Gessyka was fascinated by the Red Planet. As a researcher stationed on Mars, she spent her days exploring canyons and studying Martian geology. It was her dream job.
The canyons on Mars were full of treacherous cliffs and caves, but Gessyka used her knowledge of the planet's terrain to navigate safely and avoid dangerous pitfalls. She had never been late getting back to the Martian base and she was always careful to stay inside when the weather turned terrible to avoid Mars' dust storms.
Today, when Gessyka burst through the compound door, her heart was racing. She was finally going to explore one of Mars' uncharted canyons. She had been looking forward to it for weeks. Bran, her co-worker and secret crush, had offered to go with her; she was thrilled.
Gessyka had admired Bran from afar since she'd arrived at the Martian base. That was almost six months ago. He was the most brilliant scientist on the team. Bran always seemed confident and in control, but Gessyka had never mustered up the courage to tell him how she felt.
She found Bran near the transport, climbing into his pearly white spacesuit.
"Good morning," she said. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping with the project."
Bran smiled at her warmly. "I'm glad I could be of assistance."
Suppressing her nerves, Gessyka continued. "I was surprised when I saw that you volunteered to drive the rover."
"It's not every day that you get a chance to explore Valles Marineris," he said. "It's one of the reasons I originally came to Mars. The canyon is 3,000 kilometers long, and we still don't know how it formed."
"We'll know soon," said Gessyka, biting her lip.
"Do you really think so?"
"The work our team is doing will pay off," she said. "I just know it. Every day we get closer to the truth."
"I wish I had your confidence." Bran laughed. "But I hope you're right. It would be an incredible discovery."
They boarded the transport and continued to discuss the project as they traveled.
Gessyka was too excited to keep up the chatter when they reached the open Martian desert. She let herself enjoy the ride as Bran skillfully navigated their rover across the rocky terrain.
It took them an hour to reach the canyon. When they arrived, Gessyka was eager to begin exploring. The rocks were monolithic, stretching up into the sky like terrestrial towers. She climbed out of the rover and started making notes immediately using a field tablet.
She was so lost in her work, she didn't hear Bran's approach.
"Ready?" he said.
She nodded eagerly.
Bran led them to the elevator.
"Our team installed this elevator about a year ago. It'll take us straight to the bottom, seven kilometers down."
Gessyka followed Bran into the elevator and they began their long descent into the belly of mars. After what felt like an eternity, they reached the canyon floor.
Pictures didn't do it justice. The way the walls stretched out in front of her, segmented into neat layers, was like something from a geologist's dream.
"No one knows how the canyon originally formed, but parts of it were enlarged by rivers that once existed on Mars," she told Bran. "You can tell by the way some sections meander. Persistent flows of water are necessary for those types of formations. Back then, the atmosphere was much different than it is today."
She continued to ponder the complexities of Martian geography as they marched along the canyon floor. When they reached the uncharted section, they had to navigate using satellite images.
Their goal was to chart as many kilometers of the canyon as possible. They recorded the journey with the cameras on their spacesuits, sending the data back to headquarters. They made progress, charting more than two kilometers. But as the hours passed, Bran grew antsy.
"We should get back soon," he told her. Gessyka didn't argue, although she was disappointed that their time was up.
They made their way back in silence. Eager to record as much information as possible, Gessyka used her tablet to take photos.
"Watch your step," Bran warned her. As the words left his lips, they were met by a howling wind so cold Gessyka could feel it through her spacesuit.
"This is bad news," said Bran. "It looks like a storm."
They pressed on, but luck was against them. Before they could make it back to the elevator, a storm descended over the canyon, engulfing them in red dust.
"Let's turn back," Bran shouted. "There's a cave nearby we can hide in until this blows over."
A few minutes later, they were huddled together in the dark. Bran tried to contact the Martian base only to find they had lost communication. They were also running out of oxygen, with no way to know how long the storm would last.
"We're going to have to find another way out of here," said Bran.
"I agree," said Gessyka. "But where do we go?"
She pulled a flashlight from the pack she carried and flicked it on. There was a heavy mist in the cave.
"There's something strange about this place," she said. "The air pressure in here is different. It’s thicker than outside."
Suddenly, they heard a strange noise. It came from deeper in the cave.
"Do you hear that?" asked Gessyka.
Bran listened carefully for a moment, then nodded. "I did. What could it be? There shouldn't be anyone down here."
Armed with their flashlights, Gessyka and Bran ventured into the Martian caves, searching for the source of the strange noise. After an hour of exploring, they still hadn't found the source. They were getting tired and frustrated.
"We need to turn back," Gessyka said nervously. "We're not equipped to deal with whatever is down here. And we're running low on oxygen."
Bran glared at her.
"I'm not turning back until I find out what that noise was," he swore.
Reluctantly, Gessyka gave in and allowed Bran to lead them deeper into the cave.
They stopped when they came to a wide cavern with several tunnels.
"Which way should we go?"
"I don't know," said Bran.
Bran swung his flashlight, and Gessyka's heart stopped. Waiting in the mouth of one of the tunnels was a creature out of a nightmare. It was easily twice their size, with thick, black scales that shone in the light. The creature raised its head, and Gessyka realized it was a giant snake! 🐍
The snake was so big that it filled the entire passage. It hissed at them menacingly, revealing meter-long fangs and a huge, forked tongue.
"Run!" shouted Bran.
But Gessyka couldn't move. She was frozen in terror.
"Gessyka, run!"
The adrenaline kicked in, and she ran like hell, following Bran through the maze-like cave. She wasn't sure if the monster was chasing them, but she didn't stop to find out, either.
As they fled for their lives, Gessyka's mind raced for answers. She had seen a tag on the snake. The same marking was on her uniform. It was the symbol of their Martian base!
Finally, they stopped to rest. As she struggled to catch her breath, Gessyka told Bran about the tag.
"Are you suggesting we created that monster?" he asked.
"Where else could it have come from?"
They heard a noise in the distance. The creature had followed them after all. They knew they had to keep moving, so they ran deeper into the tunnels with the snake hot on their heels.
Thinking about the tag, Gessyka had an idea, and she stopped running.
"What are you doing?" asked Bran. "We can't stop now."
"I know how to stop the snake. Help me up on that ledge," she said, pointing to a high platform in the tunnel.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Bran replied, helping her up.
Gessyka carefully climbed onto the ledge, her heart beating fast. A moment later, the snake appeared in the tunnel. She held her flashlight steady as the creature came closer.
She eyed the massive snake below. She had to act quickly if she wanted to calm it down. Activating the telepathic injection she wore on her belt, Gessyka took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she could hear the snake's thoughts clearly in her mind. It was stunned that she could understand it and even more surprised when Gessyka begged for its help.
"Let me help you," she told it.
"Help…me?" replied the snake. The creature was suspicious. "Why help me?"
"Because we can help each other."
"Friends?"
"Yes!" thought Gessyka. "We are friends. And friends help."
The snake agreed. Using her telepathic injector, Gessyka continued to question the snake. It revealed that it had been left to die in the canyon and had no memory of how it came to be there. It was starving as well. Gessyka promised they would bring it food once the storm passed.
Gessyka and Bran had been waiting in the cave for hours; the storm showed no sign of letting up. The two companions were growing restless. Gessyka paced back and forth, her steps echoing in the dark. Bran sat against the wall, his eyes closed as he tried to rest.
"We need to find a way out of here," Gessyka said, her voice tense. "That creature is depending on us."
Bran opened his eyes and looked at her.
"There's no way out," he said wearily. "We'll have to wait until the storm is gone."
"I can't just leave that creature down here. Whatever it is, it can't survive in the Martian atmosphere. It can only survive in these caves because there's an oxygen source."
"If we can find the source, our chances of surviving this storm will go up tremendously," said Bran.
"Perhaps the creature can lead us to it."
Gessyka used her telepathic injector to ask the snake to lead it to the source of the cave's unusually thick atmosphere. Immediately, the creature slithered off into the darkness. Gessyka and Bran followed close behind.
The creature led them through twisting tunnels until they came to a black wall. There were several holes in the wall and a thick, milky vapor was pouring out from them.
"Is this ours, too?" asked Bran. "There's no way this is a natural formation. What do you think is behind it?"
Gessyka shook her head. "I don't know, but I want to find out."
Bran put his gloved hand on the wall's surface. "I don't see any markings."
As Bran pulled his hand away, it set off a loud alarm. Gessyka wasn't sure where the sound was coming from, but it was extremely loud. It felt like needles in her ears.
"HEAD. HURTS. STOP!" The words were in her head, but they were not her own.
She turned in time to see the Martian snake slithering towards her. She tried to reach its mind with her telepathic injector, but the alarm had driven the creature into a frenzy. It was enraged, and it was coming for them.
"Bran!!" she cried. "Watch out."
She tried to run, but the snake was faster. It slithered around her, blocking her path.
She was trapped.
The snake attacked. Gessyka closed her eyes and screamed. When she opened them, she saw the snake writhing on the ground, dying in front of her.
Bran looked down at the snake's body.
"What did you do?" he asked, amazed.
She showed him the telepathic injector, and he understood. "You used your mind to kill it."
Gessyka nodded. "I didn't want it to hurt you. I would have done anything to save you."
Bran put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Gessyka. You're a brave and selfless person."
Gessyka smiled up at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."
They left the snake's body behind and walked in silence, eventually making it back to the entrance of the cave. The storm was dying down, and they sat together thinking about the dead creature.
It was dark before they were able to leave the cave. The temperature had dropped to -90 degrees. Gessyka’s spacesuit kept her warm, but doing so drained the last of her battery. By the time she reached the rover, her suite's power level was at one percent.
"Way too close for my comfort," she said.
Bran smiled. “I hope you didn’t come to Mars for comfort.”
The rover's batteries were still full, so they climbed inside the vehicle and let it charge their spacesuits before they drove back to base.
Two hours later, they were standing in front of the lieutenant.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked sternly. "Why do you feel the need to make up outlandish stories?"
"I'm telling you the truth," said Gessyka. She was crying in frustration. They had been over this twice already. "There was a creature in the cave. A giant snake. It helped us escape."
The lieutenant shook his head dismissively.
"You must have been hallucinating. Either that or you've caught space madness."
Bran looked at Gessyka, unsure of what to say. Gessyka met his gaze and then turned back to the lieutenant.
"There was a giant snake," she said firmly. "It was real, I swear it."
"And you're confirming this nonsense?" The lieutenant turned to Bran.
"It happened just like she said it did."
"You're both dismissed," said the lieutenant. "And I don't want to hear any more stories about talking snakes."
They left the lieutenant's office together. Gessykas was exhausted and angry.
"I'm not going to let them get away with this," she said, tears still fresh on her cheeks. "We'll find out what's going on, and I'll put a stop to it."
"We're in over our heads," Bran said, his voice low. "This is too big for us."
"No," she said. "Some things you have to finish once you start them."
A shiver ran up her spine. She'd never forget the sound of the snake's hissing voice inside her head, or the sight of its mangled body on the cave floor, corrupted by her own mind.