Stellaris

“Final flight recording of the deep space exploration ship Stellaris. My name is Hannah Watson, I am crew member, the last of them. Captain Mason Jones took the drop ship to a planet we were passing by. A monster boarded his ship and he brought it back with him, knowing what he did...he went to sleep anyway. If anyone finds this, do not come here. There is only death. I am setting the ship into meltdown to ensure it doesn’t reach Earth. Goodbye.”

It’s time to go. I put on my spacesuit and attach the helmet. My breaths are heavy and my eyes fill with tears, I quickly blink them away. The alien that was in the hall is now gone, a trail of white blood lines the wall and up into the vents. I don’t care anymore, I want those bastards dead. I pick up my flamethrower and ax...time to get shit done. If I’m correct, the thruster commands are in the lower decks. I take the elevator down and wait to hear the ding of the doors sliding open. Slowly, I step out and aim the flamethrower left, than right. There’s nothing so far. A few feet into the hall, a monster swings out from the vent and drops onto the floor, I leap back and press the trigger as hard as I can, watching it go up in flames. It jumps back up into the vent and I take off running. As much as it hurts, I do it anyway. I need to get to the thrusters fast, with each minute that passes, more aliens come.

Engine Room. I made it. The door slides open there on the floor lie about thirty of those freaks, sleeping peacefully. I have two options, use the rest of the fuel in my flamethrower, or quietly override the system. I go with plan B, if they wake up, I’ll do what I can. I tip-toe around a few and make my way to the computer. I type with one finger, trying to stay quiet. It doesn’t work. One wakes up as I’m typing in the last code which triggers a countdown clock. Five minutes. I’m not getting murdered by an alien. I blast the ones around me with fire and them run through the door, locking it behind me. They pile against it, trying to break through. I hear a few in the vents, which means it’s time to run. My heart races, my head pounds, my heavy breathing fogs up the helmet. I leap into the elevator and press the up button until the doors finally slide shut. Just gotta get back to the Observatory, that’s where I’ll make my last stand. The flamethrower is out of fuel, so I leave it behind when the doors open. Just me and my ax now. I enter the Stellar Observatory and wait for my death. But there’s one problem, an alien stands in there with me.

It roars, it’s tail flying through the air. I grip the weapon hard and prepare for battle. It’s claws reach for me but I roll out of the way, slicing into it’s flesh with the ax. He twists around, his arm smacking against my chest. I fly backwards across a table. It’s tail punctures a hole beside me. leaping up off the table quickly, I slam the ax down hard, slicing it’s tail in half. It lurches forward, as I swing the weapon like a golf club. It’s head goes flying through the air and the body crashes onto the floor. It’s white blood oozing into the cracks. The ship shakes violently and I only have a few seconds left.
“Goodbye Stellaris.” I whisper.

The floor explodes into a million shards and everything goes black.

“Stellaris, this is Normandy 1 responding to your SOS. Please respond.”

My eyes shoot open and all I see is black with white sparkles littered throughout the sky. I’m floating in space. I turn my head a little and the Stellaris is not longer there, it’s in pieces. How the hell did I survive?

“Stellaris. This is Normandy 1 inbound on your location, please respond.”

I breathe softly and look at the beautiful stars while listening to Normandy’s calls.

“This is Hannah Watson of the Stellaris...And I am alive.”