⚠️ AUTHOR'S NOTE — PLEASE READ:
This story begins quietly. You will meet four astronauts on a routine lunar mission. The first three chapters are calm, grounded, and focused on building the world and the characters you will come to care about. There are no monsters yet. No screams. No shadows moving where they shouldn't. That silence is intentional. I am letting you settle in. I am letting your guard down. The horror begins in Chapter 4. What follows will change everything. Trust the slow burn. Get comfortable while you still can. Because once Chapter 4 starts, comfort is no longer an option.
One day, a big spacecraft stood on Earth ready to go to the moon. Four astronauts sat inside. Their names were Commander Evans, Dr. Aris Thorne, Pilot Lena Petrova, and Engineer Mark Chen. Everyone at the control center was watching. The countdown began, and then fire came out from the bottom of the spacecraft. It lifted up slowly and went higher and higher into the sky. The astronauts felt a strong push against their bodies. Soon, the spacecraft left Earth's air behind and everything became silent. The astronauts could see Earth from their window. It looked like a big blue ball. They were floating inside the spacecraft, and it was fun. Commander Evans checked all the machines, and everything was working well. Dr. Thorne looked at the stars through the window and was very happy. Lena Petrova talked to the people on Earth and told them everything was okay. Mark Chen checked the engine systems and made sure all the controls were ready for the journey.
The spacecraft traveled for three days. The astronauts ate food from small bags and slept in sleeping bags tied to the wall. On the third day, they saw the moon. It looked big and grey and was full of holes called craters. The spacecraft went into orbit around the moon, which means it started going around the moon in a circle. Commander Evans, Dr. Aris Thorne, and Engineer Mark Chen got ready to go down. They went into a smaller spacecraft called the lander.