Outpost 321: Part 1

-Outpost 321: Part 1-

6 months after the incident

               "Outpost 321 respond." Krieg's commanding voice only got the response of static. "I repeat, Outpost 321 respond. I have direct orders to pass on and I am getting really sick of hearing my own voice. Outpost 321 respond." He turned a dial and pushed against his earpiece, hoping to make out a voice amongst the static. "Outpost 321 respond, will someone answer?" There was slight worry in his tone. If no one responded soon it meant that Outpost 321 had fallen: the twelfth military base lost that month.

               "You get anything, soldier?" The lieutenant stood with Krieg in the cramped communications room. Wires and flashing lights lined the walls and dust always seemed to cling to the air.

               Krieg ripped out the earpiece and threw it against the monitor. "Just static, sir." Frustration lined his regularly calm voice. "If I can speak freely, I think they are gone."

               Lieutenant Clofter's mouth tightened and twisted. "Walk with me soldier." The larger man spun on his heel and hastily left the room. Doing as he was ordered, Krieg followed after his leader. He was glad to get out of the small space and back out into fresh air. As a fully trained soldier, Krieg had no place as a communications expert. After the last technician had gone AWOL, almost everyone at Outpost 182 had been expected to fill in. Krieg hated it. Most days there was barely any communication. Silence and static across all channels.

               Krieg was led through the military camp. They were positioned in a field surrounded by a forest. A few months ago the trees would have been lush and full of pine needles but the Onyx Tide had changed that. The woods were now bare and the trunks were a sick grey colour. Dead yellow grass circled the encampment. Krieg could see the black tendrils of the disease sitting on the edge of the tree line. It was hard to not see it, since the diseased veins clung to everything. The outpost would have been overrun if it had not been for the mutts. Early on during the fall of the planet, it had been noted that the Onyx Tide left animals alone. It seemed to be scared of them. The only way to stay alive was to be close to a large animal. Every outpost had at least three dozen mutts to sit on the edge of the camp to keep the Onyx Tide at bay.

               "What do you think happened to the outpost, soldier?" Lieutenant Clofter narrowed his eyes at Krieg. "How did the Onyx Tide get to them when they had the mutts?"

               "Perhaps they forgot to rotate?" Krieg suggested, rubbing his hand across his buzzed, sand coloured hair. As of late, the mutts needed to be swapped every couple of days. The Onyx Tide seemed to grow more confident when the animals were familiar.

               Clofter rubbed his chin, considering the proposal. "I thought that as well,  but twelve outposts in one month is no coincidence. There is no way they all forgot to rotate." The Lieutenant paused in front of one of the many military tents that lined the encampment. He turned and met Kreig's eyes. "We need intel. Outpost 321 was supposed to send us their research on the Onyx Tide. It could very well be enough to take the disease down. Also we need to know what happened to these outposts. Private Haywind I am sending you to the outpost."

               "Yes sir." Krieg saluted without hesitation, but that did not stop a pit from growing in his stomach. Up until this point he had yearned for action but not like this. The Onyx Tide not only terrified him but the idea of checking out a fallen post left nothing to be desired.

               "You won't be going alone," Lieutenant Clofter confirmed. "Privates Colins and Roleen will be joining you and briefed shortly. You will be taking the lead on this mission. Make sure you get anything of interest to us."

               Krieg continued the salute. "Yes sir, thank-you sir."

               "Don't thank me. You leave in two days, be ready." Lieutenant Clofter shook his head and strode away from the lower ranked soldier. Krieg stood in front of the tent for a few minutes staring at the forest. He could see the Onyx Tide swaying back and forth along the dead branches of the trees. In two days he would be walking into the middle of the black goo. It was then he realized why Clofter had told him to not thank him. Privates Haywind, Colins, and Roleen had been chosen specifically for the reason that they were a small group. The lieutenant did not want to risk losing more soldiers than necessary. They were a suicide squad.

Part 2 Coming Next Week

               

Marianex Falls

-Marianex Falls-

-0 Years After the Incident-

               For the past month, everyone had been talking about this day. History would be made and the human race would step further into the future. People claimed that the three meteors racing for the planet of Marianex was a blessing.

               A seven block perimeter had been set up in the city to guarantee the safety of civilians as the plummeting space chunks grew closer. Over half of the city’s population had shown up to watch the event. The streets were flooded and everyone strained their necks so that they could look straight up at the quickly closing meteors.

               Sarah adjusted herself so that the man next to her would stop digging his elbow in her side. There was hardly enough room to breathe let alone get comfortable. She sighed and tried to focus her attention on the history being made. This day would forever be remembered and she would be there to witness it! Ten minutes ago the meteors had been nothing more than specks in the bright blue sky. Now, they were close enough for Sarah to make out much more detail. They were as dark as night itself. Sarah had assumed that trails of fire would have been plummeting out behind them; instead black entrails made up the tail of the comet. It looked like long strings of coal-coloured saliva flapped back and forth behind the meteor.

               Curiosity had always been the deciding factor in Sarah’s life. When she had dyed her hair a bright gold shade, it had been because she wanted to know what being a blonde felt like. When she had chosen to visit the city to watch the meteors it was because she wanted to know what to expect from them. Her family had advised her otherwise, but as always Sarah had brushed off her mother’s intrusive comments and let curiosity take control.

               A wave of silence washed over the crowd as the meteors ducked behind one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city. People were shifting back and forth anxiously now; the meteors would make contact any second. Sarah counted quietly to herself, waiting for the moment in which she would witness a whole new world.

               Seven blocks away metal and stone screeched and screamed as one of the meteors crashed past the side of a building. Sarah could not see it but she imagined the sight of the building being torn to shreds. Another second passed before a ground shaking explosion rocked the city. If the crowd of people had not been so close together they would have been thrown to the ground from the sheer force of the earthquake. A storm of dirt and dust swept down the streets, blocking out all vision as Sarah was forced to close her eyes. Five minutes passed before the dust finally settled.

               Even with all of the chaos, the city eventually fell silent. No one screamed or mumbled, they were too busy straining their ears. Sarah looked around at the crowd but no one glanced back. Their eyes were focused down the street as if they could see past the buildings that blocked vision of the crashed meteors. The harsh sound of gunfire ricocheted across the city. The crowd’s reaction was almost instant as screams escaped their lips and howled in response to the fired shots.

               Sarah’s ears rang and her heart raced. What had happened? Why was there an onslaught of shots? Her answers were soon answered. In one sudden sweep, the gunfire halted. A black wave of water crashed around the corner at the end of the road. The dark liquid fell and climbed over itself as it rushed towards Sarah and the people around her. Sarah could not understand what she was watching. Black veins were left in its wake as the wave of darkness quickly approached.

               The crowd around Sarah began to thin out as people fled. They pushed and tripped over one another as they did all that they could to get away from the city. There were a lot of questions to be answered but there was no doubt that the onyx-coloured wave was dangerous. Someone shouted at Sarah to run but she ignored the voice; her eyes were set on the quickly approaching disease.  Whoever had yelled at her cursed and left. It was not long before Sarah was the only one left in the street.

               Sarah did not break eye contact with the wave as it got closer. It was only a handful of feet away now. She could hear it bubbling. Sarah’s curiosity had taken hold of her once again. There was no way she could run.

               The weight of the wave falling on to her was more than enough to knock her back. Her pants ripped and her shirt became torn as she tumbled. Her skin felt like it was on fire and all she could see was darkness. Sarah tried to open her mouth and scream but could not form any words before being filled with the disease. It was consuming her, tearing away her flesh and destroying her from the inside out. Sarah felt every second of it as her skin disappeared and her organs vanished. Sarah had became one of the Onyx Tide's first victims. The planet had been taken.