Photo by Scott Szarapka on Unsplash

The light of the planet’s lone star began to slowly fade behind the formation of tanks as they roared forward, thick rubber treads kicking up pale sand as they rolled toward the wall darkness. They had left the City of Light two days prior to lead the first ever expedition through the Curtain, the small stretch of land that separated the two sides of the planet. The planet’s star was fixed so that one half of the planet was always illuminated and the other half was engulfed in permanent darkness.

“This is Captain Warren, we are ten minutes from the Curtain. Lights up everyone.” He set the mic down and flipped a few switches on the console. Bright ultraviolet lights lit up the cramped interior of the tank. Spotlights on the roof shot their bright beams into the closing darkness.

“You ready for this?” Captain Warren asked his co-pilot Lieutenant Nichols.

“Going into the dark? Sure. I mean, what should I be worried about? Freezing to death? Or better yet slowly die from lack of light.” He flashed a cocky grin. “Hell yes I’m ready.”

Warren laid on the accelerator and the tank picked up speed. The convoy of twenty vehicles followed closely. The spotlights pushed the darkness back as they breached the curtain. The landscape began to slowly change and darken with every one hundred feet they went. Light soft sand gave way to hard grey rock. Skeletal trees clung to the hard rock, their limbs bent and twisted in the same direction like bony arms trying desperately to reach the light.

“Fascinating,” May said as she furiously scribbled in her notepad. Dr. May Mallory was the lead scientist for the expedition. “Can we slow down? I didn’t get a good sketch of the trees.”

“We’re on a tight schedule, no stops,” Warren said without turning around.

She sighed but didn’t say anything else. First and foremost this was a military operation. The scientists were lucky they even got to tag along.

Two miles past the curtain the vehicles were completely engulfed in darkness. Even with the most advanced lights technology could make, they couldn’t see more than one hundred feet in front of the vehicles.

“Nichols check our location, make sure we’re going in the right direction.”

“Is there a wrong direction?” he asked then read out their position. “We are headed due east at approximately 40 miles per hour. We will reach our first checkpoint in one hour and thirty two minutes.”

“Can I get out and look around when we get there?” May asked pressing her head forward in between the two men.

“No.”

“This is bullshit!” she said falling back into her seat. “How the hell are we supposed to discover anything if we are trapped inside these stupid metal boxes!” She punched the metal roof for effect.

Warren turned around in his seat and stared her down.

“I don’t plan on chasing you through the darkness. I don’t have the men, or the patience for this. Sit back, look out the window and draw things,” he snapped.

She crossed her arms and stared daggers into the man’s back. They rode in silence and May watched out the window staring at the unchanging landscape. Grey cracked ground as far the light would show her. Who knew what things they were passing by just outside the ring of light? Minutes turned into hours as the vehicles pressed on. The plan was to drive eight hundred miles into the darkness. That was as far as their fuel would allow plus a few miles of reserves, just in case.

“Sir, we are detecting strange thermal readouts.” Nichols said pointing to a screen between them.

The screen showed small heat signatures low to the ground just outside of their light radius.

“What does that mean exactly?” Warren asked.

“Lifeforms?” May whispered excitedly staring at the screen.

As quickly as they showed up the heat signatures vanished.

“Strange.” They all said in unison.

“Push forward see if we pick up anything else, switch spectrum,” Warren said as he picked up the receiver.

“Everyone watch thermals and keep your eyes peeled.” Multiple copies came from the other vehicles.

They approached the position where the signatures were and slowed down. May pressed her face against the window straining to see anything. They idled for a few seconds, Warren shrugged and throttled up. The tank pushed forward deeper into the gloom. Miles passed underneath their treads.

“We’re stopping here for a rest. Vehicles form a ring, supply trucks in the center, lights out 360 degrees. Erickson, Mayers, Turner, Vane, suit up you have patrol,” Warren ordered over the intercom. “Suit up Nichols.”

They let the tank idle and walked to the back through a small doorway forcing them to duck as they entered the airlock. Three bulky suits with matching helmets hung on the wall. Warren and Nichols worked with military precision to don their suits. They checked each other ensuring every strap was secure and there were no leaks or gaps.

“Light test,” Warren said muffled by the large helmet. He pressed a button on the wrist display. The interior of his suit flared to life giving him an ethereal glow. “Light test good.” Nichols responded and gave Warren a thumbs up. Nichols repeated the process and the two stood at the backdoor.

“Don’t even think about it,” Warren said firmly to May.

The small metal airlock door closed with a hiss sealing May on the other side.

Warren pressed a button and the rear hydraulic door began to lower. Even with the door shut May felt the cold rush into rear hatch. It thudded heavily on the grey rocky ground and the two walked into the darkness.

May sat in the vehicle fuming. She remembered the moment she got the message telling her that she would be the first scientist to go beyond the Curtain. An expedition into the great unknown to find the most valuable thing in the world. Knowledge. It had been her dream since she was a child. And here she sat, doing absolutely nothing.

Screw this.

The temperature in the rear hatch normalized and she opened the door. She wrestled with the heavy suit, the batteries and electronics strapped to the back made it weigh a ton. Determined, she muscled her way into it. Covered in sweat she picked the helmet off the wall and slid it over her head. The display on her wrist lit up and she turned her interior lights on. Her suit immediately got uncomfortably warm.

“Let’s go,” she whispered to herself and opened the rear hatch. Warren and Nichols were barely visible standing with a group of other men. He must be giving them orders before they begin patrolling. With a smile she snuck around the side and went the opposite direction from them. Her boots kicked up cold grey dust as she walked into the darkness.