This was it. Ahead, the crater wall rose steeply into unexplored territory, the red dust and rock rarely traversed by human foot. Behind me, new, terraformed Mars, with its small shrub-like trees and habitable atmosphere. Behind me lay safety, but my destination lay ahead, the excitement of the unknown and the danger of Mars’s true form just waiting for me.
I zipped up the last section of suit and slipped the oxygen mask over my face. Taking one last glance at what had been my home for the last 25 years I headed forward. Each step farther than I had ever gone before.
The initial climb out of the crater was hard work and despite it getting colder and colder the higher I got; I managed to work up a sweat. Finally, though, I reached the top and the view itself would have been worth the climb. Before me, stretched a huge expanse of reddish-brown. The rocks, the craters, the dirt, even the barely visible mountains far off in the distance; it was all similar, all tinted with the same reddish-brown color. There were no exceptions that I could see. This was the Mars I’d learned about in history class, the Mars the first settlers had to populate. Looking at it now I realized how small “New Mars” really was, how we’d tricked ourselves into believing nothing else was out there. That’s why I was here though, so I took a deep breath, letting the manufactured oxygen seep into my lungs and stepped onto Mars. The clunky, insulated boots making deep imprints on the soft surface with each step.
I journeyed onward for the next several hours, leaving a long, lonely trail of footprints behind me. I was headed for a small area of craters and canyons, which I’d seen circled in red on one of the old maps I’d studied before my trip. Apparently it had been one of last places visited by the Martian rover, Spirit.
Five minutes later I saw it. Embedded firmly in the soil, the biggest footprint I’d ever seen. About 2 feet long and a foot wide with 5 little imprints just above the toes, which could only be claws. I started backwards in surprise, tripping on protruding rock and falling undignified-like on my bottom. I picked myself up quickly though, and edged closer to the print. It was definitely real. But what in the name of God could have made it? And where were the other tracks? I looked up; searching for more and saw the next, some fifteen feet away from the first. I jogged over to this one, an almost perfectly mirror image. Whatever made these must have been huge. I felt an involuntary shiver run down my spine.
Darkness was beginning to fall, the red-stained rocks slowly loosing their color to the night. I had no idea what to do. Should I head back and tell the Martian community of this find, have someone of authority investigate. But no, they would never believe me without more proof. I had enough gear to set up camp for the night. I rejected that idea also, adrenaline was rushing though my veins and I was nowhere near tired. So I decided on the last option. I would follow these tracks, wherever they led. I took off my backpack and ruffled around in it, coming out with a flashlight. I had just flicked the on switch when something flashed in my peripheral vision. I spun around, sweeping the flashlight beam across the landscape, but there was nothing besides a few half buried rocks. Warily I turned back to my path.
“Just an illusion, trick of the light,” I calmed myself, “you’re antsy because of the dark.” Yet some bit of ignored doubt lingered in my mind.
I found the next footprint with my flashlight and continued forward. The going wasn’t easy though, and I was continually stepping on rocks invisible in the darkness. I had only gone another 100 yards when something flashed in my side vision again. Something that appeared large and apelike. I squiggled the beam of light frantically across terrain, but again nothing was there. Nerves racked up high, I attempted to fool myself, but didn’t do a very good job of it, the seed of doubt was growing bigger.
I took a slow step forward and could see my leg shaking as it lifted off the ground. My foot made contact with the ground and I heard a low growling-moan, like the beginning and ending of a howl combined. This time I didn’t miss a beat and my flashlight sped over to the noise. And there was an arm, matted with dark brown hair wrapped firmly around one of the boulders. Claws dug roughly against the surface. The arm moved as I watched, slowly, deliberately away from the rock, the claws causing a bone chilling scratching.
I didn’t need to see anymore. I turned and ran, panic almost choking me on my own oxygen mask. I ran with a fear I’d never felt before, imagining the creature right behind me, reaching out with those horrible claws, fangs dripping saliva, and glaring yellow eyes. The next thing I knew I was falling, crashing headfirst to the bottom of a crater I had been so stupid as to run off of. I was tumbling, banging head, chest, arms, and legs painfully against all manner of things. The world went dark around me as my flashlight spun away and then I stopped, coming finally to the bottom.
I sat up awkwardly. Something wasn’t right, I couldn’t breathe. I was gasping for air, but nothing was coming. A symbol flashed on my arm and I saw, horrified, that it was the oxygen leak sign. My precious supply of air was rushing away to the poisonous Martian atmosphere and not reaching me. I grasped desperately at the tube, trying in vain to stop the flow, but it was no use, my lungs were already burning for oxygen and my light source had been lost.
A growl sounded behind me and the heavy thud of a foot followed. I gulped even though there was nothing to gulp on. This had to be the end. Something big and solid clasped my neck from behind, pulling me backward with tremendous strength. I heaved against it to no avail. The grasp tightened and everything went dark.
I woke up, a brilliant sun blazing down on me through the branches of a tree. “Tree!” I thought and scrambled to my feet, wincing at a pain in my leg. I glanced around; small shrub-like trees were surrounding me in all directions. I knew this place, I had grown up here, it was New Mars. I fell to the ground in relief, and realized I was sitting on something. I got up again, looking down. I had been lying next to a large footprint about 2 feet long and a foot wide, with 5 small impressions just above the toes.
