spaceship and brown planet

Sci-Fi Story – Alone

Alone

“Oh my God,” Tessa breathed as she stepped over the last dune. Before her was mile after mile of city ruins, alien city ruins, “Miles you have to see this.”
“I swear if it’s another rock I’m gonna-“ Miles stopped short as he beheld the wreckage, “well that sure ain’t a rock.”
Tessa laughed and pounced on Miles, pulling him into a hug. She released and turned to the rest of their team, as they scaled the dune. She gave them a moment to take it all in before smiling, “Fan out in teams of two around the city. Take a lot of photos and as many samples as you can carry. Note any places that seem especially interesting. Try not to touch much, I don’t want to disturb the place too much before a full excavation team can arrive.” The team barely acknowledged her commands, still taking in their historic discovery.


The groups of two began their descents and Tessa practically dragged Miles to the first building. As Tessa and Miles meandered through the city, she could tell that the civilization had been advanced and hadn’t died off too long ago. The alien ruins were set up in a gridlike pattern and unknown machinery littered the streets.
Tessa stared around her, eyes bright with wonder. She was so engrossed in the strange buildings that she barely noticed that Miles was saying something, “…I wonder what did them in…” he thought aloud while stepping over a pile of rubble.
Tessa brushed her gloved fingers against the strange carvings on a wall. She wondered what they meant, who had made them, and how long ago they had died. She dropped her hand, sighing, “Me too, it looks like they were well off, and that storage building back there suggests that they had sufficient food and water right up until the end.”

Miles shook his head, face scrunched in thought behind the thick pane of his helmet, “Yeah, maybe the excavation team will be able to figure it out.”
“Well just from what we’ve seen it looks like it had to be something inside the city, spreading outward,” Tessa suggested as they began climbing back up the dune the way they’d come.
“Why do you say that?”
Tessa squinted as the foreign sunlight blinded her, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes. “The outermost parts of the city seem to be more prepared. They looked boarded up, and showed signs of food and water storage.”
Miles nodded in understanding, “Well, whatever it was hopefully it’s long gone.”
Tessa’s face turned grim as she took her last look at the dead civilization, nodding her head in agreement.

“And this one looks like some sort of theater!” Zoe beamed showcasing her pictures to the rest of the crew.
“I found some sort of recreational building!” George added shoving his camera into the huddle. The room was a buzz of conversation, everyone wanting to share their finds.
Tessa quieted her team, “Great work everyone. We’ll make it back to X2-05 by Thursday and reveal our discoveries. Hopefully, we’ll be back within a few weeks for full excavation.”
“Yes, and then we’ll get our fat paychecks,” Miles smiled gleefully.
Everyone laughed and Tessa rolled her eyes at her money-hungry friend. The group finished uploading their photos to the mainframe before heading to their private quarters to wash off the many layers of dust.


“Someone help! Please! Someone get help!”
Tessa bolted up from where she had been dozing, pulling on her jacket and dashing out the door. The sobs grew louder but she still couldn’t tell who they were coming from. She ran the long, narrow hallways of the ship as fast as she could before her foot slipped on something and she came crashing down. The wind was knocked out of her and her vision blurred. Tessa attempted to push herself up but her fingers lost hold as they slipped on something wet and sticky.
“Help him, please!”
Tessa looked up to find Zoe cradling a man to her chest. Tessa could only assume it was her husband, Max. But she couldn’t be certain as his face was covered in boils and sores. It was only then that Tessa looked down to see that she lay in a puddle of Max’s blood. It seemed to have flown out of his mouth, nose, and ears. Tessa scrambled up and tried shaking it off her in vain.
Tessa fought the urge to throw up. Putting a hand to her mouth as she asked, “What happened?”
Zoe could barely get the words out, “I don’t know! He said he was going to take a shower, but the next thing I know he’s crashing through the door and bleeding all over the place. I called for help but…” another sob, “he died in seconds.”
Just then, Miles and Luke ran up, their faces dropping in horror. Before they could get a word out Tessa was barking orders, “Don’t take another step! We don’t know what this is but it looks like a virus, one that can kill at that.” She turned to Zoe, “Zoe, I need you to back away now and lock yourself in your room. We’ve all been exposed.”

Zoe shook her head violently, “No, no, no, I can’t just leave him.”
Tessa crouched and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “There’s nothing you can do for him. He would want you to live too. If this is a virus your best chance is sterilizing and quarantining.” Zoe’s eyes were glued to her husband’s face. Tessa wasn’t sure if she had even heard what she said. Zoe brushed Max’s hair back and whispered something into his ear. Finally, she drew back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She didn’t say anything as she turned and sauntered back to her room to mourn alone.
Tessa watched Zoe as she slowly made her way down the hallway. When she disappeared around the corner Tessa spoke up, “Athena, initiate lockdown and send a droid down to clean up this mess. Send Max’s body into space.”
“Yes captain,” the AI responded.
Tessa got back to her own room and yanked the bloodied clothes off. If anyone was infected it was her and Zoe. As she showered she tried not to think about Max’s face or the way his blood coated the floor. She tried to make herself smile, in less than a week she would be back on X2-05 and get to see her family. She only had to make it until then, if she didn’t show any symptoms by Thursday she could be cleared.
An Athena droid must’ve stopped by because her old clothes were gone, replaced by soft cotton pants and a sweater. Tessa tugged the clothing on and slumped into a large, cozy chair. She placed her head in her hands and tried to pull it together. She was not going to die. But Max’s face kept popping into her mind, reminding her what was at risk.
When she couldn’t handle another minute alone with her mind she called for Athena, “Athena, please send a droid to bring me some cafeteria food and books from storage.”
“Yes captain, on its way.”

Tessa stood up and paced her small quarters, waiting for the droid. But minute after minute passed and none arrived. “Athena, where are my requests?”
“There seems to be a problem. All my droids are down.”
“What do you mean down?”
Athena opened the security footage on Tessa’s holapad, swapping between the different hallways. Tessa counted as the images changed, all five droids were lying motionless on the floor. She spotted the one that had collected her clothes, it had only made it a few feet away before crashing.
Tessa looked up, confusion written on her face, “What did this?”
The AI took a moment to respond, “I don’t know. Something has corrupted their systems.”
Tessa threw the holapad in frustration, “What do you mean you don’t know? You’re supposed to know everything!” She began pacing faster, “This day just keeps getting better and better!”
The AI was quiet.
Tessa slowed, “You know what? That’s fine. Just open a call to Miles’ room please.”
The AI didn’t respond right away. When it finally spoke the artificial voice drawled slowly, “I’m sorry but that won’t be possible. All lines are down…” the sound cut out, “I am shutting dowwwwwn.” With the last word, all lights in the ship blinked off and Tessa was thrown into pitch darkness.
Tessa began to panic. She wiped the sweat from her brow and she tried to ignore the crushing silence. She sat, curled up in her chair, not knowing what else to do. She didn’t even know whether the ship was still running, whether she would even make it back to X2-05. As the hours passed, paranoia began to set in. She swore that she felt large bumps when she ran her hand along her face, but the next moment they were gone. Something slipped from her face. blood? No, just sweat. She focused on her breath. Two seconds in, three seconds out. Two seconds in, three seconds out. Tessa lost track of time. She must’ve fallen asleep at some point because she woke up with a shiver, suddenly freezing. She cupped her hands, blowing on them. There was no way to know what day it was. But she figured it was Thursday.
Tessa smiled. She had made it! She wasn’t bleeding out on the floor! She scrambled up from her chair and began to work on the door. Because the system was down there was no way to reach the others without going there herself. So that’s exactly what she was going to do. She forced the door open, smiling brightly. She forgot all about her sore, freezing muscles and ran full speed towards Miles’ room.
Tessa skidded to a halt. She didn’t even bother knocking, just jammed open the door.
“Miles you are officially out of quarantine,” Tessa laughed as she pushed her way in.
Miles’ quarters were eerily silent. Her eyes scanned the darkroom. Her ears listened for the faintest sound. She detected nothing. She crept further in, praying that Miles was just playing a sick prank. She stopped. It was only then that she noticed just how freezing her exposed feet were. She crouched down and moved a shaking hand to the floor. When she brought it back to her face it was tainted in a cold, red liquid. She held her breath and refused to let the tears come. Her eyes settled on a dark mound in the corner. She didn’t need to look to know just how gruesome her best friend’s death must’ve been.
Tessa was out of the room in seconds. Sliding down hallway after hallway, leaving behind a red trail. Room after room, her feet got colder and her trail got redder. Only when she had visited every room did she collapse against a wall and begin to sob.

I have just started my website and am so excited to start personalizing it. I am a middle schooler at Lincoln Lutheran and I enjoy playing sports, playing the saxaphone, and reading. I believe in God, my Lord and Saviour and really hope you do too!
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