Gunfire ripped through the night, sharp bursts of sound tearing through the darkness all around me. The acrid scent of gunpowder clung to the air, mixing with the bitter taste of blood and sweat on my lips. 

My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat a relentless reminder that I was still alive.

Pressing myself against the remnants of a crumbling wall,  I tried to steady my breath as my mind struggled to make sense of the chaos around me.

But nothing made sense. How... how did I get here? 

The world was a blur of motion. The scene felt familiar—too familiar.
But why?

That fleeting sense of recognition twisted in my gut, a whisper from somewhere deep in memory. Then the haze sharpened, and the illusion shattered. The landscape stretched out before me, a broken wasteland of ruin. Buildings I half-remembered stood as hollow silhouettes, their frames barely holding against the inferno consuming them. Figures stumbled through the smoke, silhouettes against the firelight—people I knew, though their faces...

Blurred, as if someone had taken a brush stroke to them and smudged the details away.

Their voices shouted orders, warnings, desperate calls for cover…but they all sounded distant, like an old radio playing from another room.

Somewhere to my left, a heavy weapon roared in defiance, spraying fire toward the advancing enemy. Someone else barked a command through the chaos.

But it was a losing battle.

We were outnumbered and surrounded by an unstoppable tide.

I gripped my rifle, the cold metal grounding me in the madness. The ground trembled beneath me, the distant rumble of enemy vehicles growing louder with each passing second, as they grew closer. I needed a plan, come on, think!

But all I could see was fire and death.

Shadows fell, their blurred faces collapsing into the dirt.

A voice cut through the noise, their calls laced with a fear I had never heard before.

"We need to move!"

I turned to lock eyes with someone across the battlefield. Or at least, I thought I did.

Their face was... wrong.

I knew them, but the details slipped away, like trying to grasp smoke.

"We’re surrounded!" Another voice, barely audible over the static and gunfire. "We need to fall back, now!"

I nodded instinctively, even though I didn’t know if they could see me. I forced myself to rise, muscles screaming in protest, and glanced over the wall.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

The enemy was advancing in a relentless wave, their figures barely visible through the smoke and flames.

And behind them…

Something else.

A shadow moved throughout the battlefield, flickering in and out of my vision, never holding shape for long. It didn’t move like water… or wind… it was something else entirely. A pulse, a presence—wrong in a way my mind couldn’t name.

The ground shuddered beneath me, a violent tremor that nearly threw me off my feet.

In an instant, someone was beside me now. Rough hands grabbed at my vest, dragging me back to my senses, their voice strained as they frantically pulled me back. “Snap out of it! We have to move, now!”

I nodded again, the weight of the moment pressing down on me. I turned, ready to follow them into the fray, when—

The ground erupted in front of me as an explosion threw me back.

Dirt and shrapnel tore through the air, the force of the blast stealing the breath from my lungs.

For a moment, the world spun into darkness until my eyes snapped open, and I was alone.

The battlefield was eerily silent.

The gunfire, the shouting, the chaos—all of it was gone.

Smoke rolled through the ruins, thick and endless, swallowing what was left of the world.

And then I saw them.

The others were lying motionless in the dirt.

"No!”

My breath caught as I stumbled toward the nearest body, their form barely visible through the haze. I wanted to call out, but my throat was useless.

They didn’t move. 

I took another step, and then I saw the shadow.

It loomed in the smoke, a hulking mass that seemed to consume the light around it.

It had no features, no face for me to blame.

Just darkness.

But through that, I felt it. A gaze bore into me, A cold pressure that wrapped around my chest, squeezing the very air from my lungs.

Then it moved.

I tried to run, but my body refused to listen. My muscles locked in place, my feet rooted to the ground as tendrils of darkness crawled toward me.

I gasped, struggling against the unseen weight crushing me.

Then the darkness reached me, its writhing tendrils curleing around my limbs, dragging me down into the waiting abyss.

"No!"

I fought and struggled, grasping at the darkness now consuming me.

But it was no use.

It was stronger…. It had always been

The last thing I saw before darkness overtook me was the blurred faces of the fallen–

"Atlas get up!"

Just like that, the dream shattered like glass, as I jolted awake, my heart pounding so hard it felt like the world could hear it. Sweat glistened on my skin, which felt oddly chill against the frigid air of my surroundings. The battlefield faded, giving way to the sterile confines of my cabin. But the fear lingered, a shadow that wouldn’t let go.

"What’s going on?" My voice was hoarse, scraping its way out of my throat.

Amelia Grayson stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes like twin Blue daggers. The kind of gaze that peeled back armor and saw straight to the rot beneath.

"We’re about to hit Mars’ atmosphere. Gear up."

Already? How could I have slept for so long? Shaking off the confusion, I forced myself upright, the exhaustion clinging to every muscle. "Got it."

She didn’t move. Just watched for a heartbeat longer—measuring something, maybe disappointed in what she saw. But then she turned, boots clicking against the floor as she walked out. Her dark blonde hair, almost bronze in the artificial light, whipped behind her like a banner of retreat.

"Five minutes, Atlas," she called without looking back. "Don’t be late."

The door hissed shut.

Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I rubbed the last remnants of sleep from my eyes. "No time for more sleep, huh?" I muttered, the fatigue weighing heavily on my body.

I stumbled to the sink, splashing cold water on my face, trying to gather my thoughts. Staring at my reflection, I met my own dark brown eyes, noting the shadow of the nightmare still lurking there. My hair had grown longer than I liked, but with a quick style to the side, it was out of my way.

Moving to the closet, I peered in. A couple sets of the exact identical suits meet my eye. 

Sighing, I picked one up and got in. 

 With a press of a button, the suit activated. The fabric tightened around me, the black shoulder pads firm, and the white streaks along my arms and legs a stark contrast. It fit perfectly, like always.

A glance at the mirror. One last look.

"Twenty-four years," I whispered. "Still here."

I didn’t know if it was a victory… or a mistake.

Didn’t really matter, in the end. The mission wasn’t going to wait for me to figure it out.

I turned and stepped out into the corridor, letting the rhythm of forward momentum carry me. The walls of the ship were as familiar as ever—pristine metal reflected the overhead lights, flickering slightly with each system check. The scent of recycled air and something unfamiliar clung to everything. But I had to admit it was comforting, in its own strange way.

Making my way through the narrow halls, I had to duck a little to clear the six-foot frame of the door. I’d gotten used to that. As I entered the control room, the energy shifted to the buzz of motion.

Most of the crew was already strapped in. Some were still adjusting harnesses, checking gear, or double-checking systems that didn’t need checking. 

I moved to my seat, passing a few nods along the way. Familiar faces. Some more awake than others.

At the front, Amelia sat poised and ready. Unshakable, as always. Her gaze flicked toward me for half a second before turning back to the readouts.

To her right was Emily Carter. Short, focused, and absurdly good at her job. Her dirty blond hair fell slightly over her face as she worked the flight console, green eyes locked onto data I couldn't tell apart from gibberish.

Amelia’s voice cut across the chatter like a clean blade. “Where is Ethan?”

Right on cue, the doors hissed open and Ethan stumbled in, face flushed, hair a mess, but otherwise alive. He practically dove into his seat and yanked the harness over his shoulders.

Amelia gave him a glance. “Good. You made it.”

A second later, the ship's AI chimed in with a neutral tone.

“Ten seconds before atmospheric entry.”

That quieted everyone down.

I let my gaze move across the room. Seven of us. Seven strangers-turned-crewmates, all strapped into the same ride. Some were nervous. Others focused. Me? I wasn't sure exactly, maybe somewhere in between.

“Four… Three… Two…”

I gripped the armrests, knowing what was to come.

“One.”

The ship lurched, and the floor vibrated beneath my boots. The hull screamed like it was tearing apart, but I’d been on enough drops to know the difference between danger and noise. Still, the force of reentry hit hard, like being pressed into yourself by an invisible hand.

Through the viewport, fire clawed at the edges of the vessel. A soft glow at first, then brighter, like the whole world outside had turned into a furnace. It painted the interior in shades of red and orange, flickering across the room in sporadic flickers.

The air filled with the sounds of stressed steel and the occasional shudder. My harness dug into my shoulders as the turbulence hit full force.

“Steady, everyone!” Amelia’s voice cut through again, barely able to hide the slight tension in her voice, “Ship’s built for worse than this.”

Another jolt. This one was stronger than before, as my body was thrown forward into the harness.

I braced, the pull of gravity turning heavier by the second. Every part of me screamed to move, to do something, but there was nothing to do except ride it out.

“Almost through,” Amelia said, and I believed her.

The rumble softened. The pressure eased. And suddenly, it was like falling into stillness.

I exhaled without realizing I’d been holding my breath.

The firelight outside dimmed, giving way to a clearer view—shades of rust and gold coated the craggy ridges, and valleys below us, each carved by wind and time or what might have been long forgotten rivers. Either way, we were here.

I leaned forward, eyes locked on the landscape below.

Not exactly welcoming. But hey, we're here now.

The turbulence faded, replaced by the low thrum of the engines as the ship leveled out and began its descent. The rattling gave way to a smooth glide, like the vessel itself had taken a breath and decided not to fall apart.

Through the viewport, the Martian surface drew closer with its harsh peaks completely alien to my eyes. My heart kicked once, hard, like it hadn’t quite caught up to the fact that we were actually landing.

Then, a solid thunk as the struts deployed and the ship kissed the surface with a muted jolt. Just like that, we were grounded.