Omens on the Horizon

It wasn't far to reach the labs where she needed to go, crossing the main grounds where mixed races of people congregate to gossip, celebrate, and other things. She waved and said her hellos to those passing by, cutting through to reach the labs the fastest way. Neera watched as many ranchers on their hoverbikes moved the rhynth into pens. They were hard workers and she desired to join them, but given her orders, she wasn't allowed.

Once she reached the entrance to the labs, she punched the access code on the panel and walked inside. As befitting it, everything was cleaned and in pristine condition. The various equipment and machines were up to date, running experiments on alien life forms picked up when humanity first landed on Ryushi. The noises weren't such a bother if her headache wasn't turning into a time bomb, waiting to be released.

"Revna?" She called but got no response. She weaved through the lab benches, catching sight of the doctor working on something with pliers. Neera rolled her eyes. Always working as usual.

"Revna." The doctor jumped, turning around to see her. A small strand of her black hair freed itself from her tight bun, "I swear that you never get tired of working."

Revna chuckled, "It keeps me busy but it's fantastic to learn of these alien organisms," She scooted her chair, letting Neera study some red crab with a scorpion tail and six legs. The insides were open, revealing weird organs covered in pale fluid. Interesting but turned her stomach in the wrong way.

"It's . . . interesting." Neera walked away, heading to get the proper clothing on to start work.

"Neera?" She saw Revna get up from her seat, "Are you sleeping well?"

She groaned. She saw the bags under my eyes.

"I'm fine. It's been a rough night."

"Are you having the same nightmare?"

There was no hiding from Dr. Revna. Being a scientist and all had it perks, close observation was among them. She didn't want to face the bombardment of questions that were coming but when watched Revna cross her arms, there was no hiding.

She sighed, "Yes. But Alexa woke me up as well. I'm starting to second guess about giving her the keys."

"And she should." Revna walked to another counter filled with assortments of bottles, "Have you been taking the pills I gave you?"

"I stopped a few days ago."

"Neera!"

She jolted at the sudden tone but she refused to look back at Revna, "Those pills are to help you sleep. Going off them suddenly can have serious side effects."

"They don't work anymore!"

Neera slammed her fist on a nearby table. She was fed up with taking things that didn't even make a dent. The nightmares kept coming, ever since she arrived on Ryushi. Nothing worked so there wasn't any point to taking those pills. Still, Revna was going to be persistent. A doctor is always a doctor.

"It's just . . ." Neera rubbed her head, "Nevermind."

Revna closed her eyes. Neera wasn't an easy person to give advice nor do anything that required patience. Still, she worried for her health and the dark bags told her that she was sleep deprived. Whatever she was dreaming had greatly affected her. With a shake of her head, she grabbed for a bottle full of tablets. "Take this then."

Neera grabbed them and read the inscription, "Restoril?"

She glanced at Revna who only lowered her face. She shook the bottle in frustration, "This is to treat insomnia."

"Yes but it's proven to help you sleep better, maybe even treat your current illness."

"Only for two weeks at max," Neera placed the bottle down on the table, "and I've taken stronger drugs than this."

Revna wasn't convinced, "It's because you never take them constantly. Perhaps if you—"

"What?" She interrupted angrily, "Take them until I throw up my guts? Become so restless that I shake throughout the day? I can't do it again."

Neera remembered all too well of the consequences. The nightmares had plagued her ever since she arrived on Ryushi, the worst part is not understanding the meaning behind it. The shadow reaching, the feelings not accordant to the expectations nearly anyone would have, nothing made sense and the medication made things worse. She turned away, unable to look directly at Revna, tightening her grip on the bottle.

"Neera . . ." Revna called, placing a hand on her shoulder, "At least give it a try. It's not good for your health if you don't get enough sleep. I fear that you'll collapse while on your duties."

A minute of silence passed until Neera sighed. Although being her boss, she had a caring nature of a mother, convincing her to listen and absorb her words with the look of worry in her eyes. In spite of the distaste for medications, there was no other way around, "Fine. I'll take it tonight."

Revna nodded as she sat at her desk, "A first step. Can you prepare the solutions for the flow cytometry analysis?"

She smiled,"Of course."

Neera ran toward storage to get the supplies for future experiments on new alien organisms found on Ryushi, a pleasure that Revna could do for hours and expected her to do the same. Job being the job, right? At least no one is disturbing us. The door suddenly opened, Revna and Neera froze to see three people come in. So much for peace and quiet.

"Dr. Revna," A sturdy middle-aged man with a beard took the charge, tapping his cowboy hat like any gentleman would back in the day. Yeah, like in the early 20th century. She didn't like him the moment they met at the ship transit and it was mutual the way he ignored her completely despite being in the way.

"Ackland," Revna stood, "What brings you here?"

He grumbled, "The ranchers are complaining about the health of the rhynth and want an inspection conducted before the Lector arrives."

"I can but it'll have to wait until I finish this. If it's a high priority, I can send Neera. She had done it before."

Ackland squinted his eyes at her, the mustache twitching for a moment, "We need a professional to do this or else I'll get questioned if a teen does it, let alone an unruly one."

The vein on Neera's head pulsed with irritation, the brute of a man already pissing her off more than she could bear. The others and even Revna sensed the impending predicament that was coming, one many wished to avoid.

"Come on, Ackland," Hiroki stepped forward, a more slender man compared to Ackland who was the administrator to the Chigusa Corporation. Well, the 'former' administrator with his successor by his side. Machiko Noguchi, a Japanese woman who took her job seriously, more than Neera could emphasize stood in silence, "Give Neera a chance. She's capable of doing the job with success."

Ackland completely ignored the question, "What about your husband? Can't he do it?"

Revna shook, "He's off near the canyons gathering samples. He won't return until nightfall even if he left right now."

It wasn't good news for Ackland as he bit his lip. Neera relished in his disappointment, almost chuckled out loud in temptation but the backlash wouldn't be worth it, not if he stood on the top of the food chain. "Fine. Then I'll wait until you or Dr. Revna return. I'll figure something out with the ranchers and the commands of the Lector."

He left the room by himself, Hiroki and Machiko not knowing what to do. The first took the initiative to Neera, "I want to apologize on his behalf. He can be such an—"

"Asshole? Yeah. I already know that for the millionth time."

"Neera!" Revna shouted.

She went back to work mixing different liquids and adjusting the microscopes and flow cytometer, listening to the conversation between Revna and Hiroki, "Take your time. We're not in a hurry to get this done."

"No," Revna stood, "My work can wait and the ranchers aren't known for their patience. I'll come."

Hiroki hesistatd but relented after Revna walked past him, "Make sure to clean up the benches when you're done."

Neera nodded, "Yes, Revna."

She kept her head to her work but peeked a look at Hiroki and Machiko as they left. For a split second, Machiko had turned back, making contact. Neera didn't have much opinion of her, the stories she heard from the ranchers and the employees were like night and day, speaking highly of her while regarding her as a bitch. She encountered her multiple times but only gave nods in recognition. Their relationship was mutual but not friendly, thinking of bringing prestige and honor to herself.

Neera rolled her eyes when she left, "So much for that."

Out of nowhere, not even five seconds later, there was a knock on the door, growing more persistent each time. What the hell? She rolled her eyes and headed for the door, "Who is it?"

"It's Charles. Is Dr. Revna in?"

She grumbled, one of the ranchers in charge of the rhynth herd and a stubborn man, "She just left with Hiroki and others."

"Can I come in?"

She raised an eyebrow, unsure if she should without Dr. Revna's permission but she would be gone for hours if not longer. Sighing, she opened the door, "Come in."

Charles was a beefy man, a true western redneck with the accent to bolster such aura, wearing boots, torn jeans and even a cowboy hat. If he didn't have such a bushy ginger beard and mustache and a change from an arrogant attitude, he may be cute enough to date.

He tipped his hat, "Evening, madam."

"It's Neera first off," She grabbed a rack of dirty test tubes and placed them in the sink, "Secondly, what's with the urgency?"

Charles was off for some reason, a sense of dread is the closest she would describe the air, his face was contorted, borderlining between insecurity and fear, "We found something that caused much concern among the ranchers. Arkland told us not to say anything so—"

"So you're going against orders and let give answers," Neera rolled her eyes, "Kind of a dick move that might bite you back in the ass."

"This is serious."

Neera stopped, puzzled by the urgent tone. Dropping everything, she turned, crossing her arms, "What is it?"

Charles hesitated but went for the table and placed a leather bag, fumbling with the zipper with shaky hands. He managed to open it but he stepped away, the unnerving air around him was thick.

"What's your problem?" Neera spoke.

Charles merely shook, taking another step back. Neera shrugged it off and lifted the opening, nothing but abyss she could tell. Then why is he freaking out? She reached in further, fingers gliding over the soft felt.

Beware.

The voice from her dreams whispered in her ear with pressing urgency. Neera flinched back, the hairs on her arms stood up, Charles' eyes appeared like they were going to pop out of his head. Not wanting to look like a wussy, she flipped the bag upside down and a thing thumped on the table.

"What the fuck is that?"

Neera had no idea what she was glancing at, a small creature with six, disoriented legs, a scale-skinned tail that was longer than even her forearm. It appeared dead, lying on its back but lacked eyes and nose, nothing that closely resembled a face but a mouth with a tube exposed.

"Where did you find this?" She poked at it, obviously been dead for a while, rigor mortis already settled in.

"It was discovered by one of Ackland's men when they brought the Rhynth herd into the corrals," he paused in hesitation, "You're not going to tell anyone?"

He should have asked me that question earlier.

"Not if you tell me where you found this," Neera poked at the specimen again.

Charles hesitated, "At Iwa Gorge."

"Look at this! Amazing!"

Dr. Revna inspected a small centipede with hard pinchers and an attitude to match, it almost severed one of his crew's fingers when they got too close but the new species was too good to pass up for him. With safety measures, they got into a small portable container for the trip back home, "Well done everyone!"

His crew got to work, the new samples from the cliffs filled with new raw minerals would be beneficial for the continuation and expansion of the colony. For now, he needed to return to the lab to give the good news to his wife. It's been too long.

"Alright, get the equipment packed up. Rodgers, get the hover bikes prepped to move out." He signaled the group to split, two heading for the bikes and the rest gathering everything else.

Suddenly, Dr. Revna noticed something in the sky. Ignoring mid-conversation with Eren about the samples, he took out his binoculars and aimed for the small light shooting across, noting its unusual pattern, "Odd."

"What's odd?"

Dr. Revna passed the binoculars to Eren, "Do you see that?"

Everyone noticed the object descending toward the planet at an alarming rate, a fireball of massive proportions. The unknown object zipped past them, heading for the cliffs until it disappeared behind. In the next second, the ground suddenly shook, the rocks bouncing like marbles as the sound of an earthquake echoed. The crew held on to keep their footing as it subsided in seconds.

"What the fuck was that?!" Robert on the hover bikes yelled, "Revna?!"

"Calm down everyone," Dr. Revna said, "Rodgers, take over the equipment packing."

He headed for a hoverbike, ordering a few men to do the same. He didn't reply to Rodger's question until he started it up, "I'm going to check it out."

"Are you sure?"

Dr. Revna nodded, "I won't go alone. We have to check and there may not be another chance," He revved the engine as it came to life.

Rodgers trembled in worry, "But—"

"We'll be fine," Revna smiled, "If you want, wait here with the others until we return. I'm sure it won't be any more than a few minutes. Alright?"

Dr. Revna gave the last commands before his party left toward the general direction the comet fell, hidden excitement swirled in his chest. The sunset glistened on the horizon, through the mini dust storms created by the hoverbikes. They weren't far off now, actually noticing a cloud of smoke rising to the sky. Something crashed, no doubt about that.

Finally, after weaving through the cliffs, they came to a stop, a few meters away was a huge crevice deep into the ground, strong enough to crush hard minerals that took the force of three tons just to scratch the surface with their machines. Dr. Revna was fascinated while the others seemed unsure.

"Shit," Eren coughed, "This can't be a comet. Look at the top."

The mass had metal thorns sticking out, raised higher than anything they'd ever seen, sparks of fire almost rained over them. The body was gutted like a fish, only the internal structures partially remained, with metal scraps flown across many feet out. The others were keen on getting out of here, the vibe was heavy but Dr. Revna was the opposite with sparks in his eyes.

"This looks like a ship," One of the crew stretched his neck for a closer look, a step away from the edge of the burning ground, "Well . . . was one but looks complicated."

Another crew member whistled, "Whoever built this was pretty good with their hands. Everything the company made pales in comparison to this at its former glory."

Dr. Revna raised his hands in excitement, "This is the fine of the century! We need to get a crew here as soon as possible."

"Are you mad, sir?" Eren stepped to Dr. Revna's side, "We don't know what this thing is or where it came from. We need to check with Ackland and the company board for permission before we—"

The ground suddenly shook once more, the groaning of metal vibrating through the cliffs, the crew stiffened their legs to hold themselves as it subsided in less than a minute. Everything went silent afterwards.

Dr. Revna was the first to speak, "It's alright. It's only the aftershock of the crash. There's nothing to be—"

The cold realization of the situation dawned on him as a form emerged from the crater, pushing away two metal plates to the sides. Dr. Revna and the others scattered back as massive claws grabbed for the edge. Slowly, like a shadow, the form stood high above them, fifteen feet to be guessed. Its body covered in the blackest of black, deformed and skeletal while adorning a large crest. The creature stretched its four arms, two of them smaller, as its large tail swung behind it.

"Good God . . ."

When its head was lifted, Dr. Revna saw no face but the sharp-tipped fangs of the creature as it hissed, a horrible and frightening sound as he heard the whimpers of the crew members behind but he couldn't look away. It opened its mouth to display another set of jaws stretching out like an eel in a cave.

Dr. Revna felt cold sweat run down his forehead. What is this creature? He checked over its features. Surely it won't attack if we don't—

His life was over before he could take one last breath as the creature screeched, snapping its jaws around his head with crushing force. Crimson blood mixed with brain matter erupted, coating the closest crew members as the body of Dr. Revna was thrown toward a cliff face like nothing.

Savoring the taste of the kill, the creature moved its attention to the rest, hissing with pure rage and hunger. The crew didn't think twice but some knew it was in vain, they would be food for this dangerous creature.

A universal voice screamed as the massacre began, "RUN!"

Thank you all for the support! Got this chapter going for all of you and hope to hear from you all. Good Hunting!