The unknown

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Sound is a mechanical wave that needs substance such as air or water to travel through. In space there is no air, there for sound has nothing to travel through. That is, until the new planet appeared a couple of years ago. A fetch rover was sent to collect samples, and returned with proof of life. Plants, bugs, animals, even bodies of water. There was no sign of humans, but that didn't stop the rumors. A science fiction writing contest took place a month ago to see who would go explore the new planet for three months. Eight contestants won, including me! Tonight we're all meeting at a bar in Houston Texas called Bottoms Up. Than I'll be staying at the Moon Light hotel for the rest of the weekend. Monday at 8am is when all the contestant winners will meet at the Houston Texas space center, and be sent off to explore the new planet.

Excitement radiated through out my body as I entered the moonlight hotel. I couldn't believe all of this was actually happening. As I started getting settled into the room I'll be staying in, my phone let out a chime sound. Nichole Sanders added me to a group chat on facebook. The group chat titled 'contestant winners' also included Kelvie Dawn, Brenda Lee, Benjermin springs, Billy James, Gabriel Smith, and Brian Yaworski. Nichole sent a message in the group chat that says “I think this group chat might make It easier for us all to communicate. I just got done getting settled into my hotel room, and Cannot wait to meet everyone tonight!” Kelvie sent a message saying "Sounds good, see everyone in a few hours." Brenda, Brian, Benjie, Gabriel, and myself all sent a thumbs up emoji. Billy sent a selfie of himself relaxing in a hot tub. Setting my phone down, I realized how nervous I am to meet everyone. In just a few hour I'm going to be meeting seven complete strangers. Seven complete strangers that I'll be exploring a new planet for three months with, in just a couple days. What if they don't like me? What if I don't like them? After taking a shower I decided to go to the hotel bar, calm my nerves a bit. I ordered a strawberry daiquiri, and a plate of loaded nachos. The man sitting next to me shouted "go ahead and put that on my tab." politely, I smiled and replied "no thank you, I can pay for it." The man shot me a drunken dirty look, and moved to a different seat. Three strawberry daiquiris later, I decided that I should head to Bottoms up to meet the other before I get to tipsy.

Thanks to facebook, I recognized Nichole and Gabriel sitting at a big round table. Nichole had dirty blond hair that fell to her hips, and squared black glasses rested on her little nose. Nichole jumped up with excitement as soon as she spotted me, showing me that she's only about 5'4ft tall. "Jasmine Rose right? You're the third one to arrive so far, I was the first. My name is Nichole, and that's Gabriel." Gabriel stood up to shake my hand, showing how tall and tan he is. His black curly hair fell perfectly, and his smile is beyond contagious. Exploring the new planet just got much more exciting. "welcome Jasmine. I'm glad you'll be exploring the new planet with me. You can call me Gabe if you want, most people do." "I'm glad I'll be exploring the new world with you too, Gabe." Our eyes met for a moment, but Nichole was shouting for more newcomers before either of us could say anything else. "Billy and Benjermin! Now we're just waiting for Brian, Kelvie, and Brenda." After another hour, everyone was finally here. We all took turns introducing ourselves, and than ordered our drinks. Nichole started the conversation. "So, is anyone nervous?" Kelvie was the first to raise her hand. She's also only about 5'4ft tall, and has short bleach blond hair. Considering the amount of make up Kelvie's wearing, I could understand why she was the last person to arrive. "I honestly don't get out and travel much. It's rare for me to leave town, so leaving the planet is definitely a big step for me. I did bring some survival tools like a pot for boiling water, a pan for cooking stuff, a first aid kit, and a big box of matches. Just incase. Did anyone else bring any survival tools?" Billy raised his hand. Billy had short brown hair, and pierced ears. Looks as if he only eats once a day. “I brought 12ft of rope, fishing supplies, a couple flares, a machete, a butcher knife, and a ton of bug spray. Sounds to me like we will be just fine on supplies. Now, who has survival skills?” Gabriel was the first to raise his hand. “I went through military training.” Benjermin raised his hand next. “I do a lot of rustic camping, and living off the land.” Brenda lightly clapped her hands. “It sounds like we have a pretty solid team here in my opinion. What do you think we’re going to find there? Do you think we will find other humans? I’m just saying, maybe they were hiding.” All of a sudden I thought of something kind of frightening. “What if there’s no humans there because of something bad? For example, maybe there's something in the air that is fatal for humans to breath in." Everyone stared at me in silence. Maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself.