As he sat there and thought about the situation he was in, he thought to himself, “First the herbivore, and now this? I thought we were mining on this planet because there was no sign of life?”
He noticed a notebook in the corner of the room. It was the journal of one of the crew members, a scientist. Normally these outposts were home only to miners, so what was a scientist doing with with a bunch of miners? The book was covered with dust and drops of dried blood. He grabbed the book and returned to his hiding place. Remembering that he needed to stay safe because someone, or something, was coming back for those miners.
He opened the journal, carefully. He skimmed along until he found something that might provide some insight as to why a scientist was with the crew. There, in the middle of the journal he noticed the mention of a new mineral. He read to himself, “The Recour quadrant is a calm one. It has a vast planetary system, but this planet of the ten in the quadrant had no sign of life even thought it had the ability to sustain it. Once teraformed, the planet produced a mineral that helps produce oxygen similar to how trees produced it on Earth. This mineral is a significant push forward for science and to find a new planet to officially call home.”
“Since we began to focus on gathering this mineral instead the of others, we’ve noticed a change in attitude within the crew. People seem to be happier, and more motivated. I think the discovery adds more worth to their time on this planet separated from people, other outposts, and the rest of the colonies.” He skipped a few pages ahead. “Today I noticed something strange when analyzing the mineral. There was something else that it was producing, something organic, an organism. I decided this was something the crew didn’t need to know about. I discovered a new species and definitely didn’t want anyone else taking the credit.”
“As I continued studying this organism, I noticed it had a particular quality about it that was different from any other species we had come in contact with before. It took the shape of objects around it, almost like as if it was learning, and adapting…”
Before he could read further he heard a noise. He took a deep breath, and heard a slow steady dripping noise coming from the cafeteria. He thought to investigate but hesitated.
“I’m not about to be someone’s dinner,” he thought to himself. But his curiosity got the best of him.
Before reaching the doors, he decided to peak through the glass panes. What he noticed was one of the bodies, beginning to decay.
A strange orange liquid dripping from the foot, the face of the body was sliding down it’s chest, towards it’s legs. Fear began to take over as he noticed the liquid begin to move towards the door.
“What…the…fuh…fuh…”
As he struggled for words, the liquid began to solidify right before him. It raised up at a slow steady pace, forming legs, then hips, then torso, and soon after a head, and a complete body, with no face.
He closed his eyes, “This is a dream. SHIT! This is a freaking dream. You’re going to open your eyes and this is all going to be gone. You’re going to wake the hell up and be in some stupid room, in that stupid ship that you hate so much. WAKE UP!”
SMACK!
When he opened his eyes, he sighed in relief. He saw his reflection through the glass window and laughed, but the reflection did not laugh with him. It stared, tilted his head in confusion, and then opened the door.