Gus ran his hands over the thick brown folder. Top Secret, it read in bright red letters on the cover. Flipping it open he scanned the pages. The Humvee hit a bump in the road as Gus clung to the papers. Dirt clouds wafted behind the military vehicle illuminated by a full moon. Gus peered out from the window at the dark dessert. Area 51. It was his third trip, the first two were routine checks and clearances. This trip was the real deal. They were waved through the heavily guarded barricade.
The soldier on the passenger side jumped out of the vehicle and opened the door for Gus. Gus handed him the folder. The soldier took it and set it on fire, throwing it to the ground. They watched the paper burn up quickly.
“Glad you could join us,” John said appearing out of the darkness, throwing up a salute. John was a military man through and through, from the perfect posture to his clean shaven face. Gus fit in with these people, he could fit in anywhere if push came to shove.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world sir,” Gus said returning the salute.
They made their way to a set of heavy steel doors illuminated by a small light. John entered the security code and placed his thumb on the biometric reader.
The bunker was eerily quiet, their footsteps echoed in the small hallway. The elevator stood at the end; the ride down felt endless.
“Can never be too careful,” John said as the elevator slowed. Gus nodded.
The elevator doors opened to two guards holding M4 rifles. The guards saluted and stepped aside. Gus and John entered a small room. John pointed Gus to a locker. Gus stripped down and donned a suit he fished out of the locker. The sleek suit fit perfectly. Gus was accustomed to the more bulky design used for spacewalks but he loved this new model.
John grinned at Gus, “Looking good.”
He pointed him to a door. Gus approached it and it slid open automatically. He stepped into a large white spherical room. At the end of it stood the gateway. Two large metallic pillars that emitted a blue light between them.
“Evening Gus. Please proceed to the gateway,” a voice commanded from inside his helmet.
Gus slowly walked towards the pillars and the blue hue. He balled his hands into fits. A film of sweat formed on his forehead. He gulped down hard. Standing in front of the gateway he felt the buzzing energy of the blue light. He reached out his hand towards it. On the other end of this portal was another species. A species that had received instructions beamed into space over 20 years ago. Instructions to build the receiving gateway. Gus was to be the first to make contact with whatever lay on the other side. He always envisioned himself flying to space with a crew. Now he was entering an unknown area of space with nothing more than this suit, his training and hope.
“All suit safety and recording instruments optimal. Gus you are free to enter."
“Affirmative. See you when I get back,” Gus replied.
Gus stuck his head in through the blue light. He saw a vast black expanse with shimmering lights, like the aurora borealis but made up of all colours.
No going back now, he thought as he walked into the space. He floated in the black expanse. Looking back he saw the blue light, reassuring himself of his return.
“It’s... it’s beautiful."
“We are getting all feeds Gus,” a voice crackled back.
Out of nowhere hundreds of little white lights appeared in his vision. They zoomed towards him and encircled his body. Gus stretched out his hands towards the lights.
“I’ve made contact.”
The white lights swam along his suit as Gus floated freely in space. A light hovered in front of his visor, pressing right up against it, then it was gone. Gus scrunched his nose as he felt an itch. The lights around him pressed up against his suit. Gus felt a jolt. It felt like a hundred little mosquito bites all at once. The lights were gone.
“You guys getting this?”
“Gus, we aren’t seeing much here, the feeds have cut out. We have collected all the data we need for now. Proceed back to the gate.”
Gus looked out into the expanse one last time. The spectrum of colours shimmered against black space. Gus turned back towards the gate.
Back in the small room he removed the suit. He gasped. His arms had hundreds of white pinpricks all over them.
“Gus. We are quarantining the room. Standard procedure. We will have medical staff out there for you shortly.”
Gus touched the white spots, they felt strange, almost metallic.
Panic started to well up in him. He tried to focus in on his breathing to calm himself but he couldn't take any air in. He tried to yell but no words escaped.
“Gus! We need you to back away from the door!” the speaker commanded.
Gus strained to gain control over his body but it was too late. As if possessed he struck the steel door with his fists, bending it. A loud alarm sounded throughout the bunker.
“Breach in holding area 33. Contamination protocols engaged,” the speaker crackled.
This is perfect! I want to write something with you one day!
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Thank you kindly @xeri, I've never done a writing colab but sounds like fun.
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Well, would you be down for it? We could create a series of X-Files-like shorts.
Could be short episodes that either tell different stories in the same universe or that follow and expand on one story.
Which would you prefer?
Also, I know of a great site that could inspire us to kingdom come and supply us with ideas for all eternity. If this peaks your interest, do check it out and start with Operational Information before you hop on the individual cases. It's all fictional, but it's written in a way as if it was a Top Secret archive of paranormal activities recorded, "Secured, Contained and Protected" by some Covert branch of the government. Pretty sinister stuff - gives you the chills!
http://www.scp-wiki.net/
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Absolutely loved it, great pace and a great story :-)
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Thank you sir :)
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Will there be a second installment?
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I've thought about it but no plans yet.
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That was a pretty nice piece of work.
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Thank you.
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Great story,
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Glad you liked it.
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A very good story --- and I loved the artwork!
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Thank you!
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That was a great story! You are very talented and I look forward to more from your blogs.
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Thank you for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed it and there will be more to come.
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You are awesome sir . Thank you
Thanks a lot for share this
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Congratulations @cizzo!
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