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fingers touch the car, droplets of water continue to fall around him from the ceiling above. The sound of raindrops, splashing into the dusty ground, is the only sound that he can hear.
    Movement out in the distance quickly draws his attention toward the airlock, where he had been instructed to go. The cloudy glass of the dome’s shell reveals an odd figure’s shadow moving slowly outside. The silhouette is very difficult to make out through the glass as it is only projected onto the wall from the outside by the fading light of the sun.
    The pounding of his heart preoccupies his mind. His bare hand clutches at the small item, given to him long ago. A flash of light blinds him and his eyelids shut tightly. The car drops, as if in slow motion, to the dust from whence it had been picked up moments earlier. Long’s body limply falls to the ground in a similar manner; the light gravity pulls him slowly to the ground. His limp body stiffens suddenly, the rigidity of his muscles hold him captive on the ground. Gasping for air, Long struggles to remain conscious; bright flashing lights obscure everything else from view around him. He manages to roll himself over onto his back; the rigidity of his chest and stomach muscles precludes the stale air inside his lungs from escaping. Sensation fades from his mind slowly as he feels his conscious mind slipping into the nether reaches of the mind. A shadow approaches out of the corner of his eye.
    The rest of the team has become preoccupied with locating their personal quarters within the dormitory. The inner hallway lighting had all come on with the setting of the sun several minutes earlier. Cardiff makes her way into the control room, and turns on the environmental monitoring systems and controls. “Oxygen levels are sufficient to support life. Pressure is sufficient to support life. Humidity is 83%” the system announces after system checks finish. The radio affixed in her suit picks up a loud, crackling static noise. She responds over the radio.
     
Cardiff:

Long, are you back with the supplies? Where are you? Come in Doctor Zachary Long.
    A disconcerting silence is the only thing that is heard back over the radio, broken up by the occasional bit of static. Cardiff waits a moment longer before she repeats her call over the radio. A throaty-sounding response is given a moment later. Cardiff cannot understand who, or what is speaking, and she certainly cannot understand what is being said.
     
Unknown:

Ad fidens vida, ad metus vex.

Cardiff:

Long… Come in Doctor Zachary Long… Mr. Lawrence, locate Long and help him get the equipment back here; do it now please.

Lawrence:

Right.

Chapter 3

    Year 15, Day 36
    T he luminescent stars above give the dust-laden ceiling of the dome a curious glow. Thousands of dust storms have coated the exterior of the dome in a light powder that gives the dome a uniformly lit feel under starlight. Under this dim light, Lawrence makes his way over to the main airlock in a quick, yet cautious manner. He finds the gear, it is still where it was left earlier in the day, and there is no sign of Doctor Zachary Long anywhere.
     
Lawrence:

Long! Where did you get off to?!
    The recently fallen rain droplets have congealed in the Martian dust underfoot as he wanders up the path in search of the missing man. As he follows the meandering pathway, he stops in his tracks as a single oddity comes into view. A single dry patch, untouched by the rain, lay in front of him, about a meter off of the pathway. A deep reflexive breath fills his lungs, his eyes dilate and his heart jumps up into his throat as he looks just beyond the dry patch of dirt.
    The wet dust on the other side of the patch reveals two deep lines in the dust; it appears as though there had been a body dragged out of the way. Lawrence looks left to right around the shadow-filled dome. His eyes return to the cryptic markings in the dust; the path seems to fade after a couple of meters without another