Lycaon, p.1
Lycaon, page 1
LYCAON
Wes Parker
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental
Lycaon
Copyright © 2021 by Wes Parker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
Cover and Art Design by José Lucas
Map by Niklas Wisedt, www.wistedt.net
ISBN-13: 978-1-7323272-3-8
Contents
Map
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
For Mom, who always told me to reach for the stars.
MAP OF THE LUNAR SURFACE
Prologue
Dr. Alana Chang wiped the dripping blood from her face. She was doing her best to keep quiet while hiding beneath the lab desk. She didn't understand how it all went so wrong and so fast. Dr. Popov had been such a good man. She didn't know what had happened to him or why he was doing any of this. Just a few days ago, he was one of humanity's most brilliant minds, and now—
A scream erupted from the hallway, followed by a sick guttural laughter that sounded more beast than human. Alana pressed herself up to the back of the desk and held her breath in anticipation. The laboratory doors slid open, and she heard the slow, methodical footsteps of someone entering the room. A little part of her held out hope that it was Lt. Colonel Scott Jackson. That hope was quickly shattered when Dr. Popov began to speak.
"Alana? Come out, come out wherever you are…"
Alana could hear the doctor as he stalked around the laboratory. He tapped his nails on the table as he methodically made his way around.
"Honestly, Alana, you've always been one of my brightest students, so I don't know why you are defying me now? I am sorry about your face. If you would just come out, then we could talk about this. It wasn't my goal to hurt anyone, let alone you. Besides, we all know that I wouldn't have had to resort to this if you hadn't gone and tattled on me." Dr. Popov almost growled the words as he began to lumber around the table.
Alana shot up from her hiding place and sprinted towards the lab doors. She knew it was a futile attempt. Even if she could get away from him, her suit was compromised. Still, she wasn't about to go down without a fight. As she entered the blood-stained hallway, she felt something tight grip her forearm. Pain radiated throughout her entire arm as Dr. Popov's nails dug into her skin. She turned around to look at the man who she used to see as a father figure. Now all she saw was a monster full of hunger.
"You fucking little bitch I'm going to slaughter you like the rabbit that you are Alana. Others have already accepted my gift. Do you think you're better than them? THAN ME?”
Alana tried to pull away, but it was no use. Dr. Popov only dug his nails in deeper, causing her to yell out in pain. Her yell caused a sick smile to grow across his face. The doctor was clearly enjoying himself as he pulled her closer. Dr. Popov stretched his mouth open, showing grotesque amounts of pinkish drool. Alana wasn't sure if the doctor was trying to bite her or kiss her.
A shape appeared out of the corner of her eye, running full speed into Dr. Popov. The sudden impact made the doctor release her, causing her to fall back onto the sticky floor. She pushed herself back to her feet and saw Scott, bloodied and mangled, wrestling with Dr. Popov. Just a few hours ago, Scott would've had no issue overpowering the doctor, but that was no longer the case. Alana stood there, not sure if she should help or make a run for it.
"Run Alana! Get to Armstrong! Hurry!" Jackson yelled through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry Scott, I'm so sorry." Alana turned and sprinted towards the command center, tears and blood running down her face. Just as she turned the corner to the command center, she heard Scott scream in pain. Alana wanted to go back and help him but knew that she couldn't. For all she knew, he was already dead. She ran to the command center computer and began entering the lockdown commands. Her adrenaline spiked when she heard Dr. Popov yell after her.
"ALANA!” he roared. She could hear him running around the corridor after her. She frantically pressed the keyboard, even though the lockdown had already been initiated. The doors seemed like they were closing slower than usual. She saw Dr. Popov turn the corner of the corridor and decided to make a run for it. If Alana was going to survive this, she needed to find a new EVA suit. She flinched at the sound of Dr. Popov slamming into the blast doors.
"Alana, open this fucking door!" he yelled in an animalistic tone. Alana was pretty sure that the door could contain Dr. Popov, but she wasn't about to stay here and find out. She knew that right now, the smartest thing she could do was listen to Scott. Alana’s only chance of survival was if she made it to Armstrong Base. Dr. Popov continued to beat on the door as she made her way to the airlock. She tore off her suit and put on the only one available. It didn't fit well, but she didn't have a choice. Her only hope was that the seal would hold long enough for her to get to safety.
She waited for what felt like an eternity for the pressurized doors to open. The gunpowder smell of the lunar surface filled her nostrils as she started to run towards the vehicle garage. Much to her horror, the vehicles had been damaged to the point that they weren't drivable.
"Fuck!"
Without any other options, Alana started to run towards Armstrong Base. She had made it a few hundred feet before a sudden jolt from behind caused her to faceplant into the ground. What the hell was that? She thought. Alana looked back to see a portion of Aldrin Base was now blown out, with debris floating everywhere. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she knew that she had to get out of there as fast as possible. Alana pushed herself up and began to run away once again. She tried not to think of Scott or the fact that her arm was burning horribly under her suit. Alana knew that her only option was to treat it once she got to Armstrong Base.
A familiar voice came over the radio, causing her heart to shudder in fear.
"Alana… I'm coming for you…" Dr. Popov said, before breaking out into more uncontrollable laughter.
1
Harvey could feel the earth beneath his feet as he chased his prey. As he ran through the forest, dodging every branch and tree that got in his way, he was an animal possessed, chasing the rabbit in front of him. Just when it seemed like he was about to catch it, the creature would gain almost supernatural speed and remain out of reach.
Harvey could feel his heart pounding. He didn't know why he wanted the little creature running from him, he just knew that he needed it. He needed to catch it. He needed to conquer it, to devour it. As the rabbit got farther and farther away, Harvey went from running on his bare feet to crawling on all fours. This closed the distance between hunter and prey. Closer, closer, his heartbeat getting stronger and stronger. He could only hear the beat of his heart. As anticipation of his meal grew, Harvey felt his mouth start to water. Closer, closer, until finally, he lunged through the air, tackling the little rabbit and holding it down. The creature kicked wildly, trying to escape its fate. It knew what was coming as Harvey gripped its small body, feeling its ribs start to crack. Just as he was about to break the creature's neck, it looked up at him and opened its mouth to scream.
"Oh, the weather outside is frightful…"
Harvey shot up from his bed, looking around his room as he composed himself after his nightmare. He brought his hand over to the radio to turn off the Christmas music. The clock read 0600 zulu time. The white sheets of his bed were stained in sweat. He started doing his breathing exercises in hopes of steadying his shaking hands or calming his already jackhammering heart. His watch said that he had a heart rate of 132 bpm. Center yourself. He heard the voice of Dr. Adler, the team’s psychologist back on earth. She worked with the team during their entire three years of training for the Artemis mission. During that time, she had taught the team what she deemed “essential” calming exercises. Harvey closed his eyes and did his best to control his breathing as he slowly inhaled, counting to five before letting out an exaggerated exhale. He completed this exercise a few more times before looking at his watch again. His heart rate was now a brisk 144.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Harvey said before getting out of bed. He looked up at the top bunk to see if his roommate Mike was awake. By the look of things, Mike was already up and at 'em, probably working out in the gym. Just like the Marine had always done, if he wasn’t sleeping, eating, or working then he was in the gym. Their room was tidy for the most part, or at least Mike's stuff was tidy. Harvey, on the other hand, had what he liked to refer to as organized chaos. He knew just where everything was and liked to keep it that way. To the untrained eye, however, his side of the room could be referred to a s sloppy. Harvey’s books were scattered over his desk in the corner of the room, while Mike's were neatly organized by subject. Unlike Harvey, who liked to bring a bit of personality to the room, Mike enjoyed the basics. He adhered to the belief that if it was something he needed, it would have been issued to him by the military, or in this case, NASA. In fact, the only object that Mike seemed to care about was the framed photo of his family that stood on his desk.
Harvey was getting a late start to his day, but he didn't see that as too big of a deal considering he’d been up late the night before working on the rovers as well as trying and failing to fix HOGAN, who was the bane of Harvey’s existence. Harvey was the team’s mechanical engineer and computer science guy, which were fancy titles for what Harvey considered to be his real job: a glorified mechanic. Harvey oversaw the maintenance and more often than not, the retrieval of the hundreds of lunar rovers that NASA was using. HOGAN was easily the most expensive and fragile of these machines. His most recent reason for breaking down was because he fell while holding a can of soda for Mike. An android that cost over fifteen million couldn’t even hold a can of soda without breaking.
Harvey glided into the hallway of Armstrong Base, which was somehow duller than the room he shared with Mike. The floors were plain white, while the walls and ceiling were a tasteful egg white. The monotony of the corridor was enough to drive someone mad, if not for one exception: the window panel. For the first time in three weeks, it was open. The fact that the window wasn’t locked down by the protective security paneling must have meant that the storm was finally over. Harvey never missed an opportunity to look out that window, and this time was no exception. Harvey unceremoniously put his face onto the window and looked at the lunar surface for the first time in weeks. The cold barren waste of the moon stared back at him. Besides a few tracks from the rovers, the surface was bare, and the atmosphere was quiet. As he looked over the horizon, Harvey saw the small blue illumination of Earth staring back at him. He never got tired of seeing home.
Harvey had been stationed at Armstrong Lunar Base for the last four of what was supposed to be a six-month rotation. During that time, he and his teammates had been investigating the different effects of the lunar surface on Earth-born organisms. That was at least the goal of Armstrong Base, which was one of three bases located near Shackleton Crater. There was also Aldrin Base, which was the biggest of the three. Aldrin wasn't managed exclusively by NASA. Instead, it had been created as a sort of partnership between NASA and the Kronos Organization. Kronos was, by and large, the most successful of the private space firms, due to their wild yet innovative ideas about renewable energy. The third lunar base was the Collins Communication Array. It was slightly farther away from Armstrong and Aldrin base. The Collins team spent their time investigating sound waves in space. Although there wasn’t a team at Collins base during this rotation, Harvey had still had to do some maintenance on their rovers. Even when stuff wasn’t being used, the moon found a way to break it down.
Harvey entered the gym, only to see Mike, who looked like he had been working out for quite some time. Harvey looked at the machine’s screen an almost gasped. If they had still been on earth, then Mike would have been attempting to lift well over 600lbs. Lucky for them, the moon only had one-sixth of Earth's gravity.
"Harvey, nice of you to join us," Mike said in between sets, his tone not changing whatsoever, despite the weight on the bar.
"What do you mean, us?" Harvey asked.
"He means that you overslept for this morning's workout, sugar tits."
Harvey turned to see Jessica Peoples, the Armstrong team’s resident botanist. Jessica had just finished running on the treadmill and was undoing the gravity bands tied to her belt. The bands simulated Earth's gravitational pull on the human body and helped astronauts stay fit. One of the biggest challenges mankind had faced since coming to the moon (and space as a whole) had been the long-term effects of gravity—or the lack thereof—on the human body. This is one of the reasons that NASA and Kronos invested billions in what must’ve been the goofiest-looking workout equipment known to man. It was also the reason that the team had to work out for at least an hour a day. Otherwise, they would lose both muscle mass and bone density.
Harvey put his hands over his chest. "Hey! Quit staring at them!”
"Whatever," said Jessica. "I'm done anyway. I'm just surprised that you weren't up earlier, given that today's the day of the big game. Isn't this one the tiebreaker?"
Jessica was right. Today was the day that Harvey's alma mater, the University of Michigan, played against the Ohio State Buckeyes, which just so happened to be Mike's school. The two schools had what could only be described in the nicest of ways as a heated rivalry. The same could not be said about Mike and Harvey, however, who were, for the most part, the best of friends. The two men had bonded when their astronaut training started just a couple of years ago. Over that time, the two schools had played twice, with each school getting a victory over the other. This game would be the rubber match for the two and the one that determined the winner of a very expensive bottle of whiskey that had been put up for grabs. Mike and Harvey got along fine enough every other day, but on game day, they took great pleasure in talking shit to each another. Jessica, who was a neutral party during this whole exchange, took great pleasure in riling both of them up.
"It's not my fault," said Harvey. "I was up late trying to fix HOGAN again. The stupid piece of shit can drive an LTV, but he can't bring you a soda from the fridge without falling down."
Jessica continued to walk away. "Whatever, I don't care who wins either way. I’m a Ducks fan. Go red and yellow, or something..." she said as she threw up a peace sign and walked out of the room.
"I am surprised that you slept in," said Mike, who had just finished his workout. "I thought for sure you’d be up early planning some elaborate prank for the game. You must have really been tired. Were you chasing rabbits again?"
"You know, I don't appreciate you making fun of my dreams, Mike. I trusted you in confidence with that information and made you swear as a gentleman."
"Oh, that was your first mistake. I'm not a gentleman. I'm a Marine," Mike retorted.
"I'm-uh-Marine," Harvey repeated mockingly.
"Aren't you going to work out?" asked Mike.
“Well, I was, but like you said, I'm getting a late start, and breakfast sounds pretty damn good right now. I think that we should get some food in us and then try and knock out whatever tasks we have for the day. That way we can sit down in time for the game," Harvey said.
“I’m all for getting everything done early, but if Commander Sanders hears you haven’t been keeping up with your workouts again, she is going to make you work out with her, and that’s not something I would wish on my worst enemy.”
The Armstrong team was made up mostly civilians, with Mike and Commander Sanders being the only two active-duty military. On top of being a Marine, Mike was a well accomplished Geologist. Of course, this didn’t stop Harvey from teasing his friend about eating crayons or any other Marine related insults he found online. Mike and Harvey left the gym and made their way down the corridor. The two men entered the dining room, if you could call it that. The hall, like everything else on Armstrong Base, was illuminated in white. It had one long table for the group to eat at. There was sufficient cabinet space and a freezer that housed all of the team's meals. With the constant rotations that NASA had its astronauts doing, there was enough food on the base to last five years, if needed.
