Klym's Dark Path

The skies were dark and the wind was up. The blazing sun had long since passed into the horizon, but its heat still radiated into the atmosphere. It was the perfect night for a storm, but there was no rain in sight. There are never any storms on this wretched planet!

I continued to walk through the sandy dunes, my feet sinking deeper with every step. I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead, making it difficult to see more than ten meters in front of me. I had almost reached my home, but knew that I would never make it before nightfall. The sky overhead was pitch black, save for a few scattered stars. I looked over my shoulder at the dark outline of my family’s cave, surrounded by dark red sand. A small spark of light emitted from within; they would be waiting for me when I arrived.

I turned back around and tried to pick up my pace while wiping away the sweat from my eyes. Suddenly, something caught my attention off in the distance; a bright white light appeared suddenly above one of the dunes and seemed to hover above it for a moment before shooting upwards at incredible speed. I stopped dead in my tracks, dumbfounded by what I had just witnessed. What kind of natural phenomena was this? Was this some kind of mirage? It couldn’t possibly be what I thought it was… Could it?

I limped over to where I saw the light shoot upwards and carefully climbed up over the dune until I reached its peak. My heart began to race as soon as I saw what was on top of this particular dune: an object that resembled a sphere made out of metal and glass, glowing brightly with emerald green lights all around it. This can’t be real! But then again… neither is *anything else* on this godforsaken planet!

As I approached the object cautiously, it began to rumble softly and emit steam out of a small vent on one side. Suddenly, its door hissed open and five creatures emerged dressed in blue outfits that greatly contrasted their pale skin. They each had four legs and two arms, along with large oval-shaped heads with two small holes for ears and four smaller holes for eyes along with a slit for a mouth below them. They were also covered in blonde hair that extended down past their necks. Where have I seen these creatures before?

And then suddenly, without warning, one of them turned towards me and screamed out “TERRORIST ATTACK!” The other four immediately turned around as well and drew strange looking weapons out of their jackets before aiming them right at me! In a split second decision, one of them pulled what looked like a trigger on the side of their weapon and shot something directly at me! My entire body felt as though it were being electrocuted as I fell backwards off the dune onto my back against the soft sand below! Unable to move or speak, all that I could do was stare helplessly up into the sky as all five creatures ran towards me with their weapons pointed directly at me!