Stellar Dawn Story Competition

Crossing of the Wastelands

Silence. Nothing more than silence. It hasbeen this way for almost three days now. The eerie absence of sound was crushing. Not even the crew dared to speak. The only noise we heard was thes oft purring of the engines. We were out of food, and almost out of water. The situation was getting worse. It would not be long now until the crew would succumb to the ravaging hunger that was consuming us all. We hadn’t eaten in two weeks now. Poor Jared lost his mind four days ago. He tried to take a bite out of me. We had to leave him behind.

And now, as we traverse this deserted wasteland, devoid of any life, the crew has lost it’s spirit. I have lost mine,and Trevor has lost his. So have Jonathan, Cub, the captain… The only one who hasn’t lost his yet is that blasted historian.

‘Water!’ The scream suddenly tore through the silence. ‘Water! It’s really water!’ Jonathan kept on screaming. But that didn’t matter. We had found water! Everyone knew that animals are attracted to water. If there are animals, there is food. If there is food, perhaps the spirit of the crew will be uplifted again. I suddenly got knocked off of my hammock, and noticed Trevor running up the stairs, his blaster always pointed forward. Trevor trusted no-one, he did. No-one but me and the captain.

I got up, and followed Trevor up the stairs. The wind suddenly smashed into me, almost throwing me off the ship. The desolate wasteland of the Mushroom Rocks looked as un-inviting as ever. Regardless, I followed Trevor to the front of the ship. I’d never expected tobe so happy seeing a pond.

We set up camp a few hundred metres away from the pond, and the captain ordered for 3 people to be stationed near the pond to stay on the lookout for animals. And if they saw one, shoot it and bring it back to the camp. After two day, the lads came back with a giant carcass. We had no idea what the animal was, but it tasted very, very good.With food in our stomachs, spirits indeed started to rise again. The men sang through the next few days, and the silence that had grasped us for so long had finally dissolved into thin air. Then we set out again.

Behind the Mushroom Rocks our mission wouldcome to an end. After weeks of hunting down our bounty, we had finally almost reached our goal.

> Current Mission: ‘Crossing of the Wastelands’:Complete
> New Mission: ‘Thinning the Herd’: Initialised