My alarm went off, and I actually found myself lying tense in my bed, my eyes wide open, my mouth dry and my heart pounding… I was terrified. The details are already fading, but here’s what I remember.
I was part of a three-man Mars expedition. Myself, someone who’s name I don’t remember, and Dave. The guy I don’t remember felt the same way I did. He was creeped out. He was driving the bus we were riding in, which was basically a school bus with those huge round tires they put on things so they can drive on sand at the beach. Dave had an orange spacesuit (ours were white, and I have no idea what that means… I got the impression that Dave was our technician/engineer, and we were the actual astronauts/explorers)., and was totally calm, which was irritating us to no end.
I could see the bus driving along Mars’ surface. It was going fairly fast, and when it went up a small hill, it would actually get air on the other side… a combination of the low gravity and the speed we were traveling at.
We drove up a ramp to a plateau, and came skidding to a halt. In the distance, we could see another pyramid/plateau with another school bus parked in front of it. I knew that this was the first expedition, who had dropped out of contact, and we had been sent to find, which is why we were all scared. The ramps on the plateaus were clearly man-made (alien-made? …unnatural is what I mean).
The area we were parked on had four doors set in walls that were a ways back from the bus. These looked like the doors that lead into a kitchen, no handle, just a push-panel, with a small window. There were what looked like anthills with lots of small holes venting some sort of gas. They were set a regular intervals, and I remember thinking that they were probably gas-vents that were part of this structure, which felt abandoned, and then the (ants?) had made them a home. There was also a triangular pillar close to one wall.
The creepy thing, though, was the birds. There were huge crows everywhere. These were mean-looking birds, perched around everywhere. They’re scavengers, and they breath air, and there’s no way they should be there on the surface of mars. I suddenly wondered if the gas the vents were leaking was oxygen and mars had an atmosphere now… I didn’t test it though. The birds avoided us, just like real crows, but they kinda watched us from where they perched.
We all got out, and Dave wandered off somewhere right away. The triangular pillar had hieroglyphics all over it. Looking at it, some of them were obviously pictograms for animal life. There would be a pictogram for one thing, and then it would slowly repeat, changing a little each time until it was a pictogram for something different. One changed from an elephant into a cat. I made a comment to my companion that that would explain the cat we saw (I don’t remember seeing a cat, nor do I understand how this would explain it).
While my companion kept examining the pillar, I decided to check out one of the doors. I was really nervous. I took my flashlight and pushed a little against the door to make sure it would open. It gave a little way. I took a deep breath, and kicked it open, and stepped into the room, sweeping my flashlight around, which was unnecessary, because a light automatically came on, showing me an abandoned nursery. There was a crib on one wall, with stuffed animals in it, and colorful posters on the wall, which I felt were taken from earth. It looked just like any nursery, except there was no baby in it, which creeped me out. I was ready to spot an alien at any moment.
I laughed and told my partner there was nothing in here, and quickly backed out, not wanting to turn my back on the room, for fear something would suddenly appear. As I was backing out, I tripped on something, and as I stood up, both my buddy and I saw a flash of orange in the room. I could feel the panic rising, and then we realized it was Dave, who was exploring, and somehow found a passage into the room.
“Dammit, Dave! Let us know when you’re gonna just appear like that!” I yelled into my microphone, and then I was woken up by my alarm, still terrified…
