Alex's heart pounded in his chest, matching the ferocity of the sandstorm that surrounded him. The swirling gusts of sand and debris relentlessly attacked his body, leaving him struggling to breathe. With each step, Alex's weary limbs trembled with both exhaustion and fear, turning his journey into a formidable struggle. The pressure kept pushing him as each step he took felt like an uphill battle, and his weary limbs trembled with exhaustion and fear. Alex did not know how much time had passed but his body was on the verge of giving up from exhaustion. As Alex fought against the relentless onslaught, the swirling currents of sand and debris whipped around him, clawing at his skin with sharp shards. His vision, shrouded by the violent tempest, became a blur of hazy shadows.
Amid this chaotic maelstrom, a glimmer of light emerged. A flickering hologram materialized, its form originating from the prime tool strapped to Alex's right wrist. The hologram glitched with instability, its image distorted and, as if struggling to maintain the output.
With squinted eyes, Alex strained to make out the content of the holographic message. Through the haze and distortion, the urgency in the voice cut through the storm's cacophony. The words carried a sense of desperation, compelling Alex to listen despite the garbled transmission.
" Â̶̭͉͈̝͙̝̈͒̍͑̎̓̉̀L̸̰̦̰̥̟̼̣̪͔̰̳͙̜͍̭̪̮͙͇̲̉̄̈́̈́̅̋͂͋̓̇̆̈́̓̈́̕͝͠Ĕ̶̡̬̗͛͐͌͑́̇͘̕͘ͅx̸̡͖͚̩̜̺̲̭̺̰͙̫͎͉̞̘͇̦̫̗̖̜͍̹̆̇̐͛̑̈̎̋̍̉̓̿̒́͆̑͋̌͌̏̌̐̎̑͑͑̕͜͝ " the voice pleaded, echoing through the surroundings. Alex had turned the volume to the maximum, but even then, it was barely understandable. The Air disturbance was too much.
" D̵̖̙̝̟̉o̵̪͖̹̽̈́̉̋n̴͚̒'̵̣̀̎̈̕t̴͓̰̣̗͆̈͝ ̸̨̯̐g̴̭̳̎͛͠ͅo̸̫̱͈̰̬̅́̃ ̸͖̖͐̀̍̾͠ỉ̷̜̩͊ñ̵̰͊͑̒̾t̵̥̖̬̭̫̐̅̎ó̴͍̤ ̸̪͛͌̀t̶̖̭̭͙̃ẖ̵̡̧͈̈́ě̸̳͉̩̒̈́̽ ̷͍̘͙̱̉̾̉̓́s̸̡̨̟̀͒ţ̵̯̺̱̀o̶̩̫̯̱̾̾ŗ̶͛̐͜͠m̷̱̊̌͐͆̕. You won't make it out alive!"
The familiar voice made Alex stop and flinch as soon as he recognized it was Gobo's scream.
Alex froze in his tracks, his eyes fixed on the hologram as it played. Doubt gnawed at his determination, but a spark of stubbornness ignited within him. He couldn't turn back now, not after coming this far. With a determined grit and looking into the blurry hologram map, he pushed through the storm inching closer to the narrow, dimly lit ground tunnel that emerged in his view.
Finally reaching the tunnel, Alex collapsed onto the rocky ground gasping for air. The storm continued to rage outside. He leaned against the rough cave walls, his body aching from the relentless assault. He felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and winced, realizing that the wound has reopened by some small sharp shard that hit him during his tumultuous journey. Blood trickled from the wound, staining his clothes and the ground beneath him. Alex tore one of his inner clothes pieces and tried to bandage himself.
A sense of desperation settled over Alex as he surveyed his dire circumstances. Doubt mixed with pain, suffusing his thoughts as panic began to consume him. Even with the bandage he forcibly wrapped around his serious wound, the blood didn’t stop
“It must be here. The coordinates from the codex led me here”. The coordinates he had been chasing within this desolate place ravaged by planetary storms.
In a hushed, trembling murmur, Alex expressed both resignation and a tinge of fear. His heart clenched with a cruel whisper of fear that it would be all for nothing. Numbness spread, chilling him, as he struggled with his prime tool trying to operate it but the overwhelming coldness paralyzed him, slowing his movements.
His fingers fumbled with his prime tool as his head and body went numb and cold. The glitching interface added to his frustration. Alex's voice quivered with resignation and a hint of fear as he murmured, struggling to maintain a firm grasp on his prime tool. Numbness and coldness enveloped his body, making it difficult to focus on the interface, now a blurry haze before him
Looking ahead, Alex noticed the tunnels aglow with a gentle radiance emitted by rare mineral pebbles that he had seen several times in his repair shop.
“I’m so close. It has to be here” Alex mumbled as he recalled the arduous path he had taken to arrive at this moment.
----------------------------------------
3 hours ago...
Alex had been walking for hours on the flat clean streets, glancing at the holographic coordinates that led him astray many times. They changed every few minutes, which infuriated Alex all the more.
“Stupid JUNK! Work, goddammit!” Alex said as he smacked the prime tool. His hitting it made sparks and notices, which made Alex panic.
“No, you're fine. You're a good tool,” he said, carrying the tool as if he was apologizing. The coordinates it showed jumped a lot, and after a while, finally, the coordinates became stagnant.
Confusion settled as he found himself at the boundaries of Daxion city, and the coordinates pointed beyond the walls and safety of the city. The gate was being guarded as it was a checkpoint for anyone going in and out of the city. Alex cautiously made his way to the checkpoint, where more than a dozen Zorgonians, an extraterrestrial species renowned for their imposing physiques and extraordinary abilities, were on guard duty. Towering over humans, Zorgonians possessed a brawny and muscular build with a reptilian feature of eyes and tails. They were formidable assets in military and law enforcement.
“Let’s hope they’re not as friendly as the ones I met in the shop,” Alex thought as he made his try to get past the checking area.
“Hold it!. Checkup please” Someone stopped Alex from proceeding as he blocked his path.
Holding a device, he scanned Alex from head to toe. A beam of visible lights scanned him from bottom to top as the device beeped in his hand.
“Clear, let him proceed.”
Alex sighed with his tension now diminished as he cleared the checkup. It was a little nerve-racking as he could have been held for a body inspection and the situation would have spiraled out of control.
Before going through the gate Alex was stopped as an alien on a counter near the door called for him.
Are you sure you want to go alone with no vehicle right now?" the alien asked.
“Well, yes. Why ask?”
“You know at this time of the planet cycle there are extreme weather storms. Once you walk out from the safety of the energy shield. Be prepared to face the storm head-on. this is just a warning to be careful. Such storms rage for a quarter of the planet cycle.”
As Alex recalled, Zep-7 was notorious for its harsh dune-filled terrain and year-round storms. Initially a mining planet, it had since transformed into an interstellar hub, with massive cities built to withstand the harsh environment. Considering the implications of traversing the planet on foot and potentially going blind, Alex realized he needed a more reliable mode of transportation.
"Do you have anything available for transportation? I can offer a few units," Alex inquired.
The alien tossed him a holographic screen, which accidentally hit Alex on the head. As it activated, the screen displayed a range of options available for rent. Alex scrolled through the list and settled on a robust land shredder, a favored choice for venturing outside the city. Having previously worked on repairs for this vehicle, it seemed like the best option. With a selection made, the vehicle materialized before him in a glitchy display. Alex handed over the agreed-upon payment in units and proceeded to link his prime tool to the vehicle.
"Link device. Prime tool ID GvE378," Alex commanded.
"Link established," the AI responded.
"Alex typed away on his prime tools, using a holographic keyboard emitted by the prime tool, while his eyes remained glued to the coordinates.
"I'm giving you the coordinates. Calculate the most efficient and safe possible route and engage auto-drive. Step on it!" Alex instructed urgently.
Within seconds, the vehicle's AI processed the coordinates and mapped out a route as displayed on a hologram screen. With a roaring of the engine, the land shredder burst through the front gates of the city, plunging into the heart of the raging storm and disappearing into the storm.
“He just plunged into its death. Poor thing” the alien on the counter said as it occupied and dismissed the thoughts. After seeing countless beings do reckless things similar to this it had become numb to the afterthought.
Meanwhile, inside the vehicle, Alex experienced intense tremors and jolts as the land shredder jumped and bounced around trying to navigate through treacherous rocky terrain. Alex got slammed left and right since he didn’t put on the safety belt. It was like he was left in an atomizer.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Fuck, HALT! Halt it!” Alex screamed as he was getting thrown left and right by the bumps and jumps.
The sudden stop hurled Alex against the front windshield, and he quickly checked for injuries before picking himself up.
“Initiate safety protocol. I don’t want to die because of my carelessness. I would never hear the end of it even in the grave from Gobo” Alex knew he had to be cautious. The planetary storms could go from okay to extreme in a matter of moments
“Affirmative. Will take approximately a minute cycles” Alex sighed at the thought as he relaxed in the seat. He always got nagged by Gobo.
“A good mechanic knows that Safety First, No Exceptions!” he murmured as a smile glint of a smile formed in his face. Alex didn’t want to admit it but Gobo was someone who met the world to him. His attention was diverted as the winds sound became more intense as the vehicle that was transforming itself how the planet's surface aside from the city had enormous canyons and very, engulfing everything in its path, created a near-crimson haze of swirling sand and debris which obscured visibility entirely.
Alex knew the surface of this world was characterized by rocky terrain as he lived his whole life on this planet. It was covered in jagged and sharp-edged formations that seemed to pierce out the ground like massive needles. Everyone called them terrashards as he recalled. He had many missions that were outside of city borders remembering that it had enormous skyscraper-like cliffs, each one towering into the sky with a razor-sharp pinnacle.
The relentless winds howl through the narrow gaps between these pointed cliffs, creating an eerie, haunting melody that echoes across the desolate expanse. Alex always was perplexed by just how cities were even built on a planet like this. It was a project that had far too much investment for a planet with only just rare resources. As Alex indulged in nostalgia, the vehicle came to a stop, and with many sounds, its structure changed from a normal-looking land cruiser to all its parts morphing.
The sound of metal twisting and bending was muffled by the storm as the car’s exterior with only a thin layer of its skeleton remaining turned into liquid and reformed into many plates of protection. The plates then began to shift and move, forming a more dense structure for its windshields and exterior armor. The transformation was completed as time passed and it was now unrecognizable as the same vehicle it had been before.
The vehicle's transformation yielded a strikingly tankier and bulkier form. Its once sleek lines were now replaced with an imposing, robust exterior, adorned with additional layers of protective plating.
“Safety protocol complete. Now tracking the signal”
Alex braced himself as the land shredder resumed tracking the signal. The car jumped from cliff to cliff and maneuvered the dangerous terrain. Alex held his breath and his heart raced every time this happened. Monitoring the display on his prime tool he saw something that caught him off guard. His eyes scanned the 3d map and his lips and hand shook with fear. Feeling overwhelmed with fear he murmured
“If my calculations are right then I’m heading straight for the eye of terror.”
"FUCK! Why in the world is it leading to the accursed Eye of Terror!" Alex's eyes twitched as his hand trembled in anger he forcefully slammed against the vehicle's interior. Frustration and anger surged within him as the signal source directed him straight into the heart of the deadly storm. It was like a suicide mission. Looking out from the reinforced windows of the vehicle. His eyes twitched with fear as he looked at the red mist-like sand storm that was beyond the horizon.
The center of the storm was a place he had only heard tales about since he was a child. Known to have raged for countless millennia, the Eye of Terror was a force of nature that had claimed the lives that ventured into the depths of its region.
"I'm hurtling toward my own grave, and I'm painfully aware of that fact," Alex muttered to himself, grappling with the weight of his decision to persist with this dangerous mission. As he stared at his trembling hands, a surge of fear engulfed him. He acknowledged the daunting reality that the odds of reaching his destination were absolutely zero, and he would die in vain."
As Alex contemplated his next move, his primary tool started making urgent sounds, grabbing his attention. A warning from the nearby city of Daxion City appeared on the screen.
"Warning: Sudden change detected in the Eye of Terror. The storm's expansion is unprecedented, and within a day, it will reach a hazardous 'red' rating on the planetary storm scale. All local inhabitants are strongly advised to evacuate from near the Eye of Terror region. Further updates will follow shortly."
“Fuck! If it turns red I might get never another chance. The last noted red-rating storm has not died down and it has been raging since the first colonizing city was built. That was fucking 50 years ago”
Alex's hand anxiously clutched his head as the weight of the decision bore down upon him. The choice he made now would determine whether he'd ever find others like himself, humans that are now either extinct or so Alex believes. The stakes couldn't be higher as he was risking his life for this information. Surviving a storm of this magnitude seemed nearly impossible.
With a heavy breath and calming his nerves. Looking at the hologram screen of the land shredder with his eyes that now looking into the storm that was covering everything from the sky to the ground.
I am not dying here. I need to explore and find out more. It’s all or nothing (Alex thought)
"I'm overriding all traveling safety features. Full speed in flight mode and don't stop, no matter what," Alex's declaration was filled with conviction as his eyes narrowed. He was determined to see it through to the end.
The AI of the land shredder responded promptly, "Acknowledged,"
As the vehicle took off sending vibrations coursing through the rocky terrain. The landscape outside the windows blurred into the ash and sand as they accelerated. The wind howled against the reinforced glass. In a matter of moments, they were closing in the area of the eye of terror. As the vehicle soared near and bounce amidst the tumultuous winds. Alex inside felt every bump as the vehicle battled against the ferocious elements, its wings momentarily struggling to maintain stability.
The planetary storm loomed ahead, a formidable sight that struck awe and fear into anyone’s heart. Its appearance resembled a swirling inferno of red sand, a relentless tempest of crimson hues and swirling debris reaching astonishing heights that left him dumbfounded at its scale.
As Alex's vehicle cautiously approached the storm from thousands of feet in the air, the air was filled with the echoing rumble of thunder, resonating like a rhythmic heartbeat of the tempest. The wind surged with unyielding force, strong enough to whip up massive shards of the ground, resembling chunks of earth, careening through the turbulent atmosphere like wild projectiles. Alex could only clench his hands tightly as he was strapped to the seat to not let himself be carried away with emotions.
With each passing second, Alex's heart pounded in his chest. His breath and body were twitching in fear as he experienced tremors that would shake the vehicle like a ragdoll as it dodge the sharp Terrashards that were being thrown around with incredible speed from the wind pressure. The howling wind coupled with the relentless air gymnastics that the vehicle performed, Alex was gripped by the realization that dawned on him just at that moment
I fucked up. I fucked up bad but there is no turning back. (Alex thought)
"The vehicle raced towards the target destination, Alex feeling the intense g-forces from the land shredder, his eyes locked on the prime tool's map display as each second passed. However, his tool began to malfunction, as it completely stopped working. This made Alex skip a heartbeat as simultaneously, the vehicle started slowing down, losing functions as the AI system issued a warning.
"WARNING! Massive Electromagnetic pulse surge detected. Engaging landing and copilot She—"
"NO, NO, NOOO!" Alex's worry escalated, unsure of what to do.
Caught in the shockwave, a gargantuan terra-shard burst, shattering the front window of the vehicle. Alarms blared as the malfunction rendered it unable to fly, causing it to plummet. Alex was fortunate that a protective shell enveloped him just in time, bracing for impact."
The vehicle crashed, its hull sliding with intense force. Thanks to the vehicle AI's quick thinking, it managed to steer the craft into a gliding motion, averting a head-on collision with the rocky surface. Skimming across the rough terrain, the vehicle shattered countless terra shards as it gradually came to a halt. Inside the protective shield, Alex had suffered a concussion from the impact and was now unconscious.
After the crash, the land shredder vehicle lay in unrecognizable pieces, some of which were already being swept away by the relentless wind.
Time passed, and Alex finally managed to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, and he clutched his head in intense pain. As he gradually adjusted to the sensation and attempted to move, an agonizing scream escaped his mouth, coursing through his entire body. His gut had been pierced by a terra-shard that had somehow breached the protective shield. Blood drenched his hand and clothes, saturating his jumpsuit, as he came to grasp the gravity of the situation. Panic surged through him, his heart pounding, and his body growing cold.
I'm losing blood, and my condition is worsening. Let's use the med paste I scrapped from the shop, (Alex thought)
As Alex braced himself from what he was about to do with steady breathing trying to calm himself. The wind pressure and the surrounding intense sound created from them were already making him stressed out but he gently grabbed the terra-shard that was stuck in his stomach area. Counting 1 and then he pulled it out. As he screamed from the pain blood gushed out as he hurried to the next step. His body twitched in pain as he clenched his teeth. His Safire blue eyes were swelled up becoming red yet he persisted on. He didn’t come here to give up that easily.
This is nothing, Alex. You have been through worse. This is child play from the suffering you endured as a child. You will make it out you have to. Alex thought as he tried to give himself the confidence.
From what he could see the shard could not Peirce through him completely so he was lucky. From one of his mechanic jumpsuits, he took out a container and opened it. Taking a chuck from the container that looked like white goo he applied it to his wound.
Alex steeled himself for the task at hand, his breath steady but strained. The wind's relentless pressure and the cacophony of sounds it created were already getting on his nerves, yet he reached down, his fingers gently encircling the terra-shard embedded in his abdomen. He counted to one, then yanked it free. A scream tore from his throat as blood spurted from the wound. His body convulsed in agony as he gritted his teeth. His sapphire-blue eyes became bloodshot and swollen. Yet he didn't relent reflecting his determination. He hadn't come this far to surrender so easily.
"This is nothing, Alex," he told himself. The thoughts were a desperate attempt to bolster his flagging confidence. "You've endured far worse. This is child's play compared to the suffering you experienced as a child. You will survive. You have to."
From his limited perspective, as could not stand up. By the feeling of touch and his senses, he could tell the shard hadn't fully pierced him. Alex was fortunate, at least in that regard. Reaching into a pocket of his mechanic jumpsuit, retrieving a small container. Alex popped it open, revealing a substance that resembled white goo. With a grimace expression, he applied it to his wound.
The wound began to close rapidly under the application of the goo, but Alex knew this was merely a stopgap measure. He still required serious medical attention. Peering out from the transparent, balloon-like shell that enveloped him, he attempted to assess his situation. The winds were fierce, but what confused him was the absence of the vehicle. The storm might have dragged him around, making it difficult to locate the wreckage.
Alex attempted to activate his prime tool, expecting failure, but to his surprise, it sprang to life. His brows furrowed in confusion; he had been certain the storm would have rendered his tool useless. He lay still for a moment, gathering strength and formulating a plan.
His first action was to check the navigation map. To his surprise, the prime tool's holographic display indicated that he was not far off course, and somehow, he found himself at the storm's epicenter.
A realization dawned on him as he noticed the wind's howl was less intense, and there were no flying terra shards visible in the debris from what he could see. If there had been, he would have been torn to shreds by now. He could actually traverse the storm; it wasn't as severe as he had initially thought.
After gathering everything within reach, he ventured into the raging crimson storm, a tempest so dense it swallowed all visibility. He pressed on, and with that, his recollection faded, bringing him back to the present.
Alex rose to his feet, forcing his weary body to move deeper into the cave. He refused to give up lying to death without a fight. He clung to the hope that he wouldn't die, not before he could lay eyes on the object he had risked his life for, the artifact linked to humanity. The cave system was vast, the wind's eerie howl echoing through its expansive tunnels. The entire passage was a treasure trove of quarks and rare, luminous minerals that cast a soft glow, illuminating his path. Alex stumbled on, his breaths labored and his body heavy with exhaustion. Despite this, his determination refused to let him surrender.
Alex continued his journey, intermittently checking the coordinates on his prime tool, strapped to his wrist. After two grueling hours, he found himself in a vast, open cavern. The light here was more intense than the soft glow of the minerals he'd encountered earlier. At the cavern's heart lay a cone-like structure, its tip emitting a beam of light that seemed to bore into the cave ceiling and even beyond that. The sight was startling, and without hesitation, Alex moved towards it.
However, his exhaustion was overwhelming. He stumbled, falling to his knees, unable to muster the strength for another step. With a grimace, he began to drag himself towards the cone, his hands and fingers clawing at the rocky ground. Tears streamed down his face as doubt crept in. Had he made the wrong choice? The sharp edges of the rocks bit into his skin as he dragged himself forward, questioning his decision. He had sacrificed everything to be here.
"Gobo, I'm so sorry. I risked my life for something so insignificant," he murmured.
As Alex's blood-stained hand made contact with the cone, he felt a sudden surge of energy. The structure of the cone started to morph, revealing strange, glowing symbols. It reshaped itself, fluid like water, and the world around Alex seemed to blur as he lost consciousness. Unseen by him, the cone continued its transformation, forming a body that emanated a mysterious presence. A voice echoed in the cavern, its words barely registering in Alex's unconscious mind.
“Human DNA codex registered. C.A.T protocol initiated.'"