The First Moment
Copyright© 2026 by TMax
Chapter 12: Doors
Seven dark openings led into dim tunnels.
“I bet they connect to other alien domes with other aliens,” Morgan said with awe and a bit of shock in her voice. Her dreads hung down her back, almost to the dimples just above her ass.
Harriet squeezed me, her arms too warm and too sweaty, almost slimy, while Alice placed her dry right hand on my shoulder.
“No shit, Morg,” Lanka said as she smiled at Sasha and stuck out her chest. How can she flirt at a moment like this? Her eyes sparkled in the starlight. Hank, with a leer and an erection, moved closer to her while Sasha moved between the closest tunnel entrance and our group.
Two other groups moved toward their closest tunnel, the soldiers in the lead, with the civilians behind, most quiet, except for one young man who talked constantly. The soldiers moved like cats, each step purposefully placed, their bodies tense as if ready to pounce. Most of the civilians moved in awkward jerks, tentative steps, then a short rush forward. Some shuffled, and the sand covered the tops of their feet, while others took large steps as if they didn’t want to touch the ground. A few clung to fellow civilians.
All the fights had stopped. The only noises came from soldiers giving instructions and ordering the few people into position.
A scream, an inhuman, alien scream, unlike any Earth creature could make, erupted from the tunnel closest to us, and the soldiers pushed their civilians back away from the tunnel entrances. The scream continued on and on and vibrated within my head. Alice squeezed my shoulder while Harriet cried and buried her head on my shoulder. Sasha put his arm out to move Shivam behind him, while Lanka and Hank crouched behind him.
“What now?” Alice whispered to me.
“You know, it could be only a small alien. Those tunnels would amplify any loud noise,” Morgan said to Nate, which caused Lanka to roll her eyes and put her left hand on Sasha’s right shoulder. Sasha discreetly glanced at Lanka’s firm, high breasts. Hank placed his hand on the other shoulder, but Sasha didn’t acknowledge him.
As a group, we shuffled towards the tunnel entrance. I had to drag Harriet while she pressed her shoulder against mine.
Hank asked, just loud enough for us to hear, “Why are we moving towards the tunnel? Something just killed something in there.”
He kept pace with Sasha.
Morgan said, “Because it’s better to know what it is and face it than have it sneak up behind us and kill us all.”
“Face your fears, because this is survival of a species, our species, human,” Sasha said as he stared at the tunnel.
We approached from the right side, and as a group we pressed against the wall. Sasha in the lead, next to the tunnel, Lanka behind him, Hank behind her. Shivam, Nate, Morgan, Alice, me, then Harriet behind me.
The wall felt like rock but had a warmth, as if the sun had spent the day heating it, yet with no sun insight.
“This wall is made of rock that I have never seen before,” Nate said as he ran his palm on the wall.
“It’s alien,” Harriet whispered.
Sasha peeked around a corner into the tunnel and said, “I suggest that we move into a tunnel, or at least explore it somewhat.”
“What? Why? The voice just said to survive. It didn’t say anything about anything else. Why don’t we just stay here?” Shivam said and glanced around at the rest of us for support. Alice and Nate nodded. Morgan shook her head, while Lanka and Hank stared at Sasha as if he had gone crazy. I agreed with Sasha. We should at least explore. Give us a back route out of this place. Who knows what will emerge from the other tunnels.
“Back door,” I said as I joined Sasha at the entrance to the tunnel. Harriet stayed with me until she realized that I moved towards the tunnel; then she shuffled backward to the end of the line.
“Finally, someone who thinks with their brain,” Morgan said as she joined us. The others glanced around the arena. Only a few people remained. One female soldier, with two men beside her, stood in the center, their backs against each other. She faced us, while the men stared in other directions. Two lone people sat on the sand. One dug a hole, while the other stared at the stars above them. A small group of four, two men and two women, huddled together against the wall. All four examined the rock-like surface.