by J. N. Chaney
Climbing back down to where Ricky and the mutt waited for me, I let myself fall the last few meters to the ground as I hung from the final branch.
“Some kind of ocean to the west. Mountains to the east and I can see the Orion, or at least what’s left of it. We need to head north,” I told Ricky.
“Great, great, and what did you see to the south?” Ricky asked, motioning behind us. “What’s down there? More forest?”
“It’s just a wall of mist, maybe a kilometer or two in that direction,” I explained.
“Sorry,” Ricky said, then wiggled a finger into his right ear. “It sounded like you calmly said a wall of mist is a kilometer away from us.”
“I did,” I repeated myself. “A kilometer or two.”
Ricky looked down at the mutt as if he were going to weigh in with an opinion. The dog looked back at him and opened his mouth with a grin.
“Well, let’s get the hell out of these woods,” Ricky said, looking behind him as if at any moment the trees were going to come alive and snatch him up. “You said the Orion was to the north? How fa—”
A scream ripped through the air like nails on a chalkboard.
I wheeled around, grabbing for my knife. Ricky did the same, fumbling for his own. The mutt growled, and the hackles rose on his back as he lowered himself to the ground.
Someone was racing from the south towards us, bleeding from a head wound. Her white lab coat was torn in half a dozen places.
Doctor Allbright caught sight of us and stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes were wide in panic. She was in shock, looking at me as if she didn’t know who I was.
“Doc!” I said, lowering my knife. “Doc, it’s okay! It’s me, Dean.”
Doctor Allbright blinked a few times. She licked at her cracked lips, then cast her eyes down to her hands. “I had them. I was about to pull them free, but it was too strong.”
I could tell something was wrong. She was dazed, maybe confused.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re safe now,” I coaxed as I elbowed Ricky in the side. “Put your knife away. She’s a friend of mine.”
“I don’t know, man,” Rick said, still pointing his blade at Doctor Allbright. “She doesn’t look right. What if a demon entered her body, or she breathed in some alien spores. You know, like in all those movies.”
“Rick,” I said with a growl.
“Okay, alright,” Ricky said, slowly lowering his knife. His eyes never left Doctor Allbright.
“Hey,” I said, making my way to her side. “Just take a few deep breaths and calm yourself. You’re safe now.”
I reached into my pack and handed her a water. She took it tentatively and half fell, half sat down on the ground. She lifted the bottle with a shaky hand.
Whether it was the water or my words, when she removed the bottle from her lips, she looked a little better. This close to her, I got a better look at the wound on her head. It was a shallow cut that would probably be fine with a few stitches. Head wounds always looked worse than they were. I knew better than most. I’d had a few dozen of them in my day.
“Th-thank you,” Doctor Allbright managed to say. She handed the water back to me. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“What did you see?” Ricky asked, coming up with the mutt.
The dog went to Doctor Allbright, sniffing at her legs and feet, then let off a low growl.
“Easy, hey, easy,” I told the dog, patting him on the head.
“It’s okay; he probably smells whatever is on me,” Doctor Allbright said, shaking her head from side-to-side, as if to clear the images from her mind. She took a deep breath. “I don’t know how to explain what I saw.”
“Well, figure it out and don’t take too long,” Ricky told her, then looked in the direction she had come from. “Mist can travel quickly, and I don’t want to get stuck in it.”
“We should get moving soon,” I said, slinging my pack from behind my back and opening it up to retrieve the med kit. “Can you tell us what happened to you?”
Doctor Allbright nodded. “I was in one of the larger ships when we disengaged from the Orion,” she said, looking past my shoulder, as if she were seeing the events as she spoke them out loud. “There had to be hundreds of us crammed inside the spacecraft, far too many if you go off the safety regulations. In the panic to get aboard, people were cramming themselves into whatever ships were closer, rather than follow proper procedure.”
She shuddered, imagining the chaos of the evacuation.
“There were so many people inside the craft as we took off. There simply weren’t enough seats or harnesses for everyone. I couldn’t even hear myself think. People were shouting and crying hysterically. It was horrifying.” The doctor winced as I cleaned her cut, using a spray I’d found in the pack.
“Sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay,” she answered. “The automated pilot controls took us to the surface of the planet. We watched the Orion break apart in a dozen or more pieces. There were escape pods everywhere in the sky, both the smaller spheres and larger crafts. We landed on the planet maybe a few kilometers south of here. We couldn’t see anything through the windows, there was so much fog. Someone impatiently opened the main doors before we could receive the all-clear that the air out here was breathable. The mist rushed into our craft at an unnatural speed, faster than I have ever seen before.”
Doctor Allbright paused. I did a decent job of cleaning out her cut, then placed a wrap of gauze around her head. Stitches would have to wait.
I looked over at Ricky. His mouth was hanging open. He was staring at Doctor Allbright as if mentally willing her to continue the story.
“I-I don’t know what happened from there.” Doctor Allbright swallowed hard. She ran her tongue around her lips. “People started—they started screaming and disappearing in the mist. The mist was so thick, I could only see a few meters in every direction. A panicked herd mentality overcame us like when a wolf is in a sheep pen. We just started running. We ran out of the craft. There were hundreds of us, maybe more.”
“Did you see what was taking the survivors?” I asked, unable to keep my own curiosity at bay. “What was it?”
“I don’t know, I really don’t know, and that’s the most disturbing part,” Doctor Allbright said, pointing to the wound on her head. “I tripped at some point and hit something on the ground. When I looked up, I saw a dark shape moving through the mist away from me. Whatever it was, it moved slowly, but I can’t recall the size or any discernable details. It could have been anything.”
“I’m never walking into mist again,” Ricky said out loud. “Never again.”
“I don’t know if I’m the only one that got away,” Doctor Allbright said. “I just kept moving. I ran until you stopped me.”
The suns shifted in the time since we found the mutt and Doctor Allbright. I guessed it would probably grow dark soon, but I couldn’t say for certain.
“You think you can walk?” I asked Doctor Allbright, replacing the medical kit and water containers in my pack. “After what you said, I think we should put some distance between us and whatever is in that mist.”
“I can walk,” Doctor Allbright said, rising to her feet. She stumbled for a moment, then regained her balance. “Let’s go.”
I took the lead with Allbright behind and Ricky bringing up the rear. The mutt galloped beside me, sniffing everything in and around our path.
The forest ahead remained the same. There was no noise, foreign or familiar. The suns descended overhead in unison. We marched on.
After an hour of quiet walking, trying to find our way, Ricky decided to share what was on his mind. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he started.
“That’s never good,” I said.
“I’m being serious here,” Ricky said. “What if that mist travels and spreads overnight? What if it works on a cycle?”
“You’re thinking about this too hard,” I said. “If that’s the case,
we can’t do anything else besides what we’re doing right now anyway. We head to the Orion and look for survivors. Iris or the Eternals will have a plan. Focus on the mission and put everything else out of your head.”
“I hope so,” Ricky said, looking back at Doctor Allbright and lowering his voice. “Did you see how the dog growled at her? He was excited to see us, but it wasn’t the same with her. I wonder why.”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to hear any of your alien spores theories,” I said. “We have enough real-life issues to deal with.”
We walked on as the day turned into night. I reached into my pack for a flashlight to help guide our way. Ricky did the same. The stars were brilliant in a way I had never seen before. As I scanned the horizon for familiar constellations, I paused, realizing that I was no longer home. I was no longer on Earth. My stars were gone, never to grace my eyes again. Whatever shapes we drew in the heavens would be new and different now, given new stories and a new history to them.
That was only if we could survive the night, of course.
I had to remind myself more than a few times to keep my focus on the thinning trees around us. We had been walking for hours. My stomach reminded me that dinner had come and gone.
“Do you think we put enough distance between us and the mist?” Ricky asked after a while. “I don’t know what time it is, but it feels like we’ve been at this all night.”
“I agree,” Doctor Allbright said as she took in the area around us. “We’re out of the woods or very close to it. Perhaps some food and rest will help. We can finish the journey back to Orion tomorrow.”
I wanted to protest, but my legs were already killing me. Plus, the darkness made seeing the Orion impossible. For all we knew, we were heading in the wrong direction.
“All right,” I said reluctantly. “Let’s find somewhere to rest and get some food in us.”
Our campsite was meager at best. We found one of the few trees that remained in the area. The landscape had transformed into open plains of grass and sloping hills. We gathered at the base of the tree, taking out the protein bars and water bottles. I frowned as Ricky opened a bar for the mutt.
“He needs to eat too,” Ricky said, catching my eye.
Even though Ricky was the one feeding the dog, the mutt came over to consume his treat next to me.
“Ah, come on, I was the one that gave that to you,” Ricky said.
The mutt ignored Ricky. He braced the protein bar in his paws and went to town on it as if it was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted.
I opened my own, ready to take a bite, when the holo pad went off.
An unknown voice came through, saying something inaudible before ending in static.
26
We all stopped and looked at one another. Ricky was mid-chew. Doctor Allbright put her bar down. She was the first to find her voice.
“Was that Stacy? It sounded like Stacy Wil—”
The holo pad went off again in my pack. I dug it out, trying to listen to the words coming from the transmission.
“Can any—hear me? I rep—can anyone—this is—Wilson of the—Orion.”
I grabbed the holo pad a little too eagerly. It was great to hear her voice, and I was a bit surprised at myself for feeling such a sense of relief.
“Stacy, it’s Dean, can hear you me?” I asked, pressing the button on the pad to speak to her. “Can you hear me?”
“Dean!? Dean, oh thank—where are you?”
I looked around my small group for an answer to that question.
“On an alien planet.” Ricky shrugged.
“Tell her just north of the forest where it ends,” Doctor Allbright suggested.
“We’re on our way to the Orion on the very north end of the forest,” I told her, hoping that would make sense to her. I had no idea where she had landed. “I think you might be close. The range on the holo pad, I don’t think it’s very far.”
“I can send—flare,” Stacy said on her end. “Look for it.”
There was no need to repeat her words. Ricky and Doctor Allbright were already jumping to their feet and searching the night sky.
A moment later, a red streak erupted from the canopy of trees a few kilometers to our left. The flare shot to the heavens like a beacon of hope.
“We can see you,” I said excitedly over the holo pad. “You’re just a few klicks out. We’ll head to you.”
We followed the tree line west for no more than twenty minutes, when we saw the bright lights of the flashlights. A wave of relief hit me as I realized Stacy wasn’t alone. She had hundreds, maybe even thousands of survivors with her.
Shouts rang out from the big group as we approached in the darkness.
“It’s okay, it’s us!” Ricky yelled back to them. “Don’t shoot!”
“Ricky, is that you?” Boss Creed asked in his baritone voice. “Dean?”
Boss Creed had never been a more welcome sight than he was in that exact moment as he walked forward to meet us with a smile. “I should have known you two would be amongst the survivors.”
Ricky smiled up at the large man as we approached, wrapping him in a hug. Boss Creed looked puzzled, then melted and patted Ricky on the back.
Other survivors from the crash surrounded us, asking what happened, as Doctor Allbright walked away to talk to someone she knew.
“Dean,” Stacy said, breaking away from the group. “Dean, you made it! I was so worried you were sucked out of the ship when the hull was breached.”
We stood there for an awkward moment, just looking at one another. Then one of us—I’m not sure which one—reached in to hug the other. Every part of me was grateful she was safe, and it felt wonderful to hold her in my arms.
“Well, it’s about damn time you gave that girl a hug. It only took us being blown out of the sky,” Ricky said, and as I looked around, everyone was grinning. I gently pushed Stacy away with a cough to cover my embarrassment.
“So, uh, what happened to you? Where did you land?” I asked, trying not to seem as awkward as I felt.
“There’s a beach a few kilometers back,” Stacy explained, pointing with an open hand the way she had come. “I was on one of the larger escape crafts. We touched down on the beach. When we saw the Orion in the distance, we started to travel toward it, but it’s too dark now to see much. What happened to you?”
Everyone was eager to hear our story. I let Ricky tell most of it. Doctor Allbright relayed her encounter with the mist again. A thought crossed my mind that maybe the events surrounding her landing should be edited. People were already worried enough about being on an alien planet.
I decided against it. If nothing else, these people needed to know that under no circumstances were they supposed to venture into the mist.
While Doctor Allbright shared her story with those gathered, I took the time to search the area and see how many survivors Stacy had found along the way. Unlike me, she had come across multiple landing crafts and escape pods. It was dark, but I could guess the group she traveled with was near a thousand.
When Doctor Allbright finished, murmurs rippled across those gathered.
“It’s important that we understand there is no need to panic right now.” Stacy raised her voice for everyone to hear. “We’re headed toward the Orion and should be there tomorrow. Iris and the Eternals will have a plan. We’re going to get off this planet and back on track.”
“How do you know that?” someone asked in the dark.
“What if the Eternals are dead?” a woman shouted.
“Why should we trust them again? Look what happened to us this time,” a man pointed out.
Shouts of agreement grew. If someone didn’t do something soon, the mob mentality would take over and who knew what would happen then.
“Listen up!” Boss Creed roared. “If anyone doesn’t want to go with us to the Orion, there are no chains on your feet forcing you to do so. If you want to go have an adventure in the mist or sit on your ass and
play in the dirt, be my freaking guest. We’re going to the Orion tomorrow because that’s our best bet of survival and getting off this god forsaken rock.”
Boss Creed’s years of experience managing others worked perfectly in this situation. He was commanding and used to being obeyed. Everyone around us hushed.
“Let’s get some rest,” Stacy said, picking up where Boss Creed left off. “We’ll start early tomorrow and hopefully reach the Orion with a few hours of hard travel.”
Those gathered nodded. The impromptu assembly meeting broke up.
“Looks like you found a new friend.” Stacy kneeled beside me and began to ruffle the mutt’s ears. “You’re a big boy. You’re a sweet boy.”
The dog loved the attention, rolling over on his back, and his tongue fell out of the side of his mouth.
“What’s his name?” Stacy laughed before going on to stroke the underside of his fluffy belly.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’ve just been calling him Dog.”
“What? No way, he needs a name,” Stacy insisted.
“Okay,” I said with a shrug. “You name him.”
“No, he’s your dog,” Stacy insisted.
“He’s not my dog, but if it’ll make you stop, then fine.” I sank to my knees and sat on my heels. “I guess we can just call him Mutt. He doesn’t know the difference and that’s pretty accurate.”
Stacy raised an eyebrow but then chuckled. “Okay, Mutt it is.”
Everyone was so exhausted; the rest of the night didn’t last long. Boss Creed organized a watch of volunteers that would take shifts through the night.
“I can take a shift,” I said, going up to my previous manager. “Put me in the rotation.”
“You look like hell, kid,” Boss Creed said. He craned his neck forward in the dark to get a better look at me. “Yup, like death warmed over.”
“Hey, man, cut me some slack. I’ve been nearly blown up, ripped out of a colony ship, and crash-landed on an alien planet.”
“Exactly why you need rest.” Boss Creed dismissed me with a wave of his open hand.