Day 527
There was a momentary transmission of static then a voice came in, “Day 527, post
nuclear warfare. The Earth is no longer habitable. A small group of us have been drafted, they
call us the Cohort, to embark on a mission back to Earth, missing being to check if enough time
had passed to allow mother nature to regain control and allow humans to survive once more,
but really, the Resolute was running low on liquid oxygen so they blackmailed fifteen inmates
mercilessly. This, however, was not an ordinary mission, they would be no return, and everyone
knew that, but they fooled the 800,000 colonists into thinking that we would be the saviors of
humanity and what we were doing was the right thing.”
It was currently the year 3058 and humanity was suffering the consequences of World
War 27, also called Extinction. The actions of humans themselves have finally caught up to
them and the merciful God could no longer protect them from their own doings. All hell broke
loose on the surface of the Earth leaving the land barren, desolate wasteland, stripped of all
signs of life. The once green flourishing planet is now scarred by radiation. Almost all signs of
human civilization flattened, back to dust and unrecognizable. The sky became dark, storming
clouds if acid choking all sunlight out casting an eerie and deadly twilight over the surface.
Winds sweep across the empty terrain throwing around radioactive dust that settles on the once
developed land, leaving a haunting reminder of humanity’s self-destruction. And so, The
Resolute was constructed, a massive space station powered by a Dyson sphere capable of
sustaining 800,000 middle aged adults for less than a century. This was the problem.
The smal crew of 15 descended down to Earth in a specialized rover capable of reentry
on Earth and back up to the Resolute. A calming rhythm played through the speakers as they
sat in silence, holding onto their prayers. Pumelling through the thich atmosphere the rover
experied intense turbalance but within a few minutes, the crew felt the weight of gravity once
more.
Once again, the voice uttered “This is team Cohort” crackling through the comms.
“Landing was successful. Proceeding outside of rover in T-minus 10.”
The doors opened only to expose an atmosphere filled with toxic fumes, and a flat desert
laden with radioactive particles and acidic fumes. Not even the smallest weed dared to grow in
the cracked earth. Suited up in heavily reinforced radiation gear which softly buzzed “Radiation
levels critical. Structural integrity at risk.” It was clear that there would be no way that humanity
would survie in these envirmonents. The crew scattered around for a while looking for any
microscopic signs of life or any indication of the possibility of survival. Nothing. Suddenly, one of
the crew members heard a crackling sound, not dry cracking, but alive, like a creature purring
but much deeper. Looking around he saw nothing through the thick ash when out of the blue,
his comms when down and so to his vitals. Then another went down, followed by a next, one by
one they all disappeared, off the radar until only three men stood. The wind settled down and
the dust cleared, showing the beast hidden in the shadows. What looked like giant praying
mantis covered in spikes and sharp protrusions, a creature from hell itself. It had no eyes, no
facial features except a mouth dropping blood from a mouth full of bone crushing teeth. limbs as
tall as two men and its entire body seemed to be covered in a thick slimy substance. Without
even a second to react the nightmare jump on the other man, tearing him apart with its sharp
claws and eating him whole. The voice could not even scream, paralyzed with fear he dropped
down, down to his knees. Completely hopeless.
