The lights kept flickering on and off upon the ship as it landed, the turbulence almost knocking me off my feet. Some of the other soldiers were crying out with every jolt, whereas there were a few who kept their fear to themselves. Either way, the stench of it burned my nostrils as I stood in the doorway between their seats and the cockpit where the pilot was lowering the spacecraft.
It wasn't long until the ship landed and my second in command began barking orders whilst I took a look at the climate. Though most of what was in the document upon the pad was correct from what I could decipher, I was confused as to what the strange monsters without a description or name could be. In fact, this entire mission intrigued and baffled me, though I supposed that I would find out soon enough.
As I exit the ship, charcoal coloured sand was blown into the air by the harsh wind, whipping against the masks and armour of the soldiers that spread out in pursuit of these 'monsters'. The dark grey swirls of clouds within the sky obscured any light from the nearby moons. Rain lashed down, the soldiers stepping around large puddles the size and depth of lakes and rivers. Mounds that posed as caves jutted out of the ground at odd places, making the terrain that more difficult to move around.
Not being able to see the world through the lenses of my goggles that covered the mask I wore was annoying considering that I needed my eyes to do such a mission. With my second in command by my side, we battled through the desert-like sandstorm attempting to keep a look out for any monsters that we were to possibly battle for possession of this planet. Thankfully, he was my eyes and I acted as his ears.
The wind whipped at my armour, a tinny sound filling the air as we trudged on. Every so often, I would see him jump at something though he never alerted me of any immediate threat. I could hardly hear anything above the howl of the wind that rushed by. Shadows culminated at odd angles, seeming to not belong to the mounds or caves around us.
"I think we're lost, ma'am," he called to me above the wind, his voice muffled by the mask.
I inclined my head in recognition before we both caught a glimpse of a shadow moving across the desert. Whipping around on our heels, we saw nothing that could have been the shadow.
As I was about to move towards the shadow and shelter of one of the mounds, my second in command pulled at my arm, keeping me behind him. Pointing to the shadows, they seemed to ripple and move around, scurrying against the floor. It wasn't long that we heard screams and warning coming from the transmissions in the armour. The shadows moved, towering above us ominously as they gnawed at us.
Word count = 500 words
Written for Military Fiction's prompt for the Halloween Vault 3D
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Spookerella | Horror Short Stories
Horror- Created for the Halloween Vault contests hosted by Wattpad - On Halloween, things always go bump in the night in the lonely pages of Spookerella. Whilst the dead wander the earth, haunting those still among the living, Spookerella waits for a fool...
