Marilyn pulled into her driveway and parked the van. “Alright, everyone out!” Their destination, the park centered in a roundabout street, was just around the corner. It was the core of their neighborhood--and, historically speaking, it was where every coronation took place since the foundation of the colony. With most of the colony attending, the road between them and the park would be packed with people.

Listen to the above soundtrack while you read Chapter 2 - Kha 1 As I open my eyes to the quiet northern morning, I am met with the unwelcome sight of a rat on the hastily boarded floor. It sits beside my rough cot of wood and hay, looking directly into my eyes with an expression of indecision. I blink sleep from my tired eyes and shift to get a better look at the menace who has surely eaten half my bread already. The cot creaks below me, dwarfed by my unnatural stature. The thing is barely two meters long, a full third of a meter too short and my blistered feet hang off the end like spigots for tap ale. I swat carefully at the little animal, careful not to hurt it. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. The little thing scampers into the darkness before I can even extend my fingers.

This is my true story and how it ended. If you don’t believe me, please visit planet Gilt, and ask for Stacy Linganore. So there.

6 am They were staring out the window, the video behind me three dead greenhorns. Cut down with a blade made out of bone. It seems they got that wish of theirs to see the game, but as victims. It was not pretty, crying, blood, guts. It was brutal and time-consuming. It was locked in an old tunnel, running, abandoning each other, like rats.

8:30pm – It’s a warm Saturday night, with neon lights, loud music, and smell of pizza in the air. I got to the rink just at 8:30pm for Bree’s birthday party. If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure why I came in the first place. These girls aren’t even my friends. We aren’t really interested in the same things. I feel like I’m just trying to conform to a standard that definitely won’t matter when high school is over. But, here I am.

Sergei Yurinov stared at the magnetic chess board with an intensity that betrayed reality. He already knew exactly what move he was going to make, and the next two after that. But he wanted to make a bit of a show for his American counterpart, to throw him off. Brett Mitchell had bet the Russian the next day’s spacewalk duties that he would finally best him in a chess match. Sergei had beaten Brett nine straight times – in the past week – but Brett was both stubborn and overconfident in himself. He was convinced he had found a flaw in Sergei’s play.

"Ah, this is Arula!" these were the first words Rubina said after waking up from deep sleep. On the viewing screen, there was a large image of a beautiful planet. Rubina’s eyes were glued to that image. She was transfixed.

9 am Up all night, I was chasing down the leads. My eyes locked on to a video taken three days ago. Our new hires, sitting in the cafe Odette, know as a place to get things on the darker side. Fixer and pimps, hang out here, procuring the ones with flash the naughties of toys.

Was this a good idea to enter an abandoned ship? Let alone on Mars! Though our scans said it was uninhabited, you'd have to admit anything alien could happen. Our scientist Sarah K. Fei discovered this crashed ship a month ago during an orbital scan. The ship since then has been dubbed “The Fei.” I personally would have preferred her middle name - Karima. The Fei had been permanently lodged on the mountainside. We believe because it’s circular red top matched that of the red clay of the Martian mountain that’s why it took so long for its discovery. Luckily, Sarah had uncovered a clue in the readings during a natural dust storm. I think she’s brilliant. For one major reason, on Mars, a dust storm will coat everything and because of its electrostatic properties, the particles will stick to surfaces they contact, so for her to decipher through all that was astounding. Who knows how long the ship's been here.

11 pm The sound of thunder rips across the Dome. Storm, shaking the world, storm awaking the globe. The only light that sick glow of telly blasting through my living room. I struggle, my eyes closing again, but another thunder blast, sending me upwards into the dark—one by one, the lights since my life signs. Forcing myself to my feet as I stumble towards the bathroom as the path lights up.

Before heading to bed, detective Blake brushed his teeth. As always, his thoughts drifted, and he saw himself caught in a fierce windstorm. In the scene, it was midnight, and the rain poured like buckets. His weak umbrella couldn’t handle the pressure and gave.

Chapter I — The Journey Begins Deep in the dark depths of space lives a fearsome race. Known as the Primordians they travel the galaxy leaving planets in their path lifeless and void. Erasing light from the depths of the dark universe and Led by 3 generals, these feared beings only answer to one…they answer to ‘the Darkness’…