Fiery Rune

My crew of white-clad armor huddled around a smoky patch of what used to be the spaceship we've used to get here in the red planet. Our last hope of going back to Earth, blown to smithereens in an instant.

"The engine was punctured, Captain," one of my crew murmured, holding a darkened piece of metal. Voice muffled from the heavyset costume made to withstand the harsh conditions of the planet. His eyes flashed, a blue rain that washed away every bit of hope. Then, the rain shifted into a storm of realization. "There's a saboteur in our crew. A traitor."

Gasps of disbelief filled the Martian landscape. Mouths dropped as their eyes widened inside the glass ball that surrounded their heads to breathe.

"That can't be," someone finally spoke, breaking the silence that seemed deafening. "I know all of you too well, no one can do such a thing."

"But it happened," I replied, my expression blank. I shuffled with long strides through the ashen remnants of the spaceship. "And I know who did it."

"Who, Captain?" a man with a scar that incessantly crossed his face asked.

I gulped, hoping for a violent reaction towards the perpetrator. "Me," I voiced out.

Their faces, a calm river of anticipation, turned into a raging waterfall that kills everything on its grasp. I drowned from their hatred, filling me up like glass. The malicious act of no turning back dawned on me here on the red planet. But it had to be done.

My hand rose like water flowing in the still water of the Amazon. Out of instinct, their voices failed them. They still followed me, the captain. And they're my followers.

The red glow of the Martian landscape painted their figures red. An ominous color, suitable for their desire to fill the dried river with flowing blood.

"Let's be rational here," I commanded, my voice stern. "We're all educated people here."

"Says the guy who destroyed the spacecraft," a guy with a blonde curl on his forehead snickered.

"True," I admitted, my gaze still locked on the people who wanted me dead. "But this is the only way to save humanity."

One of them tried to talk but I shushed them quiet, holding out a finger. I held out a blood red crystalline that was enveloped by a thin orange casing that looked like an ember. Thin spirals coming out from the bottom dominated the object – like the smoke in a fire pit.

My crew stared directly at the object in my hand, unable to take off their eyes from the solid flame. Their mouths were etched with confusion but their eyes were painted with the admiration, glowing so brightly like the orb. "This is a rune," I said in a high tone, raising the object higher. "The last piece of the puzzle hidden deep in the Martian landscape. We need to find the temple of its origin to transverse through dimensions and find our way back home. And ultimately, stop the invasion."

Their eyes, still fixed on the flaming object, were a spiral of obedience. They're under my spell now. My slaves. The sun on the far horizon illuminated the landscape, saturating the already red planet; shining the light as my guilt dawned on me. I apologize to them in my head for leading them to my hidden agenda but this is the only way. They will never understand no matter how much I'll explain. This is the only key to find the secrets of this mysterious planet. The viable source

of hope in saving the whole humanity.

My mouth shifted to a grin as my eyes fell on the red rune, as it emblazed into bright sparks of red and orange.

The travel was quiet as we trekked on foot on the red soil of Mars, dust trailing on our path. A blinking yellow dot that mimicked the stars of a constellation directed us towards our destination. Along the horizon, a towering rock structure with cracked columns erected on the ground. The temple. My crew walked uniformly with long strides, mimicking my stance and movement, slowly hastening.

Our soles plunged on the powdered soil at the foot of the temple, a contrast to the jagged-edged rocks that littered the landscape. Intricate carvings on the walls of the temple dominated it, a combination of spirals and squiggles that were unfathomable.

We welcomed ourselves on the old temple, turning on the flashlights on our glass helmets. On both sides, red columns with more carvings lined the walls, ending abruptly at the edge. We walked cautiously, expecting some kind of traps like in Indiana Jones.

My feet brushed pass small rocks that may had been at the empty ceiling. Devoid of any intricacies. At the end, a large mural of the galaxy was etched on the large wall. Up close, more colored rocks filled up the murals, one for each planet. Earth had a greenish blue rock, reminiscent to the ocean that swished the area, placed neatly on a ledge near the dirt planet. Every planet had a distinctive rock, except for Mars, a bare ledge of fiery red.

I placed the rune carefully on the ledge, hoping for it to not fall off. In an instant, it painted the dark temple with an ominous red, the hue that runs on our veins. The ground shook as my mind raced for a response. My feet planted on the ground, seemingly unmoved from the shaking.

Abruptly, it ceased. The mural that had once been was gone, replaced by a white crack floating in space. A tear. I know what I have to do. I commanded by crew to go first, instantly vanishing as their bodies were engulfed by the light. After everyone have gone, I was alone in the temple. A cold breeze tingled my spine as I let my feet be eaten by the floating light.

I felt my body sway as the floor danced to the force that drove it to move, catching us off guard. The light that blinded my eyes slowly faltered, replaced by an unfamiliar view of the open sky and wooden floors. My mind raced on to where I have put my crew into. Have I followed the tracks towards the pit of our failures? I may never know.