Wally's Nightmares

You stand on a wooden dock, surrounded by nothing but water as far as the eye can see in every direction. The sky is a dull orange, as if close to sunset, yet no light seeps into the ocean below; it remains dark and foreboding, concealing its malignant secrets from the world above. You walk to the edge of the dock, and gaze downward into the abyss. It is an absolute black, yet you can almost see it swirling and twisting, as if the shadows the water casts have a mind of their own. Deep in your mind, some primal portion of your psyche warns you not to go in. You can feel a sinister aura from it, emanating into your very bones. If you strain, you can even here faint whispers beneath the surface, speaking about you in some language you can't understand. Their tone is one of quiet anticipation, as if waiting for you to join them.  You stare into the water for what seems like an eternity.(edited)

And then you step off the dock.

Why? Why did you do that? The rational part of your mind screams and panics as you sink below the depths. You flail wildly towards the surface. You can't be more than a couple feet under the water, you can still see the dock... ...and yet you can't reach it. The water is thick and viscous, as if swimming in goo, and your panic continues to build as, despite your struggling, you feel yourself to continue to sink down into the blackness.  The whispers around you grow in excitement and intensity, and your fear reaches a fever pitch as invisible black shadows begin to brush past your skin like sharks marking their prey.  As one last surge of terror-fueled adrenaline grips you, you make a desperate attempt to break free to the surface. Your fingertips brush up against the break between the water and the air, you're almost there...

..then something cold and wispy wraps around your leg with impossible force, and drags you back down into the inky blackness. As your lungs fill with water and the whispers from the shadows dancing in the water turn to laughter, you let out one last scream...

...and wake up with a start on your cot, cold sweat dripping off your body. A nightmare, only a nightmare. No matter how much you try and tell yourself that, however, you know it is something more.It all began down on Mars, with those damn worms. Your ship performed admirably in reaching the red planet and landing onto the rocky surface, and becoming some of the first humans to set foot on Mars was an accomplishment bright enough to raise even the icyest of spirits.

It was also at this point that the IDA took control of the operation. A coalition of officers, engineers and scientists broke apart from the main group, accompanied by a gargantuan cage made of some of the strongest materials known to man, carried on a high-tech robotic rolling platform.  After a brief conversation with the convoy, a disappointed Captain Crozier informed the remaining crew that the IDA were now in charge of the mission, and their role was now to collect a few of the worm creatures in sample jars, then remain on the ship.

The worm creatures themselves were quickly found as well, and, after careful examination and testing, deemed to be completely harmless. They seemed to not even register your presence, content to undulate across the ground with no clear aim or direction, and doing nothing but gently wriggle back and forth when picked up. After a number of samples were collected, the American flag was planted proudly in the soil, and a number of tests and atmospheric readings were performed, you eventually made your way back to the ship, your mission now complete.

Despite the overwhelming success of the mission, there was a palpable nervous tension over the crew as you waited for the IDA agents to return. Finally, the hangar doors opened and the crew members returned. Well, most of them.  It was easy to notice that three of the nine agents who made the trip did not return, and the occasional blood spatters on the survivors, along with their haunted and vacant stares, made it clear that they would not be joining the return journey. All attention, however, was on the cage. Shutters were pulled down over every side, preventing viewing of whatever it contained, but there was an eerie and undeniable feeling that there was something inside. Something intelligent, nightmare-inducing, and utterly malicious.

With your journey to Mars complete, your ship once more enters the cosmos with a course plotted back to Earth. Just a short four month jaunt and you'll be landing back on solid ground, with fame and fortune awaiting you with open arms. It was impossible not to be at least a little optimistic as the journey began....Then, the nightmares started.Every night is the same. The same dream, so lucid and real, with your worst fear coming to life. The same malicious black shadows, seemingly alive and observing your suffering. The same cacophonous laughing and whispers in a language you don't understand, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

You're not the only one suffering from the effects. The nightmares are discussed in hushed whispers in the areas where the crew gather, and theories and experiences are passed back and forth between the team.  The same trends are evident for everyone. The fears, the shadows, the opressive darkness and the horrible feeling that you're not alone, as if some alien entity is toying with your subconscious like a cat would toy with a mouse.

Sleeping pills, alcohol, nothing helps. After a week, lack of sleep has started to take its toll, and most of the crew is bitter and irritable. There's the occasional muttered grumble to throw the worms out the airlock and cut your losses, but the combination of the security officer usually around along with the stigma of abandoning a mission due to some bad dreams has kept everyone in line.

It has now been 10 days since you landed on the surface of Mars, and tensions have continued to rise. The cheerful, optimistic attitude that was pervasive through the ship just a short few weeks ago has been replaced by one of paranoia, claustrophobia, and dread, and everyone is silently counting off the days left until they arrive back on Earth....

And then, it happens.