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This isnāt possible, itās just not at all possible. Graceās eyes stare at the screen, then blink, then stare again. The blinking dot doesnāt go away. He isnāt crazy, at least not yet.
āGrace see ship, question?ā
āYes Rocky, I see it.ā
āGrace recognize ship, question?ā
He did recognize it, though it would be almost better if he didnāt.
āYeah, itās an earth ship.ā
āGrace not only human out here?ā
Grace looks at the screen again and then out into the void of space.
āItās a submarine.ā
āRocky not understand word, give puppet show.ā
Grace groans, he snatched one of the objects off the table.
āSo when humans want to go under the sea on earth, we use a special ship called a āSubmarineā.ā
Rocky dances with excitement as he watches, heās small rock legs dance around the ball, Grace is about 70% sure Rocky only wants him to explain so he can watch him do the little show.
āAnd the one on the radar is the kind used in Earth waters, not space.ā
āSo why in space now, question?ā
āI wish I know, Rocky, it makes no sense.ā
He looks back at the radar, the beep gets closer as it drifts through space. Grace squints as the sun bounces off the submarine again, it spins slightly as it slowly moves closer.
āWhy is it spinning..?ā
Grace mutters to himself before pushing his floating glasses up his face. The shipās speaker voice pipes up announcing that the drifting ship is 20 feet away and moving closer. Grace looks back towards the shipās opening, the only place that connects to the vacuum outside. Would it be wise to let a ship they know nothing about connectā¦.
āWe are connecting, question?ā
Grace thinks for a moment before responding.
āYeah.. yeah we are.ā
The computer announces the ship is now 10 feet away and Grace pushes forward. He uses the walls and strung up cords to move over to the airlock.
āWee going to have to open up the airlock and walk out.ā
āNo rocky, I donāt know whatās on that ship, I mean itās human but it might not be humans on itā¦ or they might not be human anymore..ā
āI need you to hold down the fort.ā
Rocky does a little thumbs up, which of course makes his thumbs go down. Grace smiles and mimics the gesture before climbing into his space suit, his body spinning in the no gravity. As the computer announces a touch down, Grace closes the door leaving Rocky safely inside and steps into the unknown. Now the dark form of the submarine is much closer, there is only one cracked window on the outside that seems to be now covered, the whole things is weld up with scrap metal. Grace couldnāt say heās ever seen a submarine that looks like a school project built with paper mache and tin foil but thereās a first time for everything. He pulls on the iron with his gloved hands trying to move it forward into the docking zone, at first it doesnāt budge but as Grace pushes with his feet and strains his back to arch, the ship creeps forward. They float inside and finally seal to the Xenonite structure that Rocky built to attach. Air fills the lock and gravity returns causing Grace to fall with a soft thud. A louder thud comes from inside the Submarine, a wet squelch echoes out and makes Grace cringe.
Silence other than a soft bubbling noise.
āUh, hello? If anyone is alive in there please speak.. Iām friendlyā¦ā
Grace pulls open the window and tugs at the covering, its welded tightly. Grace struggles and grunts till the brittle metal snaps.
A gushing river of red splashes down onto the floor.
He dashes back in shock and hits the wall.
āOh thatās blood! Oh god thatās a lot of blood!!ā
He pulls open the airlock door and stumbles inside, gagging into his hand. Rocky comes rolling over to Grace.
āGrace okay, question?ā
āNo, no buddy that ship is really bad, itās full of human blood.ā
āRocky not understand word.ā
āHuman life fluid, itās not supposed to be out of the body. I donāt know how so much is in there.ā
He gags again from the smell, the very thought of all that blood being possibly human.. but what else could it be. A violent thud comes from outside the lock and both creatures go silent. Something has climbed out of the ship.
