We Never Should've Landed on the Dark Side of the Moon

Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep

An astronaut crew on a lunar mission discovers an impossible duplicate automated vehicle and a biological anomaly involving their crewmate,

Key takeaways

• The crew discovers two identical Automated Exploration Vehicles (AEVs) on the lunar surface.
• Two versions of flight engineer Tessima are found emerging from a mysterious patch of ground.

Main topics

• Lunar exploration horror
• Biological anomalies

Notable quotes

The moon is supposed to be empty, but when a team of astronauts is sent to investigate a strange signal on the lunar surface, they discover something that shouldn't be possible.

Conclusion

A visceral sci-fi horror experience that examines the breakdown of hum

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) The moon is supposed to be empty, but when a team of astronauts is sent to investigate a strange signal on the lunar surface, they discover something that shouldn't be possible. Something that defies every explanation they can come up with. And the closer they get to understanding it, the more dangerous the mission becomes. But before we get into it, if you enjoy scary stories like this, be sure to like and subscribe so you never miss any of our weekly uploads. Speaker 2 (0:30) Lights mounted to the front of our rover illuminate the great landscapes as Lunar Lander pilot Strassen drives the four-wheeled vehicle. We're following narrow twin-wheel tracks on the moon's dusty surface. Tracks left by an automated exploratory vehicle, or AEV. Our rover has no doors, no top. It almost looks like a sedan with oversized wheels stripped down to its most basic components. I sit next to Strassen in the front. Flight engineer Tessima sits directly behind me in the third seat. The space where you would find a fourth seat in a normal vehicle is occupied by the rover's computer systems and motor. An antenna juts from the blocky components in constant communication with Houston through a series of relay satellites, resulting in a three-second delay. Speaker 2 (1:24) Tessima asks over our local comms channel, a smile in his voice. Speaker 1 (1:29) I'm sure Valdera would love that, Speaker 2 (1:31) Straussen says in his Great Lakes accent. Valdera is our mission commander, who is currently orbiting the moon in the crew capsule. Speaker 1 (1:42) Cats are away, etc, etc. Speaker 2 (1:45) Balderas says. The relay satellites communicate much more quickly with the capsule than with Earth. Of course, we all know that, and we all chuckle. Speaker 1 (1:54) I just want to drive it a few yards, Commander. Speaker 2 (1:59) I say. Speaker 1 (2:01) out of this, Micah. Speaker 2 (2:02) Tessima jokes. Speaker 1 (2:04) Besides, I asked first. Don't make me turn this extremely expensive moon buggy around. Speaker 2 (2:10) Strausson growls. Speaker 1 (2:11) So help me God, I'll do it. Speaker 2 (2:14) We're all silent for a long moment before I say, Are Speaker 1 (2:17) we there yet? Speaker 2 (2:19) Again, we all laugh. This time, it's more than a chuckle. I can even hear Valdera laughing. Speaker 1 (2:26) Okay, here we go, Speaker 2 (2:28) Strassen says, serious again. We round the raised rim of an enormous crater and bring our mission objective into view. Only something is wrong with the scene before us. What the hell? Strassen mutters. Sitting side by side on a stretch of relatively flat ground are two identical automated exploration vehicles. The thing is, there should only be one. Speaker 2 (2:55) After some back and forth with Houston, we're cleared to inspect the automated exploration vehicles. Unlike the rover, these vehicles aren't designed for people. They have small metal wheels, three on each side. On top, not an inch is wasted. The metal, box-like body features two solar panels facing straight up, looking almost like wings. The box itself is full of sensors, cameras, transmission equipment, and advanced computer systems to run everything. The reason we've been called over to the far side of the moon is a 30-second chunk of time in which no data was transmitted back to Earth. When the system came back online, there was heavy interference with the signal, making it impossible to see what the cameras were looking at. It took the technicians back in the States several hours to figure out that the problem was twin signals, identical in every way, beaming back at the same time. They thought this was an equipment malfunction, so the techs powered the transmitter down. That's when the signal came through, clear as day, or night in this case, given the AEV's location. The forward-facing camera showed an AEV, only that couldn't be right. The only camera capable of showing the vehicle itself was a fisheye lens mounted on a pole above it, giving a full view from the top down. When they switched to that feed, they saw that there were indeed two of them. It just so happened that we had been on the moon for hours by that point, finishing the assembly of habitat modules designed to support moon missions for weeks at a time. But this mystery quickly took precedence. Of course, none of us knew this background until we rounded the crater and saw the twin AEVs. Up until we laid eyes on them, the guys back at Houston had been holding out hope that the anomaly was actually some sort of strange malfunction. No luck. I would be mad at the secrecy if not for the intrigue of it all. Still, I can't help but think of my wife Sandra and our one-year-old son, Trevor. And, as has been the case ever since Trevor's birth, I feel a profound fear that I'll never get to hold my son again. But with practiced ease, I mentally step back from the frightening thoughts. Terror can do no good here, so I push it aside and focus on the problem at hand. The only logical explanation I can think of is one involving China or Russia planting an identical vehicle here in some strange Cold War-style move to show us how impressive they are, but that's a big stretch. Besides, no other country has launched a moon mission, manned or otherwise, since the AEV arrived three months ago. No country on Earth can hide such a thing, not in this day and age. Although I didn't engineer the AEV, I'm intimately familiar with it, because it's my job to fix and maintain every piece of equipment on this floating hunk of rock. Since there's no way to tell which is the original, at least none that I can see at a glance, I pick one and start studying every inch of it, looking for any difference that might give us an idea of how this happened. Meanwhile, Strossen and Tessima hop away, following the tracks to see if they can find anything. It's clear where the double tracks start. About 15 yards away, there's a roughly circular patch of undisturbed ground. On the other side, a single pair of tracks. On the near side, two pairs. It's almost as if someone deliberately cleared that area to remove evidence. But to do that without leaving footprints to and from the area would require some sort of propulsion pack, which is not out of the realm of possibilities. Focusing. I tune out my fellow astronauts' conversation as they search for anything out of the ordinary. I haven't yet touched either vehicle, using my eyes until I'm forced to use my hands. We can't yet discount the possibility that this is a bomb or some other weapon. As I stand up from my crouch, careful not to launch myself off the ground in the low gravity, I hear Strossen's voice in my earpiece. It's tight with fear. Speaker 1 (7:09) Decima! Decima! Micah! Get over here! Speaker 2 (7:12) Turning that way, I only see Strossen. Tessima is gone. Flexing my ankles and bouncing off my toes, I hop over. Speaker 1 (7:20) What's happening? Speaker 1 (7:27) Hold him up. Speaker 2 (7:28) Strawson sees me coming and puts a hand out to stop me. Our helmet lights illuminate the circle of undisturbed ground. Speaker 1 (7:37) It was like something pulled There's no quicksand on the moon, I Speaker 2 (7:41) say. Speaker 2 (7:44) A gloved hand protrudes from the ground, tiny grey rocks shifting around it. Another one juts out a foot away, thickly gloved fingers flexing. Something isn't right about the scene, besides the obvious, but I can't quite grasp what it is. I'm too busy crouching and reaching out, grabbing the hand and hauling on it. Beside me, Strossen does the same with the other hand. That's when I realize what's bothering me about it. Both hands are right hands. I pull. the low gravity making it easier than normal. An arm comes out, and a helmet with Tessima above the visor. His terrified face peers out from the depths of the helmet. His mouth moves, but I can't hear him. I pull him the rest of the way out, keenly aware that Strossen is also pulling an astronaut out of the hole. One with Tessima's nameplate above the visor, and Tessima's terrified face peering out from the helmet. Suddenly, I can hear Tessima again. His radio is working. Speaker 2 (8:47) Both Strawson and I have dragged Artesema away several yards, leaving him face down. As the two of them get to their hands