My feet pelted the ground as I ran for my life, kicking up Martian soil all around me. My eyes were glued to the glowing exit, lit by the sun’s hazy light, but an ominous shadow grew and eclipsed our escape.

It was another one of those creatures. I could tell by the way its slithery body moved like a centipede.

“The entrance is blocked. What are we going to do?” I asked Andrew, who was hot on my heels.

He grabbed my wrist just as we approached an intersection and pulled me to the side. “Let’s take this tunnel.”

I wanted to object. It would just lead us farther into the red planet, but there was no time. These alien monsters were fast and had already caught a whiff of us. We were being hunted, and they wouldn’t stop until they had us.

With his hand still on my wrist, we sprinted towards the right. My helmet bobbed on my head, shaking the light as our path slowly descended. We picked up speed as the tunnel dropped lower.

“Come on!” Andrew hurried me. He was running at a full-fledged sprint now, and I couldn’t keep up.

“Andrew, wait for me,” I said, but he only continued to pull away.

He released me and then started pumping his two arms faster to speed him ahead. Men. They were always racing to the finish line, whether or not you were close too. It was something I was very familiar with.

“Andrew!” I called out to him once more. He was now at least 10 yards ahead of me, and the gap between us was continuing to widen. “You’re going too fast.”

But he just ignored me and kept on running.

The tunnel began to rumble again. I could feel the soft vibrations beneath my boots. The Martian monsters were closing in. My heart raced in my chest, knocking around on my ribs. They were coming for us, and I was still straggling behind Andrew. When they finally caught up, which wouldn’t be much longer, I would be the first one they would kill.

“They’re coming!” I shouted to him.

“Run, Mia!” His voice echoed through my helmet. “Run!”

I pushed down deep, gritted my teeth and moved my legs as fast as they would go. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I had the endurance to run across the entire planet. Sooner or later, I would get winded or those things would catch up to us — whenever one of those two options finally happened, that would be the end of Mia Morgan.

The tremor built, and my toe snagged on a rock. I fell forward with a hard smack against the ground. The air rushed out of my lungs, and I felt like I was suffocating. Pain burned in my chest, consuming my mind.

I opened my mouth to call for help, but when my eyes landed on Andrew, I was met with the most horrific sight imaginable.

Two large black pinchers wrapped around him, lifting him off his feet. Red seeped from his white suit as the sharp ends punctured his flesh. He cried out with a gut-wrenching scream.

But the giant insect-like beast didn’t stop there. The pinchers retracted, pulling Andrew into an open mouth full of rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“Help me, Mia!” Andrew cried before releasing a guttural scream.

But there was nothing I could do. They were too far ahead, and I still hadn’t even regained my breath. Not to mention, I wasn’t exactly a black belt in alien-centipede karate.

The creature began its run again, crossing into another tunnel as it shoved Andrew into its wide open mouth. The harsh crack of bone breaking echoed throughout the tunnels.

I watched as its dark, glistening body crawled away. It must’ve been at least half a football field in length. Hundreds of long legs tapped across the ground, carrying it away. They were small and white, almost translucent.

I didn’t stand a chance in hell of surviving.

I pulled myself up as my lungs inflated once more. I was the only human left, and the rumble beneath me didn’t cease. Instead, it grew, shaking my body with the power of a hundred hitachi magic wands.

I turned and gasped when I saw the shining bulbous head of one of these monsters behind me, glinting in the golden light of my helmet. I could see the materials of an astronaut suit hanging out of its mouth. It was the same beast that had just eaten Andrew.

It charged towards me, wrenching its horrific jaws open as it came. The long black pinchers in front of its face clapped together hungrily. It almost looked excited, as though it couldn’t wait to savor my earthling flesh.

I’d never seen anything so excited to taste my body before. If I wasn’t scared stiff with death looming above, I might’ve been a little bit flattered.

Knowing that I had no chance of out-running this thing, I resolved to stand my ground. I was going to die either way, might as well do it standing tall. Not to mention, I hated running. Running was awful, and I firmly believed that all early morning joggers were mental.

I withdrew the utility knife from my hip. It wasn’t very long, at least not long enough to do any real damage, but it was sharp. If I could just get one good swipe at the beast, I was sure that I could do a little damage. But due to the size of this monster, I knew it wouldn’t be enough to save me.

The thing slowed in pace as it neared me. I held my breath as I stared into dozens of beady little eyes staring back at me. Saliva dripped from its mouth and touched the ground with a hot hiss. It burned through whatever organic matter laid within the Martian soil, creating tiny plumes of smoke and vapor.

“Come get me,” I taunted it. It wasn’t the first time I had done battle with a dripping schlong.

The beastly insect ignored me but continued to creep closer with each agonizing second. I couldn’t stand the wait. The anticipation was killing me. My knees began to shake, and I knew I had to act soon or else I would lose the small amount of courage I had mustered.

With a burst, I lunged forward. “Fuck you!” I screamed.

I must have caught the thing off guard because it didn’t react to my sudden movement. Seizing the opportunity, I sank my knife into its dense head. The blade slipped through the hard exoskeleton with ease and a gooey green substance pooled around the blade.

The monster recoiled with a sharp hiss, scampering back at least twenty yards. Its head whipped around in pain like a wacky wavy inflatable tube man.

When it finally managed to settle, a bone-chilling hiss blew from its mouth. Specks of its acidic saliva burst out, dotting the vaginal tunnel walls. Somehow, my luck hadn’t run out quite yet, and I remained untouched.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a dark gray shadow approaching. It moved at an inhuman pace — running. It was coming straight toward me.

Before I had a chance to leap out of the way, the thing crashed into my shoulder. My body flew across the cave, and my back slammed against the ribbed wall. My head would’ve split open if it weren’t for my helmet’s protection. I slid down to the floor, and the light upon my helmet flickered. Or was that my vision?

When my backside met the ground, the tunnel went black. I couldn’t see anything. But I could hear the scruff of movement atop the rocky floor. Grunts and hisses tore through the darkness as the entities fought against each other.

I leaned forward to scramble to my feet, but the pain from my impact with the solid wall was too much. I sat helpless in the dark, terrified and immobilized. My death loomed overhead, seconds away.

The screeches of that centipede-like thing grew louder. It gave a screaming call just a few feet from where my body lay.

Then, there was silence. All I could hear was my own breath, rapidly coming in and out in short, quick wisps within my helmet. My heart rate must’ve been high, but the AI in my suit gave no warning. I was a defenseless body in a damaged suit.

A large hand wrapped around my arm.

Wait… Hand? How hard had I hit my head?

The grip was sturdy and strong, covering almost the entirety of my upper arm. There was no way this thing that had me was a human. Unless somebody had cloned and shipped Shaquille O'Neal to Mars and never told me.

He pulled me up in one swift, gentle motion. My feet caught the ground with ease, but my spine continued to sting. I was hurt, but at least I was alive — for now. Whatever this creature was standing beside me, I had no idea what it intended to do with me.

“Please help me,” I said as a last-ditch effort. “My name is Mia Morgan. I am a LOVR, agent of PENUS.” That sounded so stupid. “I am a Logistical Operator and Verification Response for the Planetary Expeditions for Nature Undertaken in Space.”

That sounded slightly less stupid.

The thing didn’t answer me, but its grip tightened and pulled me forward. Half walking, half dragging me to wherever it intended to take me.

“Release me,” I demanded as though I could demand anything from this… This — I didn’t even know what had a hold of me.

Desperate to look upon my captor, I fumbled around my tool belt until I found my emergency flashlight. I pressed the large mechanical button with a gloved thumb, and light bloomed from the hard plastic bulb. I shined it right in its face.

The thing’s head whipped away and whimpered as though the bright light caused it pain. But seeing the creature hadn’t done anything to reduce my anxiety. In fact, it had the exact opposite effect.

I screamed.

The life form that held me was a gray color with long black hair that draped across broad humanoid shoulders. The small glimpse I had of its face told me its eyes were larger than a human’s and they looked all black, as though the pupils swallowed the entire eyeball. He had a human-like chest, but it was huge — at least twice the size of a normal man’s. Muscles teemed below the surface of his large body, and a visible six-pack sat on his stomach. His build was oddly similar to humans, but bigger. Much bigger.

It should’ve repulsed me to admit it, but he was oddly gorgeous. I loved the sight of his big broad chest, large arms, square chin, and strong hands. A weird sensation pulsed between my legs. It had been probably close to a decade since I’d felt anything like that. But I took a deep breath and pushed it out of my mind. This wasn’t the time or the place for this type of sensation. Not to mention, this was a...

I gasped when it hit me. The thought charged through my mind unbridled. I had discovered sentient alien life — something that hadn’t been discovered yet. Well, at least not publicly. It would be a major revelation within the science community. My name would be featured in countless academic papers, and I would go down in history books as having been the first human to discover life on another planet. If — and this was a big if — I survived.

His face turned back to me, braving the light. The glint of a black stone sword drew my attention. The blade was razor-sharp with a serrated edge.

My fear took hold of me once again, and I reeled my foot back. With all of my might, I drove my heavy boot into the alien’s leg. But it did nothing. He didn’t even flinch.

The onyx sword glinted in the light as he swung the blade toward me. I screamed. It was coming straight for my neck. He was going to lob my freaking head off. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact. But instead of my neck, I felt the strike in my hand. The world outside my eyelids went black. He had hit my flashlight, slicing the top of it off.

With panic flooding me, I turned and yanked my arm away from him. I didn’t expect to be able to break free of his grasp, but he let me go.

I sprinted away into the darkness. My breath beat against the visor of my helmet. I was scared and lost and running out of oxygen. My monitoring system was gone, and I had no idea how much time I had left. If I was going to find my way out of this Martian hell, I needed to calm down and keep my breathing under control. That was way easier said than done.

I wove through the tunnels, moving about aimlessly through the planet. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I was the sole human on Mars. There was no evac team. There would be no search and rescue party.

I was fucked.

I was fucked, and it was all my fault. I was the one that had pushed us to enter these tunnels. I was the reason that Captain Clark and Andrew were dead. Andrew had wanted to turn around and leave, but I had guided Captain Clark’s order to enter the tunnel. It was me. I had gotten us all killed.

How could I have done such a thing? I was so determined to demonstrate that my balls were bigger than theirs. I knew dick measuring contests were stupid, but I had never expected it to be the end of my life.

I closed my eyes as the tears built. My lips went weak, and my jaw wobbled. I was on the verge of an ugly cry.

Just as the wail was about to leave my mouth, my boots sank into something thick and squishy. Had I just stepped in Captain Clark’s dead body? The idea of it broke me, and I burst into a sob.

I buried my face into my hands — not that I really could since the visor was in the way — but I did my best to comfort myself. The spherical helmet upon my shoulders grew humid and musty, filling with the moisture of my tears.

I shook my head. This was stupid. I was just making my final moments on Mars even worse. Plus, I had no way of drying my eyes. I was such an idiot.

I turned a corner, entering another tunnel and came to an abrupt halt.

The soft glow of turquoise glittered around the cave’s walls and ceiling. It illuminated the tunnel in an almost magical glow. The sight was breathtaking.

I took a few steps closer and examined the source of the beautiful light. It looked like moss, bioluminescent moss that cascaded down the side of smoothed rock. It shined down on intricate pictures that had been etched into the tunnel’s siding.

I traced my gloved hand along the grooves, feeling where the lines had been carved. There were hundreds of images on the rock face. Men with big hands and strong chests painted gray appeared in all sorts of different scenarios and situations.

I followed the icons along the cave, studying and observing them. They were telling a story — a history of a people. There were women with babies, monogamous couples, big… umm… were those things their dicks?

I gasped, clapping a hand against my visor as though I were covering my mouth. I wasn’t sure if the men were truly that large between their legs or if it was simple boasting, but one thing was for sure — this was very human-like behavior. There was an organized tribe here with detailed art, a written language, complex tools, and dick jokes.

Several specific instruments showed up numerous times — swords, hammers, and knives. I wondered if they were all made out of the same black rock material that the onyx sword had been comprised of.

The shadow of a large figure bloomed across the wall. I turned on my heels to see him again. His shoulder leaned against the rock as his eyes bore into me — watching.

There was intent behind his gaze.

I cringed, not sure if I wanted to know what that intent was.