Sarah slowly opened her eyes. Her head still felt a little fuzzy, but it was manageable. She looked around her. Apparently she was the last one to wake up. Layla wasn’t in the room any more, and Daniel and Zalana had changed placed and were now on the opposite side talking to each other. Sarah untied her seatbelt and stretched her arms, accompanied by a loud yawn. Zalana and Daniel stopped talking to each other when they saw Sarah was awake.

‘Welcome back to the land of the living,’ Zalana said. ‘We thought you were gonna miss entry.’

Sarah looked at her, confused. ‘Entry? How close are we then?’

‘Go to the cockpit and take a look yourself,’ Daniel said. ‘The view is breath-taking.’

Sarah got out of her chair and floated her way to the cockpit door. As soon as she opened it she was almost blinded by the light coming from Earth.

‘Sarah, you’re awake!’ Layla said. ‘I should have given you a smaller pill, given your height and weight and everything, but you’re awake now and that’s all that matters.’

Sarah didn’t react. She wasn’t listening in the first place. She was staring, with wide eyes, at the Earth. Her eyes quickly adapted to the light. She looked at the raging storms and massive cloud formations that surrounded it.

‘You should go back,’ Layla said. ‘We are about to start our entry. It looks a lot rougher than just a dust cloud.'

‘Can I stay in the cockpit? I really want to see this. I can sit in that chair there against the wall. You’re not using that anyway, right?

Layla looked at Zalo. He nodded.

‘Fine then, I guess. Take a seat Sarah.’

Sarah took a seat on the left side of the ship. She had a view of Zalo’s side window. The ship came closer and closer to the atmosphere.

‘Mission control, this is exploration flight alpha-6 about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, over.’

‘Roger that, Alpha-6.’ The sound coming from the intercom was riddled with static, but Sarah was still able to recognise Victor’s voice. She cracked a smile.

‘There seems to be a great build-up of storms in the dust cloud, mission control. This wasn’t mentioned in the briefing.’

‘The latest readings look fine,’ the intercom said after a brief silence.

‘Alright then. Entering atmosphere now, over.’

As they neared the cloud, an orange glow started to emerge from the ship’s nose.

‘Hull temperature rising rapidly,’ Zalo said. ‘Heat shields are holding.’

Everything was going well. With each passing minute Sarah could see more details in the cloud formations. They looked like waves, all moving in the same direction. Sometimes a bright yellow dot appeared on top of the clouds, only to disappear moments later. The clouds were coming closer and closer. The temperature rose. Sarah started breathing faster. The light intensified and in a flash they were in. All the light was gone. Zalo looked left at Layla.

‘I think we did it. The ship is holdi..’

A massive gush of wind swept the ship off course. The ship’s hull rambled heavily under the force of the wind pulling them away.

‘We’ve entered an unknown Jetstream!’ Zalo shouted. “Soon we’ll be flying horizontally. We’ve got to do something Layla!’

The wind was hitting the ship violently. The sound it made was deafening. The ship was being thrown around in a seemingly endless thundercloud.’

‘Give full power to the main engines,’ Zalo shouted over the sound of the wailing ship, ‘We’ll force the plane down.’

Sarah’s heart was pounding in her chest. She started sweating and covered her ears with her hands. A cabinet above her opened and a pile of manuals fell down. Layla was shouting. The engines made the ground vibrate more and more. Direly her eyes were looking for a sign of land through the clouds. Then, to the right of the ship, she saw a light piercing the grey vale. The light was dim and warm. It made her feel relaxed in some way, but not for long. The light was growing, the brightness increasing. She still couldn’t see what was emitting it.

‘There’s something in the clouds!’ She shouted, but the noise from the storm overwhelmed her voice to the point that she couldn’t hear herself speak. She grabbed hold of the spare headset hanging on the wall next to her and put it on.

‘There’s something coming from the right!’

‘Zalo, what is it?’ Layla shouted while still trying to regain control over the ship.

He looked to the right. His eyes widened. A winged beast with bright yellow scales rammed the ship with enormous strength. Sarah screamed. She heard shouting coming from the mid-section. The beast grabbed hold of the ship with its hind legs and swung it around like a dog playing with its favorite toy. Layla heard a roar coming from the left.

‘Brace!’

A second beast rammed itself into the ship. A massive explosion coming from behind shook the ship.

Red lights started blinking all over the cockpit. The sounds of the buzzing alarms were only adding more chaos to the already dire situation.

‘We’ve lost the main engines!’ Zalo shouted. ‘We can’t get away.’

One of the beasts that had rammed them had latched itself onto the roof of the ship. Sarah felt its roar shaking the ship. The ship banked to the right. She hit her head against the wall. All the sounds she was hearing were suddenly replaced by one high-pitched tune. She looked around. The cockpit looked vague. Zalo and Layla were shouting and their arms and hands were moving very fast. She looked out the front window, a long pane of glass that also ran up all the way to the roof. Sarah looked up. She stopped breathing. Everything seemed to move slowly. The chaos around her flowed away, together with all the remaining sound. All of her focus was on the giant scaled lizard like head on the other side of that window. The beast had a long jaw, and small yellow eyes, pierced by a slit of black. Two horns emitted from behind its eyes. It opened its mouth. It spewed a shiny yellow liquid all over the right side of the ship. Almost as soon as the beast spat out the liquid it ignited into a sea of flames.

Sarah snapped out of the trancelike state and looked towards Layla.

‘What can we do? We’ve got no engines.’

Zalo was desperately looking around him for anything that he could do, but Layla was faster.

‘I’ve got something,’ Layla said. ‘Zalo, we’re going to use the primal booster engine to force us downwards. It’s the only thing we can do.’

‘But the primal booster is on the bottom of the ship. It’s used to get off the ground.’

Layla looked straight into Zalo’s eyes.

‘And now it’s gonna get us down to it.’

Layla yanked the steering handle sideways and in no-time the ship was upside down.

‘Now!’ Layla shouted as she pulled the handle.

 The floor started rumbling. The primal booster engine was now pointed upwards and as soon as it came on, the ship was pressed down with immense force. The beast that latched itself onto the roof was now pressed down together with it. The ship was lowering altitude rapidly and shook like it was going to fall apart at any moment. The noise was getting louder as the beast started screeching and with Zalo and Layla holding onto the steering handles for their lives the ship shot out of the clouds. Almost immediately the beast broke free of the ship and flew back to the clouds. All the noises had almost fully gone away.

Zalo and Layla still held their stirring handles tightly. They laughed faintly. Layla carefully leveled the ship.

‘We made it,’ Zalo said.

Now that the clouds cleared up they could see the land. The cockpit became as quiet as a graveyard. In front of them a barren wasteland stretched out. Rocks were scattered about all over the place. There was no sign of any human life, or that there ever had been any.

‘I’m gonna land the ship here,’ Layla said. ‘This engine won’t last for long.’

Layla made the ship descend gradually and made it hover above the ground. She unfolded the landing gear and gently she put the ship down.

After a full minute of silence Layla and Zalo let go of the steering handles.

‘Where did you learn to do that?’ He asked.

‘I guess that when you’re trafficking on Mars you learn some tricks.’

Layla lay back on her seat, coming down from the rush of adrenaline. She closed her eyes and sat in her chair. Zalo also remained quiet. Sarah looked at her hands. They were vibrating heavily. She touched her face. Sweat was pooring down her cheeks. She closed her eyes. In a warm bed she lay…

‘Sarah. Sarah! Wake up.’

She felt a tap on her shoulder and opened her eyes. Layla was sitting in her chair turned towards Sarah.

‘How long was I out?’ She asked as she slided her hand across her head and through her hair.

‘About two hours.’

‘It felt like an eternity… Where’s Daniel? I want to see him. Is he all right?’

‘Daniel is fine. He’s outside with Zalo. They should be back any minute.’

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

‘Outside?’

Sarah untied her seatbelt and stood up. She still had somewhat of a headache in the back of her head. She walked to the front of the cockpit and looked through the dirty glass. She saw Daniel and Zalo in front of the ship. Daniel was in his spacesuit and was looking at a device he was holding. Zalo had put on his suit, grabbed his hammer and was now standing beside Daniel on the look-out. Zalo’s suit was bigger than Zalana’s. Zalo’s suit was bigger. It looked heavier. Black plates covered most of his body. On his waist he had a handgun the size of Sarah’s forearm, and in his hands Zalo’s weapon of choice: a huge two-sided Warhammer. The hilt had intricate markings in between a pattern of bronze-colored squares that ran all the way up the hilt. The piece on top was colored in dim silver. This small piece that in the middle that connected to the hilt widened both ways to form the two hammerheads. Zalo was almost as big as a bear in his suit. She thought Zalo looked dangerous, not only to his enemies, but to herself. Sarah looked around. Apparently the clouds didn’t block sunlight, or at least light, from reaching the surface. To her right lay a flat and sandy ground stretching out for miles, eventually leading up to a mountain in the distance. Far to the left the flat field was riddled with huge boulders and rocks.

‘What did this?’ Sarah whispered to herself.

‘That’s what we’re for. To find out. Come on, let’s go to the back. It looks like Zalo and Daniel are coming back in.’

They went through the cockpit door and into the mid-section. Zalana was in the back preparing the airlock entrance system to get Daniel and Zalo safely back inside. ‘Recovery, this is Daniel,’ they heard over the intercom. Zalo would like to get back inside.’

‘I’m preparing the airlock system now,’ Zalana responded.

‘No need. Just open the main door.’

‘Are you mad? We’ll all suffocate.’

Zalana heard knocking on the main door of the ship. She walked towards it. Sarah had taken a seat, still not feeling well. Layla had sat down next to her. Zalana looked out the window. Daniel was standing on the other side with his helmet removed.

‘The air is breathable,’ he said while happily pointing to the device in his hand. It’s the same as the inside air.’

Zalana opened the door for them. The warm, moist outside air flowed into the room. Sarah liked the warm air. The cold, dry air from the space flight had given her a sore throat. Daniel stepped in and Zalo followed him. Zalo had to enter sideways, because he couldn’t fit through the door opening with his suit on. They all sat down. Zalo walked to the corner of the room. Shortly after he had come to a halt the backside opened up and he stepped out. He took a seat next to Zalana. Daniel sat beside them. Sarah and Layla sat opposite to them.

‘So, Daniel. What are your first impressions?’ Layla asked. Everyone in the room wondered the same, so it was completely quiet.

‘Well, for one thing, the air is breathable. It’s even a comfortable 22 degrees.’ Daniel looked at the open door. ‘So we don’t have to worry about oxygen issues anymore. Sadly, as far as I could see from outside.. there are no remaining human settlements in sight. I detected no signs of any life around the ship and the surrounding area…’

Sarah looked down at the floor. Before the mission she had accepted the death of her parents. She succeeded in continuing on without them. But when Victor told her about the mission, she couldn’t help but wonder: ‘what if?’ Even though she knew that her parents couldn’t have survived crying dead day, she gained a bit of hope when she stepped onto this ship. Now, after seeing the wasteland around them. After hearing Daniel speaking of the dead world around them, it felt like she went through the death of her parents all over again.

‘What about those clouds?’ She heard coming from next to her. ‘Those things in there nearly got us all killed!’

Daniel took a deep breath.

‘The clouds all seem to be moving fast towards a mountain about 40 kilometres to the east. These clouds are not natural. I can’t say too much about our attackers. I was right here in the mid-section when they attacked. I didn’t even see them.’

Sarah saw flashes of the attack before her. She remembered her neck hurting when they entered the clouds. She remembered a light, a light becoming brighter and brighter to eventually reveal a winged, scaled monster.

‘I did,’ Sarah said quietly.

They turned their heads towards Sarah.

‘Well, what attacked us?’ Daniel asked.

Sarah remained quiet for a moment, still looking down. Then finally she straightened up, looked up at everyone and softly said: ‘Dragons.’

From the door opening she heard them, far away, roaming in the clouds, roaring.

Zalo and Zalana turned away, but Daniel kept looking at Sarah.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m not sure of anything, but it wasn’t a missile. It wasn’t a lightning strike or a big bird or anything. It was a yellow scaled winged beast that hit the ship. It was a dragon that caused the burn marks on the hull. Look for yourself Daniel! Those burns are not from entry and only on the left side. Last time I looked dragons spit fire and have scales.’

‘It’s alright, Sarah. I believe you.’

‘Sorry, I just need to be alone for a moment.’

 Sarah stood up and walked out of the mid-section, hiding her face with her arm, and slammed the door behind her. Sarah crashed onto her bed, curled her body up and cried. She made as little sound as she could. She didn’t want them to see her like this.

She looked out the small circular window in the wall next to her bed. She stared aimlessly at the dusty, godforsaken ground that she once called home. These wastelands were where she was raised. Where she lived happily with mom and dad. She remembered playing in the garden with her neighbourhood friends. Trying to capture the ladybugs in the shrubbery and putting them in a small plastic house. She remembered her best friend from school, Cynthia.

Sarah heard footsteps coming from the front of the ship. Someone knocked on the door.

‘Sarah, can I come in? It’s me, Layla.’

‘what do you want?’ Sarah didn’t want to sound angry towards Layla. Layla seemed like a nice person to her. But she still only knew her for a day.

‘Let me come in, Sarah. I know how you feel.’

‘Ok..’ Sarah sat upright. Her arms were barely able to lift her up. Layla came in and sat down next to Sarah. She put her arm around Sarah.

‘I know it’s hard. I lost my brother to this mess. As soon as I saw the ground when we entered I knew he was gone.

‘That’s horrible.’

‘It’s alright. I wanted to cry when I realised it, but at last now I know that he has passed for sure. I think knowing it is better than doubting and thinking about it night after night.’

‘And your parents? Are they alive?’

Layla grinned. ‘Let me formerly introduce myself. My name is Layla Evonade.’ She rolled back her right sleeve to reveal the barcode on her shoulder.

‘People call me Stripes.’

‘You have a barcode. But that means.. you’re Mark Evonade’s daughter!’

‘Yup, that’s me. But I don’t just leach off my dads’ wealth and do nothing all day. I ran away a few years ago. This barcode is the only reminder I have.’

‘Why would you run away. You could have had everything as an Evonade.’

‘I could have… But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Trust me, you don’t know my father and you obviously have never been to Mars Atlas-city. His monopoly over the food production network has lead the city into a slow decline. I ran away to help underground smugglers to steal my fathers’ food and give it to the people who need it.’

‘Wait a second. If you’re a smuggler on Mars, how did you end up joining this mission?’

‘I got caught smuggling grain into Luna. Nearly got away, but those bastards cornered me. Victor got me out, and it’s not the first time he did so. I owe him big time for his help. He came to me because I’m the best pilot he knows. I joined to find out the truth about my brothers’ fate, nothing more.’

Rumbling and noise of people moving came from around the ship.

‘What are they doing?’ Sarah asked.

‘Daniel said it was safe to set up a tent against the ship so that Daniel can place his measuring equipment outside. It is already getting darker outside, so they got a move-on.’

‘Do we need to help?’

Layla looked at her and smiled.

‘I think Zalo and Zalana can manage just fine. Besides, this bed sits really comfortable. Let’s just sit here and talk.’

Sarah felt a lot better. She dried her tears and blew her nose. They started talking about all sorts of things, like they didn’t have a care in the world. The rumbling from outside quietly disappeared into the background.