Frozen Dreams
Jaxon coughed and wheezed as the acrid smoke blew directly in his face, causing him to nearly lose his tenuous grip on the rope that extended through an open window 3 stories above where he dangled. The flames now roaring through the same window, he realized the rope wouldn’t last much longer, even if his grip did. He risked a look down at the distant street below as the wind changed abruptly. Catching his breath, he noted that the fire fighting vehicles seemed like game pieces on a board and he wondered how he found himself in such a precarious position.
His grip slipping, he thought, I don’t remember how I got here. Something isn’t right. Suddenly, he felt like he was in two places simultaneously. He was here dangling from a rope hundreds of meters above the streets, but he was also lying in bed. He could feel the bed against his skin. Only, he felt cold in his bed, so cold. He had never experienced anything so cold.
Jaxon looked up at the flames as smoke now poured through the window so hard he could feel the heat on his face. He exhaled sharply and he could see his frosty breath condense in front of him. This is the weirdest dream ever, he thought, as his hand slipped off the rope and he began to fall.
He closed his eyes and started a familiar chant as he was falling uncontrollably, “This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real.” However, the chant didn’t bring about its desired effect and after what seemed an eternity of falling and dizziness, he finally came to a halt and only felt like he was floating. Why can’t I wake up?
Jaxon slowly opened his eyes to an inky blackness, almost like the darkness of deep space. Wait a minute, this is exactly like deep space, he thought, as he could see faint points of light peeking through the darkness and he slowly began to make out what could be the faint glow of the galaxy. He gazed in wonder through the cosmos while still feeling the bed against his face. So cold, why do I feel so cold and why can’t I wake up?
Slowly Jaxon’s gaze shifted downward and it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust but he could tell he was floating above a cylindrical ship of enormous size, possibly several kilometers long. Why am I dreaming that I’m floating above an enormous spaceship in deep space? Then he remembered getting into the cryo-pod for the 500-year long trip from Mamu to Pasithea, his first and hopefully last interstellar trip. He remembered the cryo-sleep tech telling him the next thing he would know he would be waking up on Pasithea. Yet here he was dreaming of being in deep space and he couldn’t wake up. How long have I been dreaming?
Jaxon lifted his gaze outwards again and soaked in the stark beauty of the silent cosmos. It feels so lonely and so…cold. He looked down again at the ship as he remembered its name, the Niorun. I’m inside the Niorun right now, he thought. Frozen in a cryo-pod and dreaming I’m floating above the ship. But how can I dream when I’m frozen? They were all assured they wouldn’t be able to feel the passage of time as they would have no brain activity for the duration of the trip, frozen in perfect stasis. Am I the only one dreaming? How long have I been dreaming?
He could now remember fragments from previous dreams, some but not all like the previous dream. How many times have I realized I’m dreaming, trapped in a frozen body, he wondered. How many times have I had these exact same thoughts? How far into the journey are we; one week, 5 years, 300 years? Will I even be sane when we arrive at Pasithea?
Slowly the dream faded into the abyss, and he lost all memory of it and now he was in class at university when he heard his professor ask, “Mr. Bricks, where are your pants?”
***
540 years later:
Her chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythmic fashion. She was warm and looked comfortable under her blankets and appeared as if she might wake up at any moment and give him the smile he so desired to see. Yet, after one week of post cryo-sleep thawing, she still slept. Ryker cradled her hand in his as he said, “Yara, my darling please wake up. We’re here on Pasithea, ready to begin our new life like we always dreamed. Please wake up my love.”
There was a knock at the door of her room and a short stocky man in a white coat entered. “Mr. Ovid?” The man said as he extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Moore.”
As they shook hands, Ryker replied, “Nice to meet you Dr. Moore. Ryker Ovid. Are you the expert that Dr. Crenshaw mentioned?”
Dr. Moore smiled, “I don’t know if I’m an expert or not but I’m the only physician on Pasithea that’s ever treated a case of PCCS before.”
“Well, thank God you’re here. None of the other doctors seem to have any idea what’s wrong with her and she’s just been languishing here for a week now.”
Dr. Moore moved to the other side of the bed as he studied the vital signs display above the bed and then back down to Yara. “Yes, I apologize for the long wait but there were 5000 other colonists that had to be awakened and the Phobetor medical team didn’t mark her case as urgent.”
“So, you’re a member of the expeditionary mission?”
Dr. Moore shifted his focus from Yara to Ryker, “Yes, I’ve been on Pasithea for nearly 50 years now.” The 536 members of the expeditionary mission came to Pasithea from Mamu 49 years ago aboard the Niorun. Their mission was to construct a small city on the planet and have it prepped for the arrival of the main colony aboard the much larger Phobetor. Dr. Moore had supervised the construction of the town’s medical center and served as chief physician for the thawing process for all the newly arrived colonists. Together with the Phobetor’s medical team, they had successfully revived the entire ship’s compliment, all but one.
Ryker nodded, “You said something about PCDS or something? What is that?”
“PCCS, Post Cryo-Sleep Coma Syndrome,” Dr. Moore replied. “It’s characterized by a normal hibernation recovery in every way except one, the victim doesn’t wake up for an extended period or never wakens at all. The ones that do wake all insist that they were dreaming the entire time during their hibernation.”
“I’ve never heard of anyone dreaming while in cryo-sleep.”
“That’s because no one does. It’s impossible to dream without brain activity and no one has any brain activity whatsoever during cryo-sleep.”
“Then why do they claim to have been dreaming?”
Dr. Moore shook is head, “I don’t know. It’s possible they experience a prolonged dream cycle during the waking process, and it seems like they dreamed the entire time.”
“I see, Is this…PCCS very common?”
“No, “It’s quite rare in fact. I only know of 87 documented cases since we started using cryo-sleep pods.”
“Only 87 cases in all that time?” Ryker’s vision blurred as tears filled his eyes. “Why did it have to happen to her?”
“I don’t know.”
Ryker sniffled, “You know, she didn’t want to come here initially. I had to talk her into it.” He reflected on their time on Mamu. She’d been quite happy with their life there, even though they shared the planet with 20 billion other people, but they wanted children and that wasn’t an option on Mamu due to the birth laws. When they heard about Pasithea being opened for colonization, he was so excited. If they could book passage, they could have as many children as they wanted but Yara was reluctant. She didn’t want to leave her family and everything they’d ever known for a 500-year voyage and an unknown planet. Now, he regretted ever convincing her to come to this place, the most isolated planet in all human space.
Dr. Moore put his hand on Riker’s shoulder, “We all make our own decisions. There’s no way you could have known.”
“So, tell me about this PCCS. Has anyone ever recovered from it?”
“Yes, of the 87 cases I’m aware of, 23 of them did regain consciousness.”
“Why didn’t they warn us about the risks?”
Dr. Moore frowned, “It was included in the waver you signed but probably wasn’t mentioned in your medical briefing because it’s so rare.” Humans had been utilizing cryo-sleep pod technology for over 10,000 years now and had colonized over 6400 planets that Dr. Moore was aware of. The central planets are close enough that trips between them can be as short as 10 years and travel is common. So common that millions of people have utilized cryo-sleep pods over the centuries.
Ryker nodded, “For the ones that woke up, what was their treatment? What can we do for Yara?”
“There is no known treatment I’m afraid. The thing is, of the 23 that regained consciousness, 22 of them were only in cryo-sleep for 40 years or less and only half of those were able to fully rejoin society. The other half had severe psychological disorders”
Ryker gasped, “And we were in cryo-sleep for 500 years.”
“Yes, I’m afraid the prognosis isn’t good.”
Ryker wiped his eyes, “Wait, you said 22 out of 23 were in cryo-sleep for 40 years or less. How long was the other one in cryo-sleep for?”
“500 years…He was a member of the expeditionary team to Pasithea. I treated him.”
Ryker’s eyes widened, “He’s here? What did you do for him?”
“That’s just it, I didn’t do anything for him. After two years, he just woke up.”
“Two years? He was in a coma for two years after the cryo-pods? Is he…normal?”
Dr. Moore smiled, “Yes, after a fashion. In fact, he told me to contact him if I ever encountered anyone else with PCCS.”
“Then why isn’t he here yet?”
“Because he doesn’t live in New Nidra, he’s somewhere in the mountains by himself as he prefers.”
“You haven’t seen him in 47 years?”
“Oh no, he comes in for his longevity treatments. It’s been almost 10 years since I last saw him in person, but he checks in every so often with his research observations and findings.”
“So, you can find him?”
“Yes, I’ve sent word. Hopefully, he’ll be here soon.”
“Do you think he’ll be able to help her?”
Dr. Moore shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea.”
***
The grey squirrel ventured into the meadow from the nearby trees and dug frantically in the soil for a few seconds and then came up with a nut but instead of running back to the trees, it sat up and started feasting on the spot. The ground behind the squirrel erupted as a large razor jawed leptor grabbed the squirrel and quickly yanked it underground.
Jaxon Bricks pulled the binoculars down from his face as he sat up from his supine position. Chalk one up for the home team, he thought. Although Pasithea had only been inhabited by humans for 49 years, it was terraformed by an advanced robot probe many thousands of years ago. Unlike most planets terraformed for humans, Pasithea needed very little modification and as such some of the original fauna and flora had survived the onslaught of Terran life and some were even thriving.
Jaxon took a long drink from his water bottle, then checked his recordings. Not a bad day’s work, he thought. Time to head back to the cabin and get something to eat. As he turned to exit the meadow, he heard a voice call out from the other side of the meadow.
“Jaxon Bricks, is that you?”
Jaxon leaned forward on his toes suddenly as if he were about to jump, then settled back down on his heels. Well, I’m not floating or flying so this must be real, the thought. He turned in the direction of the shouted voice, “Hello Dr. Moore.”
As Dr. Moore closed the ground between them, he said, “Jaxon, it’s good to see you out in the field monitoring the local ecosystem but I do wish you’d wear your monitor. You were quite difficult to find I’m afraid.”
“I’m surprised you were able to find me at all.”
Dr. Moore pointed towards the sky, “Well it wasn’t easy but thankfully the satellites were able to pinpoint you.”
Jaxon glanced upward, “What’s happened?”
“The Phobetor arrived 10 days ago.”
Jaxon sighed, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help.” It had genuinely slipped his mind, but the truth was he didn’t regret missing it…so many people in one place, he thought.
“On no, that’s quite alright. I really do appreciate your condition and why it’s difficult for you.”
“Thank you doctor. Ever since I woke up, I just prefer being alone out here with just the animals to keep me company.”
Doctor Moore looked around as he took in the beauty of the mountains. “It truly is beautiful up here but I’m afraid I need to ask you to come back to New Nidra with me.”
Jaxon frowned, “Back to New Nidra? Do you really need my help getting them all settled in?”
“No, it’s not that…There’s a young woman, Yara Ovid and she hasn’t woken up yet from cryo-sleep. I’m afraid she has PCCS like you.”
“You’re sure?”
Dr. Moore nodded.
“Then I guess I’m going to New Nidra,” Jaxon replied.
***
After several minutes of observing Yara and her vital signs monitor, Jaxon turned towards Dr. Moore, “Her brain activity is normal?”
Dr. Moore nodded, “Yes, her brain waves are those of someone sleeping but she’s comatose.”
“Is there anything you can do to help her Mr. Bricks?” Ryker Ovid pleaded.
“I have some ideas and please call me Jaxon. No one has called me Mr. Bricks since University.”
Ryker smiled, “So, what was it like for you during the cryo-sleep? Did you really dream for 500 years?”
Jaxon walked to the other side of the bed, still studying the comatose Yara. “In some ways it felt like a normal night’s sleep but in other ways, it felt like eternity. I went from one dream directly into the next, not always remembering the previous dream.”
“What about nightmares? Did you have nightmares?” Ryker asked nervously.
“I don’t remember having any nightmares.” Telling him about the nightmares isn’t going to help him in the least, Jason thought. “Let me ask you something Ryker. Is Yara a lucid dreamer?”
“A lucid dreamer?” Ryker asked.
“Did she ever talk about becoming aware while dreaming or taking control of her dreams?”
“Oh yeah, she used to talk about that. She said sometimes she would realize she was dreaming and then she’d take control and do things like fly, or especially levitating things. Made me jealous really, my dreams are quite boring.”
Jaxon look up, “Levitating things?”
“Yeah, sometimes, like if something was chasing her and she…became lucid, she said she’d turn towards her pursuer and lift them up in the air with her mind.”
“Interesting…did she ever mention feeling like she was two places at once while she was dreaming?”
“Two places at once?” Ryker asked.
“Sometimes when I’m lucid dreaming,” Jaxon explained. “I can feel my face on the pillow, feel the blankets on top of me but I’m also still seeing and feeling everything in the dream. It’s like being in two places at once.”
“I don’t recall her ever mentioning that.”
Jaxon scratched absently at his temple, “You see, that’s how I realized I was in cold sleep.”
Dr. Moore frowned as he interjected, “What do you mean?”
“I mean when I was lucid dreaming while in cold sleep, I could feel myself lying in the cryo-pod and most of all I remember feeling cold, extremely cold. The cold would force itself into my dreams sometimes and then I’d realize I was dreaming and still in cold sleep. I know medical science doesn’t believe that’s possible but I’m telling you what I experienced.”
“That sounds terrifying,” Ryker replied.
Jaxon sighed, “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds but that was the key to how I woke up…I was dreaming and I felt like I was in two places but instead of cold, my bed felt warm and soft.”
Dr. Moore put his hand on Jaxon’s shoulder, “I believe you Jaxon.”
Jaxon nodded, “Good because that’s what we need to do for Yara.”
“What are you suggesting?” Dr. Moore asked.
“We need to move her outside. Let her feel the sun on her face.” Jaxon said.
“Yes! I love that idea.” Ryker exclaimed.
Jaxon and Ryker turned towards Dr. Moore, “Well, she’s definitely stable so I don’t suppose it would hurt to take her off the monitors for a couple of hours a day.”
“Good, it’s settled then,” Jaxon turned towards Ryker. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“You’re leaving?” Ryker said.
“Yes, I have work to do, and this could take a while. I was comatose for nearly 2 years.”
***
2 weeks later:
She’s been awake for 3 days now, Jaxon thought as he knocked on Yara’s hospital room door. I never would have thought it would happen so quickly.
Ryker opened the door, “Come in Jaxon, please come in.”
“Jaxon! I’m so happy to meet you!” Yara exclaimed as Jaxon entered the room.
Ryker walked across the room and shook hands with Yara who was now sitting up in bed. “The pleasure is all mine Yara. I’m so glad to see you up and about so quickly!”
“Thanks to you,” she said as Jaxon took a seat in the chair next to the bed. “Dr. Moore says it was your idea to move me outside every day?”
Jaxon smiled, “Yes, I thought you might be able to feel it while you were dreaming.”
“I did! I felt the warmth on my face and even felt the breeze, and I realized I was no longer in cold sleep. Still, it took me a while to find my way out…500 years is a very long time.”
Jaxon nodded, “So, you were aware that you were aboard the ship in cryo-sleep?”
Her eyes watered, “Yes, it was terrifying. I wanted to stop dreaming or wake up but couldn’t do either. Thankfully, I spent a lot of it just regular dreaming, not lucid dreaming the whole time I think.”
“Honey, I’m going to the cafeteria, do you want me to bring you anything?” Ryker asked as he opened the door.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.”
“So, you’ve been out of the coma for 3 days now. How do you feel?” Jaxon asked.
“I feel okay. Dr. Moore says I can leave the hospital tomorrow. I’m quite excited to see our new home.”
“Good for you. How are you sleeping at night?”
She looked down, “Not well. The truth is, I’m afraid to go to sleep. Afraid I won’t be able to wake back up in the morning.”
“It gets better with time, but I still feel the same way at times.”
“47 years and you still haven’t fully recovered?”
Jaxon raised his eyebrows, “What’s 47 years compared to 500?”
She nodded, “Sometimes, I can’t tell if I’m still dreaming or if this is really happening. Like when you first walked in the door, I had this weird feeling like I was dreaming.”
“Ah,” he said as he stood. “I have a trick for you.”
She smiled, “A trick?”
“This still happens to me, but I have a little trick to tell if it’s real or a dream.” He leaned forward on his toes and pretended like he was trying to jump.
She laughed, “What are you doing?”
Jaxon also laughed, “I’m trying to fly!”
“Oh, I see! When you lucid dream, you like to fly?”
“Exactly, so when I have trouble telling reality from dreaming, I try to fly. If I don’t fly away, I know I’m not dreaming.”
“That’s great but I don’t fly that much when I’m dreaming. I levitate things.”
“That’s what Ryker told me,” Jaxon replied as he grabbed a small rehab ball that was sitting on the table and handed it to her.
“You want me to try and levitate it?”
“Exactly.”
She held the small ball in her open hand and concentrated for a few seconds, but nothing happened. “Well, I guess I’m not dreaming.”
“Excellent,” Jaxon replied as he turned towards the door. “I need to visit the facilities for a bit, but I’ll be right back.
As he opened the door Yara called out, “Jaxon!”
He turned around to see Yara sitting on the bed with the rehab ball hovering about 10 centimeters above her open hand. “What the…?”
A short story by John Japuntich. Copyright January 2026
Please enjoy the next story…
Faraday’s Beast
The stench of charred human flesh and lingering ozone assaulted Nick’s olfactory sense as he knelt to examine the latest corpse. What a shame, he thought. Sherri Oxford; 24 years old. She was only four when we were stranded on this God-forsaken planet.
“This is the fifth one in four months,” Eddie, the town mayor said.
Nick’s suit crinkled as he stood up, “Yeah, and this one was also scavenged postmortem, just like the others.” All the flesh stripped from her right lower leg, her guts ripped out and half her face missing, poor girl, he thought.
“How in the hell, are the static discharges getting through the suits now?” Eddie asked.
Before Nick could answer, lightning streaked across the sky briefly turning night to day. He waited for the thunder to pass when suddenly another burst lanced from the sky and struck them both, the electricity passing harmlessly around the outside of their Faraday suits and into the ground. “The real question is why did their suits fail when everyone else’s seems to be working fine?”
Eddie nodded, “No one’s died from strikes in the last nineteen years. What’s changed now and why these five?”
“Don’t forget about these scavengers,” Nick replied as he pointed to Sherri’s corpse. “In twenty years, we’ve never had a single instance of a native predator attacking a person or livestock. None of our livestock has ever even been scavenged and God knows we’ve had a lot of livestock killed by strikes.” Nick remembered that the first year after being stranded on Faraday had been rough. They’d lost over twenty lives to lightning strikes and static discharges before perfecting the faraday suits for personal use and the cage for the town, but none of them were scavenged afterward.
“You can worry about the native scavengers all you want, but we gotta figure out what’s going on with these suits. We can’t keep everyone pinned up in Ohm forever.”
Nick again pointed at Sherri’s corpse, “What was she doing out here anyway? Nearly three kilometers from town?”
“Apparently, one of her goats got out and she was looking for it. That’s what her mom said anyway.”
“Dee’s going to take this hard,” Nick replied.
“Yeah, Sherri was always her favorite. Nick, why don’t you head back to Ohm and get the guys to come collect her remains? I’ll stay here and make sure your scavengers don’t return.”
***
The static charge made the tops of the short Faraday trees glow eerily in the dark as Nick made his way over a small grassy hill. Occasionally, there were startling popping noises as the static discharged angrily, like firecrackers sizzling in the canopy. After twenty years on Faraday, this strange planet still gave him the creeps when he was out at night. As lightning flashed, casting shadows on the forest’s edge, movement in his peripheral vision caused him to turn and look. For a fleeting second, he saw four squat figures silhouetted against the trees, matching his pace but just as quickly they were gone. I must be losing my mind, Nick thought as he turned back towards the trail, the hair on his nape still standing up.
Shortly after landing on Faraday some twenty years ago, they lost their only biologist to a lightning strike. As the colony’s only physician, Nick filled in as the resident biologist and had become something of an expert on the planet’s ecosystem, including animal biology and even a little botany. For Nick xenobiology had become more than a hobby and as much as he hated this cursed planet, he was obsessed with its biology. He was fascinated with the many wonderful ways that life had adapted to the extreme environment of Faraday. All the animals he’d observed and examined were built low to the ground so as to avoid the lightning strikes and their bodies were heavily insulated. Even the largest herbivores were no more than a meter tall. Most of the animals tended to be wider than they were tall, and as a result slow-moving and could easily be mistaken for reptiles as they lacked fur or feathers. All the plant life was fire resistant, and the short trees incorporated minerals in their bark that conducted electricity along the outside of their trunks and into the ground so as to not damage their interiors.
Nick’s wool-gathering came to an abrupt stop as the flickering lightning revealed a strange creature blocking his path about twenty meters away. Like most Faraday animals he’d observed, it was low to the ground, but its body was segmented with four appendages on each side. As the light flickered in and out, the creature rose on its back segment to nearly two meters off the ground. Static charge glowed and popped around the four appendages that sprouted half a meter from its head. He started back peddling as fast as he could without taking his eyes off this terrifying creature when suddenly the lighting stopped and plunged him into darkness. Nick fumbled for his flashlight but when he finally deployed the bright beam, the creature was gone. What just happened? Nick thought. Was that real or am I losing it? Regardless, he decided it would be prudent to run the rest of the way to town.
***
Nick glanced over at Eddie and could tell the town hall meeting wasn’t going according to plan. No one was happy that they were extending the lockdown another week as they tried to figure out what was happening.
“Mayor Thorson, what about our crops? The fields need tending or we’re not going to have much to eat this winter,” Accused one of the farmers that had stood up from the crowd to address the council.
Eddie stood up from the table, “Tom, I assure you, we’ll get this figured out soon.” Eddie turned to his left as he continued, “Janelle, will you please give us an update on the new suits?”
Janelle Mwangi, the colony’s lead engineer stood from her seat just beside Nick, “We have three new designs completed and they are in fact out in the field for testing now. They’re all reinforced to be able to withstand additional energy and I’m confident at least one of them will pass muster.” She paused as there was some excited muttering from the crowd. “However, until we fully understand why the old suits are failing, I don’t know how we can fully bless these new designs.”
Tom stood back up, “No disrespect to those that have lost loved one but only five have failed. There’s over 500 of us. Hell, just last night, the Mayor and Dr. Malkovich were both struck and they’re fine!”
As the meeting hall was consumed with the ensuing ruckus, Nick couldn’t help but reflect on the unfortunate events that led to them being stranded on this dreadful planet. Thirty years ago, they were all so hopeful for the future. They had left their resource-depleted home world and had set out on a hundred-year voyage to the newly discovered planet Elpis. Elpis was a paradise, unpopulated but full of life and potential but they didn’t even make it halfway there when their ram drive started failing. They knew they’d never make it to Elpis, so they looked for alternatives and found a previously uncharted planet that was just close enough. Nick assumed they were all doomed to a slow and drawn-out death when he heard their ram drive was failing so finding this planet seemed like a miracle. As they limped into the system, their ram drive failed altogether, and the captain had to do some creative planetary braking to get them into orbit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a stable orbit, and they didn’t have enough time to bring everything down to the planet’s surface before the ship burned up in the atmosphere.
Shortly after landing, they realized that the atmosphere was so ionized that it was impossible for any outbound signals to leave the planet. No rescue was coming, they were going to spend the rest of their lives here. Not long after that people started dying from the other side effects of the heavily ionized atmosphere, the frequent high-energy static discharges from inanimate objects as well as frequent ground strikes from the sky. They built a giant Faraday cage around their town and were forced to wear Faraday suits anytime they ventured outside. Michal Faraday’s ancient discoveries had saved their lives, so they decided to name this dreadful planet after him.
“Dr. Malkovich, did you hear the question?” Eddie asked.
“I’m sorry, what?” Nick replied as he returned to the moment.
Dee stood back up and restated her question, “Nick, what about the scavengers? Weren’t the bodies scavenged post-mortem?”
Nick was surprised to see her here, just the day after her daughter’s grisly death. He was glad he was able to talk her out of viewing the body. The devastating electrical strike combined with what the scavengers did to the body was something a mother shouldn’t have to see. He regretted he had seen it. “Yes, all five victims were indeed scavenged post-mortem.”
Someone else stood up, “But none of the native predators or scavengers have never taken an interest in us or our livestock!”
Nick nodded, “After examining the bite marks on the victims, I believe this is a previously undiscovered animal.”
The crowd murmured.
“Dr. Malkovich, you’ve spent the last twenty years cataloging all of the animal life in this area, surely there’s no way you could have missed one that could dismember a body like this,” said a woman that just stood up from the crowd.
Another person shouted from the crowd, “Maybe this new predator killed them, and then they were struck by lightning?”
Nick shook his head, “No, I don’t think so. The bite marks were definitely post-mortem.”
“Are you sure?”
After seeing that strange creature, the night before, Nick wasn’t sure of anything. He debated telling everyone about the creature but decided against it. Doubtful they would believe him and even if they did, what good would it do? Besides, the cause of death was massive static electrocution. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Dee Oxford stood back up with tears just starting to show in her eyes, “But it can’t be a coincidence that these new animals showed up at the exact same time that our suits start failing, right Dr. Malkovich? Maybe you should go out and find one to make sure?”
Maybe I should, Nick thought.
Eddie stood up and waved for the crowd to be quiet, “Everyone settle down. No one is going out looking for this new creature, especially not Dr. Malkovich. He’s our only physician for crying out loud, what would we do without him? No one leaves town until the new suits are fully tested and vetted.”
***
Nick, shifted the plasma rifle slung to his back as he bent down and studied the site of Sherri Oxford’s untimely demise, hoping to find the tracks of the beast that had scavenged her. This was one of only two rifles they’d managed to get off the ship before it crashed. As soon as Eddie discovered it was gone, he’d know who took it. It’ll be worth if it I can kill one and establish a link between the creatures and the failing suits, Nick thought as he stood up and started toward the tree line.
Hours later, the sun was setting, and Nick was about to give up and return to town when he heard something behind him. It was faint and subtle, and he only heard it when he was walking. As soon as he stopped, the noise stopped.
Holy shit, it’s stalking me, Nick thought as he quickly scrambled up the hill and laid down at the crest to prepare an ambush.
The sun slowly set as Nick waited for the beast to show itself. Minute by agonizing minute he waited and nothing. He looked up from the scope of his rifle to check with his bare eyes but nothing. Nick slowly scanned the area around him, paranoid the creature was circling around him when he heard something dead ahead.
With the sun now fully set, and the remaining light fading fast, the creature slowly emerged into the clearing. Nick peered through the scope at his quarry as it raised up on its hind segment and lifted its ugly head two meters into the air, the four appendages on its head waving about as if sensing for something…or someone. He felt a chill down his spine as he looked into the creature’s nearly meter-wide, hooked beak-shaped mouth. A mouth like that is made for stripping flesh off bone, Nick thought as he drew fully down and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened, no discharge, no recoil, no nothing! Nick quickly pulled the charge cartridge out of the rifle, and it was dead. Damn it, it was fully charged when I stole it!
Nick looked back toward the clearing and the creature was nowhere to be seen so he jumped up and not knowing what else to do started running. After a couple of minutes, he could hear the creature behind him. This must be the fastest creature on Faraday! Nick thought as he increased the pace as much as he could with the suit slowing him down. Just maybe he could outdistance it.
When he felt his deep labored breaths getting shorter and closer together, he knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun the beast that was still closing ground. Out of options, he decided it was time to fight, while he still had energy left.
As he abruptly came to a halt, Nick turned and with his right hand pulled out the large knife from the sheath on his belt while keeping the dead rifle in this left hand. Maybe I can hold it off with the rifle while I stab upwards with the knife. If I can get it between the segments, maybe that will slow it down?
The beast stopped about three meters in front of him and again rose on its back segment, its head appendages moving slowly, but this time the air around the appendages began glowing and popping with static charge.
What the hell is happening, Nick wondered as he felt the air around him hissing and popping. Now, the creature moved closer to him and suddenly he was struck by two simultaneous electric blast, one from the creature and one directly from the sky itself!
This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, Nick thought as the blasts passed through his Faraday suit and discharged into the ground leaving him unharmed. The beast is able to manipulate the highly charged atmospheric static and use it as a weapon, but why am I still alive?
Before Nick could ponder this question further, the beast quickly closed the distance between them, snapping its lethal beak as it closed the gap. Nick thrust the plasma rifle into the creature’s mouth as he stabbed upwards with his knife directly into the gap between its thorax segment and head. The beast bit down sharply and snapped his rifle in half as static discharged loudly from its head appendages, then it collapsed to the ground.
Nick jumped up and down as he screamed at the now dead beast, “Take that you cunt! That’s for Sherri, you ugly bastard!” He kicked the corpse once more for good measure, “Fuuuuuucccck Youuuuu!”
Nick abruptly stopped his barbaric celebration and slowly turned as he heard static popping behind him. About thirty meters away in the inky darkness he could see a faint glowing circle that was growing brighter and now through the sparks, he could barely make out the head appendages waving slowly as the sharply pointed beak slowly opened and closed with a snap. Oh, shit, there’s another one, Nick thought.
Nick puffed his chest out as he held the knife out towards the beast, “You want some of this too? Come get some!”
He heard the same popping noises now to his right and left and as he looked both ways, he realized he was surrounded by three of the beasts. As the glowing around their head appendages grew brighter and the static popped louder, Nick felt a tingling sensation come up through his feet and pass up his entire body. He felt all his hair standing on end. He looked to the skies just in time to witness the massive lightning bolt come down from the sky. His last thought as the massive charge ripped his mind apart was, at least I know what happened to the others.
A short story by John Japuntich
Copyright August 2022
John Japuntich 