The submarine sat on the hard ground of Grace’s beach. There had been a lot of shaking, like an earthquake and then there was a light… A light so bright that it was as if the sun had fallen into Grace’s biodome and dropped this thing off, like a weird present in return for getting rid of astrophage.
Grace immediately called in for help, he was certain that the Eridians heard and felt the commotion as well. There’s no way they didn’t. Upon investigation, the Eridians insisted that the poor quality of the submarine simply had to be of human origin.
“So primitive! Statement. Human design for sure.” Rocky chirped cheerily.
“Ah, well, who knows? Maybe it’s not human!” Grace smiled.
“No. Human design. Statement.”
“What do you mean? Why are you so sure? You can’t just look at something that sucks and call it human, Rocky!” Grace argued back.
“Look at it! Is human! Statement.” Rocky hummed knowingly, gesturing to the large sub like it was just so obvious that it was human. It probably was, but Rocky could be nice about it. Humans work hard for their crappy stuff!
As the pair got closer, Grace could really see just how the red liquid seemed to pour from every hole, crevice and corner of the vessel, leaving what looked like a deep pool of blood on the ground it laid on. Grace slapped his hands over his lips and nose to suppress a gag as his mouth watered and his throat soured at the smell of it when it finally reached him. He couldn’t save it in time and vomit seeped through his fingers.
Rocky made a noise in disgust as the mess splattered on the ground.
“Gross! Grace! Gross!” He stomped his legs on the floor with each word as Grace coughed, trying hard not to do it again.
“Rocky- I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He gasped.
“That’s… the liquid… The liquid smells horrible… it smells like blood! It’s-“ Grace choked back another gag. He turned his back to the vessel, hoping that facing away from it would somehow lessen the stench. It didn’t. Grace vomited again, at least this time facing away from Rocky and not in his own hands. After a few, slow deep breaths, Grace stood up straight and tried to recollect himself. He thinks the nausea has passed now. Or at least now he has to get it together. He can’t just stand here throwing up all day!
“Human inside. Statement.” Rocky says softly.
Grace felt his heart beat pick up. Another human? Really? Hm. Reaallly? The thought of sharing his beach and his home with another person briefly annoyed him, but then it turned into a strange excitement. He gets to share! With a human! Someone like him! Maybe. Maybe Rocky was wrong. It could be human-shaped and not human at all.
That’s when Grace decided to get closer to what looked like a door. There was a small window, one that was completely useless since it was splattered with “blood”. Grace made a mental note to sample the stuff later. Maybe it just had an extremely high iron content and some other chemicals… something completely natural and explainable.
“Open thing! Human inside breathe weird! Statement! Like when Grace “swim” and Rocky jump on Grace chest!” Rocky tapped on the submarine and then jumped back when it sounded like someone was moving inside. There were no distinct sounds of footsteps…There’s probably a lot of liquid inside as well. While the liquid was draining from the vessel, it was draining slowly.
“I’m trying, but it looks like whatever handle or wheel I need to open it broke off!” Grace traced his hand over the doorframe and realized it wouldn’t open even if did have a handle.
“It’s welded shut.” He stated grimly. “C-can you guys hurry! Please!”
Rocky and Grace walked back a few feet to what felt like a safe distance as the other Eridians on the scene raced to the door and quickly began to saw through the metal like it was paper. Gosh, Eridian technology is incredible… or well, maybe human tech is just incredibly unimpressive. All Grace could really do was stand back and watch as more and more liquid flowed out of the cuts.
The door seemed to fly off as the liquid exploded out of the vessel. The Eridians scampered out of the way and luckily no one was washed away in this sea of red. Grace and Rocky quickly stumbled out of the path of the liquid, though they had been standing back quite a few feet. Safe enough to not be in a splash-zone, but still Grace would prefer not to have whatever that stuff is fill his shoes.
The smell was back and stronger than ever. Fresh and warm and alive. This time Grace was prepared and he covered his mouth and nose with his elbow. Fingers curled around the frame of the now open door and a large figure of a man stepped into view. There was no humming or chirping from Grace’s team. Grace wasn’t sure if he himself was even breathing.
The man was completely soaked. He was tall, broad shouldered, his hair was long but looked stringy and sticky, he had a beard too or at least the beginnings of one. The man stumbled out of the submarine and took a few steps forward, his legs shaking violently as he moved. Grace felt himself lean forward wanting to get closer, but remained still. He wasn’t scared, was he? The man coughed… and coughed… and coughed again until “blood” came out of his lungs. That’s when Grace snapped out of his trance and quickly made his way towards the new human.
The man fell to his knees and panted heavily, picking his shaking hand up a few inches above his face to protect his eyes as he looked toward the sky. At the sun.
“Wha- what is that…” The man gasped as he finally collapsed into unconsciousness, but Grace was there in time to catch him. Grace turned the man on his side and began to look around. He wasn’t sure when it happened, but the Eridians had already prepared a gurney for the new human.
Rocky began to speak, he sounded distressed as did the others but Grace could barely pay attention to what was being said. He couldn’t stop staring at this man. His clothes were ripped, he was covered in bruises and some lacerations, his body was hot… really hot, like he had been sitting in the sun for days! The liquid though… the liquid wasn’t hot. Warm? Sure, but hot? How was this man radiating heat like this?
“Wait… STOP!” Grace screamed, standing up straight just as a his teammates curiously approached the doorway of the sub.
“Stop! It’s radioactive! Stay back!” He shouted, waving everyone away. They retreated to safety immediately, humming about the danger to anyone else who didn’t understand.
Rocky stood back as well, however he continued to pace along the shore of the beach anxiously. He debated whether he should race in to help Grace, but he knew too well what radiation could do. Grace couldn’t blame Rocky for hesitating like that, he probably wouldn’t let Rocky get any closer anyway.
Grace had no idea what kind of radiation it could be or how intense it was or where it was exactly coming from. His heart sank, worried about the team members who were working directly on the vessel in order to cut the door open. Although, he felt some relief that no one had stepped inside yet.
As for himself? That’s a concern for later, it may be of no concern at all.
Grace peered into the vessel’s doorway for a moment. The “blood” dripping from the frame and the dark interior of it felt almost like a void and it beckoned him to enter. It sent a chill up Grace’s spine.
“Heck no.” Grace shook his head and turned his attention back to the bird the universe left on his doorstep.
(Hello, I’ve never written before, this is my first shot as actually writing anything. I would love some tips and tricks and let me know if any grammar should be improved. My DMs and asks should be open for all! )
