What Lurks in the Dark

Mars Mining Outpost 21-Alpha

December 24, 2059, Earth Time

From the audio logs of John Oak

12.24.59, 8:31 PM

You know, I'm kind of starting to think this is all just some sort of bad dream. If only that were true, I could wake up and it'd be done with. But if this is a dream, it's a dream that I'm not waking up from. I recall one time, long ago- I watched an old film with my grandfather. I must've been only six or seven at the time. The film was something like fifty years old, from back when they still used DVD's. The movie was called Inception. I remember it was some sort of thriller about people who could enter another person's dreams and steal the information that was kept there. A way to prove you were dreaming was to kill yourself- and then you'd wake up. I'm not sure why this particular memory has arisen so clearly in my mind. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I still want this to be a dream. More than once, I've caught my hand unconsciously sliding toward the pistol in its holster on my belt. Every single time, though, I force myself to look my Scrafty, Saren, right in the eyes. Without saying a word, he says, You're a coward if you do, John. And I know you're not a coward. My hand always slides right back onto the cold metal floor.

I guess I should probably record some of what's happening for posterity, huh? You know, in case none of the other records survive. And it's not like I've got any other pressing engagements. What do you think, Saren?...Alright, we'll start right now.

Christmas was always my favorite time on the base. We got to shut down most of the mining equipment, and Kris would whip up some amazing cookies from the flour and dairy rations. Arceus, I wish I could have her cookies one more time. Yeah, that's my last wish-some Christmas cookies. And…while I'm on the subject, I suppose I should say this, so, uh..yeah, me and Kris, we sort of had a…thing. None of the other crew members know about…knew about it. Every so often, when everyone else was asleep, she'd invite me over to her quarters for one of her cakes. Not as good as her cookies, but man. Still good. We'd talk about life, sports, or…well, really anything. A lot of the time, I'd have to sneak back to my bunk when, before we knew it, it was 5:00 in the morning. So, uh, if anyone finds this, make sure not to tell her sister. I always got the feeling from our conversations that she wouldn't really like me.

Anyways, I guess it all started just before we shut down the main drill- I dunno, maybe it was after, but it was sometime around 10:00 this morning. I had gone to the core drill's control center after I had woken up and had my instant coffee. Kaori, our rocket technician, had hung streamers all around the center. I asked her if you were actually supposed to put streamers up for Christmas- I kinda thought you only used them for birthdays. She replied that even if they were for birthdays, we didn't have enough decorations to be picky. I shrugged and left her to her decorating. When I walked over to the panel that housed the controls for the drill, I noticed that there were some weird readings on the screen. Normally, our drills would bore through solid rock until they hit a chunk of Einsteinium- after all, that's why we're on Mars in the first place, the minerals. This time, though, the drill had stopped when it burrowed into a huge cavern. It was strange because while some of the other drills had hit caverns before, none of them even approached the size of this one. The sensors on the drill said that it had tunneled into a chamber that was over six hundred feet from top to bottom, and twenty miles from end to end.

I asked Kaori about it. She said that she and Samuel, or resident xenogeologist, were going to take a quick trip to survey the cave and come back for dinner. In retrospect, I'm really glad she didn't want me to go. That might be a bit self-serving, but I can't help it after seeing what they…what they turned into.

It was about noon that Sam and Kaori went out to the Alpha Tunnel- that's the tunnel the main drill was making. For about two hours, it was completely peaceful- Kris and I chatted, and Kyran, the security expert, made a call to his family back on Earth. He talked to his wife, Astrid, and their kids. His daughter- she couldn't have been more than six years old- she asked him when he was coming home. He smiled - it was weird that a man who knew twenty ways to kill a man unarmed could be so kind- and he said "Soon, sweetie, don't worry." I wonder what's going to happen to his family now that he's not coming home at all. The man deserves a medal of honor, but he doesn't even get to go home in a body bag.

So, at about 7:30, Kaori and Sam got back from their survey trip. I remember Sam's Alakazam always looked funny in the space suit that Sam had custom-made for him. He had taken his Alakazam, but when they came back, he wasn't with them. I asked Sam what had happened, and- ah, would you shut up out there? It's bad enough you've trapped us in here, but now you won't be quiet for half a second! Shame we don't have earplugs, eh, Saren?...No, I don't think our fingers would help very much. Anyway, when I asked Sam what had happened to Blitzkrieg- that was his Alakazam's name-he was quiet for a second, like he was thinking over his response. He finally said that Blitzkrieg had gone to the mess hall to get something to eat. I kinda thought it was weird at the time. Blitzkrieg always ate with Sam- he was a real affectionate Pokemon. I started to get a real weird vibe coming off of both Kaori and Sam all of a sudden. It was really intense- like someone had punched me in the gut. In that instant, while I was rooted to the floor, I heard Kyran yell, "John! Get back! NOW!"

I stumbled backwards and tripped, falling flat on my butt. I saw Kyran tackle Sam and pin him to the ground. He jerked his head around to look at me. "John! Get out of here right now!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, a wave of nausea flooded over me- Sam had started to change. No, that's not the right word, it's not strong enough. He began to mutate. His right arm bubbled, like it was a pot of soup that had been left boiling for too long. It lost its skin tone and took on a mottled orange and blue, and it stretched out. I could hear bones snapping. It split into two tentacles, one orange, one blue, that were wrapped loosely around each other like a strand of DNA.

Kyran looked at Sam with a look on his face that left me sure he was feeling exactly the same way as I was. That look didn't last long, though. Sam looked at Kyran, but he didn't look anything like Sam did. Sure, he was physically the same, but he didn't show a single hint of emotion, just a cold dispassion that made him look completely alien.

And then he stabbed him. Right through the chest, with one of his tentacle arms, Sam stabbed Kyran, the same blank stare on his face.

I gasped for air- it was like all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. Then both Kaori looked at me, and she began to change, too. It wasn't just her arm, though. It was her whole body that was mutating into the same orange and blue demon that Sam was turning into. I could hear the bubbling and the tearing of flesh as it stretched, and the sound her bones made when the snapped in half. I had to get out of there at that very moment.

I scrambled to my feet, and I almost slipped. Sam took his arm out of Kyran's chest. The man was still alive, making tiny gasping breaths like a fish out of water. I bit my lip- I couldn't help him, not now. I had to get away- I had to get Kris. I took a few stumbling steps on jelly legs, then broke into a full sprint with speed born of absolute, mind-numbing terror.

I don't know how long I ran through the base. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but to me, it seemed like hours. I could hear their footsteps as they chased me through the gunmetal gray hallways. It finally occurred to me to contact Kris on her comlink. I quickly fished mine out of my pocket and spoke into it. Hold on a sec, let me see if I can access my com's recording of the conversation…ah! There we go.

Comlink ID No. 314159A (John Oak): Kris! Kris, where are you? We need to get out of here right now!

Comlink ID No. 481516B (Kris Campbell): Whoa, John, slow down! What's going on?"

Oak: Something's happened to Sam and Kaori, Kris! Something…I don't know, just- we've got to leave now!

Campbell: John! Just tell me what happened.

Oak: Okay, when Sam and Kaori came back from the survey, something seemed wrong about them. Blitzkrieg was gone, and they were both acting weird. Kyran yelled for me to get back and tackled Sam. Sam started…changing into…into I don't know what, but whatever he is, he's not Sam anymore. He stabbed Kyran and now they're both chasing after me!

Campbell: What? Are you being serious, John?

Oak: No, Kris, I made it all up. Of course I'm serious! Kyran is dead on the floor and I'm being chased by two monsters I used to know!

Campbell: …Alright, John, I'll take your word for it. Where do we need to meet?

Oak: Docking Station B. As acting project leader, I'm declaring Action 1. We're getting out of here.

Campbell: But what about the Pokemon?

Oak: You know the rules, Kris; we only have one Pokemon each. Kaori and Kyran didn't have any, and I don't think Blitzkrieg's going to be coming home. Saren's in his Pokeball, and you've got Jack, right?

Campbell: Y…Yeah, I do.

Oak: Okay, like I said, Station B.

Campbell: I'll grab the drill and excavation data. I can be there in twenty minutes.

Oak: Good. We can make it out of here, Kris.

Campbell:…Right. John, I need to know. What does-

Oak: What does what?...Kris?...Kris?...KRIS!

The connection went dead. I have no idea what's happened to Kris. I can always hope she's okay, but…I'm really having trouble believing that. As distraught as I was, I knew my first priority was to get the information as to what was happening to Earth, so I gritted my teeth and ran down the hallway. The path to Docking Station B went straight through the barracks, splitting the men's and the women's bunks. I came to a stop, breathing hard. I hadn't heard Sam or Kaori's footsteps in a while. I dared to hope I was safe from them for at least a little while.

Of course I'm never that lucky. Sam turned a corner about a hundred feet ahead of me, though I'm not sure I could call whatever this thing was Sam anymore. The transformation that had changed his arm had spread to his entire body now. There was a huge gash in his chest. It was weird, though, I could swear there was some kind of jewel gaping out of his chest. His head was the worst part, though. It was split right up the middle by a dull orange slash. The rest of his face was colored a sickly blue, and he didn't have a mouth anymore. He only had a slightly raised patch of skin where it used to be. He turned to look at me, and just stood there, looking coldly at me.

Why wasn't he doing anything? How had he gotten ahead of me?

Where was Kaori?

That was when I heard the second pair of footsteps.

Coming from behind me.

They had cornered me.

That was when all my higher cognitive functions abandoned me. I was standing in front of the door to my bunk; I flung it open and dashed in, locking it behind me. I stood there for a second. I dunno, I just felt…numb. It was like the desperation of the situation was finally closing in. It was then that I just sank to the floor in a heap. I'm not proud of what I did next.

I cried. Long, ugly, ragged gasps, tears spilling down my face onto the floor, with the corpses of Sam and Kaori, my coworkers- my friends- banging on the door. It must've been ten minutes of that before I finally ran out of tears. I was lying there on the floor when Saren popped out of his ball, and just stared at me for a second before sitting down next to me and putting a hand on my head. Really, he said everything that needed to be said with that one gesture.

I know it's over, John. I know. But we're together, here, at the end.

So…I think that's about it. The drill, Sam and Kaori, and…Kris. How Saren and I ended up locked in my bunk. I don't know if this will ever see the light of day. I mean, we're a mining outpost in the boonies. On Mars. That's about as remote as you can get. But on the off chance that someone does find this…tell my mom and dad that I love them. I know Matt and I didn't get along so well, but…he's my brother, and I love him too. Well…this is John Oak, Christmas Eve, 8:40 PM, 2059…signing off.

[End audio logs]