Thief
“‘Zit recordin’? Alright; Captain’s Log, Day 87, 2143: Construction’s continuin’ as planned, though there might be a hitch on the horizon. Locals keep makin’ trouble near the border expansion, same old same old, but a recent spike in their, uh, aggression, seems to have our translator in a tizzy. He keeps talkin’ about some ‘sacred site.’ Doesn’t want us diggin’ there, says we can’t disturb it or else there’ll be ‘direst consequences’. Hell, I usually wouldn’t be inclined to believe the boy but, he’s insistent this time around. Doesn’t seem like his usual native hogwash. I’ll ask him about it tomorrow, couldn’t hurt I don’t think. This is Captain O’Sullivan signing off.”
*Click*
“Captain’s Log, Day 90, 2143: We found that sacred sight the locals’ve been in an uproar about. It’s beautiful I’ll give’em that, crying shame we have to demolish it. The translator quit yesterday, well less quit, more of blew his alien brains out in the dead of night. Left a note, scribbles really, ramblin’ on about some ‘demon’ in the rubble. Terrible timing, a damn waste I say. Coulda used him to translate some’a th’inscriptions on the temple walls. Guess it don’t matter anyways. He was more of a, ah hell what was it... a superficiality than an asset. I learned a little native speak before we left orbit, so I’ll do my best to translate what we come across. Captain O’Sullivan signing off.”
*Click*
“Captain’s log, Day 91, 2143: We’ve come across some sort of cavern underneath the temple. It’s stunnin’! Tons’a carvings on the walls, beautiful carvings’nd statues. Hold on lemme get- Hey Karl! Get over here! (What’s the problem captain?) Gimme that tablet you found down there. (‘Course sir) Thank you kindly. Alright so here it says, and I may be a little rusty, forgive me, but here it says ‘Disturb the tomb of... The hell?.. Oh, yeah. Disturb the tomb of Belial and suffer. A waking nightmare is kept in this cavern... to break the seal is to...’
“Karl this’s broken at the end. (I’m aware sir) So..? Where’s the rest of it? (Can’t find it, sir. Searched all over this damn place) Huh. Well, thank you, Karl. That’ll be all. (‘Course sir) Alright, well, we’ve gotta head up and get more explosive charges ‘fore we can go deeper into the structure. Updates to come.”
*Click*
“Alright... recordin’... Now. Perfect. We’ve moved to the deepest chamber of the temple. Must be ‘bout... three hundred odd feet deep. S’unbelievable that these savages could’a made... this. God, there must be a thousand corridors down here... S’unbelievable! Alright, we’re approaching the main chamber. Man, I got butterflies, hoo boy. Oh wow... S’a coffin! It’s massive, long as at least two, three’a my men. Golden inlays, alien jewels, sapphires, all sorts’a fancy shit. Horrible pictures on the sides though, bleeding eyes, gouged-out brains, awful, awful stuff. Some’a the men’re heading up to get excavation supplies from the sand barge. Updates to come, I hope!”
*Click*
“Mo-mos- *Crackle* Massive waste- *Crackle* Alright it’s working... The crew broke the seal on that coffin thing, and you’ll never believe it; empty! Nothin’ in it at all, dammit! Days of diggin’ and for what, an empty fu-*Kerzt!*-ing coffin? Just more sand’n carvings... looks like the native speak for... for... “Thief...” Crew’s headin’ back to the base soon. Development’s continuin’ tomorrow. Captain O’Sullivan signing off.”
*Click*
“Captain’s Log, Day 93, 2143: Somethin’s amiss in the facility, and the crew’s been on edge. Shelly’s missin’. Has been for a couple days, ever since we opened that damn coffin. Our search party came back empty-handed. Found some marks in the sand though, like... slithering, almost. Led all the way back to the mess hall... Uh, oh yeah. Expansion was halted due to the recent disappearance, but we’re set to continue tomorrow. Updates to come. Captain O’Sullivan signing off.”
*Click*
“Captain’s Log, Day- whatever, whatever! We found her! Oh god, we found’er in the sand! Face down, hole burrowed straight into’er head, bits’a brain scattered all over! And- and more tracks, leadin’ to the main living area. Crew’s holing up there... We’re takin’ the barge back as soon as possible. She was tracin’ somethin’ in the sand... same symbol from the coffin... Oh, Christ alive I’ve got to get back to the crew. O’Sullivan signing off.”
*Click*
“Just our luck- goddamn sandstorm blew in from the East. We’re just making it back now, but the buildin’s completely isolated. Comms are down and power’s out save for the reserve Oxygen generator in the back. Heading in heading in now.”
*Click*
“Captain’s Log, Day 96, 2143: It’s been a day and there’s still no sign of this damn storm letting up. Everyone’s on edge, no contact with the station above, no hot water, nothin’. I was beginnin’ to think that-
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
“The hell wuzzat? Hold on lem-” *Click*
“Good lord... It’s- I can’t even begin to describe it... Whatever got Shelly, it’s inside the ship. It’s inside the ship. The crew tried to fight back, that much I can see, but... the same thing that happened to her, happened to them. Eyes outta sockets, brains on the floor, it’s... I can’t even look anymore. Christ... oh Christ... It got’em all except for...”
“Thief...”
“...for Karl...”
“Thief...”
“Oh my god.”
*Click*
“It’s *Zzt!* It’s on. Dear god, I hope it’s workin’. This is Captain Robert O’Sullivan of
the United States RS planetary base.” “Thief.”
“There is something in here with me, what it is I do not know. If you stumble across this base, don’t explore, don’t search for supplies; scorch this evil place off the face of this damn planet if you find it.”
“Thief.”
“The crew is... they’re gone. I couldn’t stop it. I wasn’t quick enough, I wasn’t... I
shoulda listened to that translator... It’s outside my door. I hear it slitherin’ in his skull, sliding its way between the ridges of his brain... Oh god...”
“THIEF.”
“I can’t let it in... it’ll... I can’t let it in. Pure evil, this place is. It’s cursed. I shoulda listened to the damn carvings, shoulda blown that ungodly tomb sky high. That translator tried to warn me but I didn’t-”
*Wham!*
“THIEF.”
“He’s inside!”
“THIEF.”
“Get away from me! Ge-” *Click*
With a final click, the glow of the small screen dimmed, then shut off. I knelt in the Captain’s Quarters, but it wasn’t the pristine bedroom I had seen in the recording. A thick coat of dust covered every surface, muting the room to a matte-unease. I stood up, and a sense of dread built inside my stomach; I became acutely aware of the fact that other than the roar of the sand outside and the creak of the old structure, there was no sound. The base was abandoned, it must’ve been. The crew was just pulling a joke on any scavengers that came to root around in what was left... But the skeletons in the dining hall didn’t seem fake... Either way, it’d be smarter for me to leave than-
*Clump*
I heard the first step behind me and a chill shot through my body, as if to say ‘This shouldn’t be, this can’t be real.’ My breath caught in my throat, my entire being too scared to move.
*Clump*
It can’t be him, it can’t be. ‘43 was an entire year ago, the rations would’ve run out after... after... unless he started eating the cr...
*Clump*
He- or it- was closer now. For the first time in my life, I began to pray. I felt something grip my shoulder. I resigned myself to death, or whatever hell I was about to endure. The ragged breathing of the creature was finally audible, as was the sickening sound of it sliding its way through its host’s brain. I closed my eyes, a tear running down my cheek, and hoped with all my might that my fate would be sooner than his was.
“THIEF,” said Captain O’Sullivan.