He was lost within a thick fog of suffocating silence. A sensation of dread pierced his chest and tugged at the ragged edges of his soul.
As he walked, his gait resembled that of a man far beyond his years. His pallor and sunken eyes attributed to the look of a wanderer who has long been estranged from the comforts of home. He was protected from the elements by a suit that fully encased his body. The once gray material of the suit was now stained red by the abundance of dust in the air and the small lights that adorned it were dim. He strained to breathe. The air-exchange apparatus on his suit was not working properly, announced by a single light on his chest that blinked rapidly.
Unsure that he even wanted to exist at this moment, he took the only risk that would bring release from this nightmare, either through opportunity or what he prayed would be a quick and painless death.
He stopped walking and found the part of his suit that secured his helmet, then released it.
The helmet came off with a brief hiss and a rush of air that warmed his lungs as he breathed in. He coughed as the airborne dust caught in his throat. The dust had likely clogged the exchange filter. How he knew anything about the suit eluded his reasoning. The knowledge was there subconsciously, yet he could not summon it at will. His expectations suddenly dwindled and were replaced by a growing anxiety over what may come next.
His eyes took a moment to adjust to the pale, blue-gray light. An alien landscape greeted him beneath an unforgiving sky. The sky was hazy with dust and looked like rusting iron. Save for the dim, circular light of a sun shining faintly behind the thick haze, there was nothing to be seen in the heavens.
The plains of dust and rock were broken only by the occasional mound or depression where lines of sand shifted and swirled between. There wasn’t any green vegetation, only the skeletal remains of dead plants. The lack of life here only added to his rising sense of dread. Staying where he was would certainly bring his existence to an end, punctuated by some form of suffering. He continued to walk aimlessly and with little hope for change; his dust-diminished eyesight being the only revelation as to what might lie ahead.
A single bolt of azure colored lightning split the horizon in two. The brilliance of the flash seared an after-image in his unprotected eyes. He waited a moment for his vision to return. His skin began to tingle with a static sensation underneath his suit. This was not a good omen. He needed to find shelter from the lightning.
Moving in the direction of nearby mounds he quickened his pace. The dust was beginning to irritate his lungs as he drew deeper and deeper breaths. Just beyond the mounds, stone walls rose into the sky as a naturally formed mesa.
Another bolt of lightning struck very near to where he had been only moments ago. From the corner of his eyesight, he saw a flash of movement by the base of the mesa, but it was too quick for him to make out what it could be. Perhaps he wasn’t alone after all. The thought brought him no comfort.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the mesa. He saw movement towards the opening of a gap between the stone walls. He was now more curious than he was cautious. Standing out in the open didn’t seem any safer an option than exploring the unknown ahead, so he moved towards the opening. The walls would provide some form of shelter from the lightning.
~~~