The Aurora Infection

By Andreas Leachim

August Haley was found guilty of murder and sentenced to spend the rest of his life on a prison colony on one of Jupiter's moons. But instead, he is awakened from cryogenic sleep on the Aurora, a scientific space station in orbit above Mars. A pair of maintenance workers named Melissa and Fred woke him up because something terrible has happened. A mysterious, terrifying disease as turned the people on Aurora into violent zombie-like maniacs, and now August has no choice but to help Melissa and Fred try to escape the Aurora before they are infected as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andreas Leachim
• Release date: Sep 16, 2017

Andreas Leachim

Andreas Leachim is seven feet tall and has six fingers on each hand. He speaks 22 languages. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the Cy Young Award all in the same year. He once climbed Mount Everest while juggling a pair of flaming chainsaws. He is allergic to other human beings.

Book preview

The Aurora Infection

By Andreas Leachim

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2017 Andreas Leachim

Cover design by Andreas Leachim

Chapter 1

Peter Harnett watched through a layer of double-paned protective glass as three soldiers wearing hazardous environment suits brought the object into the main examination lab and set it gingerly on the gleaming silver table in the center of the room. They backed out into the decontamination chamber and the thick metal door slid shut behind them, leaving the room empty and silent as a tomb.

The other medical technicians were almost jumping out of their shoes in excitement, but Peter didn’t move just yet. He kept his arms crossed, pondering the large, football-shaped object now occupying the examination table. As Head Medical Advisor aboard the space station Aurora, he had the honor of being the first scientist to analyze physical evidence of extraterrestrial life. It was a huge honor for someone as young as he, only twenty-eight, but the massive responsibility dulled his sense of excitement or anticipation. If he screwed up, his career would be over. So while his assistants and fellow biologists were squirming for their chance to get a good look at the object on the table, Peter was going to take his time.

The object, which was called that since no one else could think of an appropriate name, had been discovered almost five billion miles out, farther than the average orbit distance of Pluto, coming toward Sol from far above the ecliptic. Its size and shape were not out of the ordinary, and its speed through space was neither much faster nor slower than any of the other objects swarming around the solar system. Millions upon millions of asteroids and meteoroids and other rocky space debris circled the sun like moths around a porch light. So why had this insignificant-looking object been picked up and rushed to the closest scientific laboratory?

Because it was warm. Its temperature was recorded at several degrees about freezing. Anything else floating in interplanetary space was frozen at the temperature of liquid hydrogen. When the space probes scanned for heat, the object lit up their sensors like a flash grenade going off in a dark room. And where there was heat, there might be some form of life.

Okay, Peter said. He turned to the crowd of eager scientists behind him and pointed at three of his most experienced medical assistants. Jerry, Charlene, Rick, put your suits on. We’re going in.

Several minutes later, the decontamination chamber door hissed open and the four of them entered the room. The examination room was maintained without an atmosphere to prevent the chance of volatile chemical reactions with elements in the air. The temperature was reduced to three degrees Celsius, the same temperature as the object.

Peter stepped forward and set his hands on the exam table. The object glistened as the thin layer of ice on the outside began to melt. He looked it over and found nothing strange. It was black in color, with a pockmarked, uneven surface area. Almost nervously, he touched it, and found it hard to the touch.

Remote cameras recording everything from several different angles, the four of them began the excruciatingly slow and methodical process of cutting away the outside covering. Using laser knives, they cut away portions and gently placed them on the side tables.

The outer covering is removed, Peter said when they were done, more for the recorders than the three dozen witnesses outside, gazing through the window. The inside is dark green and spongy. It looks very much like some sort of plant life. It’s possible that this object is a pod of some kind, or a seed.

He looked up at the others, who nodded at him. He was in charge, this was his show. He took out his scalpel and held it above the object. I’m now going to cut open the second layer and penetrate the interior of the object.

He pressed the knife blade against the soft green material and it slid inside easily. He moved the knife forward to cut a narrow slit, when his arm froze. His eyes opened wide.

Something moved, he blurted out. Something moved inside.

The object on the table exploded in the next instant, knocking them all to the floor in a blast of cloudy mist and green slime. It splattered across all the walls like thick mucus, completely covering them.

Peter tried to get up, but someone was screaming in his ear. It was Charlene, one of the other scientists. She was on the floor, wiping madly at the front of her suit, scrambling back to her feet, screaming about the air. Then Peter felt it as well; his suit was losing its internal pressure. The oxygen was escaping!

The others all got up and ran to the decontamination chamber door, but Peter stayed on the floor, sitting up slowly. He looked down and saw that he was covered in green slime like the others, and wiped some of it away with his hand. Then he saw why the oxygen was escaping. The front of his suit was covered in a dozen tiny holes. He plucked a small green sliver from one of the holes and lifted up to examine it. He was already feeling light headed from loss of oxygen. The small sliver looked like a pine needle. Apparently, the object was full of them. Hundreds had exploded out of the object and punctured his suit.

The screaming continued. Dimly, he realized that the decontamination doors would not open. They wouldn’t open if any of the suits were damaged, because if any of the decontamination gases got into the suit, they could kill the wearer. The others were pounding on the doors, but they were wasting their energy. With a whoosh, air shot into the room from vents along the ceiling. In case of a suit breach, oxygen would be pumped into the room to keep them alive until proper decontamination could be performed.

What in the hell just happened? Rick asked, taking off his helmet. He approached the table, which was now covered in green ooze.

Peter held up a hand and Charlene helped him to his feet. Defense mechanism, maybe, he grunted, taking his helmet off as well. Even now that he could breath again, he still felt lightheaded. He leaned on the table for support. If it detected any damage, it would blow up.

So what do we do now?

Jerry answered, We wait here until we can decontaminate. They’ll have to keep us quarantined until they can be sure about this thing.

And how long will that be?

Jerry shook his head. No idea.

Charlene leaned over the remains of the object. I guess our examination is over, then. This has to be biological. This stuff looks like green yogurt.

What’s it there for, though? Rick asked. "And how did it retain heat in space? That’s what I wanted to find out, and now we’ll probably never know.

As the other began to discuss the object, Peter tuned them out and began walking around the room. He was still strangely lightheaded, and felt a headache coming on. He stopped and unzipped the front of his suit,