The woman's fingers slid down the icy window, leaving behind streaks of vapor. The corners of her lips lifted up in the tiniest smile as she realized she would soon be home. She still remembered every detail of her planet: the magnificent towering trees with vines that twirled through the air, the crystalline rivers that twisted through the ground like snakes, the cozy homes built of red rock that smelled of warmth and comfort. She tried to twist her neck to the left in an attempt to see ahead of the spaceship, maybe catch a glance of her planet, but they were still at least a couple hundred million miles behind.

Outside the reinforced window was perhaps the most beautiful sight Alyssa had ever laid eyes on. It was the universe, spinning and sparkling and alive. Stars sprinkled the never-ending velvet of space, twinkling little bulbs that reminded her of fireflies. Entire galaxies were spread out before her. There were specks of planets that were simply mere bits of floating rock, and there were massive planets creased with mountains and encircled by moons. The colors of the cosmos danced before Alyssa and made her head spin.

She was pulled back to reality by a loud voice that boomed through the speakers. "Hello, passengers, this is your captain speaking. We have encountered a slight problem in the engine and will be experiencing some slight… turbulence. If you feel any vibrations or tremors, please stay calm."

Alyssa didn't think much of it. Things like this happened all the time; sometimes it was serious, but the chance of a spaceship crash was one in a million. She'd experienced the same thing on the ride to Andronian Galaxy, when she'd first left to join the other scientists on a trip to study a newly discovered ecosystem. Those had been a horrible four years, travelling to and fro, spending long hours taking notes on mundane animals that could be mistaken for rocks. But now she was heading back and that was all that mattered.

She tightened her seatbelt and closed her eyes. The alien sitting next to Alyssa, a slender pale-skinned extraterrestrial with an unnervingly long neck, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Minutes passed, and Alyssa felt nothing. She shrugged to herself and fished through her bag for something to pass to time. Alyssa's fingers had just brushed a copy of a book when –

Pop!

The loud, clear noise echoed through the spaceship, making Alyssa nearly jump out of her seat. It seemed to have come from below and sounded like a massive balloon being jabbed with a pin. The other aliens looked around, shaken and nervous. The faint reverberation of the pop echoed down the aisle before fading away. For one queer second, there was no sound at all; not a single breath or shuffle, just pure silence.

Alyssa looked up at the speakers expectantly – but there was no explanation. Nothing. The passengers began murmuring amongst themselves, whispering anxious mumbles that blended together into a foreboding drone. She took a second to calm herself; the flight was going smoothly as ever now, not a roar or a quiver to be heard. Still, what was the pop? An engine malfunction? The snap of a pipe breaking? The worries built up in her head until she couldn't suppress them anymore. Her fingers hurriedly undid the steel buckle on her seatbelt and her feet began carrying her towards the steward's quarters, a small room near the front of the ship. Aliens looked at her curiously as she walked past, looking as if they wanted to say something but couldn't. Alyssa inhaled deeply as she rested her hand on the handle of the spotless white door; she didn't know what it was, but she felt as some kind of unseen force was wrapping itself around her, whispering warnings and threats.

She turned the handle.

Alyssa had heard that, in a dangerous situation, time slows down. A second becomes an hour and every tiny movement, every tremble, decelerates.

Now she knew that wasn't true as the monster hurled itself at her face.