Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

came across a group of crazed colonists that are infected with some kind of mutant spore. We should be preparing the colony now on how to deal with the threat.”

“I heard you,” Arun said, motioning to Iris. “And that all sounds horrific, and trust me, on the inside, I’m as worried about it as you, but not in light of the news. Iris, tell them.”

“This morning, we received a message that I have been unable to translate,” Iris said, waving a hand over the hologram display. A holographic green image appeared showing the same mountain face where the alien door was discovered.

Everything on the display looked exactly like I remembered. The rock face of the low mountain, the door set inside. One distinct difference took my breath away.

The doors were open.

“When—” Elon started but didn’t finish.

“Just as the suns rose,” Iris explained. “I am proficient in every language of the human tongue. I can communicate with machines, and the message I received from within the doors are none I have ever come across before. I can only make a guess at the short message I intercepted.”

“How can you make a guess if you don’t know what letters or symbols or whatever is being used?” I asked Iris.

“Based on the composition of the message and a series of algorithms I created to decipher the message, and considering the open doors, I believe an educated hypothesis is due.”

“And the that is?” Stacy asked.

“Welcome,” Iris answered.

Epilogue

“Well, at least if we die in here, it’s just us, and we can give the others some time to prepare,” I said as we stood in front of the open doors leading deeper into the mountain.

“Don’t be too eager to die,” Stacy warned me as she checked her rifle. “Things were just starting to look up—you know, what with the discovery of all those infected maniacs and all.”

“If the infected don’t kill us, maybe the aliens will.” I smiled at her with a shrug. “I got no plans for tomorrow.”

“Although I understand the human need for humor when matters seem dire, I would recommend staying focused,” Iris said through the earpiece. “Studies have shown that keeping a positive outlook can go a long way in survival situations. Your lives may very well depend on your ability to hope. In fact—”

“Boring,” I said as I checked my rifle. I patted the knife at the side of my right hip. It was the same knife Stacy gave me to fend off the infected earlier that morning.

A few hours of food and rest were all we got before we’d suited up in armor we’d found in the jungle. The same jungle that seemed to want to kill us at every turn.

It had taken a small miracle to keep Elon back at the Orion with Iris. He finally gave in, understanding his leg was only just back to normal, and Arun had sat the last one out.

If anything happened to us, it would be up to Elon to lead the colony now, and he would do a fine job of it, because that was the kind of man I knew him to be.

The suns’ orange and yellow glow set behind us. I had been given a rifle that I knew how to use, more or less. If things went south, I’d stand a chance at living. I’d do what I did best—what I had always done. I’d find a way to survive.

Was it really only that morning that we’d been running for our lives? And now, as the twin suns set behind us, Arun, Stacy, and I were making our way through a set of mysterious alien doors, the likes of which no human being had ever witnessed. I wondered for a brief moment if Neil Armstrong had ever felt this claustrophobic when he first stepped out of his ship and set his foot down on the moon’s surface. What about Yuri Gagarin, the first man to ever journey into space? We were a far cry away from all of that now, standing here on this alien world, staring at doors carved by otherworldly hands, but this sense of fear mixed with intrigue mixed with excitement—it must have been with them, too. I was hardly the first person to feel any of this, and I certainly wouldn’t be the last. The unknown would always be there, always ahead of humanity, and we were always stupid enough to run blindly into it, like a suicidal cow off the side of a cliff.

And yet, my foot edged closer to the darkness.

We stared at the open doors, looking through the dark interior for anything we could see at all. I was mentally preparing myself for every possible outcome to this insane situation. Whether Iris was correct or not in assuming the aliens had given her a welcome message was beside the point.

Whatever we found in this place—whatever secrets it held—nothing would change the simple fact that our lives were about to change.

They’ve already changed, I told myself, trying to find some kind of comfort in it.

But it was true. Every second of every day we’d spent on this world had brought its own challenges, its own revelations. If we could survive a trip across the galaxy, a planetary crash, a cult, and whatever the hell those things were in the jungle, then why couldn’t we handle this?

“I think—I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but I think I see light farther into the chamber,” Arun said, taking the lead.

We were lucky that we had flashlights at the end of our rifles. I clicked mine on as we pointed our barrels into the tunnel.

“Stay in constant communication.” Elon sounded nervous over the other line. “If you see anything even remotely dangerous, you head back to the Orion as soon as possible. I’ll have the Civil Authority Officers ready.”

“We’ll be alright,” I said more for Elon than me actually believing that. “I mean, what are the odds whatever is in