MARZ | Book 1 | MARZ

by Davis, James

  “Look at that, everyone. It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Tanner asked his viewers as he held the camera up to the window for a full shot of the Earth. Comments started rolling in as he continued to hold the shot of the planet. He turned the camera back to face him and began reading the comments and trying to answer a few of them.

  “How long did it take to get to Mars?” Tanner read out loud.

  “With my ION drives the trip only took us three weeks each way,” he answered before reading another question.

  “Did you find anything on Mars?” he read aloud once more.

  “Uh, yeah, so a few days after we got there me and a few of the other crew were out on the surface looking around the base of one of the mountains when a massive dust storm rolled through. Anyway, we were too far from the rover to make it back under cover so we moved into what we thought was a small cave entrance. It turned out to be a stairwell that led down to a secret mountain bunker. Anyway, we found another tablet like the one that was found with the spaceman in Colorado. We also found five small metal tubes that have some kind of liquid inside,” Tanner explained to the viewers. He read through several more of the comments before stopping on one that sparked an idea. The comment read What was in the metal tubes?

  “We never did open the tubes so I have no clue what is in them. Actually, you know what,” he said looking around the room making sure he was still alone.

  “I’m going to show you one of the tubes right now. Hell, I might even open one with you guys,” Tanner said moving toward Rebecca's station. He saw her put the tubes in a plastic container and set them under her desk the last time he and Johnny had gotten into an argument about opening them.

  “Alright, guys, I’m going to set the camera down for a second so I can grab one of these tubes,” he said, leaning the camera against a plastic jar on the counter. He dropped down to a knee and opened the cabinet door. The plastic container was pushed all the way to the back of the cabinet so it couldn’t be seen unless you were trying to find something in the back.

  “Bingo!” Tanner muttered as he reached in and grabbed the container. He stood up and faced the camera holding the container so the viewers could see it.

  “Here they are. All five metal tubes. Let me get one to show you guys.” He said stepping off to the side to open the container. The lid popped open and he reached in and grabbed the metal tube on the far right. Tanner stepped back in front of the camera and held the tube up for the world to see. After giving them a few seconds to look at it, he tossed the tube into the air and caught it as he started to speak.

  “We found these in some sort of lab inside the mountain base. The rest of the crew are scared to open it while we are still on board Gungnir,” he said as he caught the tube once more.

  “You guys think I should just open it right now?” he asked, holding the tube between his thumb and index finger on either end so they could get a look at the length of the tube. He started reading comments again as he held the tube not realizing he was putting more pressure on the ends of it. He started to say something but a sharp pain in his thumb caused him to curse and throw the tube to the floor.

  “Ouch, What the hell was that?” He growled as he squeezed his thumb and glared at the tube while it rolled across the floor. He held up his thumb to get a look at it and saw a single drop of blood pooling up around a small hole in his skin.

  “What the hell?” He muttered, forgetting all about being on a live stream. He stepped over to the metal tube and picked it up to see what had poked him. When he held it up to the light, his jaw dropped open. A small needle protruded from the end of the tube like a syringe.

  “Oh, shit,” he said as he shook the tube to see if the liquid was still inside. When he didn’t feel the liquid moving around inside of the tube, he immediately got sick to his stomach. He had injected himself with an unknown alien substance.

  Chapter Eighteen

  8:14 a.m. Christmas Eve 2048

  Earth's orbit

  “Everyone ready for re-entry?” Roosevelt’s voice came through each of their helmet’s speakers. They all gave a thumbs up and sank back into their seats ready for the force of the atmosphere to push them back into their seats. Roosevelt pushed a few buttons on the instrument panel and then used the controls to line the shuttle up with their destination on Earth's surface. After getting the shuttle in the correct position he allowed the autopilot to take over for the first leg of their descent. Streaks of fire rushed past the viewing ports as the shuttle heated up and tore its way down through the atmosphere. After a few minutes, Roosevelt leaned forward and took over control once they could see blue skies. He slowed the shuttle down as they ripped through the clouds above Texas. Once he caught sight of the runway, he started slowing the shuttle down drastically for a smooth landing. Roosevelt lined the nose of the shuttle up with the runway and eased down on the controls until he felt the tires chirp on the asphalt. Once that happened, he began to apply more pressure to the brakes until the nose of the shuttle touched down.

  “We are on the ground everybody!” Roosevelt exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. Everyone but Tanner let out a cheer of joy as Roosevelt brought the shuttle to a stop in front of a large hangar. The scene outside of Gungnir was chaotic with reporters and photographers as the crew stepped down on the tarmac. Flashing lights and microphones were shoved into each of their faces as they made their way toward a large van. Tyler's voice sounded over a loudspeaker explaining that the crew would give statements the following day after they got settled in from their long journey. The five of them climbed into the van and waited for Tyler to finish talking with a few of the reporters. Tanner beat his hand on the window in an attempt to hurry Tyler up. He was not feeling well at all and he just wanted to get back to A51 and lay down. Finally, Tyler climbed in and the driver eased forward toward the exit. A half an hour later the van came to a stop outside of A51. They all climbed out and headed inside behind Tanner who seemed to run ahead of them.

  “He’s been acting really strange all day,” Rebecca said as she watched Tanner rush inside.

  “What do you mean?” Johnny asked. “He’s just been really quiet and hasn’t done a single live stream all day I don’t think,” she replied. Johnny looked at Roosevelt who shrugged and then back to Rebecca.

  “Maybe he’s just happy to be away from Johnny?” Erik suggested with a chuckle.

  “Could be. Lord knows, I’m more than relieved to be away from him,” Johnny replied.

  “I don’t think that's it at all. He almost looked sick,” Rebecca said concernedly.

  “He’s probably just feeling queasy from the landing.” Roosevelt chimed in. Rebecca shrugged.

  “I guess that could be it,” she said as they all stepped through the doors of A51. They all split off and went to separate rooms to get cleaned up before they had to meet with Tyler in the conference room to be debriefed. Rebecca went right in and got in the shower. When she got out, she started to unpack her personal lab equipment. She pulled the plastic container of metal tubes out of her bag and sat it on the dresser.

  “That doesn’t feel right,” she said, bouncing the container in her hand gently. She set the container down and popped open the lid to find four of the five metal tubes inside.

  “Damn you, Tanner!” She growled as she closed the lid and quickly put on her shoes to go and confront the man.

  “You ready to get some real grub man?” Roosevelt said, rubbing a hand on his flat stomach.

  “Yeah. That greasy cheeseburger is about to get destroyed!” Johnny said with a chuckle. Roosevelt raised an eyebrow,

  “Cheeseburger, huh?’’ he asked as a smile crept onto his face.

  “Damn right a cheeseburger! I’ve been wanting a fat greasy burger for a week now,” Johnny replied. Roosevelt nodded his head.

  “I think I’ll have a couple greasy burgers myself,” Roosevelt said as he walked out into the hallway. They made their way to the cafeteria and ordered their food before finding a
place to sit and wait on the right side of the room. The place reminded Johnny of a school cafeteria from his younger years. They sat and talked about what they were going to do when they got home until the cashier yelled their number.

  “I got it,” Roosevelt said, getting up to go grab the tray of food.

  “You see any of the other guys?” Roosevelt asked, taking a massive bite out of his first burger. Grease dripped down his chin as he chewed and stared at Johnny waiting for an answer. Johnny chuckled at his friend’s healthy appetite before shaking his head and saying.

  “Not since we all came in.”

  “Probably talking to their loved ones, I bet,” Roosevelt said.

  “That's my next stop after we’re done here,” Johnny said.

  “Mine, too,” Roosevelt replied, shoving a fistful of fries in his mouth. Rebecca slammed her fist against Tanner’s door and continued to shout until she finally heard his faint voice, “it’s open.” She stormed inside and looked down at him in his bed. His face was pale and sweat poured from his forehead and he shivered under a mountain of blankets.

  “Tanner, did you open one of those damn tubes?” Rebecca asked in a demanding tone.

  Tanner shook his head. “No. Why would you even ask me that?” he said in his weak voice.

  “Well, for one, there is a tube missing from the container I brought them back in and for two, look at you. You’re obviously sick as a dog. If you exposed yourself to whatever is in those tubes you need to tell me now before you pass whatever you have to the rest of us,” Rebecca said.

  “I didn’t take it,” Tanner said, sticking with the lie. Rebecca raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

  “Tanner, come on, man. I know you took one of them,” she said, standing there with her arms crossed. Tanner’s eyes closed and he didn’t say a word.

  “You need to answer me!” she demanded. When he still didn’t answer, she stepped forward and shook his shoulder hard.

  “You aren’t falling asleep on me!” she said. Tanner's arm fell free from under the blanket and a metallic tink sounded as something fell from his hand and rolled across the floor. She spotted the tube and then turned back to Tanner ready to give him an ear full for lying but Tanner still wasn't moving at all. She ripped the covers back away from him and pressed her first two fingers to his neck to check for a pulse. Feeling nothing, she ran out into the hallway and started screaming as loud as she could for help.

  “MEDIC!” she shouted over and over until Erik came running around the corner.

  “Get a doctor! Tanner is dead!” She shouted down the hall stopping Erik in his tracks. When he didn’t move right away, she screamed again,

  “Now!” Erik spun around and took off back the way he had come. Rebecca rushed back into the room and pulled Tanner's lifeless body down onto the floor and started doing chest compressions on him to try and get his heart pumping again. A few seconds later, a couple of men in white button ups, large medic bags and an orange gurney rushed into the room and pushed her aside.

  “What's wrong with him?” A black-haired man said as he tore Tanner’s shirt open and got ready to hit him with a defibrillator.

  “I don’t know. He was just talking to me. I think he ingested an alien substance we brought back with us from Mars,” she said, holding up the metal tube for them to see. The black-haired man rubbed the paddles together and pressed them to Tanner’s chest as he said “ Clear!” Tanner's body arched up and then laid flat back down on the floor as the second man started doing chest compressions again. Suddenly Tanner's eyes shot open and started moving back and forth. They had no color at all anymore. Only a milky white film over each orb. Tanner turned his attention to the black-haired man, raised his head and sank his teeth deep into the man's arm.

  Chapter Nineteen

  2:02 p.m. Christmas Eve 2048

  A51 Headquarters

  "Ahhh!" The man with black hair screamed as Tanner's teeth tore through his forearm.

  Tanner released the man as another, much younger man ran to his side attempting to pull him off of the first. Blood poured from his mouth and pieces of flesh fell out. He growled and turned his attention toward the newcomer. With a deep growl, Tanner lunged forward, and latched onto the young man's throat. The man released his hold on Tanner's shoulder and fell to the ground. The weight of his body tore the flesh and muscle of his neck, leaving strips of bloody tissue hanging from Tanner’s mouth. Blood sprayed from the man's neck as he gurgled and instinctively grabbed at the place where his throat used to be.

  Erik rushed into the room with three other men trailing behind him. He quickly moved toward Tanner, slamming his mass onto the struggling man and pinning him to the ground.

  "Restraints!" He shouted as the three doctors helped him pin Tanner to the floor. It took everything the four men had and they were still only barely able to contain the diminutive man. Tanner growled and grunted, clawing and snapping his teeth at anything that came near his blood-soaked maw.

  "Restraints!" Erik screamed, turning his head toward the black-haired doctor who was staring blankly as he ambled toward Rebecca. She backed up slowly as the doctor approached, putting her hands up in front of her. Abruptly, her back slammed into the wall and she scrambled to grab onto anything she could reach in an attempt to keep herself upright.

  "Ric---," she started as the man sprang forward, hitting her in the chest. She fell backwards, slamming her head into the wall behind her. She slid to the ground, the man still on top of her. Blood seeped from her head turning her light brown hair crimson. The man raked his fingers across her face, opening four deep gashes from forehead to cheek before opening his jaw wide and biting a large chunk out of her shoulder.

  "Get him off of me!" she yelled.

  Erik left Tanner, sprinting across the room toward Rebecca. With one hand he grabbed a handful of the man's black hair and with the other, he grabbed the back of his white lab coat, yanking with all of his might, pulling the man off of his friend. Blood spurted from the wound on her shoulder as the man's still gnashing teeth ripped the meat away. Erik pushed him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, holding out his hand to help her up.

  "I'll be fine, help them!" she exclaimed.

  "Shit!" a thin bald man yelled. Erik turned around to see the young doctor who had been relieved of his throat moments ago bowl through the three men still futilely attempting to restrain Tanner. He plowed into the nearest man, a thin bald man, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, and chomped down on the back of his neck. The momentum of the two men as they rolled forward knocked the other two men away from a struggling Tanner, who was now free of his bonds. Tanner scrambled to his feet and advanced on the two men.

  Erik straightened up and charged into the fray just in time for Tanner to sink his teeth into the side of one man's head. Blood quickly covered his face and head from the large wound. The man screamed and seemed to pass out as he watched his own bloody ear being chewed to small bits in Tanner’s mouth. Erik reached out and grabbed Tanner's shoulders. He gathered his strength and prepared to pull the man away.

  "Argh!" he shrieked as a deep, painful, burning sensation attacked his lower back and swept through his entire body. He let go of Tanner and grabbed at his back, feeling nothing but long strands of hair. He grabbed a handful of the hair and pulled it away turning around to face Rebecca.

  She growled and grunted, her milky white eyes, seeming to stare right through him. She lunged forward, mouth wide open and dripping with blood and saliva. Erik quickly sidestepped the attack and Rebecca flew past him, landing in a heap on the floor. He quickly surveyed the scene that had unfolded. Blood covered the previously all white room, people he had known for years were killing one another and attempting to kill him as well.

  He snapped back to reality as he felt that painful burning sensation again, this time in his left calf. He looked down to see Rebecca, still on the ground, her teeth buried deep in his calf muscles, her blan
k stare not even recognizable, and a constant growl that he was certain he had never heard before.

  "Get off!" he exclaimed, lifting his foot and smashing it into the top of Rebecca's head. He repeated the kick three times before she finally released his leg. No longer sure how he could help, if he could help at all. He turned and limped toward the doorway. He turned down the hallway and limped as fast as he could. His steps were quickly joined by a half dozen other sets of footsteps, echoing through the corridor as the growling, bloody monsters pursued him. Erik slammed into the wall at the end of the hallway leaving a bloody streak on the white paint. His body was beginning to tremble with each passing step. Sweat poured from his face as the Martian virus coursed through his veins.

  “I have to get help,” were the last words Erik Kunetsov spoke before slamming to the ground in a heap.

  “What the hell?” Johnny said as Erik burst through the door and fell to the ground. Johnny and Roosevelt jumped to their feet to help Erik but stopped in their tracks when several more people burst through the door making a beeline directly for them.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Roosevelt demanded as the group raced toward them. Growls and grunts were the only response they got.

  “We need to go now!” Johnny said, pulling Roosevelt toward the opposite door. The pair darted across the room and slammed through the door. They stood there holding the doors shut as the people inside smashed into the doors, trying to get to them. Blood streaked across the glass as the heads of their crewmates slammed into it.

  “What the hell is wrong with you guys?” Roosevelt tried to ask the growling, bloody people as they continued to slam into the door.