Chen was setting up the drill nearby, which was supposed to collect deeper rock samples from beneath the surface. He stared at the instrument like it was written in ancient Greek.
"Commander," Chen said slowly. "This drill has seventeen buttons."
"Yes it does."
"Why does a drill need seventeen buttons?"
"Because engineers hate astronauts. That's my theory."
"That's a solid theory." Chen pressed a button. Nothing happened. He pressed another. Still nothing. "Okay. How do I make it go brrr?"
Evans walked over, his boots leaving perfect prints in the dust. "You have to hold the safety switch first. Here." He pointed to a small lever on the side. "Hold this down. Then press the green button."
Chen held the safety switch and pressed green. The drill whirred to life, spinning silently in the vacuum. "Ha! It works! I am a genius!"
"You followed instructions."
"Following instructions is a form of genius."
"It's really not."
"Let me have this, Commander. I need this win."
Thorne had moved to a different spot, collecting more samples. He held up a small rock, grey with flecks of something sparkly. "Hey. This one's pretty. I'm naming him Gregory."
"You're naming a moon rock Gregory," Evans said flatly.
"Gregory the Moon Rock. He's been waiting billions of years for someone to appreciate him. Today is his day."
"I'm surrounded by children. I'm literally surrounded by adult children on the moon."
"You love us," Petrova said from above.
"I tolerate you. There's a difference."
"That's what I said about Mark earlier. We're all just tolerating each other up here."
"It's the foundation of our beautiful friendship," Chen added.
---
One Hour Later — The Meteor
Thorne was labeling his twenty-third sample bag when he stopped moving completely.
"Hey," he said. His voice was different. Sharp. Alert.
Evans looked up from helping Chen with the drill settings. "What?"
"I saw something. In the sky."
Chen straightened up. "Saw what? A star? There are lots of stars, Aris. That's kind of the whole thing about space."
"Not a star. Something moving. Fast."
Evans turned toward the horizon, scanning the black sky. For a moment, nothing. Then he saw it.
A light. Bright and white and streaking across the void. Growing larger. Coming closer.
"What the f**k is that?" Chen whispered.
"Commander," Petrova's voice cut through, sharp and urgent. "I'm tracking an incoming object. Small meteor. Trajectory shows impact approximately three kilometers from your position. Impact in ten seconds."
"Three kilometers?" Chen's voice went high. "That's too f**king close!"
"Everyone stay calm," Evans ordered. "Stay where you are. Don't move."
The meteor streaked down. Silent. Beautiful. Terrifying. It hit the surface with a flash of light and a cloud of dust that bloomed upward in perfect slow motion, spreading out like a grey flower opening its petals. The ground shook. Evans felt it through his boots, a deep vibration that traveled up through his bones.
Then stillness.
"Holy sht," Chen breathed. "Holy absolute sht."
Thorne was already looking toward the impact site. "That was... incredible. And terrifying. Incredibly terrifying."
"Impact confirmed," Petrova announced. "New crater formed. Approximately two hundred meters across. You're all reading stable. No damage to your life support systems."
Mission Control's voice came through next, crackling with excitement. "Odyssey surface team, this is Control. That meteor impact is an incredible scientific opportunity. Fresh subsurface material exposed. We want you to collect samples from the new crater."
Chen groaned. "You want us to walk toward the thing that just exploded?"
"Affirmative. Fresh meteor impacts reveal material that's been buried for billions of years. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Evans was quiet. He was staring toward the impact site. The dust was still settling, revealing a dark wound in the grey surface. In his dream, there had been a crater. A deep one. Dark at the bottom. Something moving inside.
"I'll go," he said.
Thorne turned to him. "Commander?"
"You two stay here. Continue the planned sample collection. I'll check out the new crater and bring back whatever looks interesting."
"That's against your own rule," Chen said. "You said we stay together. No solo adventures."
"I know what I said." Evans was already checking his suit systems. "But I'm not asking you to come with me. I'm ordering you to stay here. This is my call."
Thorne stepped forward. "Evans. The dream you had—"
"Was just a dream." Evans cut him off. "Just a stress dream. You said so yourself, Aris. Scientifically. Logically. It wasn't real."
"But what if—"
"Then I'll deal with it." Evans turned to face both of them. "You two have work to do. Important work. The samples you're collecting are why we came here. I'm just the pilot. I got you here. Now you do your jobs. I'll be back in thirty minutes."
Chen and Thorne exchanged a look through their visors. Neither spoke for a long moment.
"Thirty minutes," Chen finally said. "If you're not back in thirty minutes, we're coming after you."
"Fair enough."
"And if you die," Thorne added, "I'm naming my favorite moon rock after you. Evans. It'll be a good rock. A strong rock. A Commander among rocks."
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."
"Don't get used to it."
Evans turned toward the new crater. The dust had fully settled now, revealing a dark hole in the grey surface. It looked deep. It looked ancient, even though it was only minutes old. It looked exactly like his dream.
He started walking.
"Commander," Petrova's voice came through, quiet and concerned. "Your vitals are elevated. Heart rate climbing."
"I'm fine, Lena."
"You're walking toward a fresh impact crater alone on the surface of the moon. That's the opposite of fine."
"Noted."
His boots crunched in the grey dust. Each step kicked up small clouds that fell back in slow motion. The crater grew larger as he approached. The rim was jagged and sharp, freshly torn from the surface. He couldn't see the bottom yet. It was too deep. Too dark.
"Evans." Petrova's voice was different now. Tight. "I'm scanning the crater from orbit. There's something down there."
"I know."
"No. You don't understand. There's something reflecting light. Something that isn't rock."
Evans stopped at the rim of the crater. He looked down into the darkness.
Something moved.
Something red.
Something that had been waiting.
"Lena," he said quietly. "Tell the others to stay where they are. No matter what they hear. No matter what happens. They stay put."
"Evans, what do you see?"
He didn't answer.
He just stared into the dark, watching the red thing move, feeling it stare back at him.
And then he took his first step down.
---
End of Day 4
-Will be continued😎
Enjoying the story so far? Let me know in the comments—I'd love to hear your theories and reactions.
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Enjoying the story so far? Let me know in the comments—I'd love to hear your theories and reactions.
And if you want to support the story, don't forget to vote and send Power Stones. Every bit of support helps push this story further and reach more readers. Let's keep growing together!