Scary Urban Legends

Where Are The Beasts

This planet has wind. This planet has water. This planet has fields upon fields of thorny yellow trees, frothing oceans covered with orange algae, and mountains that are more ice than rock. This planet has life.

This planet has cities. Great, sprawling cities that the hands of Earths finest architect could not create, of beauty that Earths finest artist could not put to paper. This planet has monoliths that reach towards the heavens in great spirals, structures that were clearly built by intelligent life. This planet has everything that ours does, only greater, stranger, and more beautiful. The more that we discovered this planet did have, the more we were confounded by what we didn't

There weren't any animals.

No four headed fauna grazing through the meadows of tall, white grass. No fanged and scaly monsters soaring through the dark grey clouds. No leviathans lurking beneath the stormy, orange seas.

But the cities were empty too.

Each and every edifice they had built to scrape the skies, we found empty. Marvels of technology had gone into erecting these structures, and each tower was filled with hints as to how this species lived. They had foods; fruits with thick hides that could only be eaten with razor sharp teeth. They had tools shaped to accommodate great slashing claws, and even a language that they etched neatly onto tablets. But there was no one there to explain it to us, no leader to be taken to. No one to which we might utter the words that had been itching on our tongues since we first crawled from the caves, " We come in peace."

No one.

It was as if the entire species had vacated just before our arrival. As if they had vanished into this worlds frigid and unbreathable wind. Our confusion only grew as we searched the towers for signs of life, only to find each one unfalteringly empty. When we reached the very last level of the very last building, we sat back, puzzled and alone on this cold empty planet. We sat there in silence.

And then we looked up

Oh God, and then we looked up.