Yves Giraud - Kahnu

“François, please stay out of this. Regardless, I don’t care what either of you think. I’m not letting Chasma near that thing again.”

“But Mommy—”

“I’m not going in there either,” interjected Liu as she approached cautiously.

“I second that,” said Tendai, already grabbing the containers of analyzing equipment he had brought with him, ready to go.

“None of you need to go inside,” said Dedrick. “Until we know what we’re dealing with, there’s no need to take unnecessary risks. You all stay here, I’ll go.”

He looked at François, knowing he would not resist coming along. A nod from the Frenchman confirmed he was right, much to his relief.

“It’s OK, Daddy. He says we can all go inside,” calmly offered Chasma.

Again, taken by surprise, Vera turned to her daughter and kneeled next to her.

“Chasma, who said we can go inside?”

“Jorh! I told you! He said it’s OK. He wants to talk to all of you.”

Everyone was looking at Chasma, dumbfounded.

“I don’t understand, baby. Are you saying this white structure here is talking to you?” asked Vera pointing at the alien object. She was still unable to accept the possibility that Chasma was hearing voices. Yet, deep down, she feared the girl was telling the truth.

“No, Mommy. He’s inside. He knows you can’t hear him, but I can.”

“Can… can you talk to… him too?” asked Liu.

“Uh huh,” replied the young girl, nodding her head in positive reinforcement.

“What else did the voice say to you, baby?”

“He says you don’t need to worry, Daddy. Nothing bad will happen. He just wants us to go inside.”

“Why? Why does he want us to go inside, Chasma?”

“He says he’s trapped and he needs our help.”

“He’s trapped?”

Dedrick looked at François, completely puzzled.

“What do you think?”

“I think we got this far. We might as well see what this is all abou—”

“Wait! What if that… being… what if that thing is trapped in there for a good reason?” interrupted Ladli.

“Like what? Some kinda criminal or monster? Love, we’ll never know unless we check,” replied François calmly.

“Come on, seriously? Either way, there’s only one way to find out.”

“Look guys, I don’t want anyone to take unnecessary risks, any more than you do. François and I are going to enter that thing. We will do our best to stay in communication, but if you prefer to go back and wait for us by the rovers, I totally understand. I promise, we won’t stay gone more than necessary. Ladli, Liu, before you leave, do you mind making sure the generator is on auto? I want to make sure we don’t run out of backup power.”

“Sure can. But I’m not leaving,” replied Ladli.

The two women started walking back to the equipment.

“You’re really sure you want to do this?” asked Vera, knowing too well he did.

“I promise, love. We’ll be extra cautious,” replied her husband.

She let out a heavy sigh and began heading back to the others, her daughter in tow. Any reason to put some distance between them and the white structure was welcome. Dedrick looked at Tendai and gave him a gesture to come closer. Switching to a direct audio on his suit for the Zimbabwean only to hear, “I need you to stay with them. If something happens to us, you will be the only man left. They will need you, for more than one reason. We don’t know what we’re getting into here. François and I will be extremely cautious but… Anyway, if we’re not back within the hour, take everyone back to the station. Don’t try to come after us. The safety of the team may depend on it. Promise me, Tendai.”

Tendai knew Dedrick was right. Plus, he was not too keen on venturing in that alien structure anyway.

“You can count on me, my friend. Just don’t take any unnecessary risks, and I promise to keep everyone safe, here. We’ll follow you on the monitor. Good luck!”

“Dedrick!” called out Vera scared.

“We’ll be careful, baby, I promise!” he answered.

He and François then started walking toward the entrance of the “big cloud.”

“Wait!” shouted Ladli. “What if it’s a trap?”

“There’s only one way to find out, love,” replied the Frenchman.

As the two men got to the purple opening, they stopped in front of the corridor and tried to peer into the foggy passage. The purple haze wasn’t revealing anything. Dedrick turned to look back at the rest of the group at the top of the slope. Tendai had put down his small communication pad on a flat boulder nearby and was checking Dedrick’s video feed. The picture was a bit dark, as usual, but of decent quality. He gave the men two thumbs up, while the rest of the team gathered around him to watch their companions enter the opening on the screen. François walked slowly to the edge of the entrance and put one foot on the floor of the structure. He felt a light tug, as if a vacuum was trying to pull him in. Leaning carefully forward, he felt his body becoming lighter. Gradually pulled by an invisible force, he was slowly levitated and floated inward.

“Wooow!” was all he could say, as he drifted away into the depth of the purple fog and disappeared.

“FRANÇOIS!” called out Dedrick, his arm raised toward his friend, but it was too late. The Frenchman had already disappeared in the purple haze.

“I’m OK! I’m OK. It’s a bit weird, but it’s like floating in zero gravity. Nothing to it. Come on!” came the Frenchman’s voice.

Dedrick, somewhat reassured to hear his calm voice after watching him vanish, approached the doorway. After putting a foot on the floor of the entrance, he took a deep breath and followed in.

The others left behind, held their breath as they watched their two colleagues disappear from their screen. Seconds later, the tunnel was slowly closing back on them, leaving no trace of the entrance. Fear suddenly gripped them as they realized they may never see their friends again. A wave of panic rushed through Vera. Holding Chasma’s hand more tightly, she stared at the white structure in the distance that had just swallowed her daughter’s father. The purple glow was gone. She turned her attention back on the small screen in front of her. Dedrick and François’ helmet cams were transmitting good images.

Inside, the wide cylindrical corridor was bathed in an ambient purple light that seemed to come from everywhere around them, but the thick fog they had encountered at the entrance was no longer obstructing their view of the surroundings. The two men were moving slowly but effortlessly, when Vera noticed the thick fog churning above the explorers. Slowly making its way down the smooth curved walls of the tunnel, the purple haze seemed to come from within the ceiling of the—

The screen suddenly went completely black.

“Shit!” said Tendai. “Dedrick? François? Crap, I think we’ve just lost them.”

Inside the big white cloud, unaware their teammates could no longer see their progress, the two intruders were drifting slowly down the long tunnel, hovering a few meters above the floor. The walls were smooth and featureless, and appeared to be made of the same material as the outside of the structure. The curved ceiling above them was covered with a thick fog, slowly floating down the corridor’s walls. François tried to move towards one of the walls, only to find he was powerless. Whatever was pulling them through the ship had complete control of their floating bodies.

“Hey, look at your gauges. Notice anything?” asked François.

Dedrick brought his forearm up and read the levels.

“Wait… That’s impossible. 79% nitrogen, 21%… There’s oxygen in here?”

“Yep, looks like it; and just the right amount, too. Don’t you find that interesting?”