Blue Shadows

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Sound had to have air to travel, that was the science behind it. However Louise felt a chill run through her while she was on her walk. She couldn’t tell if it was a true scream or just her imagination. She had just watched an old horror film recently. She looked out the vast windows at the small blue sphere that lay beyond the horizon. The Earth was setting and she would have to return to her family’s cabin soon. All of the lunar colonies had been originally inhabited by single scientists and astronauts here for research so that eventually more Earth born dwellers could join. The Selene colony was first, designed for testing how to mimic the atmospheric conditions of Earth while still maintaining the level of gravity the moon did. Jericho was the colony that tested the long term effect of life in a lessened gravity environment. Such things as whether or not children would survive in the colony, or if they could even be conceived. There were huge ethical hoops to jump through as part of that establishment, which made it one of the last colonies to be tested. Once it was determined after years of research and volunteer missions, the moon was deemed fit for human habitation.

Louise was walking through the observation paths of the Lyra colony, one of the 24 on the moon. She watched as the Mars ferry traveled across the distance between her and the Earth, on its destination to the research colonies there. Mars colony research had started five years earlier and her father was one of the scientists leading the terraforming efforts for eventual food growth. He and her mother were both lunar colony scientists who fell in love while completing their research. They were some of the first scientists to test the theories of conception and child rearing on the moon. In short Louise and her older siblings were experiments for the greater good of space travel and habitats. Louise heard another scream and a chill ran down her spine. She had not imagined that one. She turned around to see one of the domes on the horizon full of blue light, an abnormal color and not like any of their series of alarm lights. The colonies had an intricate system of lights that were used for communication and alarms to signal to the other colonies, but blue was not a color any of them used. The color faded and she heard another scream…

A buzzing feeling from her wrist pulled her out of her immediate shock and fright, when she raised the image to he face, her father's image appeared. "Lou, where are you? You --- get back --- our cabin! Something --- happening ---." His image froze and he broke in and out of understandable language. All of a sudden the screen went black and she lost his connection. This wasn't normal. Signal for colony communications was having problems? What was the cause of the blue lights? Were they under attack, and by who? Lousie knew she didn't have the answers, and obviously her father didn't either, but she knew that if they stood a chance at facing this unknown it was if they did it together. She turned on her heels and headed for her home as fast as her legs to carry her, watching flashes of blue light dash across the window from the neighboring colony.

Louise came through the door to see her entire family huddled around their family room. Her father, Casper, was sitting on the floor in visible shock, she didn't know how, but she knew her father had some answers to the questions she had been asking her self. Her mother, Emily, brought him a blanket and a glass of water and he cleared his throat for everyone to hear him. "The lunar base is under attack." Gasps filled the small room as the impossible thought was being uttered. "Before any of you ask, no I do not know what it is, and no I do not know what it wants with us. These are the facts that I have because I witness this happen. I was leaving into the airlock from the Selene colony, when I was suddenly pushed into the chamber. The door quickly closed behind me, but I watched through the small window to see who had shoved me. I was surprised that there was no one there, but I saw Dr. Anders crossing the hall across the room. Then all of a sudden a blue light flashed and a shadowed silhouette was visible through the light, when the light had faded I heard a scream that I can only assume belonged to Dr. Anders and she was gone. As I fumbled with the airlock I hoped that I would not be next, when I saw the light flash behind me again and I heard another scream. I called Lou as I was running across the surface-" he sighed, "I knew she was out on her walk, and I wanted her home safe. I was so worried when the connection dropped."

Louise stooped down until her face met her father's. "Don't worry Dad, I knew to get home. I ran as fast as I could. We all know I'm harder to get rid of than that" A short laugh broke out among the family members. Louise was the baby, and everyone treated her as such. "Well," Casper managed to croak out, "there isn't anything we can do tonight. I have reported these findings to high command and we will all investigate in the morning. For tonight, let's all just sleep in here, together, as a family. We are safer that way." Everyone looked at each other questionably, but went along with it. There was no harm in appeasing this request of his, plus it had been a while since the family had all spent a night in the same cabin. It felt like old times.

Sleep eventually found Louise, but not as early as her parents and siblings. She was thinking about the blue lights and the shadows that her father had described. She wanted to know more about what they were and what they wanted with the people of the lunar colonies. She woke to her father gently shaking her shoulder and her mother touching her face. "Lou, it's time to go investigate what happened last night, would you like to come too."

She nodded her head and followed her parents down the hall toward the airlock, the members of high command were already there and waiting. "Good morning sirs." Casper spoke with confident authority, something he was not able to do the night before. "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the recon and investigation team, as well as my family." Louise had gorwn up watching high command officials run the colony super structure. Many of them were in training while her father was researching, and they became friends. These men were closer to uncles to her, but she knew she had to be respectful of their authority positions while they were in public. They nodded their heads at the family, donned their suits and entered the airlock.

The walk between colonies was quiet, eerie and uncomfortably hot. No one spoke, all preparing for the worse outcomes from the night before. With no atmosphere to protect them, the sun was cooking them inside their suits. Louise felt like she would melt, space walks were never her favorite thing to do, and the solemnness of this one made matters worse. They entered the airlock for the Selene colony and let the door close behind them. The quiet hiss of air transfer signaled to the team to remove their suits, suddenly the doors opened in front of them into the large welcoming lobby. Their jaws hung wide open at what they saw. It was in pristine condition, looking like no one had lived there in years, and one the ground in perfect block lettering there was a small word written in all blue....

CROATOAN