“Welcome to Xyglxen (shy-glix-en) home of the Zybalacks (shy-bale-axes) they are the kindest beings to ever exist.” Alacoflax smiled as he looked at the planet around them. It looked empty. As far as Laura could see desert stretched on for miles only interrupted by clisters of rocks and cliffs. He stepped off the ramp from his ship, she followed close behind. He walked and walked and walked, she couldn’t see the space ship anymore. “They prefer no transports land near their home”, he explained. Finally he stopped. He stared at a ladder going up a giant mountain. He bent down and scattered the sand to reveal a handle. He pulled up on the handle and a hatch opened up. Grabbing onto the ladder he began his decent through the hatch. “Make sure to stay close to me. They may mistake you as lost and try to help you.” She nodded in reply. They climbed down further and further. Holes had been carved into walls and lanterns had been placed in them for light. Laura (who had been trying to avoid looking down) risked looking down past Al’s shoulders and was relieved to see light. The small descending tunnel opened up to a large (large is a understatement) cave. The cave stretched on farther then the desert. Large pillars carved from the rock held up the ceilings. Crystals sprouted from the walls, ceiling and floor. They were every color imaginable. She stared in awe at the crystals and the lights they projected. Scattered like the crystals lay houses. Using the larger crystals as bases houses had been built into the wall and floor. They even hanged from the ceilings. The ladder descended to a large crystal and from there staircases carved from stone led to every part of the caves. It took her a while to realize Al had stopped and simply stared at her smiling. He had brought her here for that very look of awe. He chuckled and continued his descent. Once they reached the crystal below he started walking down one of the stairs towards what looked like a town. Because they had been so far away she hadn’t noticed the people. Now that she saw them she felt the crystals almost paled in comparison. They all had colorful wings on their backs and on their ankles. Some more colorful then others. They wore no shoes and instead wore robes wrapped around them so they could fly freely. Feathers grew from their head instead of hair and their whole bodies were painted with colorful and intricate designs. Along the floor stands selling all kinds of crystal items were being sold. From crystal necklaces to carved bowls. “My friend Cylus lives towards the back of the town, but we’re early so we can look around if you want?” “I…Yes, please can I?” “Its a lot to take in so just take your time.” He followed her as she walked down the streets and looked at everything she could. She stopped at one of the carts to stare at some necklaces. “Would you like one?” “Yes, please.” “Which one would you like?” She scanned all of them and one in particular caught her eye. A beautiful, greenish, blue gem wrapped in a vine encased in melted gold. It had a small blue feather hanging from the gem and two small gems were on either side of the big gem. “A wonderful decision ma’am,” said the elder Zybalack who was selling the necklaces. She gently picked up the necklace from the display. She held it out in front of Laura. Laura looked toward Al confused at what to do. He lifted Laura’s hand and placed it gently on the gem necklace. “Think of a happy thought. A thought you could think of over and over again without getting tired of it.” She closed her eyes and many happy thoughts raced throughout her mind. Finally she settled on the memory she thought best fit his description. She thought of when she has first met Al She opened her eyes to see the gems on the necklace glowing. The Zybalack smiled and placed the necklace in Laura’s hands. “I…I don’t understand.” “The Zybalacks don’t use money, they use memories. The happier the memory the more its worth.” “I thought memories only meant anything to the ones who made them?” “On most planets yes, but not here. Here they only want to see you smile.”

The infinite Treck started for my when I was 19. It always started at different times for everyone. My brother had it at 12 and my dad had it at 38. His was going out to get milk but he must not have been very good because I haven't seen him since. The day that the Treck started for me the sky was a light shade of neon green and the sun shone down, green and beautiful. I looked out at the horizon in prayer to Zaria, the god of methane, the resource that all life depended on. As I softly laid out the sacred words in front of the statue of our lord, I heard a voice in the back of my head. I had always imagined that Zaria would be a strong, powerful voice, sparing no detail and never rushing. It was not that way. It was the voice of a little girl, soft and delicate. "Meet my friend at the bridge on the south side of town in 20," she said. "Oh god of methane, thank thou for calling upon me for you're sacred mission, I shall not dissa-" "Bro, shut up, I've got stuff to do," she interrupted. I was stunned for a second and just sat, staring in confusion. Then, taking her advice, I headed south to the bridge to meet her friend. Once I got there I only saw one person on the bridge. The person standing there was a boy who looked to be about 7 or 8 years of age. "Take this and head east, looser," he commanded me, handing me a spear and a bag of food. Before I could ask any questions he had already started down the road, ignoring any sound of surprise I made.

I examined the spear and bag. The spearhead was made out of pure, flawless, vartinable, the most valuable mineral in the galaxy. I stood in awe at the pure, unbridled beauty. I felt the blade to see that it was razor sharp, so sharp that it didn't even hurt when it instantly sliced open my finger, like an envelope. I turned it over in my hand, not believing that it could possibly have been shoved into my grip in such a rushed, nonchalant way. I then turned my attention to the bag. I opened it and examined it's contents. It was nothing special, just some basic food, a few vegetable's, and some broccoli, shipped as an insult from Earth. After examining the gifts from my lord, I thanked her dearly, then started on my way east.

I soon realized that I had no idea where I was heading. I walked and pondered the answer to this question for a couple minutes before finding the answer, or as close as I could get to it. My answer to the question was simple, I would know when I got there. And so I continued to walk. I walked for days and days on end. I would rest only every 5 hours, taking 30 minutes to eat and rest, then beginning the cycle all over again. I must have traveled over 100,000 kilometers. I traveled through the open empty landscape of my planet. I passed several dozens methane lakes, always pausing for a second to pray to Zaria. During the nights the sky was illuminated by thousands and thousands of constellations. Depictions of old heroes, Zeus, David, Markus, Demetrius, all people who had received the calling to the Treck, and achieved and surpassed their expectations. I would always think to myself, "That is where I am heading to, that is who I am about to become," when I saw the depictions of the old warriors. It was the only thing giving me courage to go.

I had walked 3 weeks before I found the outpost. It had no name and no definable shape. It could only be defined as a thing because I could see it, standing ominously and dangerously on the horizon. Upon seeing it I immediately knew that it was what I had been called for, I had to kill it. I walked closer and staked it out.

I was there for days and saw horrors unprecedented ever before. I saw men come out in droves, always dragging a human behind them, kicking and screaming. They would always, every time, drag them and nail their hands to a post, then they would drench them in methane and, before lighting it, scream, "In protection of the heart, in the center, we banish you to Hell," and then set the men alight. That is how I figured out how I was going to kill the monstrous creation, I was going to find the heart in the center, and I was going to kill it, but this was no easy task. I would first have to sneak in.

How I snuck in is truly a feat. I didn't think, at the time that I could do it. I got the idea from watching dargers. Dargers are giant, horse-like beasts with 6 feet long horns on their heads that can break through concrete, should they want to. On that day one of the followers of the heart had gone on a trip to a nearby town. He walked out for about ten minutes before he got tired. He sat down to have food, disregarding the nearby group of dargers. Once he opened his bag of broccoli, sent as an insult from the humans, the dargers immediately caught cent of it. Once they caught sent of it they all turned and stared at the person eating. Then, all of a sudden, charged the man. He got up and tried to run but they were faster, traveling at 50 kilometers per hour. He was quickly impaired, and his corpse trampled. Then I realized what I would do. I would start a darger attack.

I waited until nightfall to put my plan in action. As soon as the green sun fell I crept quickly and quietly over to one of the formless walls of the bastion. Then, carefully, as if holding a bomb, I dropped 3 heads of broccoli by it. And then I ran. I ran the fastest I had ever run in my life as the dargers came charging towards the broccoli. I had barley escaped their field of view when they reached to compound. They smashed through the wall in a fury, looking for the source of the smell. The followers came out, all desperately defending their bastion from the beasts. All failing.

As this cause erupted I was sneaking my way through the front door. Once I got in I walked through seemingly endless, hallways, with pitch black walls and a menacing aura, always going towards the center. Once I got to the center I saw it.

In front of my eyes, I beheld a giant monster, un-paralleled in size to any and far more terrifying. It was long and sleek, oil black and blindingly white at the same time. It's mouth wasn't there, it was just a shredder of razor sharp teeth.

It saw me at once, turning in less than the blink of the eye to stare me in the face. He stopped for what must have been an hour. He stared me in eyes and I stared, terrified, back at him. Then in a sudden outburst of anger at my presence he screamed an ear-piercing yell and whipped his tail around, lightning fast, and threw me thirty feet into the air. I landed with a hard THUD and all of the air was nocked out of me. I wanted to stay and catch my breath but I knew that was a death sentence. I jumped up in a bult and grabbed my spear and immediately got thrown across the room, SLAMMING into the shapeless freak of a wall. I got up, just to be thrown across the room again in a fury. Then again I got up and was slapped into the air, but this time something was different. This time I could hear the monster groan in pain and scream a deep guttural yell at me. I looked at it and saw my spear plunged deep into it's side. The spear was the answer.

I hopped up, ceasing the chance to attack, and ran towards the great beast. I jumped up through the air and grabbed hold of the spear that was sunk into it's tail. It sank in deeper at the force of my impact and the horrid creation of the devil yelled again and whipped it's tail. I held on desperately as I was flung through the air again and again, only being able to hold onto the thing's tail and pray. I climbed up onto the tail and straddled it. Then, working up all of the courage in my heart, I took the spear out of its body and plunged it in a few feet in front of its last location, then again, then again. I slowly inched my way up the tail of the hellish creation, one foot at a time. Once I had reached the neck it was flailing wildly trying to get me off of it. My arms were starting to become tired from the fight and I was loosing my grip. With a sudden outburst from the monster the spear became dislodged from its body and I plummeted downwards. The devil sprang in for the attack and, acting only on instincts, I raised my spear and jumped through its cascade of teeth, my clothes and body getting sliced to shreds, but never dying, and I plunged the spear into whatever I could find. I ripped through organs and blood and tissue and came out through its side, instantly killing it.

I plummeted to the ground as the bastion around me crumbled and disappeared, leaving only me and the night sky. I THUDDED to the ground and survived, only for the grace of Zaria. I rolled over and stared at the night sky, bloodied, disgusting, and bruised, and there in it I saw a new constellation, one of my likeness. Orion.

    They floated in space holding hands, a graceful zero-gravity dance. He felt his heart skip as he gazed into her searching eyes, shining brighter than both Spica and Polaris. The moon glowed softly behind her, and streaks of pink and violet painted the dark backdrop enfolding them. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, and he felt a current of energy ripple though him as his skin touched hers. He swore the stars lit up like a child's face upon it's mother's return home. She cast her eyes downward as he brushed his thumb across the corner of her mouth, watching curiously as it curved up slightly in response. He noticed a tinge of pink peeking out from beneath his palm and watched the color spread across her face. Amidst the eerie beauty of the universe surrounding them, she was still the most breathtaking thing that he saw. Not even the Milky Way Galaxy could compare. His left hand found the small of her back and he pulled her close, breathing her in as a comet whizzed past them absentmindedly. He longed to hold her like this forever.
    When she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, their eyes locked like two halves of a magnet snapping together. His breathing paused and he got lost inside the depth of the world contained inside her irises. A warmth crept through his chest and his stomach fluttered. Her eyes told him everything. It was like she had her own language. He leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, barely touching his lips to hers as he resisted every urge pulsing through his body. Her warm breath awakened his skin, sending chills down his spine. She softly uttered the words: "I love you", as she pressed into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him tenderly and a wave of light washed over the planets, illuminating them one by one. Even the Universe knew this was something special. He felt a tingling sensation in his toes and looked down to see himself turning to stardust. They had transcended both time and space. It was like living inside a dream, only it wasn't. 
    He looked around and noticed flashes of past, present, and future memories dancing across the darkness. One showed a fragment of their first meeting, and another showed a day they explored a creek. His favorite one lingered a little longer than the rest-a comforting glimpse into one of his deepest desires. They were in the warmth of their own home on Christmas Eve, their living room decorated with all kinds of lights, stockings, and garlands. Now his wife, she sat on the couch facing him as he played his guitar. A baby peered from behind her arm, watching him closely and hanging on to every note and chord. He watched himself play, a vibrant glow of happiness surrounding him. He noticed her looking at him like nothing else in the world could matter more. She was completely consumed with the moment.
    The memory faded and again he floated in space, holding tight to his most prized possession. Now even their arms glittered as they turned to stars. He looked at her one more time and his eyes traveled to the sparkles climbing up her neck and onto her face. He knew they only had a few moments left. He felt his body slowly waning, watching as they both turned to bight, iridescent dust. The atmosphere rotated and everything went black. He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The harsh lights nearly blinded him and he was once again away from her. But every night he looked out the window and up at the sky, wondering if there were still remnants of them among the stars.

Junpir was a small planet, almost not even classed as one, but it had the cheapest prices.

We split the cost between the four of us and we each got a quarter of the area. Max got the part with the fields, Jonathon the forest, Poppy the meadow, and I got the city ruins.

It was our first day there, and we were all tired out from the ship ride. “See ya tomorrow, guys!” I said, getting out. We had arranged to meet in Jonathon’s forest.

“Bye, Seb,” Max said, and the others waved at me.

The air felt cooler than I thought it would. Crumbled stone structures littered the area, dust settled in the air.

A screech echoed through the wind. I jumped and looked up in fright. A massive beast - something like a pterodactyl - flew above me. It opened its mouth and dived down towards me. A quick flash of black and I was gone.

Caitlin’s lips were turning blue, and I couldn’t get air into my lungs. There was none, after all.

Nobody had thought far enough ahead to consider that we might need to breathe in order to explore Volara, apparently.

I say nobody, but that was my job.

Kiro - the boy we had met on O-37924 - was having similar difficulties, though he’d not yet reached the same levels of panic as I had.

We were going to die here.

“Come on,” Caitlin wheezed, screwing her eyes shut. “We have to get back.”

I’d never be able to tell you how we got back to the collapsing portal, or how we managed to stop it from falling apart as we tumbled through.

But we did.

I can soft touch death on a Tuesday and not shudder. I can get real close.

Digging gravel graves had been an inconvenience for man, ever since man first knew he went back to the earth. Until the Earth said no more. No more dust.

The Earth’s crust had become infested. A blanket of secreting sebaceous glands. With all manner of excess pushed through its porous layers. Countless histories forced their voices through its armour. Garbage upon garbage. Coffins of flesh and bone woke before their time, trying to reclaim life.

And so came the command for change. No matter its purposeful prehistoric application, ‘form follows function’ was destined to change the way we buried our dead.

Gone are the boxes of maple and oak. The caskets of polished silver and woven straw sink no more.

Tuesdays I de-liquify the dead. Of course I don’t make them solid. I drain them. Then I de-mass.

Creating a mass deficit is simple with the Cubicon-K2. It’s not a messy process at all. I’m experienced now and can reduce a full-sized individual to 27 cubic millimetres in the space of an old Earth hour.

The compact dust has been a god-send on planet Lack-121. Unlike planet Lustre, rocks and regoliths house its core and ice glazes its most northern tip. But its surface has a phospholipid catlick deficiency; a weakened membrane. The dust cubes will serve to render its perimeter breaches. ‘The scattering’ takes place every Tuesday at the turning of our second sun.

This is where their gratitude lays.

I stack the cubes in piles of 10 and sign them off for processing.

My work doesn’t go unblessed. I serve the 10. The 10 chosen to repopulate. The 10 chosen to rejuvenate a lost hope.

Planet preparation is at the forefront of my hope.

Generous are the 10, that I am able to self-serve and create my own cube when the time comes. When death knocks, I shall proudly answer knowing I have fulfilled my duty to their cause.

It was weird. She was the only one. Blessed by the god Maia, she could travel between planets. When she woke up she was always slightly disoriented on whatever planet she was on. As where she was came flooding back, memories did as well. Memories of her being caught by the the prince she thought she was in love with. She woke up to see her surrounded in a jail. Perfectly specified to keep her from transporting. It drove people to madness she heard. One thing she realized. She didn’t tell the prince ALL of her limitations. She lied down to take a nap. Within an hour she woke up on a desert. On a planet she had never imagined. Or been to. When she sat up she noticed everything. A downside to her power. She noticed the sand stretching for days. She noticed the juxtaposition of the ponds. The bright blue streaking through the sandy desert. She walked for hours and came upon no one. She noticed everything by now. It was a small planet. She assumed in a day or two of walking she will have circumnavigated the globe. She noticed the green trees that spurted around the ponds. But most importantly, she noticed not a human or animal inhabited this strange land.

I took a breath of the cool station air before donning my space helmet. I was wearing a bulky space suit. It was difficult to walk, but I knew it was for the best; I needed protection. I stepped into the airlock, and clenched my fists as I heard the doors shut behind me. Soon, I would be the first person to walk on that reddish-yellow, unfamiliar, vastly uncharted gravel. A voice erupted from my radio, startling me. “You ready?” I heard my commander say with his Southern twang. I shut my eyes, sighing. “Ready.” An alarm began to blare, meaning the airlock would open soon. I opened my eyes just as the doors opened. I looked about; nothing much to see except rocks and dust. I felt a wave of anxiety sweep over me. “Well,” I heard that Southern voice say, “Are you gonna head out?” I gulped, and hit the reply button on my radio. “Yes sir.” I was reminded of the words of Neil Armstrong, the famed pioneer into such an intriguing yet terrifying task. “One small step…” I thought to myself, feeling scared. I had trained for this moment. I had had briefings from scientists, and pep talks from friends. I had naively thought it would be easy, yet my mind was spinning. My commander barked at me to hurry and move out. I mustered up all of my courage, and took that first step; I was the first human here. I was filled with a sense of pride, and savored it for a moment before pushing it away. I needed to focus.
I began to walk around, moving away from base. The more I explored, the stranger the environment seemed to become. I noted that there were woods up ahead, and decided to head there. The trees weren’t like regular trees; the leaves were yellow, just like the sky, and the trunks were blood red. I started hearing odd chirping sounds coming from within; with each step I felt more dread. Finally, I reached them. I stepped into the woods, and noticed something odd. With each step on the dry soil, it turned an earthy brown color. Touching the bark of the trees, they turned brown; the leaves turned green. I felt as though I were walking in a painting, each step a stroke of a paintbrush. I became excited, and smiled. I retrieved my camera to document everything. I decided to radio back to the base. “I have entered a wooded area. Strange activity.” “Send it back,” I heard the man’s voice say. I pushed a button on the camera, and a live feed of what I was seeing was sent back to base. “Remarkable,” I heard a colleague say. “Indeed,” my commander mumbled. “Go farther in.” I felt reluctant, and felt a strange tug in my gut. The chirping seemed to grow louder. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said reluctantly. “Go now,” he shouted. The force of his voice was loud, hurting my ears. “Sir, I don’t think-“ I repeated. “Go now!” He yelled. I felt a twinge of irritation, and took another step. But now, each step sent charred earth around me. “Sir, stop,” I requested, trying to calm myself. His tone had been irritating me all day, but it seemed amplified now. Nonetheless, he continued. With each word he spat, the environment seemed to decay. It seemed the planet was listening to us. It had taken pity on my fear, but now it seemed angry over our discourse. The planet was alive, listening. It was sensitive and empathetic to a remarkable degree. The chirping piqued, and I knew I was in danger. As I turned and ran, my commander spouted even more vitriol, causing the environment to worsen. I began to yell back, and the decay became more severe. I began to sprint back, and feared I wouldn’t make it back to base on time. Just as the planet reached nightmare level, the chirping screeching, the ground and rocks crumbling, I leapt into the airlock and felt the doors shut behind me. Perhaps this world was more delicate than it seemed. It looked rough, but it was sensitive. It listened. If only my commander had too - as I turned and looked out, a wave of black washed over the station. We were in danger, and all because of unkind words. Perhaps with patience, this planet could foster us; but only once we had reached peace among ourselves.

I’m trapped. There’s no escape. Even if I could get out of this cell, this prison, I am still stuck on a planet I don’t even know with absolutely no connections. I cant even remember the last time o tasted fresh air and felt a warm summer day on my back. It’s been too long I can barley remember the feeling of sand between my toes as I run down the beach. I never thought I would miss Earth. It’s dirty and humans are so confusing, but there’s something to admire about it. I wonder if I will ever even feel these things again or if I will grow old in this cell, my memories slowly slipping away from me until there’s nothing left. Maybe after long enough, my captors will realize that I have no use to them. They seem to think that Earth is this mighty empire and there are thousands of people coming to save me. Hate to break it to them, but nobody probably noticed that I’m gone. The only people that mattered to me and that I mattered too are dead. It might sound sad, but this is just my reality. Hundreds of days in this prison has made me accept that. But there’s still some part of me that hopes, maybe if I do go back, I can find someone else to care about. Somebody that actually listens to my stories and gives me a hug afterwards. That would be nice. I haven’t had a hug in so long. Unless you count the guard dragging me into my cell. Anyway, I have to go eat breakfast now, so this is journal entry #201 signing out.

With every passing hour I have ticked off in my head, the day I was taken fades further into distant memory and lines blur rapidly into blobs of color leaving distinct shapes to imagination. 58, 59, 60…noon…1, 2, 3…I scratch another line into the metal beneath my feet. It’s been 11 years, 5 months and 13 days. For almost 12 years I have spent every day praying for my cage to be unlocked. I have swindled with the idea of standing upright amongst the crowd, looking into the faces of the familiar and expressing my thoughts out loud to those willing to listen. I’m not even sure what I would sound like. I haven’t heard my voice in…well I’m not sure how long it’s been. What would I say? How would I say it?
I huddle against the bars at the back of my box and look straight in front of me. All I can hear is my heart throwing itself against the inside of my chest rapidly it tries to check itself and skips an occasional beat. Im starving. I reach over to check my calendar etched into the ceiling of my metal hut. It’s been 4 days since my keeper unlocked the door to my cage and fled down the hallway. 58, 59…1300…1, 2, 3…I make another small mark and look over to my bowl. I have just enough water to make it another few hours. Then what? Where’s my keeper? What will happen if I leave and am caught? I’ll be beaten and ignored. I can take the beating. It’s being ignored that makes me fall deep into the folds of my mind. It’s scary in there. Sometimes I can’t get back out. No. I can’t risk it. I look at my bowl again. I have to. It’s been silent for too long. No one is left. As I slowly make my way to the open door, I feel a tinge of guilt crawl over me. My cage is my safe place. It’s been my safe place for almost 12 years. Every hour I have spent of this planet is etched into its surface. I feel bad that I want to leave as if I’m leaving my mother an empty nester. I’m sorry, I whisper over my shoulder and I crawl through the opening. Still on my hands and knees I make my way down the dark hallway. I make sure to press my right side against the wall. It makes me feel smaller. I need to remain as invincible as possible in the Keeper comes around the corner and catches my abomination. It’s almost 1400 hours. I need to mark it down but I can’t stand the thought of turning around now. At the end of the hallway a light shines brightly through the crack of the door. Freedom! I listen for sounds of moment. Nothing. Not a peep. Not even the snores of the Keepers pet. It feel suspicious. I feel brave. I feel alive. I feel awake for the first time in years. I stand in front of the door and a white smudge catches my eye. It seems familiar. I’ve seen it before but can’t think of where. I reach out to touch it. It feels like home. It feels masculine. It’s soothing. I push on it. The door opens. Hope drains from my face as reality stomps on my fantasy of running. I’m not in some remote location hidden in the jungles of Brazil. Or in some basement hidden beneath a house behind some hidden door. I’m on a different floating space rock all together. I take a deep breath and watch my chest expand in front of me. I can no longer see my toes and I explode. I’m alarmed that I’m somehow still conscious and I watch my bits float all around me. Pieces of me absorb into the ground beneath me while others bounce off and turn black in the air. Where am I if I’m still here but not anywhere?
I see the Keeper. He walks up to me, peers down and plucks me off of a blade of grass like a sticky penny, shakes his head and sticks me in his pocket. 1500…1, 2, 3…