^{Designed in Canva}

---

Ava Rogers, the captain of the shiny spaceship that looked like it was straight out of a sci-fi movie, was feeling the heat. The space station was getting closer and closer. This was the final pit stop in their three-year-long cosmic road trip.

But something was off. Her crew had been dropping like flies ever since they decided to play Indiana Jones on an uncharted planet. There, they had discovered the remnants of an ancient alien civilization, and a black monolith that glowed and hummed when they approached it. That was when the sickness began.

Ava tried to forget the unsettling memory. She needed to concentrate. The spacecraft was flying silently through the dark void of space, dodging debris as it neared the station’s outer ring.

She reached for the manual controls, wanting to take charge of the docking procedure. But they were locked. The screen flashed a message: Docking sequence engaged. System locked.

“What the hell?” she yelled, pounding on the panel. She was powerless now, as some unknown force guided the ship towards the station. She had no choice but to strap herself in and hope for the best.

But there was no crash. The ship landed smoothly in the empty docking bay, its landing gears clamping onto the sides with a metallic sound. The exit hatch opened with a hiss. Ava unstrapped herself reluctantly. She had to go out and see what was going on.

_{Screenshot Source}

She grabbed the emergency flare gun from under her seat, just in case. She felt its cold metal in her hand, giving her some comfort. She walked through the open hatch into the dim docking tube. It was quiet, except for the sound of her footsteps echoing off the walls. At the end of the tube, there was a door leading into the rest of the station.

Ava walked slowly towards it, holding her flare gun ready. She pressed the entry pad, half expecting it to be broken. But the door opened with a soft sound. The station’s interior was dark and silent. Only faint emergency lights were working.

“Hello? Anyone home?” Ava called out, her voice echoing back at her. This place used to be buzzing with over a hundred brainiacs doing all sorts of sciency stuff. Where did everyone go?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move - a shadowy figure disappearing around a corner.

“Stop! I saw you!” Ava ran after it, her heart racing. She followed it through empty corridors and around sharp turns, trying to catch up with the mysterious figure. She finally stopped in a huge room, panting, looking around in vain. “Where are you?”

A quiet sound behind her. She spun around, holding her flare gun.

She felt a chill of horror. She was surrounded by people in silver uniforms like hers. Dozens of them, standing still. They looked like copies of the crew that had fallen sick. Slowly, they all turned their heads to look at her with lifeless, empty eyes.

Ava pointed the flare gun bravely. She didn’t know what evil force had taken over her ship and brought her here. But she was determined to find out.

---

I trust that you enjoyed reading this story. 😊

---

^{I would like to invite @ty-ty, @dove11, @cruzamilcar63, @waterjoe, @senehasa, @damithudaya, @f2i5, @weisser-rabe, @enrisanti, and @paholags to join this contest through this link, if they have not already taken part in it.}

---

^{Author: @waqarahmadshah | Date: 01-Oct-2023 | Achievement 1}