fire without some sort of smoke. Xen watched me as I was mesmerized by the flame for a few moments before taking off a thick piece of a brown stuff off the fire and wrapped half of it in thick leather before handing it to me, “ This fire is from my home planet. It was meant to give us an edge against those who could spot or smell the smoke.”

I took the leather bound food from its clawed hand and took a bite. It was tender, moist and had a complex flavor I didn’t know how to describe. There was a thin layer of a cream colored crust on one side giving it a rich finish. It practically melted on my tongue and I couldn’t hold back the moan of pure bliss from such a treat. Xen let out a sound I could only assume was its version of a chuckle as it shook its head taking a bite with its razor sharp teeth and swallowing in one bite.

“There is more, slow down before you make yourself sick..” It said, the only way I knew it was amused was the way it looked at me with those now amber eyes, “Why was your ship above Nyx? Most know to avoid it and Hadres.. The large planet in the sky.”

I paused long enough to wipe the glossy juices from my lips, “We were.. Looking for a new home. This moon was our first time seeing a planet that might host life but before we could do anything.. It was over. Our ship was old, like.. Five hundred years old.. We came from a planet called earth but that’s about all I know in concrete..” I sighed staring at the meat, “I saw these.. Things.. They killed whoever was in the other escape pods.”

“Earth.. Its been a long time since I have heard of that planet. The one the humans eventually destroyed..” Xen nodded, “We call these creatures the Carnivores, they hunt, kill and eat everything that moves in order to grow their colony. There are only a few islands on this moon and they’re on them all.”

“What about you?” I asked softly, I felt light headed again but at least I was full. I couldn’t remember if I had ever felt a full stomach before, “I need.. To lay down..” I felt my body wavering and a moment later Xen was sitting behind me pulling my body up against theirs to prop me up and resting my head on their chest.

“It will take time for you to get used to the air and the gravity but you will be alright. My mate and I were on our way back from a mission for our government. We were pulled out of FTL and straight into Nyx’s gravitational pull. We crashed and when I woke up, she was gone. I knew from the scent she had died on impact but the Carnivores do not pass up a chance for a free meal.” Xen sighed, I felt its chest rise and fall.

“How come they didn’t take you?”

“My cloaking device had been switched on. I assume something hit it during the landing.” Xen leaned its head back, “The cloaking has saved me on many occasions. Our government never came and there isn’t enough on this island for me to repair the ship or build a new one. So here I am.” It chuckled then looked down at me, “Rest.. we can talk more once you’ve rested.” It helped me turn on my side so I was tucked into the side of it. Even though I had just met Xen, it was the first time I had felt safe, even amongst the danger.