Chasing Ghosts V: The Sound of Silence
28 Dec 2023Maul Montresor
The elevator came to a sudden stop and the doors struggled to open. A slight crack formed between the doors just big enough for me to fit my hands through and attempt to force them apart. The doors squealed in protest as I fought to pry them to either side. A loud thump echoed through the hall outside as they suddenly opened, causing me to fall forward onto the floor. As I peeled my face off the cold hard ground, I found myself surrounded in darkness with only the blinking light from the elevator illuminating the area I was lying on. It was as if the light was mocking me somehow. After picking myself up, I turned my flashlight on to see if I'd made it to the transport hall before the elevator gave in to its inevitable demise. Judging by a few midsized containers scattered around the area, I was on what appeared to be a loading dock of some sort.
"Transported things have to be loaded, right? This must be it." I thought to myself as I glanced at various crates mag-attached to the floor.
At the edge of the loading dock furthest from the elevator I'd arrived in, I could see another larger elevator that was meant to move cargo throughout the ship. A long monorail line was overhead that disappeared into the darkness of the long corridor beyond, but no transport cart was in sight. I'd have to walk the tunnel to find the room I was looking for. In fact, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I couldn't exactly go back the way I came.
I dropped down from the cargo bay onto the metal floor with a thud. The sound echoed throughout the tunnel as I stared into the dark void. I stood silently, as if waiting for a response from the inky darkness, but heard nothing after my echo dissipated. As I continued through the tunnel, I began to feel uneasy. As if someone were following me. Watching me. I tried to rationalize my fears.
"Just a hopped-up paranoid junkie," I told myself.
"Look for any survivors then get the fuck out of here."
It didn't help. The voice in my head felt like someone else. Sounded like someone else. I'd felt so lost for the last few months...or year. As I'd said, I really hadn't kept up with the time. What was the point anymore? Every day was the same as the last. All of them running together into some sort of disgusting mess that I felt obligated to consume. Some days I felt like a passenger and others, a reckless driver. My light suddenly began to flicker. Without thinking, I topped off my suits charge with one of the 2 energy cells I had packed. The flickering persisted. I was deep enough into the tunnel now that I couldn't see either end and between every flicker of the light, I was engulfed alone in pure darkness.
"Damn thing!"
I shouted, bashing the light with my fist. The support arm for the light went limp over my shoulder and dropped. I detached my backpack and kneeled on the floor to retrieve an emergency handlight I'd kept for these rare occasions. I'd delayed maintenance on this suit and all of its peripherals for far too long and now it's come back to bite me. Sometimes it felt like every aspect of my life was falling apart. I shrugged it off. Picking up my backpack, I continued into the darkness.
Finally, after what felt like ages, I could see a door ahead of me. Perhaps a maintenance room marking the midway point of the tunnel. I didn't care. I was just happy to see anything other than the tunnel. Approaching the door, it was unpowered, like most things on this ship. I'd have to drain some juice from my suit to power the lock. The badge from Ross I'd found earlier would give me access. A few moments later the door was open. My suit was down to 75% charge with only a single energy cell left. I'd have to monitor it more closely. The last thing I wanted was to run out of juice and become another corpse on this vessel.
I stepped into the room. It was dark but at the far end was a window. A bit of light from the nearby star bled into the room, casting shadows throughout. I thought this could perhaps be the room I saw from my ship earlier but no one was here and no light was flashing. Hell, the room wasn't powered at all. Maybe they used a flashlight. Not entirely certain, I began to cautiously walk through the room to survey my surroundings. Most surfaces were scattered with tools and spare parts. Chairs strewn haphazardly, some upturned and a few demagnetized and floating around the room, bumping softly into various walls and other objects. Definitely a safety hazard. I thought maybe I'd find a couple of spare energy cells. Just then my handlight began to flicker the same as my shoulder light did earlier in the tunnel. I bashed it on my knee a few times to no avail. I grunted in frustration as I glanced back up at the window that I'd been approaching. My ship was now visible after some rotation of the mega ship. This, at least to me, confirmed that I was in or close to where I'd seen the room with the blinking light.
I glanced back down at my flashlight flickering. The room brightened with every flash and every flash was like a memory. My body shivered. A surreal moment. Was I the one casting the light that I'd seen earlier? It didn't make sense. Nothing had for a long time. Maybe...hallucinations?
"...I'm crazy. I'm actually crazy."
I said, under my now-shaking breath.
It was the only explanation. I was off my rocker. I had officially lost my mind. Here I was on an abandoned mega ship in the middle of nowhere chasing fucking ghosts. I turned on my heel, with flickering flashlight in hand, and began to march out of the room. There were no survivors here, no one left to save. Only the dead and the damned roam these corridors and I'd soon join them if I stayed. I had to find a way out.
That's when it struck me, a chair. In the side of the head. I heard a grown man cackle childishly as my vision blurred. Amid all the madness, I'd dropped my light. Between moments of darkness, I saw the hulking figure approach me. It was as if he only moved between the flashes. Existing solely within a void like realm. Ceasing his hunt in the light, only to again continue toying with his prey in bleak nothingness. All at once I was again engulfed in pure darkness...and this time, not so alone.
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If anyone was following the previous posts/parts of this story, I apologize for the huge delay between posts. Life gets busy sometimes and other times I just hit a freakin wall with my creativity and shut down entirely. If you have read to this point, thanks for taking the time. It means a lot and I wish you well.
