"AAAGHH!" exclaimed Eve in excitement as she walked through the front door. "What's wrong? Are you OK?" Chase, her new husband, asked with great concern as he rushed through the house to greet her. "We won! We won the contest!" Eve cried, barely able to form words.
"What contest? I don't remember entering any contests lately." Chase mused, thinking about all the things they had done recently and entering a contest was not something that popped up.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly, the letter only states that we won and we have to do some tests before we are able to accept the prize." Chase was ex-military and he knew when something wasn't right, but his wife was happy and he didn't want to ruin it for her.
Chase picked up the letter that Eve had carelessly thrown onto the table in the midst of her excitement. As he read through it he noticed that the sender had provided a phone number at the bottom of the letter, with an address he did not recognize at the top. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, but when the woman on the other end of the line answered he started feeling uneasy.
"MSES, Mars' Space Exploration Station, how may I help you?" said the woman.
"Hello, my wife and I received a letter saying that we won a contest, but I don't remember entering any contest, and most certainly not one for space exploration. I think there may be a mix-up." Chase explained.
"There has not been any mix-up sir, you and your wife have been randomly selected to do some experiments. Please come into our main office for testing and we will tell you what steps to take next. Does tomorrow work for you?" the woman countered.
"Uh, yeah that should befine. Thanks." Chase hung up the phone. He thought it was strange that the woman never even asked for his name, yet still knew exactly who he was. He also thought it was unusual that the letter said they had won a contest, but the woman claimed they were randomly selected. Chase did not like this.
*****
The couple was informed that they were to go into space within two weeks. And it was a very long two weeks at that. Eve and Chase were booked with appointments, meetings, and constant testing, to make sure they were physically fit and mentally sound for the trip. They met with the crew and doctors that would be accompanying them on their voyage. They met with several scientists who explained what was expected of them and what they should do in case of basic emergencies. Ground control explained how the shuttle worked and how long they should be up there. It was exhausting for the couple. They were set to leave the next day and Eve couldn't wait. She was so excited about the trip that no matter how hard she tried to sleep, she couldn't. Chase was awake as well, but not for the same reasons?
*****
"Wow," Eve breathed in disbelief. "Isn't it beautiful, honey?"
"It's something else, that's for sure." Chase replied. They were finally on the shuttle, looking out the window at their home planet, Mars, and it was incredible from this view. Everything seemed so different looking at the galaxy from inside of it, seeing the stars beside them. "So what exactly are we supposed to do on this trip?The scientists never gave any specifics." Chase asked the Captain.
"Well Mr. Duncan, we would like you to perform a very important experiment that may give us the answer to our future. I will ask that you stay away from the lab in the back though. You will do your research, write a report, and submit it to me at the end of the day." the Captain replied, with an eerie tone that sent a shiver down Chase's spine.
"What kind of experiments exactly?" Eve probed. She wasn't sure how to feel about the Captain. He had a way about him that screamed 'trouble', unlike the small five man crew that had come with them, who were very nice. They were smart and caring, and they showed much admiration in their work.
"Oh, just a small things to see what life can survive on the forbidden planet". replied the Captain, whose words were chilling. The shuttle had only been in space for two days and yet Chase had such a bad feeling in his gut as he watched the Captain walk away. His instincts told him he needed to get off this shuttle, that him and his wife were in serious danger. That everyone on this shuttle was in danger. He needed to know what this was actually about, he needed answers. While trying to figure out what the Captain meant by "forbidden planet", the shuttle started to shake.
"It's alright folks, just a little turbulence is all." the Captain reported through the speakers. Turbulence, Chase thought, didn't feel like it. He has been on several different types of aircraft and has never felt anything like this before, this was violent, almost like a giant had picked up the shuttle and started playing with it. As if reading hiswife's mind, Chase took Eve's hand and nearly dragged her to their sleeping quarters. "Chase, I'm scared. What did he mean by 'forbidden planet'?" Eve asked nervously.
"I don't know sweetheart, but I promise I will find out. In the meantime, stay away from the Captain. I don't trust him, and I don't think you should either." Chase's response didn't make Eve feel any better, in fact, she was even more scared. She knew that her husband used to be in the military and wasn't usually afraid of anything. He might sound calm and collected, but on the inside he was just as worried as her. "Don't worry, I will keep you safe", he whispered in her ear as he held her close.
*****
It has now been two months on the shuttle and Chase was starting to notice the Captain's increasingly odd behaviour, he was whispering to the scientists, sneaking in and out of the lab, talking to himself when he thought no one was around to hear him, and he started looking more ill with every passing day. And now that they had figured out what the 'forbidden planet' was they thought it very much strange. They were brought aboard the shuttle two months ago to conduct experiments on Earth, to see what life still inhabited the planet. What they did not know was that the Captain already knew what was there.
Since landing on the planet, the Captain became very ill and it was obvious he needed medical attention, so everyone did their part in the experiments to gather samples and head back to the shuttle. No one knew what had caused the illness though because no one else was feeling any of the same symptoms. Other odd things have been happening too, things were going missing, thecrew was acting strange, and Eve began cowering and was always nervous of something.
Once everyone had re-boarded the shuttle Eve decided to go for a nap, she had a terrible headache from the drastic change in atmospheres.
"Chase!!" Eve screamed. Chase ran as fast as he could to find where the scream came from. When he found Eve, she was hiding in the corner with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head tucked into her lap.
"Oh my god! What happened?" Chase asked with growing worry when he saw how pale her face was. It was like looking at a ghost, like she was looking through him, not at him.
"It was here? It looked at me? It was here!" Eve screamed between sobs.
"What was here? What did you see? Talk to me Eve, please!" he prodded.
"Don't let it get me!!" she yelled. Chase was unsure of what she was talking about and even more unsure of what to do. How was he supposed to protect her if he didn't even know what she needed protecting from? So he did the only he could think of at that moment. Hold her.
"OH MY GOD!" the scream travelled clearly through the shuttle. Both, Chase and Eve looked at each other in confusion. They stood up and started walking slowly toward the sound. They reached a door and opened it? "Oh. My. God." whispered Eve with a quavering voice. She turned to Chase with a pale face and noticed the he was no longer beside her, but had knelt down next to the mutilated body.
"We need to get off this shuttle as quickly as possible." Chase's voice was shaking with fear. He feared that if they did not find a way off this shuttle, they wouldnot survive the next three weeks with whatever did this. The couple left the room and ran to other side of the shuttle where they would find the Captain.
"Captain, we need to turn around and head home." Chase demanded.
"We can't," the Captain started to explain, "we have no power and we have lost all contact with base control".
"What do you mean we have no power?!" Chase was trying to stay calm but he couldn't. "How is that possible? You better find a way to get this machine back in the air!"
"Look," said the Captain, "it is already too late."
"What do you mean it's too late'?!" Eve was getting very angry with the Captain. She was also frightened and couldn't keep it from showing. "There is something on this shuttle, Captain! One of your men is dead! Does that mean nothing to you!?" Eve shouted. She had already come face to face with this creature and she feared that the next time it saw her, she would die.
Chase was right, they had to get off this ship. Now.
*****
Eve and Chase awoke the next morning only to discover the main door to the shuttle was wide open. They assumed the remaining crew had taken their chance and escaped, forgetting the door in their haste. "Let's go find the Captain, see if he is still here." Chase said as he walked to the head of the ship to see the captain. Only the Captain wasn't there. They searched the room, trying to locate him. Chase was about to leave the control room when he stepped in something wet. Wet, sticky, and thick. Blood, Chase thought. "Look away," he told Eve.
"What? Why?" She asked. "What did you find?"
"Look away!" he yelled.
With Eve looking the other way,Chase looked further until he found the source of the blood. It belonged to the Captain, who was stuffed into an open closet with his stomach missing.
"We need to leave!" exclaimed Chase. "Do not leave my side, we're going to find a way off this thing. There has to be some sort of escape pod, hopefully it works." they searched the ship but never found what they were looking for. "Let's head back to the command room, I'll see if I can find the power issue and fix it." On their way back to the control room they heard the floor creaking behind them. Footsteps?
They were being followed. Chase had a bad feeling about it, they hadn't seen the rest of the crew since last night, they just thought the crew had escaped. But, after what they had seen, they retracted that thought and now assumed that they were all dead. They had reached the head of the shuttle but the sound they heard in the hallway had not ceased. In fact, the sound had grown even louder as, whoever was following them, had gotten even closer."It's the creature!" cried Eve. Chase tried to grab her and flee to safety, but Eve was frozen in fear. She wouldn't budge.
Chase finally realized what Eve was talking about the other night. This creature was in front of him and he couldn't believe his eyes. The beast was ugly, with long skin-like pipes running down its face to its chest. It was hairy, and hunched over with a pushed-in face and pig-like nose. It must have been about 8 feet tall and incredibly strong. It looked shiny, almost as if it was wearing armor. "Eve! Run!" screamed Chase in a panic rising.
But Eve would still not move. Frustrated that hiswife was still staring at this creature, he ran toward the beast with angry fists. He started attacking the creature with all his might but the beast wasn't fazed. Its eyes were fixated on Eve and her heart beat faster and faster as the beast started moving toward her. She tried to run but her legs refused to obey, she was paralyzed. Chase was doing everything he could to try and distract the creature while Eve fled but the beast had no interest in him.
Eve was now only a few inches away from the beast and its alien looking face, it was threatening her, with its eyes. '' What do you want?" she cried, "why are you doing this?!" Eve tried to be brave but her voice betrayed her. Of course the beast didn't answer, it probably didn't even understand her. The next thing she knew she was being thrown across the room, hitting the wall on the other side. Chase tried to run to her side as fast as he could. Only he didn't get to her before the beast grabbed him and threw him over its head, sending him landing beside Eve. Looking at her he wished she was safe, but she was knocked out and there was nothing he could do. The beast was way too big.
Chase tried to think of what to do, but the only option seemed to be to punch and kick, and so he did. A hard kick to the ribs of the distracted beast dropped it to its knees, Chase took advantage of the suddenly small beast and started wailing on it. The beast was much quicker than Chase though. One punch to Chase's stomach sent him sliding three feet back. He was desperate to bring this creature down, he knewthis creature had to be stopped before it did any more damage. It had already caused enough damage to his wife and that angered Chase more than anything. He braced himself against the wall, prepared to launch at the beast and take him down. He jumped on the creatures back and attempted to choke it.
This angered the beast even more, he grabbed Chase by the arm and started throwing him against the floor. It was the worst pain he had ever felt as he reached for his broken shoulder. He looked over at Eve who was now gaining consciousness. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, ease her whirling mind. Chase was determined to destroy this monster and leave this place. He got up one more time, mustering all his strength and charged at the deadly creature with everything he had, but the beast barely budged an inch. Chase looked around the room for something, anything, he could use as a weapon against this thing. Finally, his eyes caught something shimmering and he ran to grab it. The beast was now closing in on him, growling in anger. Chase grabbed the long, heavy steal pipe and started swinging as if his life depended on it. Because it did.
After what felt like an hour of swinging and slashing, the weapon connected with the creatures skull, cracking it open with a loud CRACK! as blood and bone sprayed the room, and Eve's face. She had just stood up to help her husband but now she was just standing next to the beast, looking disgusted and feeling nauseous. Chase threw his weapon to the side and grabbed his wife, hugging her as tight as he could. They would leave this place, and they would never forget this expedition. But fornow, they were stuck on the shuttle, in the middle of the forbidden planet, until they could find a way home.
At least the beast could no longer hurt them, or anyone else. They were alone now... Chase's thought was cut off by a loud, ear-shattering growl coming from outside the shuttle. "Run"...
"What contest? I don't remember entering any contests lately." Chase mused, thinking about all the things they had done recently and entering a contest was not something that popped up.
"Well, I'm not sure exactly, the letter only states that we won and we have to do some tests before we are able to accept the prize." Chase was ex-military and he knew when something wasn't right, but his wife was happy and he didn't want to ruin it for her.
Chase picked up the letter that Eve had carelessly thrown onto the table in the midst of her excitement. As he read through it he noticed that the sender had provided a phone number at the bottom of the letter, with an address he did not recognize at the top. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, but when the woman on the other end of the line answered he started feeling uneasy.
"MSES, Mars' Space Exploration Station, how may I help you?" said the woman.
"Hello, my wife and I received a letter saying that we won a contest, but I don't remember entering any contest, and most certainly not one for space exploration. I think there may be a mix-up." Chase explained.
"There has not been any mix-up sir, you and your wife have been randomly selected to do some experiments. Please come into our main office for testing and we will tell you what steps to take next. Does tomorrow work for you?" the woman countered.
"Uh, yeah that should befine. Thanks." Chase hung up the phone. He thought it was strange that the woman never even asked for his name, yet still knew exactly who he was. He also thought it was unusual that the letter said they had won a contest, but the woman claimed they were randomly selected. Chase did not like this.
*****
The couple was informed that they were to go into space within two weeks. And it was a very long two weeks at that. Eve and Chase were booked with appointments, meetings, and constant testing, to make sure they were physically fit and mentally sound for the trip. They met with the crew and doctors that would be accompanying them on their voyage. They met with several scientists who explained what was expected of them and what they should do in case of basic emergencies. Ground control explained how the shuttle worked and how long they should be up there. It was exhausting for the couple. They were set to leave the next day and Eve couldn't wait. She was so excited about the trip that no matter how hard she tried to sleep, she couldn't. Chase was awake as well, but not for the same reasons?
*****
"Wow," Eve breathed in disbelief. "Isn't it beautiful, honey?"
"It's something else, that's for sure." Chase replied. They were finally on the shuttle, looking out the window at their home planet, Mars, and it was incredible from this view. Everything seemed so different looking at the galaxy from inside of it, seeing the stars beside them. "So what exactly are we supposed to do on this trip?The scientists never gave any specifics." Chase asked the Captain.
"Well Mr. Duncan, we would like you to perform a very important experiment that may give us the answer to our future. I will ask that you stay away from the lab in the back though. You will do your research, write a report, and submit it to me at the end of the day." the Captain replied, with an eerie tone that sent a shiver down Chase's spine.
"What kind of experiments exactly?" Eve probed. She wasn't sure how to feel about the Captain. He had a way about him that screamed 'trouble', unlike the small five man crew that had come with them, who were very nice. They were smart and caring, and they showed much admiration in their work.
"Oh, just a small things to see what life can survive on the forbidden planet". replied the Captain, whose words were chilling. The shuttle had only been in space for two days and yet Chase had such a bad feeling in his gut as he watched the Captain walk away. His instincts told him he needed to get off this shuttle, that him and his wife were in serious danger. That everyone on this shuttle was in danger. He needed to know what this was actually about, he needed answers. While trying to figure out what the Captain meant by "forbidden planet", the shuttle started to shake.
"It's alright folks, just a little turbulence is all." the Captain reported through the speakers. Turbulence, Chase thought, didn't feel like it. He has been on several different types of aircraft and has never felt anything like this before, this was violent, almost like a giant had picked up the shuttle and started playing with it. As if reading hiswife's mind, Chase took Eve's hand and nearly dragged her to their sleeping quarters. "Chase, I'm scared. What did he mean by 'forbidden planet'?" Eve asked nervously.
"I don't know sweetheart, but I promise I will find out. In the meantime, stay away from the Captain. I don't trust him, and I don't think you should either." Chase's response didn't make Eve feel any better, in fact, she was even more scared. She knew that her husband used to be in the military and wasn't usually afraid of anything. He might sound calm and collected, but on the inside he was just as worried as her. "Don't worry, I will keep you safe", he whispered in her ear as he held her close.
*****
It has now been two months on the shuttle and Chase was starting to notice the Captain's increasingly odd behaviour, he was whispering to the scientists, sneaking in and out of the lab, talking to himself when he thought no one was around to hear him, and he started looking more ill with every passing day. And now that they had figured out what the 'forbidden planet' was they thought it very much strange. They were brought aboard the shuttle two months ago to conduct experiments on Earth, to see what life still inhabited the planet. What they did not know was that the Captain already knew what was there.
Since landing on the planet, the Captain became very ill and it was obvious he needed medical attention, so everyone did their part in the experiments to gather samples and head back to the shuttle. No one knew what had caused the illness though because no one else was feeling any of the same symptoms. Other odd things have been happening too, things were going missing, thecrew was acting strange, and Eve began cowering and was always nervous of something.
Once everyone had re-boarded the shuttle Eve decided to go for a nap, she had a terrible headache from the drastic change in atmospheres.
"Chase!!" Eve screamed. Chase ran as fast as he could to find where the scream came from. When he found Eve, she was hiding in the corner with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head tucked into her lap.
"Oh my god! What happened?" Chase asked with growing worry when he saw how pale her face was. It was like looking at a ghost, like she was looking through him, not at him.
"It was here? It looked at me? It was here!" Eve screamed between sobs.
"What was here? What did you see? Talk to me Eve, please!" he prodded.
"Don't let it get me!!" she yelled. Chase was unsure of what she was talking about and even more unsure of what to do. How was he supposed to protect her if he didn't even know what she needed protecting from? So he did the only he could think of at that moment. Hold her.
"OH MY GOD!" the scream travelled clearly through the shuttle. Both, Chase and Eve looked at each other in confusion. They stood up and started walking slowly toward the sound. They reached a door and opened it? "Oh. My. God." whispered Eve with a quavering voice. She turned to Chase with a pale face and noticed the he was no longer beside her, but had knelt down next to the mutilated body.
"We need to get off this shuttle as quickly as possible." Chase's voice was shaking with fear. He feared that if they did not find a way off this shuttle, they wouldnot survive the next three weeks with whatever did this. The couple left the room and ran to other side of the shuttle where they would find the Captain.
"Captain, we need to turn around and head home." Chase demanded.
"We can't," the Captain started to explain, "we have no power and we have lost all contact with base control".
"What do you mean we have no power?!" Chase was trying to stay calm but he couldn't. "How is that possible? You better find a way to get this machine back in the air!"
"Look," said the Captain, "it is already too late."
"What do you mean it's too late'?!" Eve was getting very angry with the Captain. She was also frightened and couldn't keep it from showing. "There is something on this shuttle, Captain! One of your men is dead! Does that mean nothing to you!?" Eve shouted. She had already come face to face with this creature and she feared that the next time it saw her, she would die.
Chase was right, they had to get off this ship. Now.
*****
Eve and Chase awoke the next morning only to discover the main door to the shuttle was wide open. They assumed the remaining crew had taken their chance and escaped, forgetting the door in their haste. "Let's go find the Captain, see if he is still here." Chase said as he walked to the head of the ship to see the captain. Only the Captain wasn't there. They searched the room, trying to locate him. Chase was about to leave the control room when he stepped in something wet. Wet, sticky, and thick. Blood, Chase thought. "Look away," he told Eve.
"What? Why?" She asked. "What did you find?"
"Look away!" he yelled.
With Eve looking the other way,Chase looked further until he found the source of the blood. It belonged to the Captain, who was stuffed into an open closet with his stomach missing.
"We need to leave!" exclaimed Chase. "Do not leave my side, we're going to find a way off this thing. There has to be some sort of escape pod, hopefully it works." they searched the ship but never found what they were looking for. "Let's head back to the command room, I'll see if I can find the power issue and fix it." On their way back to the control room they heard the floor creaking behind them. Footsteps?
They were being followed. Chase had a bad feeling about it, they hadn't seen the rest of the crew since last night, they just thought the crew had escaped. But, after what they had seen, they retracted that thought and now assumed that they were all dead. They had reached the head of the shuttle but the sound they heard in the hallway had not ceased. In fact, the sound had grown even louder as, whoever was following them, had gotten even closer."It's the creature!" cried Eve. Chase tried to grab her and flee to safety, but Eve was frozen in fear. She wouldn't budge.
Chase finally realized what Eve was talking about the other night. This creature was in front of him and he couldn't believe his eyes. The beast was ugly, with long skin-like pipes running down its face to its chest. It was hairy, and hunched over with a pushed-in face and pig-like nose. It must have been about 8 feet tall and incredibly strong. It looked shiny, almost as if it was wearing armor. "Eve! Run!" screamed Chase in a panic rising.
But Eve would still not move. Frustrated that hiswife was still staring at this creature, he ran toward the beast with angry fists. He started attacking the creature with all his might but the beast wasn't fazed. Its eyes were fixated on Eve and her heart beat faster and faster as the beast started moving toward her. She tried to run but her legs refused to obey, she was paralyzed. Chase was doing everything he could to try and distract the creature while Eve fled but the beast had no interest in him.
Eve was now only a few inches away from the beast and its alien looking face, it was threatening her, with its eyes. '' What do you want?" she cried, "why are you doing this?!" Eve tried to be brave but her voice betrayed her. Of course the beast didn't answer, it probably didn't even understand her. The next thing she knew she was being thrown across the room, hitting the wall on the other side. Chase tried to run to her side as fast as he could. Only he didn't get to her before the beast grabbed him and threw him over its head, sending him landing beside Eve. Looking at her he wished she was safe, but she was knocked out and there was nothing he could do. The beast was way too big.
Chase tried to think of what to do, but the only option seemed to be to punch and kick, and so he did. A hard kick to the ribs of the distracted beast dropped it to its knees, Chase took advantage of the suddenly small beast and started wailing on it. The beast was much quicker than Chase though. One punch to Chase's stomach sent him sliding three feet back. He was desperate to bring this creature down, he knewthis creature had to be stopped before it did any more damage. It had already caused enough damage to his wife and that angered Chase more than anything. He braced himself against the wall, prepared to launch at the beast and take him down. He jumped on the creatures back and attempted to choke it.
This angered the beast even more, he grabbed Chase by the arm and started throwing him against the floor. It was the worst pain he had ever felt as he reached for his broken shoulder. He looked over at Eve who was now gaining consciousness. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, ease her whirling mind. Chase was determined to destroy this monster and leave this place. He got up one more time, mustering all his strength and charged at the deadly creature with everything he had, but the beast barely budged an inch. Chase looked around the room for something, anything, he could use as a weapon against this thing. Finally, his eyes caught something shimmering and he ran to grab it. The beast was now closing in on him, growling in anger. Chase grabbed the long, heavy steal pipe and started swinging as if his life depended on it. Because it did.
After what felt like an hour of swinging and slashing, the weapon connected with the creatures skull, cracking it open with a loud CRACK! as blood and bone sprayed the room, and Eve's face. She had just stood up to help her husband but now she was just standing next to the beast, looking disgusted and feeling nauseous. Chase threw his weapon to the side and grabbed his wife, hugging her as tight as he could. They would leave this place, and they would never forget this expedition. But fornow, they were stuck on the shuttle, in the middle of the forbidden planet, until they could find a way home.
At least the beast could no longer hurt them, or anyone else. They were alone now... Chase's thought was cut off by a loud, ear-shattering growl coming from outside the shuttle. "Run"...
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