James walked through the dark, fog obscuring his vision to near nothing. He kept his eyes on the dusty ground. His left arm throbbed with pain, but the bleeding had more or less stopped. Exhausted, he stumbled in the darkness.

'Hey, keep on your toes,' Dakarai said and put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

'Thanks. How far to the ship do you think?'

'No clue. But sure feels like we've walked for longer than it took to get there, yeah?'

James nodded. It sure did. A large cliff loomed on the left side. Had they passed a large cliff like that earlier? He couldn't recall. Sand, cliffs, fog. Some dead trees reached upwards with rattling branches. Something growled.

Wait, what? He held out a hand to stop Dakarai and hushed.

'Did you hear that?'

Dakarai nodded. They stood like frozen, looking around for the source of the noise.

A dark shape approached from ahead and James gasped. Dakarai jumped back. Something gave a guttural bark from the right, and rapid footfalls approached.

'Shit!' James and Dakarai uttered in unison.

'Sshh!' A sharp whisper from the approaching shape.

James realized it was Bill, crouched and sneaking.

'By the d-' James snapped his mouth shut, realizing his error.

Bill shook his head violently, and backed away from them. The footsteps on the right neared, and something like heavy breathing floated on the air. The hairs on James neck stood on end.

Bill beckoned, and moved farther ahead, vanishing into the foggy dark. James and Dakarai followed his example and crouched. Every muscle strained, and every nerve tingled.

The heavy breathing and footfalls came closer. James looked around and spotted a large, darker shape moving alongside them, keeping pace. He almost cursed, but bit the words back.

What was that thing? It was huge!

Dakarai stepped on a stick on the ground. The little dry snap boomed loudly in James ears. The beast on their right twisted and threw itself towards them. James yelped in fright as the thing passed them by, only a metre or so away. The sound had the creature spin towards him and charge again. James sidestepped, sucking in his breath. The monster flew past, right in front of his face. He swallowed but managed to keep quiet this time. The monster stopped, and swung its large head back and forth, waiting.

No, listening.

James didn't dare move, his eyes glued to the large dark creature moving through the fog.

Then someone shouted ahead. Rebecca. What was she doing?

The monster sprang forward, growling, leaving James behind. He didn't waste any time.

'Dak?' he whispered, and looked around.

'Here.' Dakarai had crouched down by a large rock on the other side of the monster.

Thank goodness he was alive.

James pointed towards the noise and Dakarai nodded. They crept forward, following the monster's path. If Rebecca was there, surely the ship must be there too?

It didn't take long before the lights on the ship's roof gleamed ahead, like a beacon of false hope in an ocean of murkiness. Still, it was the only thing they had. Hurrying their steps, they half-ran as quietly as they could to the side of the ship.

Dakarai placed the engine on the ground and climbed the short ladder up to the ship's walkway. Then he beckoned for James to give him the engine. It was heavier than he'd though, but he managed to push it up. Then he did the same with the box of scrap. When all was up, he started climbing. The monster rounded the ship, huffing and snarling.

James froze, hanging on the ladder. Dakarai held out a hand to him, reaching. James didn't dare move.

The monster approached, and breathing heavily, passed by so close James almost touched it.

Then he grabbed Dakarai's hand and climbed up, every minuscule sound making him cringe. They got up safely and walked along the walkway around the ship, slowly, one step at a time while the growling monster prowled around them.

Finally. Safe!

Taking a few last, quick steps around the corner and up to the doorway of the ship, he halted.

The doors were closed.

'Oh no,' he breathed.

'Open the door!' Dakarai hissed and waved his hands at the camera above.

Surely they couldn't hear that through the thick metal doors.

But the monster heard.

Charging them, the large beast's round maw opened and hundreds of sharp teeth gleamed in the light of the ship.

'Open up!' James hollerred, panicking.

'Open!' Dak joined, banging the doors with his fists.

The hissing of the doors and the roaring of the beast right behind them mixed into one as James and Dakarai fell forward into the bright safety of the ship, hands grabbing and dragging them inside. The doors snapped shut, accompanied by loud roaring and scratching outside.

'Holy mother of everything holy,' Dakarai cried out.

'Start the ship!' James barked. 'Go go go!'

The ship rumbled and shook. Someone had pulled the lever. He lived.

'Get the scrap,' Bill ordered. The doors opened again, and a sharp wind battered them.

'Are you insane?' James called as Bill went outside into the blast.

'Hurry,' was the only reply. Rebecca dashed past and helped pull their stuff inside. James got to his senses enough to get up and help pull on the heavy engine. They had barely gotten it inside when the doors shut again, protecting them as the ship left the atmosphere.

Later, James had had his arm cared for as well as possible, and they all sat around on the floor and the lowest of the bunk-beds, eating from their last cans of food in silence. Somehow, the canned goods taster better than anything James had ever eaten in his life. Possibly because it tasted like life itself. He'd managed to survive somehow. Incredible. That reminded him of something and he looked up at Rebecca on the bed, sitting beside Dakarai.

'Thank you for distracting that monster,' he said around mouthfuls.

'Don't worry about it. It was terrifying,' she replied with a half-hearted laugh.

'No, really. We would have died if you hadn't.'

Dakarai nodded. 'James was this close to being eaten!' He pinched his thumb and forefinger together, leaving no space between them.

'Well...' James objected weakly.

'This. Close.' Dakarai said again, shoving his fingers right in front of Rebecca's nose, making her laugh.

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'It was pretty close, yeah,' James snorted. How could they sit here and laugh? They'd nearly died. Maybe it was the only thing they could do? Life was strange. But some things could have made surviving easier, couldn't it? He looked over at Bill, his eyebrows drawing together.

'What?' Bill grumbled over his canned food.

'What was that creature out there?' James asked, deciding to try and keep civil.

'A dog.'

That was no bloody dog!' he snapped, forgetting about being civil in a heartbeat.

Bill nodded. ''Eyeless dogs, they're called. They can't see, you see.'

Really? James drew in a deep breath. Had to calm down. This couldn't be good for his nerves.

'Alright. So, they're blind. Got it.'

Bill nodded. 'All you gotta do it keep quiet and they're no problem.'

'Like the bugs, then?'

'Not at all. The bugs are much friendlier. Just keep a little distance and don't take their scrap and they won't hurt you.'

James glanced at his arm, bandaged with duct tape and some cloth. 'Yeah, very friendly.'

Bill grinned. 'They don't swallow you whole, do they?'

James snorted. 'Alright. We need some information. You need to talk to us.'

Bill's expression returned to his normal sour look. 'What do you need to know?'

'First, when we met the loot bugs, you mentioned something about creatures in the ceiling.'

'Yeah, spiders. And sometimes the face-huggers. The...' he chewed on some food thoughtfully for a moment, 'snare fleas.'

'Face-huggers?' Dakarai echoed.

'Yeah. They hang in the ceiling and drop down on your face sometimes. If you're quick, you can get them off. Unless you're alone. Which is another reason not to blindly run off like morons.'

'Well, you didn't tell us about them, so we couldn't know now, could we?' Rebecca shot back, pointing at Bill with her spork.

Bill shrugged.

'Okay, fine,' James said. 'What about the ship leaving us then?'

'We're on the clock. I've told you.'

'That's different,' James protested. 'Why'd the ship leave?' He looked around their confined space, even more cramped now, full of scrap on the floor.

'If we're not back by midnight, the ship's autopilot “leaves to minimize risk of damage to The Company's proprietary hardware.”'

'For real?' Dakarai, asked, his mouth agape. 'But what about us?'

Bill gave a dry laugh. 'We're expendable.'

A cold ran though James. Expendable. Well, he supposed it made sense. Or they'd have gotten way better and more gear before going to the moons. They didn't even get bloody flashlights.

'What happens if we don't meet the quota?' James prodded. He had to know the truth, even if he had a nagging suspicion. The Company didn't exactly have clean flour in their bags.

'You get fired,' Bill said flatly.

'Fired?' James pushed.

'Yeah, you know.'

'I don't. I don't know what that means in The Company terms.'

Bill hesitated, took another spoonful from his can.

'Please, be honest with us,' Rebecca shot in. 'Surely it can't be worse than what we've seen out there?'

'I guess,' Bill sighed. He pointed to the doors of the ship. They all looked at them. 'They will open.'

'And?' Dakarai said.

'When we're in space,' Bill added.

'What the fuck?' James almost choked on his food. 'They'll kill us!'

'Yeah, pretty much. Probably claims some monster got to you first though. If someone cares to ask, I mean.' He shrugged again, as if it didn't matter.

Or maybe he just wanted to seem like he didn't care? Maybe it was easier that accepting the horrific situation they were all in. James skin itched and his head pounded. This was too stressful.

'Holy crap,' he breathed. 'We're in deep shit, aren't we?'

'Yeah, you are,' Bill agreed.

'Hey! You're in this too, you know,' Rebecca said.

'I know,' Bill snapped.

'How long have you been here?' James pressed.

'I don't know, alright,' Bill growled. 'You've already asked.'

'How can you not know?' Dakarai asked. 'Surely you'd know if it's a week, a month, or half a year? I mean, it's not exactly you average job.'

'How long have you agreed to work for The Company?' Bill asked.

'Well, I... uh.' Dakarai made a face. 'I'm not... sure?'

James thought about it, but couldn't remember either. He got off the cold metal floor and walked over to the terminal. He'd signed the contract on the computer, surely he could look it up there?

'Bill, how do I see my contract again?'

He grumbled something but stood and came over. He helped James log in and type the correct commands. James stared at the screen for a long time. The green text glowed, taunting him.

'How long are you contracted for,' Dakarai asked.

James almost couldn't speak. How had he forgotten this? It was crazy. He'd die. He licked his lips with a tongue that felt like a piece of dry paper.

'A year,' he rasped.

'Say again?'

'A fucking year. How... I don't remember signing on for a year. How could I have agreed to that? What is going on here?' He twisted around, pointing at Bill. 'You know what's going on. Tell us, this is crazy! There's no way I'm gonna survive for an entire year!'

'I don't know. And I don't care.' Bill leaned back against the wall and finished his meal.

James simply stood there, dumbfounded, cold to the core.

'You must know. You do!'

'If I ever did, I've forgotten.' Bill said.

'And you don't find that creepy as hell?' James shouted.

'I don't care!' Bill shouted back. 'Now shut up and sit down. We'll be back on Gordion tomorrow.'

'Oh, that's right!' Rebecca said, relief filling her eyes. 'We can leave.'

'Hell yeah,' Dakarai agreed.

James nodded. Screw the contract. 'Yeah, we should all just leave. They can't stop us.'

Bill snorted.

'What?' James blood boiled. 'If you know something, speak up, you ass.'

Bill's face reddened. 'Fuck you, kid! You don't know what it's like. You've only got a first taste of working for them. You think you can leave? Huh?' He dropped his can and prodded James in the chest. 'Why don't you try it? I'd like to see you try.'

'I think I might!'

'You think a company who's willing to throw you into space for earning them too little money will let you just walk?' Bill snorted.

'What? So you just accept it and stay?'

'Yeah, I do.'

'So you're suicidal then? 'Cause that's what this is.'

'No, I'll live. I just don't care if you die!' Bill pointed at James with his spork, hand shaking.

'I saved your ass,' James growled.

'And I've saved yours. Get over it.'

'You're such a coward,' James spat.

'I needed a job, just like you. Now I'm stuck. You're not as original as you think you are.'

'Great. And what happened to your last crew? Where are they?' The words were out before James had the time to think about it. He regretted it, but was too angry to take it back. Too exhausted, and too full of all the crap he'd endured for the past three days. He needed an outlet.

Bill fumed. 'They died, asshole.'

'Because of you sitting in the ship instead of helping them, eh? Like you said you wanted to do for us?' He shouldn't have pressed it, but some devil in him couldn't stop.

'Having someone on the ship is more helpful than you know.'

'Helpful to you.'

'It's not safe on the ship, if that's what you think,' Bill growled.

'Oh? So you're totally in danger, sitting here with the doors closed, eh?'

'Those dogs, do you remember them?'

James did, and he knew he'd have nightmares about them.

'You can close the doors!'

Bill raised a fist, pulled back for a punch. James almost welcomed it.

'Guys, guys, can we not? Please?' Rebecca jumped in between them. 'We're almost home, calm down. We made it.'

Dakarai grabbed Bill's hand and forced it down. Then gently led him a few steps back, talking softly.

James flopped down on the narrow bed beside Rebecca, taking several deep breaths to calm down. Though he didn't feel like calming down at all. He wanted to throw punches. Maybe open some doors.

'What's t-'

'Ssshh!' Rebecca patted his arm gently. 'Don't say anything. We're all in the same boat. You'll regret it.'

She was right, he knew. He already did. But it did nothing to calm his raging feelings.

'Listen,' he whispered. 'I'll see if I can talk to some manager at The Company, then I'll try and leave. Are you coming with?'

'Yeah, yeah. I'm game,' she said under her breath. 'But James, be careful. I don't think Bill made those things up.'

James nodded. He didn't think so either. He wished he had some space. He wanted to be alone. But that was a luxury he no longer had. Sighing, he decided to take his pounding head and climb into his bunk. Not that he thought sleep would come anytime soon, though.