Demons of the Dark

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Theo knew better. Should the circumstances contain the correct particles, such as gas or dust, sound waves could indeed travel in space.

Only, Theo had no intention of correcting the rumor that had been skipped and thrown around Perditus station. It often frightened the younger crew members silent during space-walks- made them nervous.

Nervousness could be helpful, Theo found. It often lead to cautiousness and in turn cured carelessness.

Theo, thankfully, dealt little with the younger crew. The patience it required to handle them and all their adolescent questions... he preferred the steady pace his lab.

But today would not be silent, because earlier this evening, the new batch of crew members had arrived. Young scientists and engineers and security that had flown for three years.

That's how long the journey would be back home... once their replacements settled.

Theo wanted to shake his head from the thought, but as his work pertained to space travel, it was difficult to divert his attention.

"Eat." Theo's fingers halted their typing as a tray of slop was dumped before him. Arna, his assistant, perched over his shoulder. "When was the last time you put anything in your stomach?"

"I've had plenty." Theo, disgusted, pushed the tray away with the tip of his stylus. The rehydrated mystery meat and beans had never been to his liking.

Arna pushed it back before him. The stench filled Theo's nose- the instinct to vomit was strong.

He swiveled in his chair, straightening his back from the slouch he had developed. "Arna, I am working."

She didn't flinch, remaining inches from his face as she grinned. "You're always working. For ten years you've been working- which is how I knew to find you here. You know you're supposed to be packing?"

Theo's gaze averted as he turned back to his monitor. "I wish to bring nothing back. It all seems as worthless as my last ten years of work. Let the new fools keep it, as well as my studies."

Arna blew a breath. "Holding back no punches for the replacement crew, I see."

"I have no grudge towards the children who have come, only frustration that I will not get the accomplishment of finishing my work."

Arna, leaning back against the cold metal table, grabbed the edge of Theo's chair, gently spinning him back to face her.

"Theo, you have pushed our knowledge of space travel further than any of the scientists before you. I mean, look at what you've done!" She gestured around her to the pods filled with blue serum, and to the mysterious meteor that sat in its chamber behind her. "Isn't this enough?"

"Enough?" Theo furrowed. "I am not finished! We are yet to human trial our new model of cryopods and I- I'm not done yet!" He stood from his chair, pacing around the table.

Tension filled the room before Arna said, arms crossed, "Our ten years is up; that's how it works. Maybe... maybe they'll let you come back? It's not underheard of."

"I'll be thirty-four when the next eligible flight leaves Mars for Perditus. "That's too old, they would never allow it."

Silence.

"I'm sorry, Theo. Truly... but we don't have a choice in the matter." Arna grabbed the tray, gently placing it on the table once more. "Please, eat and go pack. I'll see you at the transport ship. If you're not there, they'll just send the security team to come nab you. Nobody wants to see that."

Theo couldn't meet her stare as she pushed from the table, making to leave. She stopped only once, by the door, as though about to say something. Thinking better, she left him alone.

Alone- Theo was always alone.

He breathed heavily, angrily, gripping the edge of the table. He had been eighteen when he had first left Mars and twenty-one when they had arrived at Perditus. How excited had he been? How ready to be the one to push space travel to the next level? To allow the scientists and explorers of today to expand their reach on the stars- not their offspring, bred in tubes at a lab. Their keen genetics being humanity's only hope to allowing mission success.

How often did that work? Raising children in space? Hoping they might achieve a sliver of the passion for space and adventure that their parents held? Praying they learn the right things in the right way or waste trillions of dollars on another attempt at colonization.

Cryosleep- that was the answer. Theo knew this, though, it seemed his fellow colleagues disagreed, funding anything but his work over the past ten years.

"For what?" He said aloud, his knuckles turning pale. "What was any of this for?"

White hot rage. It was all Theo saw before the shattering of glass brought him back to reality.

He was holding his stool, blood dripping from where glass had struck his fingers. Before him, the meteor was bare, the air seeming to ripple from it.

It was nothing- a framed piece of work found nearly two decades ago. It had flown so close to Perditus that his predecessors had collected it. Studies had been preformed, of course. Numerous hours testing and chipping away small pieces of the rock. Theo himself had repeated test in his curiosity, but never had they discovered anything of interest.

Still, Theo backed away from it. His boots crunched against the scattered glass, the chair dropping heftily.

Because a crack had appeared in the stone.

A break that spread like lightning, the faintest of glows shimmering from it.

"That's impossible..." Theo whispered, daring to lean forward. "This cannot be."

Yet... here it was.

Any other person might've run then. Lunged for hazmat gear or fumbled for the safety protocols. They might've considered the risks of an unknown object from the vast expanse of space too dangerous and run the other direction.

But Theo wasn't any other person... he was a failed scientist. A man who had improved the technological bounds of cryosleep but would not be part of the trials that would prove his ideas right. Theo was a man doomed for life on Mars where he would spend the rest of his worthless existence watching others steal the credit for his accomplishments.

So... Theo did not run. He did not back away or hide from the meteor, but instead grabbed it.

It was no bigger than the basketballs they stored in recreation, and weighed much lighter than he would've expected it to be.

Theo could not have stopped himself if he wished as he lifted the mysterious stone above his head, then, in a fine motion, slammed it down to the floor.

Meteor collided with metal, crunching and splintering, breaking apart. Again and again Theo lifted the stone and slammed it down, until, eventually, what lay before him was meteor no loner.

"What the...?" His voice trailed of as he knelt, pushing away the crumbling pieces of meteor that remained. It was- it was an egg.

Coldness radiated from the scaly shape. A hiss escaped Theo's lips as he tried to pick it up and failed.

Instantly, he was removing his lab coat, wrapping it around the shape and scooping it up into his arms. It was then he felt it... felt the pulsing.

He nearly threw it onto the table, the white sheet falling around it as it pulsed again.

Alive, Theo realized.

It was alive and moving.

Once...twice... a third time. The egg wobbled back and forth, remaining on the table from its lab coat nest. Then a crack as something fell away from the egg. Ooze dripping from it, the stench filling Theo's nose. He pushed back the rising nausea.

A creature- something alive and being born before him. Theo stared, almost too stunned to do more, as the thing broke out of its prison.

Dark- the creatures skin was stygian and scaly. It resembled what he imagined a household reptile or a prehistoric creature on Earth might have had.

A tail protruded first, then a foot, then something that broke the egg entirely. A set of wings exploded, revealing the vile creature inside.

Something from a storybook. From the nightmares of ancient knights and sailors. A monster, Theo thought. A horrid being that screeched a terrible sound.

Theo fell to the floor, covering his ears as they began to bleed. "Stop!" He screamed, "Enough!"

Vishap. Abzu. Naga. Leviathan. Dragon. Names for the creature that now bellowed.

The glass and screens in his labs shattered, all at once the glass raining down. Theo tried to shield himself, but it did nothing to save his arms from being sliced and punctured from the flying material.

"Shut up!"

Beneath the table were various, thick boxes. Containers filled with unique lab equipment, requested throughout the years.

Theo snatched one, hoping it would be large enough to hold the beast as he desperately pried the latches, dumping out whatever contents were housed within. The small dragon bared its teeth, finally breaking its cry as Theo rose from the floor.

He threw that box down without hesitation, afraid the creature may run. The last thing he needed was for it to be loose in the station.

Another roar and coldness emitted from the being, but Theo's box slammed into the table. Dents formed from where the box crashed, but Theo ignored such things as he slid the box away from the table, the lid closing underneath as he did so.

The latches were easily locked, and Theo could only hope the material of the container was strong enough for whatever it now stored.

Movement- the container moved inches. Inside, he could hear the dragon thrashing, but... it held.

Instant silence.

"Ahh!" Theo screamed, slamming his torn hands on the box. The adrenaline in his blood pumped heavily, his heart racing through his chest.

"Doctor Thompson?" Theo's short-lived victory ended as voices shouted for him from the hall. "Doctor? What the hell was that?"

Theo cursed under his breath, instinctively grabbing the box. He held to it as two security officers entered- hefty men who seemed to have been bred for such a job as they towered over Theo.

From the doorway, they took one long look at the lab, then back to Theo. "Sir?"

"I- it just- " There were no words. Not an explanation that could reason away the chaos that enveloped the lab, or the broken meteor display, or the shattered screens.

"Doctor Thompson, what's in the box?" Both eying the container and the movement within. "What is that?"

"Nothing!" Theo said too quickly. "I mean, it's just my work."

Theo wasn't sure why he lied... or maybe he did. In moments, Theo had become the first human to ever discover an extraterrestrial species, though first contact could have gone better. If he let these men take his dragon... take his credit... his chances of continuing his research on Perditus would vanish.

"Sir, please hand us the container."

"No!" Theo held fast, keeping that box close to his chest.

The men looked to one another, a worried look passing between them. "Doctor Thompson," the older gentleman began, his hands raised between him and the doctor cautiously, "Whatever is in there could be dangerous."

Bargaining? They assumed Theo could be convinced? He snapped back, "So can I."

A long, tense pause lingered in the space between the security and Theo. Only the beaten, dented table remained as a barrier.

He had never been in this type of situation before- Theo wasn't a criminal or dangerous. Desperate, he could admit, but not harmful.

"Please, let me go."

"You understand we can't do that, sir."

There was no other way out save for the door that was now barricaded by bodies. He searched, eyes flying around the lab as though some answer of escape might miraculously appear.

The guards must've seen it- seen the thoughts behind his eyes as they silently approached on either side of Theo.

"Don't," Theo warned, "Don't come any closer!"

They continued, hands on the weapons attached at their hips.

Without another choice, Theo held the container with one hand, his other sliding over the lid to unlatch the locks. Sacrificing his fingers to the bitter cold of that dragon as he slightly opened the lid.

Crying.

A sharp, piercing roar from the baby within.

Theo clenched his eyes shut, his ears deafening with pain. The guards collapsed, screaming, though Theo could not hear them. Only the feral roar of the dragon.

The lid closed again, once more revealing an underappreciated quiet. The men around Theo remained on the floor, clasping at the hurt they now felt.

Theo didn't wait for their recovery as he stepped over the closest guard. Hesitation hit him as he glanced at the weapon still attached to the guard, but something whispered in his mind and he thought better of it.

The hallway to his lab was empty, but as Theo paced through the halls to somewhere unknown, people began to bustle around. Bags and books and boxes of items his crew wished to take home, and of items the new children had brought with them.

Theo twisted in and out of people, holding his own container dearly and close to himself. He weaved throughout the people, trying to keep anyone from bumping him or his precious cargo.

"Arna!" He called, ignoring the curious stares he received. "Arna!"

"She's not here."

Theo turned, facing the young woman who set down what seemed to be a rather heavy piece of equipment. "Then where is she?"

"She's at the transport ship helping organize the scientific research since her boss didn't bother to show."

"I'm her boss."

"Then you best get moving. I doubt they're going to redo it after they finish, whether it's to your liking or not."

Theo couldn't help the retort on his tongue, but was interrupted before he could snap back as the ship lights flickered, and the floor beneath him shook violently.

"What the-" The girl before him launched as another vicious round of trembling overtook the ship. Theo himself had to grab the wall to keep from falling.

Voices of worry sounded throughout, but Theo's attention wasn't on them. Instead, it was on the window.

Perditus had plenty of windows, allowing the crew to see the expanse of darkness surrounding them, and breaking up the rigid, grey walls.

Blackness- that's what Theo expected to see whenever he gazed outside. However, it was not empty space that greeted his eyes.

Something flew past the ship. Theo had only caught a glimpse of its tail before it vanished out of sight.

"What was that?" Bodies surrounded Theo, pressing in on him as the crew crowded the slim windows, all stretching their necks to look.

Theo didn't need to see- he knew already what circled Perditus.

Static sounded. Perditus' radio system blaring feedback. Then... then a voice sounded.

It was inhuman. The words spoken through the radio were muffled, the person speaking with a rough and hoarse voice. Like a growl of a feral creature.

Silence overtook the stations crew, all stilled, listening to the threats voicing over the intercom.

From outside a defying roar.

It seemed, in this moment, sound could truly travel through space.

When Perditus shook again, Theo knew part of the ship had been torn away. As he looked past the window again, bits of the station flew aimlessly in the depths.

What followed...

It was unfathomably large- wings outstretched that must've spanned at least half the ship, with long, sharp talons on the end of each. It's teeth, bared for all to see, were longer than Theo's arms.

It's color was lighter than the creature Theo now carried. The faintest hint of blue along its thick scales that Theo had only seen in pictures of Earth's deepest seas. Horns protruded from the monster, both atop its' head and along its' jaw.

Perditus rattled as the creature halted against the ships hull, it's long neck slowly turning until it's eyes... empty and hallow like the center of a blackhole, looked to Theo.

He stumbled back and the dragon growled at him, rearing back to allow him to see what was strapped atop its' back.

Something- someone was riding the dragon, Theo realized. Not human but something similar.

Their suit was of the likes Theo had never seen before. Technology past his current understanding. It covered the rider entirely, slim but strong, like armor. Their clear mask allowed their face to be seen- eyes like a demons as they looked to Theo as angrily as the dragon.

Theo's legs moved like wind as he pushed back and through the crowd, away from the dragon and its rider. The remainder of his crew watched in awe, but Theo knew what warning had come through the intercom.

"Give it back."

But... he couldn't. This creature was presumably hundreds of years old! What if this was what his research needed? What if this being could unlock the equation to perfecting his cryosleep technology? No more inconsistent results- no more trial and error.

He had discovered its existence! It was his choice- no one else's.

Theo's footfalls were heavy. His breath hitched, but it did not take a genius to assume the best probable choice was to run. Then it begged the question as to why no one else did.

Not as the dragon flapped its heavy, bat-like wings or as it lifted its sharp tail. Only when the tail began to fall towards the station did it occur to people.

The rider had come for their lives, unbeknownst to them, for the life they had stolen.

When the tail collided with Perditus, Theo was already past the next doorway. By protocol, it sealed behind him just as Perditus ripped apart again.

Screaming. The drowning noise of terror filled the halls as, suddenly, everyone frantically lunged the same direction. Back to the transport ship.

It seemed the new crew did not want to go down with their new ship.

"Arna!" More shaking, more screaming. Theo did not stop as he joined the wave of crew that swarmed the transport station, where the ship was now docked.

"Theo!" A strangled response, but enough that Theo halted. Bodies flooded, nearly piling on top of one another as Perditus once again shuddered. "Over here!"

Arna was holding onto the ship for balance. Theo didn't fail to notice the crimson coating her forehead, or the nasty cut by her eye.

He shoved his way to her, keeping hold of the jittering box.

"Theo, what is happening?!"

"We're being attacked."

"What?"

"Where are the extra prototype pods?"

"Is now really the time-?"

"Where are the pods, Arna?!"

Theo didn't have time to explain, or worry what should happen if his plan should fail.

Arna's eyes were wide with worry, but as she looked down at the box in Theo's hands, they narrowed.

"What did you do?"

Furious, Theo leaned closer. His words short as he said to Arna one last time, "Take me to the extra pods on the transport ship or we both die."

Arna had mere seconds to decide. When she turned, still using the wall for balance, Theo knew she had decided right.

Theo had requested half-a-dozen of his new model pods be brought back with him. Some ridiculous notion that he might be able to continue the momentum of his work back on Mars. At the time, he had thought the decision foolish. Now... he was grateful.

It was almost too crowded to breathe, but somehow Arna led the way through the terrified people. Theo didn't blame them... how could he?

Another groan of Perditus, and now alarms were blaring off. Red, flashing lights of emergency- a warning of the imminent doom of the ship.

Theo ignored it as Arna pulled a keycard from her pocket, scanning it repeatedly until the little light beeped green and allowed them through the slim door.

Theo pulled the door closed behind them. He couldn't risk any of the others witnessing what was about to happen- what he was about to risk.

"Theo, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"You wouldn't understand, nor do I have the time." He said as the lights switched on, and he finally let his burning arms rest as he set the container down.

Arna didn't fail to notice it moving. "What the hell is that?"

Theo didn't bother responding as he eyed the equipment surrounding him. Pods- identical to those in his labs. The thick, blue serum still fresh inside them.

He approached them, hands up as though fearful they might run away. But as his hands touched the slim, cool metal, his heart eased. Wasting no time, Theo began his work.

There were panels designed into the side of each pod. With the right knowledge and coordinates, Theo could set a destination.

It took him precious minutes to program the first pod. When he finished, the whooshing of it opening shocked Arna out of her stupor.

"Theo, you're scaring me."

"More than what lurks outside?"

"Yes, because that thing outside didn't appear until after a security call came from your lab."

He glared over his shoulder. "This is not my fault."

"This?" Arna pointed to the box. "This seems a lot like your fault."

"I didn't mean to!" Theo yelled, then took a deep breath. "Get in."

"...Excuse me?"

"Please, get in!" There was not time to debate. "The ship is not going to survive what's out there- I promise you."

"We don't even know if these things work yet!"

"They'll work well enough," Theo said more to himself than Arna. He wasn't certain of the new design- what effects it might have after incubation. If they would be long-lasting, or how prolonged the aging effect might be.

But he trusted it well enough as he began his work on the next pod.

"What about them?" Arna said towards the door. "Are we going to leave all of them to die?"

"I don't have enough pods for everyone."

"It's here for this, isn't it?"

Theo paused, watching Arna carefully as she approached the moving box.

"Don't touch that."

"Why?"

He warned again, "Don't."

When she reached for the first lock, Theo lurched. His hands found Arna's wrist, locking them tightly in his grip.

"Let me go!" Arna screamed- thrashed- tried to bite him.

But Arna was small, and Theo was just strong enough to hurl them towards the first pod.

"I'm trying to save your life!"

"Let me go!" Arna's hand snagged free long enough to rake down Theo's neck. Burning and heat, but it wasn't enough.

Not as Theo shoved the young girl backwards into the open pod.

The serum seemed to swallow her, mixing with the blood coating her skin. Before she could stop him, Theo slammed button on the inside of the pod. Instantly, the hatch closed, pushing Arna further inside.

It took only a moment for the initial phase to begin- making the screaming, scared girl relax. The serum flowed around her- into her- as it enveloped her very existence.

Then she was asleep. Eyes still open but the consciousness gone, or so he assumed.

Theo looked to her for a moment- to the only person he had grown fond of in his time on Perditus.

Maybe someday he would have the chance to convince her he was right- to have the chance to be forgiven.

Shortly after that, Theo finished preparing his own pod. The shouting beyond the door was growing. He felt for his crew... truly. Had there been a reasonable chance to save them, he might've tried.

But the thought disappeared as Theo leaned back. The container again in his hands, ruffling and jerking. It stopped as the serum encased them both.

Theo took one last breath- one last long, calming breath.

Then he hit his own button and watched as the pod closed.

____________________________________________________

Awake but immovable.

Aware yet asleep.

His pods had worked...mostly.

It was as though Theo were stuck in a long, distant dream.

He hadn't known how long it had been since the Perditus had split in two. How long it had been since the dragon and its rider had torn apart his home and murdered his people. How long he and his fellow friend had been floating aimlessly in space.

Not aimlessly... towards the nearest habitable planet. A two-hundred and thirty-eight year journey towards a planet Theo remembered being highly optimal for human survival.

Exodus Plantaeia 3-1-3.

He remembered the breaking of Perditus. How he had emotionlessly watched as the dragon was led to devour the scraps of metal in search for what Theo held so dearly.

Remembered seeing bodies- frozen and lifeless- floating around him for some time until the pods' automated propulsion system turned on.

For a time he could recall seeing the dragon vanish - frustratingly without his objective - through a tear. A power he imagined only such a creature could have. The ability to tear through the great fabric of space.

Perhaps that would be his next great research discovery.

Theo could only assume it had been the serum that had masked the presence of the child, and was grateful for such an occurrence. He would have to discover a way to keep the child from calling its kin back once they landed.

He had two-hundred and eighty-three years to think of a plan.

How long had it been since then...? He had no way of telling.

But he could've sworn, far off in the distance, as his pod rotated and thrusted itself through the vast expanse of time, that he saw something.

A splash of color in the long waste of darkness.

A new beginning, Theo realized.

He and Arna were to have a new beginning.