Morning sunlight spilled across the landing site, scattering dew into shards of gold. For the first time in months, the crew awoke without the hum of failing machinery or the constant dread of Mars' silence. They were back on Earth, safe… or so it seemed.
Jonas stretched wide, inhaling deeply. "God, I missed this air." He grinned, brushing dirt from his palms. "Doesn't taste like rust."
Mara chuckled, but her eyes stayed fixed on the treeline. "It's quiet here. Too quiet. Shouldn't there be birds? Insects?"
Liora tilted her head, listening. She frowned. "She's right. Forests never fall silent—not like this."
Eris didn't speak. He knelt in the grass, his fingers digging through soil as though searching for something hidden beneath. His expression was blank, his movements mechanical.
Jonas noticed. "Hey, Eris. Don't go weird on us. We just got back. Relax."
But Eris only muttered, "The ground remembers."
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
They began their trek toward the nearest outpost marked on their nav system. The walk should have been peaceful, even joyful, but every step seemed heavy. The forest was lush, alive with green, but there was a weight pressing down on them—an absence rather than a presence.
Halfway through, Mara stopped. Her boots had sunk into the mud, and when she pulled them free, she saw it: faint lines glowing beneath the soil, veins of red light that pulsed once before vanishing.
"What the hell was that?" she gasped.
Liora crouched, brushing the ground with her hand. It was just dirt again. No glow, no pulse. But her hand came away warm, as though she had touched something alive.
Jonas forced a laugh. "We're just jumpy. After Mars, who wouldn't see things?"
But none of them believed his words.
As the sun dipped low, painting the sky in crimson, they reached a ridge overlooking the valley where their ship rested. From here, Earth stretched wide and endless, but the sight brought no comfort.
Because in the distance, faint but undeniable, a low tremor rippled through the land.
The earth itself was stirring.
And Eris whispered again, this time louder, almost reverent:
"It followed us."