“Johnson! Get your lazy ass out of the vehicle and start helping us or so help me god I’m deducting your fucking pay!” Carter’s voice carried across the snow covered path to where I sat inside of the warm, non-hostile, snow mobile.

I still didn’t understand why anyone would want to explore a wrecked, obviously alien, ship. Had the others not heard the stories circulating around town recently? The abductions? Yet here we were, trying to find scrap metal on this thing for a payday that wouldn’t be worth much if the government confiscated it.

I approached Carter, praying whatever work he wanted me to do involved going back to the snow mobile.

“Ready to work sir.” I said, struggling not to roll my eyes.

A sly smirk encased Carter’s already smug features. “Fabulous, well since you seem to be incapable of dealing with the cold, you’ll go inside and search for materials.”

“Wait, you want me to go inside?”

“Yes Johnson, that’s exactly what I want you to do. Is that going to be a problem?” I could feel beads of sweat begin to form on my brow. This fucking maniac wanted me to go inside an alien spacecraft. BY MYSELF? A sharp smack to my shoulder jolted me from my daze. Carter giving reassuring squeezes before letting go.

“As far as we know the thing is empty. If you have any issues, you know the protocol.” Carter stated, his weak attempt at trying to calm my nerves. I watched as he walked away, red jumpsuit flapping in the sharp icy wind. Quickly, I shifted my gaze to the spacecraft. As far as I knew there weren’t any easily accessible doors. It was a spacecraft after all. Maybe the aliens beamed themselves up into it?

I let out a low chuckle, the funny thought calming me.

The only visible entrance seemed to be the huge gash in the side of the craft. What had formed it was beyond me. To be honest, did I really want to know how they had crashed or even where they had gone? Absolutely not. Minding your business was an art, and I was its master.

I started my climb up the sharp, gray metal pieces protruding from the side of the spacecraft.

“Ah fuck!” I screamed. Ice had formed on the broken pieces of metal, cutting my hand as I tried to maneuver myself onto the platform in front of me.

Once I made it on the platform, I dropped to one knee and opened my emergency pack. Not a very well put together item for us scavengers. Two flare guns, some gauze, a flashlight, a few barely edible snacks, and two water bottles. If we were truly to get stuck out here without any way to call for help, we would be dead within days.

I proceeded to wrap the cut on my hand. Hopefully we would get back to headquarters soon. Infection is a killer, and one I would like to avoid.

_Screeeeechhhhh. _

__

Immediately my eyes jolt up. The only light coming from behind me where the exit is. Darkness swallowing the rest of the platform. What on earth was that noise? I reach down and grab the flashlight. Pointing the stream of light into the void before me.

As I slowly grazed over every inch of what was in front of me, I couldn’t seem to find the source of that noise. Whatever it was, it sounded angry. All I can do is grab as much metal as I can and head back down. Carter would skin me alive if I came back with nothing. Was he scary than an alien? Probably not under normal circumstances, but these were extenuating.

I zipped my pack up, throwing it over my shoulder and quickly made down the dark path.

None of this is metal. I made a mental note to let Carter know as soon as I got back outside the spacecraft. He could come in here and check it out if he didn’t believe me.

_Screeeechhhhhhhhh!_

A flash of movement caught my eye. Hell no. Time to go. I was maybe fifty feet from the entrance I had come through. The only noise coming from me. The sound of my breathing as I sprinted down the platform towards the beam of light and the clanking of metal beneath my feet.

_Click. Click. Click._

__

__

Suddenly, I’m enveloped in darkness. The light mere feet from me, gone. My gaze slowly travels up the figure blocking me exit.

They don’t look anything like what we were told.

I open my mouth to scream for help but nothing comes out. The figure leans down to my eye level, green irises staring back at me. Not alien eyes, not like a cats, a humans.

“I’m glad our shape shifting tech still worked after the crash. It would’ve been really hard to lure some food to this area otherwise.” Carter’s smirk now a full toothed grin as he changed into a monster before my eyes.