《Deep Space》 Prologue SHIPS LOG: 2394: Ship has departed Jupiter Horizon port in SOL system. Estimated time of arrival in VIRGO system: 232 years 4 months 15 days. Ship specs: 1900 meters Length, 450 Meters Height. Passengers: 3200 Crew: 400 Scout ships: 4 Transport ships: 80
2400: All passengers have been admitted to cryosleep. Hibernation time: 224 years. Passengers: 3193 Deaths: 7 from Natural Causes. Crew: 400 Scout ships: 3. 1 in maintenance window. Transport ships: 80
2402: All crew admitted to cryosleep. Hibernation time: 221 years.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Passengers: 3192 Deaths: 1 from Cryopod malfunctions. Crew: 400 Scout ships: 4 Transport ships: 80 Captain¡¯s report: In this journey we are leaving everything we know behind, I hope to god we all make it to VIRGO safely. May all rest well, and fare well in this long voyage of ours.
2405: SHIP AI ACTIVATED Processing¡­.. Processing¡­.. ASTEROID DEBRIS AHEAD. ALTERING COURSE 3 DEGREES STARBOARD. FORWARD FACING SHIELD ONLINE. Processing¡­.. Processing¡­.. THREAT AVOIDED, COURSE RESET TO REDUCE OPTIMAL ETA TO MINIMAL LEVELS. ALL SYSTEMS GOING INTO POWER SAVER MODE. AI SYSTEM ENTERING HIBERNATION MODE.
2458:SHIP A& AC%)#ATE! Processing¡­.. Processing¡­.. Pro@)%(#*&%&! ERRORS FOUND IN MAINFRAME. CORRECTING. Processing¡­.. Processing¡­.. Processing¡­.. FOREIGN OBJECT AHEAD. 200 MILES UNTIL CONTACT. PREPARING SCOUT SHIP TO GUIDE OBJECT IN FOR FURHER STUDY. CONTACT INSIDE HULL. TRANSPORTING TO ATRIUM DUE TO SIZE, 30 METERS LENGTH. 100 METERS HEIGHT. BOTS SENT TO INVESTIGATE FOREIGN OBJECT. OBJECT IS SMOOTH AND TWISTED IN SPIRAL SHAPE. NO MARKINGS. SMALL ELECTRICAL CURRENT MOVING THROUGHOUT. OBJECT WILL CONTINUE TO BE STUDIED, LOGS GIVEN WHEN SOMETHING OF INTEREST FOUND.
2472: !CAUTION! !CAUTION! !CAUTION! POWER AT 20% ALL POWER BEING ALLOCATED TO LIFE SUPPORT UNKOWN BEING IN SHIP. ALL SECURITY DROIDS DESTROYED. !TERMINATE! !TERMINATE! !TERM¡­.. POWER SHUTDOWN IN PROGRESS. ALL REMAINING POWER WILL SUPPORT PRIMARY SYSTEMS. SHIP AI MAINFRAME SECURED FROM ALL OUTSIDE CONTACT. CREW WARN¡­.. Chapter 1 - The Awakening ¡°Honey, can you come help me with this?¡± My wife was packing up boxes getting ready for the move. I was supposed to be leaving Earth on the new Colony ship Mirage in a couple of days. The ship was massive supporting a built in hanger bay as well as a cryo chamber holding 3600 people, crew included. It was housed in the Jupiter Horizon port. The station was in space above Europa and was the major port for any craft trading between here and mars. ¡°Yes, one moment.¡± We had been packing up the house getting everything cleaned up and rid of. VIRGO was supposed to be a Utopia of a sort. It had the same atmosphere as earth but less natural disasters. The planet had plenty of vegetation and from long range scans viable to sustain life as well as possibly have it. If we were able to colonize it, it would be the greatest achievement for mankind. No one has gone anywhere outside of the solar system and the closest planet that inhabited people was the moon Europa. It was an icy world that circled Jupiter but underneath the ice was a thriving metropolis spanning a third of the planet. ¡°We need to hurry and finish before we get left behind¡± Something wasn¡¯t right about how she said that. LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM ACTIVATING ¡°Honey, are you ok?¡± She stood there looking worried. ¡°I¡¯m fine, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± What was that just now? A metallic voice just appeared in my head for a moment. We continued cleaning up the house but something seemed off. I thought I moved that box already¡­ ¡°We need to hurry and finish before we get left behind¡± I thought she already said this¡­. CRYOSLEEP DEACTIVATING. VITALS NORMAL. TIME UNTIL RELEASE: 10 MIN. I felt cold. Looking around the house, everything had a green film on it like my vision was covered in slime. My vision started to get blurry. CREW MEMBER: JAMES COLIN. My wife said my name with a metallic voice. I should have known it was a dream. WAKE UP PROCESS COMPLETE, OPENING POD. My eyes opened wide and I fell onto a metal floor. It was ice cold and the room was massive. I was too disoriented to understand where I was for a moment and stumbled into the wall. Getting my sense of direction in order I looked for the nearest map trying to jog my memory on where the hell I was. I found the way to the locker room and looked into the mirror. My vision was a little blurry still from the liquid that keeps us in place while on the trip across systems, so washed up in the shower. Looking back at the mirror, I noticed my features. I was 5¡¯11¡± with an average muscular build, nice jaw line and reddish brown hair. I found my service locker and got my uniform out. A standard maroon uniform top and bottom with a gray stripe down the left side. I didn¡¯t realize until now how alone I was. This isn¡¯t right. I went back to my Electronics division of the cryopods and found my team. Of the four of us, only one was still in the pod. I don¡¯t know where the other two were but at least I wasn¡¯t entirely alone. CREW MEMBER: CRAIG MATTHEWS I input the command and his pod started the wake up process. I didn¡¯t know why I was awake, I understood it would be a staggered wake up to keep people from bumping into each other too much but I¡¯ve not seen a single person since waking. Besides the ones asleep in the pods, I¡¯ve not seen anyone walking about or heard anything on the intercoms. The pod was opening now. He fell out with an abnormal thud. ¡°Come on you bastard, time to get up. We have to get with the rest of the team.¡± I flipped him over and noticed he wasn¡¯t breathing. I began slapping his face and giving chest compressions. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t die on me now. Come on man, get up!¡± I continued for another 20 minutes and knew then he wouldn¡¯t be coming back. I cried over his body wondering what I could do. Why was nobody around! Where the hell was the rest of my team!?If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I used the computer imbedded in my skull to try and call medical. No answer from them, or my shop, or any damn place¡­ I tried calling my other team members. Jack didn¡¯t ring at all. Carlos was stuck ringing for 10 minutes before I gave up. I needed to find out what was happening. I went to the nearest map and noted the quickest route to the bridge. On the way there I tried to sync my computer to the ships mainframe but couldn¡¯t get access. It was locked out for an unknown reason. I asked the computer for the time in my head and stopped in my path stunned. The date was September 22¡­ 2502. I was woken up 124 years too early¡­ We were supposed to make it to VIRGO by 2626. A sense of dread went through me, I didn¡¯t know how to put myself back into cryosleep and if the ship is having communications and mainframe issues, then I won¡¯t be able to get myself to sleep again without help from one of the technicians. Even if I did wake one to help me, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get to sleep himself without help from the AI onboard. I continued to the bridge to see what I could do. I stepped into the Atrium, the main opening and most home like place on the ship. It had plenty of trees and flowers growing throughout that were originally maintained by the AI during the journey. It was now decrepit and decayed. They looked like they had been dead for years. The ceiling of the Atrium was glass to see the stars. I always got a sense of awe whenever I looked up walking through here. I knew all the constellations before we left and watched them as I walked through on my way to the next trouble call. I knew none of the stars now. They were foreign to me and offered no solace. The Atrium itself was dark, it was hard to see by starlight and I had a nagging feeling of something watching me. It may have been from me being alone and not hearing anyone since I had woken up but it was an eerie feeling none the less. I quickly got out of there and headed towards the hallway leading to the workshops. Emergency lighting was spotty in the hallways. These may have been on for years as well. Who knew how long the power had been like this for. I made it to my shop, my heart beating in my chest. I had that scary feeling of something being at every turn as I made my way to the shop. The moment the door shut behind me I let out a sigh. I needed to get a set of tools to safely navigate this quiet, dark ship and try to find someone alive and well. I got my tool belt and a flash light as well as some spare batteries just in case. Now I needed to muster up the courage to venture back out, to work my way towards the bridge. I stepped into the hallway fearing something was there. I didn¡¯t know why I was scared. I mean yes two of my team members were missing but it could have just meant they were moved into different pods. I was put to sleep first so it¡¯s highly probable. I started down the hall heading towards the Security point between the work centers and the Operations/Science section of the ship. I had that unmistakable feeling of something or someone watching me. This couldn¡¯t be just my mind thinking of it. Something truly was watching me from the shadows. I did a dead sprint. It felt like my heart was going to burst from my chest and I didn¡¯t even want to take a chance looking back. I made it to the checkpoint trying to remember how to open the door. It¡¯s organized so you have to put your identification code into the keypad terminal. The door takes 3 seconds to open. After that it closes 5 seconds after opening also taking 3 seconds in the process. I input my code into the terminal and waited the 3 seconds for the door to open flashing my light into the darkness behind me expecting something to appear. Some dark, monstrosity from the void that could put a child in tears. I stepped through not turning my back and watching. For a moment once the doors started to close I thought I saw something flash by near the end of the hall. Once the door was closed, I had to sit down and catch my breath. I think I stopped breathing for every second the door was open. The Research area was well lit and had much of the ships plant life testing it with known atmospheres of the VIRGO system. There were four sections to the first level of the ship, the Cryopod, the Atrium and shops, Research and Operations, and the Bridge and Security section. Each one on a power circuit but each connected to the mainframe. Power in this section may be stable for now but don¡¯t know for how long. I walked through noting the different edible plants and started to realize how hungry I was, that can wait until later though. Making it to the bridge was a simple task and it was well-lit on the way over. Even with starlight. From the research section you end up reaching a glass hallway allowing you to see everything and enjoy the beauty of space. A code similar to the one at the security check point was at the bridge entrance. I didn¡¯t have access but a friend of mine had given me his code a while back. I walked in and went straight to the captain¡¯s terminal. It was hardwired into the ship straight to the mainframe so I should be able to see what is actually going on. The ship had been having issues for some time it seems. The AI will automatically log anything happening while we are sleeping and force people awake to deal with any arising issues. I had shivers down my spine reading it. A pillar in the middle of the Atrium? I didn¡¯t notice anything of the sort when I was walking past. It says it¡¯s been here for about 50 years. It was really dark inside and all I saw was a giant tree. A foreign entity on board? So something really was watching me. There may be more than one after all this time if the ships been having power issues. It may not have picked up anything else if they came onboard. I looked back at the door again nervous of something coming through, and then I noticed a broken vent on the far right of the bridge¡­ I acted like I didn¡¯t know what was going on and went back the way I came. If something was in the Atrium, it could easily use the vents to travel. I needed to find others if I was going to survive. My first stop would be back at the Cryopod. If someone were to wake up soon, I would be able to get some support for trying to fix whatever is going on. If not then I don¡¯t think I would know what to do. Chapter 2 - The Survivor I headed to the armory. I needed to get a weapon if something was on the ship with me. We had a medium size armory, enough for a small battalion of around 100 people in case something else happened to be in the system. We never expected it of course but it never hurt to be safe. I went down to the second deck from the Research Center. Another Security checkpoint here led to the armory. All the doors on the ship that required security access had the same 3-5-3 time to open and close. It was dark on the checkpoint itself, power was probably routed to the research center above to keep the specimens alive. I used my friend¡¯s code to open the door and walked in. This would have been a gun nuts heaven. A standard MP15 was used for any purpose. It was a pretty light weapon and could be used for most applications. The magazines with it though, were heavy. They were hyper dense and turned into the selected ammo on the MP when necessary. They housed depending on use, 200 rounds of 5.56 or 10 minutes of fuel for the built in flamethrower. I grabbed one MP15 and a simple service pistol, older but reliable. I got a flashlight attachment for the pistol and three clips. For the MP15 I got one magazine due to how heavy they were. Just in case I had to deal with close quarters, I brought a combat knife. I heard something behind me and turned around. It sounded like a light step. Like someone was trying to sneak towards me. I aimed my Pistol looking for an intruder but didn¡¯t see anyone. I didn¡¯t have the same dreadful feeling as before so could have been my imagination this time. Going through these dark areas in the light of a flash light seems to have made me a little paranoid. The foreign entity still worried me though. I went back to the research center closing the armory behind me. I stopped for a moment to let my eyes adjust to the light difference. I headed towards the Security Checkpoint trying to steel myself for what may be in the Atrium. ¡°HEY!¡± I nearly shit myself. I aimed my gun towards the sound ready to fire on whoever just yelled at me. Someone was running towards me from the entrance to the glass hallway. ¡°Thank god someone else is awake. I¡¯ve been looking around trying to find anyone.¡± He was about 5¡¯9¡± with brown short hair. He looked like he hardly hit the gym, skinny but little muscle. ¡°I couldn¡¯t connect to the mainframe and don¡¯t have the code to get into the bridge. I saw you as I was heading back to see if anyone was awake in the cryopods.¡± He was wearing a similar uniform to mine but was yellow with a white stripe. Each of the uniforms designated a specific division that the crew member worked for. Maroon for Electrical, Blue for Operations, White for medical, Brown for Engineering, and Yellow for the network and AI. I was hopeful having him here. It would help a lot if I have an AI tech here. ¡°I¡¯m Yuri Chekov, Computer Specialist, You?¡± ¡°James Colin, Electrician Specialist.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He was a little fidgety. He still had a green film on him as well. Did he take a shower? ¡°There is an issue going on right now. You are the first person I¡¯ve met since I woke up and that was 3 hours ago. I¡¯ve been in the bridge and checked the Captains terminal. Apparently someone or something is on board with us. I don¡¯t know what is going on but I really need your help.¡± I stood next to him looking at the door thinking something was going to burst through. ¡°I¡¯ll happily join you, anything is better than being alone honestly.¡± He was a little shaky about how he said it but he knew it would be better to stick together through all of this. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the armory, I just came from there but can get you a weapon.¡± I was walking towards it now when he grabbed my shoulder. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m not too good with weapons, I¡¯m better with computers. If we can get to my workshop I can get my equipment.¡± I wish he would at least take a pistol but he doesn¡¯t seem like he would budge. He accepted taking my knife at least. ¡°Where did you come through?¡± I was a little confused as to where he came from if he didn¡¯t go through the Atrium or the workshops. ¡°I came from the lower decks. A maintenance shaft from the lower cryo station led up to here.¡± That sounds about right. I¡¯ve been in the tunnels myself getting trouble tickets completed or using my ¡°work¡± to get quick access to other space without having to go around or use the Security checkpoints. After seeing the hole in the grate at the bridge, I was surprised he didn¡¯t see anything crawling through the tunnels with him. ¡°We¡¯ll, let¡¯s keep moving. The sooner we get to my shop, the sooner I can get access to the mainframe and see the system status. I¡¯ll be able to take control of the cameras on the ship and possibly pilot some scout ships from it.¡± He was a nerd at heart. Not surprised being that most the Computer Techs were scouted from multiple defense networks. ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go. Stay behind me and we have to be quiet as possible. I saw something just before the door closed. I don¡¯t what it is but I don¡¯t want to run into or see it again.¡± I opened the door and we stepped through. It took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the spotty red lights but we were able to see soon enough. Going down the hall I followed where he said to go and eventually made it to his shop. He opened the door. It was dark and cool with racks of equipment everywhere. They never kept anything clean it seems. ¡°Can you hand me a flashlight?¡± I threw him one and he went over to the personal lockers. It took him a moment with him mumbling to open his locker. He had a simple computer. Turning it on to show me, it was heavily modified. ¡°If you take me to the security room, I can get access to the cameras without the password. Think we can do that?¡± ¡°Yup, let¡¯s go.¡± The security room was located on the opposite side of the Research center from the armory. If we got there, Yuri could find out what is going on exactly. We left his shop and headed towards the Security checkpoint. We moved slow and quiet. I had that feeling of something watching me, I couldn¡¯t tell from where though. The feeling went away instantly. Seconds later we heard running. A naked man went sprinting down the hallway in front of us. He was screaming wildly. He stopped in the middle of the hall between us and the checkpoint. Neither of us said a word, we stayed absolutely silent.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He turned around and stared at us for a moment. We didn¡¯t know if he could see us in the dark or not. ¡°RAH.¡± He started sprinting towards us with his hands out. Yuri fell to the ground as I pushed the man out of the way. He started crawling towards Yuri and looked like he was about to bite his leg. I shot him twice with the service pistol and he fell limp. ¡°What the fuck was that? I didn¡¯t expect someone to charge at me like that.¡± He was clearly shocked from the experience. I didn¡¯t mention that the man was trying to eat him. I shined a light on the man¡¯s face and saw blood and saliva coming from his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot with blood caking his chest. We may have not been the first he went after. I didn¡¯t recognize who it was. He looked like a passenger but I wasn¡¯t sure. His hands were chaffed as if he was tied up. So many questions popped up from this one man. We quickly headed towards the security check point and went through the door. Just like last time I focused on behind us with the light staring down the hall. Nothing appeared this time and I was truly glad for it. Neither of us had much to say after what happened, we were both still shocked from what happened. It was the first time I¡¯ve killed someone, I never knew what taking someone¡¯s life felt like, nor did I want too. Yet it happened. I killed a man in cold blood with this pistol. I had to sit down to get my bearings straight. This isn¡¯t something that could easily be shaken off. I need to get over it though. It may not be the last time either. We went to the Security room to find the lock broken. Opening the door, we saw all but one screen broken. We had no idea what was on that screen. All we saw was a weird symbol. Shining my light around, I saw a dead body in the corner with blood coming from the vent above, the vent looked like it was clawed open. We quickly exited realizing we weren¡¯t really safe anywhere. We decided it would be better to try and head to a spot to hold up in. I started calling on all channels and frequencies trying to get ahold of anyone in this section of the ship. No one was answering. All I could get was a weird popping noise on the lower frequencies. We decided to search through the lower decks and see if we could find any survivors that wouldn¡¯t kill us or any provisions like food. To get to the lower decks, we have to take the stairway next to the glass hallway. It gives access to either two of the lower decks or one deck above towards the upper levels of the Atrium/Work centers. The lower decks we wanted to head too. The next deck down had the Cafeteria, passenger cabins, and lounge area. It also had all the showers and such for the passengers and them only. It wasn¡¯t much different from ours but we liked to take pride in the fact ours were cleaner. The level below that housed the crew cabins and showers as well as the radar equipment room. It was also one of four points of access down into the Engineering/AI spaces as well as the Hanger bay. First stop was the Cafeteria. We head down into the lounge area. It was dark down here as well. From what I remember, it had multiple pool tables in the far left corner. The door to the Cafeteria was on the far right. Shining the light around, the area looked unrecognizable. Everything was all over the place. Broken chairs and some blood on the objects as well. That was in our immediate area alone. We decided it would be best to go through separately since many of the tables and chairs were broken up all over the place. I went through the right side of the wreckage scanning with my light looking for any signs of bodies or survivors. It was generally clean near my area. I couldn¡¯t see anything besides the broken chairs and occasional blood on objects. ¡°Ah shit!¡± Yuri was yelling from the other side of the room, so much for being quiet. ¡°I Cut my arm.¡± ¡°Should¡¯ve been paying attention, now be quiet. We are almost to the cafeteria.¡± We got together at the door. Yuri¡¯s arm had a small scratch on it. He has probably been jumpy like this since waking up. We stopped at the double doors and looked through the windows. It was dark inside. Not even the emergency lighting was working. A foul smell was coming from inside as well. I flashed my light through the window and saw some tables and chairs flipped over in the middle of the Cafeteria. I couldn¡¯t see where the smell was coming from. We walked through the doors heading towards the kitchen. The smell was getting worse. Walking through we saw what looked like a dead animal, one of the dogs onboard mangled and twisted in the corner of the kitchen. It looked maybe a week old. Multiple bite marks were on the body of the animal. This may have been what the man was feeding on. In the freezers, we found multiple dead bodies inside, a medic and two passengers. It was a standard walk in freezer and once closed, could not be opened from the inside. ¡°Poor bastards.¡± Yuri whispered. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. We can head to the passenger cabins.¡± We could look through and see if anyone else is awake. ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat at least before we move. I¡¯m starving.¡± He was right. We both have not eaten since waking up and needed something to give us energy. ¡°I¡¯m thinking a hamburger sounds really nice. Ill cook up something. What would you like?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do a burger as well. Thanks.¡± I moved the dead animal into the freezer and locked the door up. The smell slowly dissipated and was replaced by the sweet aroma of cooking seasoned meat. I wonder what he put into it. The stoves had two lines to it, an electric and a Gas powered in case a power issue did happen. The gas came at a very small rate compared to standard gas stoves to reduce the chance for an explosion or it lighting. I preferred gas anyways, gave it a way better and much more natural taste. We were soon sitting at one of the tables with a flashlight lighting up are little area. We moved a table into the kitchen so we were in a more secure area. We were still unsure what was out there and did not want it sneaking up on us in a large open area. The kitchen was much safer two doors in and out. A wide double door that led to the cafeteria and another leading to passageway that led to the lounge on the right side once you entered from said double doors. We moved some counters to block the doors while we ate. We may have been paranoid but did not want to risk it. ¡°What did you put in this? It¡¯s tasty!¡± This was heaven after being asleep for so long. ¡°I looked through the spices and found Cajun spice to put on the burger. The bun is a rice bun, it soaks up some of the grease and spices from the burger. The Swiss cheese makes it even better.¡± He was definitely proud of his creation. He deserved to be too. ¡°What should we do now?¡± I wish I could have another but we needed to get some work done. ¡°I say we continue looking for survivors. It can¡¯t just be us awake on the ship. We could wake up some others if we have too.¡± ¡°We can look for others but we can¡¯t wake the sleepers. We seem to have taken it pretty easy of what¡¯s going on around us but I¡¯m not so sure about others.¡± We will have to look through the passenger cabins to see if anyone is awake. Most the passengers would go to their cabin¡¯s to rest after waking up. ¡°After we look though lets head to our cabins and get our personal gear. I would prefer to wear regular clothing instead of this jump suit.¡± He was right about that. As comfortable as these were, our regular clothing would feel so much better and familiar. I did want to get some personal supplies as well. I hoped I would be able to find my wife as well. She was one of the passengers and I hope she is still alive. We finished our food and prepared for the next step in our journey. Chapter 3 - The Encounter We packed up our things and started getting everything together to head into the cabins. We had finished making sandwiches for later and moved the blockade from the doors before heading off. We moved quiet yet quick and began deciding what rooms to go through first. The regular passenger spaces had plenty of different cabins to go through. It had all the standard passengers, the farmers, industrialists, historians, and the many other hands on civilians. The Class A cabins had all the ¡°thinkers¡±. They were actually the rich that paid plenty to get the nice spots and not have to do much work. Everyone has to pull their weight while in space or on the planet but they didn¡¯t have as much work to do. I personally didn¡¯t like the idea of it and wish everyone worked equally to get everything done quickly and efficiently but the company is the company and not much I could do to change it from the lower end of the ladder. We decided to look through the contractor¡¯s cabins and see if they left any tools we could use from before they were put to sleep. All of the lights were off so it took a couple of minutes to get to the section where they lived but we eventually found it. We had to scan all the rooms and halls on the way with our flashlights hoping we wouldn¡¯t have the same encounter as last time. They had all sorts of tools, some of them state of the art. Ours were ship specific and weren¡¯t going to be of much use off ship once we made it to the system. The ship itself wouldn¡¯t be dismantled or just left in space to drift forever. It would be the main command center for when we started colonizing the planet. It would be the main staging post and we could use the transport ships to go back and forth easily. The unit we were about to enter was to be home for three people once they woke up. We broke the lock and walked in. ¡°I¡¯ll get the left side, you work on the right.¡± I had an Idea of what I wanted and hoped the main contractor here had the multi tool. This was the bunk of Tyler Boston. I spoke to him briefly before he was put to sleep. He had long red hair with a slim tall frame. Good man, if we find him he may be able to help in constructing barricades. His multi tool was one of his proudest possessions and had many different uses. It could be a hammer, laser cutter, anything really. I slipped the tool into my belt and went to get Yuri. He was engulfed in a magazine. ¡°Dude, look at this!¡± He was going through the belongings of one of the other contractors and found a porn stash. I wish he could take this a little more seriously. ¡°It¡¯s vintage too, from 2014!¡± ¡°I got the tool we needed, let¡¯s go already, and drop the magazine.¡± I slapped him upside the head. ¡°You can look at that shit later. I¡¯m sure your laptop is filled with it anyways.¡± He looked a little hurt by my comment and looked like he wanted to say something but decided not to. ¡°Look, well head to the A class cabins and see what we can find there. Get what you need from there. I¡¯ll be doing the same.¡± ¡°OK, you don¡¯t need to hit me over a simple magazine.¡± Yuri was red faced. ¡°I don¡¯t care that you look at that shit, it¡¯s just not the time to be doing shit like that. We have bigger things to worry about, not the next time to beat off.¡± He relaxed a little after I said that. He must really have been hurt by that. ¡°We can get some more food maybe from the cabins as well as some supplies to help with securing a spot. Most of the A class cabins have a fridge and other sorts of goods the normal cabins don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Got it, I just want to get out of this jump suit. Would rather wear a hoodie or anything but these.¡± He was right on that, being able to have a bit of freedom would be nice. We walked out of the cabin and headed towards the A class section at the end of the hall. The sections were split by a security checkpoint between the two. They wanted some sort of security and the company complied with it. We stopped at an intersection on the way and I looked down the hall with the flash light. I saw blood on the ground near the end. We were both getting a little nervous thinking of what might be down here. We slowed our pace to focus on hearing, not saying a word to each other the rest of the walk. The A class checkpoint was caked in blood with pools of it coming from under the door. ¡°Fuck that.¡± Yuri whispered. ¡°I am right there with you. Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡± We thought going back to the cafeteria would be the best idea. We had some food already but needed some more. We could have gotten some from the A class rooms but after seeing the blood, neither of us wanted to be over there. The trip towards the Cafeteria was just as eerie with blood splatters on different parts of the walls and large prints of either hands or feet on the ground. They didn¡¯t exactly look human and some were fresher than others. Down another hall we found an exploded body, it was everywhere. We wouldn¡¯t have known it was a body if not for the severed head in the corner of a door. He must have been a passenger. Neither of us knew who he was nor what he did. If he had a uniform it was long gone. We snuck towards the Cafeteria and saw blood on the door. Whatever it is, it may have gone through here. We couldn¡¯t tell if the blood was old or new. We peaked through the window and saw nothing. Whatever it was, it may be long gone.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Entering the cafeteria we saw blood on the ground. We were on the southern side of the Cafeteria. We originally went through the doors in the north side near the kitchen when we got here a couple hours earlier. I thought I heard a noise down the hall and quickly aimed my gun. I didn¡¯t see anything. ¡°You ok man?¡± Yuri was looking at me concerned. I must have imagined it. ¡°Y-yea, let¡¯s go and finish making food in the kitchen. We will need all we can so we don¡¯t have to come back here again.¡± I was nervous, hell, we both were. We headed into the kitchen and put our little makeshift barricade back up. We both felt much safer having the little sense of security protecting us. We decided to make some sandwiches to store for later, we would need a couple of days of food to last us before we would make another expedition down here. It was pitch black if not for our lights and neither of us wanted to be stuck in a place with so much blood. The smell was masked a little bit thanks to the food we made earlier, but other than that anywhere else outside the kitchen was rank with the smell of rotting flesh. We both turned towards the door at the same time, I thought I was hearing things again but seeing Yuri turn at the same time sent a shiver down my spine. ¡°Do you feel that?¡± Yuri was shaking. He must be feeling what I felt before, a deep dread affecting both of us. That primal instinct of being the one hunted. We felt like we would be swallowed up by it any moment. ¡°Yea.¡± I could hardly speak myself. Is this what an animal felt like when it was trapped in a corner? We needed to get out of here. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I whispered. ¡°Come move the tables with me, let¡¯s head through the lounge. I don¡¯t want to meet whatever is out there.¡± I hope he can at least help me and not freeze up. I for sure wanted to do just that. He was hesitant to move at first but finally mustered up the courage to do so. We felt that any sound would disturb whatever it was and we knew we wouldn¡¯t last a minute. We quietly moved the tables blocking the passageway to the lounge and slowly inched our way forward. It felt like time took forever. I had my MP pointed in front of me leading the way with Yuri nearly glued to my back watching for anything behind us. At the end of the hall we peaked through the window and saw only blackness. ¡°Let¡¯s just head back man, I don¡¯t want to deal with this. The kitchen is safer than going through that death trap!¡± He was cracking a little. ¡°Shhhh, well head back to the research center, it might be safer.¡± I had a thought that it didn¡¯t like lights or at least bright areas. If we made it to the research center, we may have a chance. BANG, BANG, BANG We heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen. We both looked at each other and started running through the door towards the stairway in the back of the room. We were half way there when the unthinkable happened. The lights in the stairway went out. It was completely black. I fell down mid run and pushed myself against the wall trying to make myself as small as possible. I could hear Yuri breathing heavy nearby, roughly 5 meters from me. We didn¡¯t turn on our lights due to fear of whatever monstrosity was out there would see us and come charging at us. The banging stopped and we could hear the creature slowly walking around, we weren¡¯t sure if it was coming towards us. We soon heard its footsteps walking into the lounge. I could hear it slowly walking around looking for us. It started moving closer to us, besides the thuds of its feet coming closer, the both of us must have stopped breathing. I remembered the food we had wrapped up in our bags. I slowly brought my bag around and got a sandwich out. The footsteps had stopped. But I could hear its breathing uncomfortably close to me. I threw it as hard as I could near the doors to the Cafeteria, or at least where I thought they were. It heard the sounds of it hitting a table and I could hear its steps prancing over. I didn¡¯t know where Yuri was but I had to make it to the stairs. I slowly started sneaking towards the stairway in the opposite direction of the Creature. I felt I was nearly there when the stairway light turned on. I froze like a deer in headlights when that happened and slowly turned around. The creature didn¡¯t seem to register the lights or see me at least cause it was still eating. It was disturbing to look at and I was transfixed by it. It was definitely not from earth and truly was a monster from the children stories. It was large, at least 6 feet with something like bones or antlers sticking out from its head. It had large front arms that were used to walk around with and small back legs. It was very muscular with little hair anywhere but what looked like a ring of fur around its neck. The worse of it was it being covered in blood from head to toe. Kind of like a gorilla but light brown. I saw Yuri in the corner close to where I had hid, he saw me and slowly started moving towards me. I don¡¯t think firing at it would do anything. We would need something bigger. I slowly moved towards the stairway when Yuri tripped over a chair making a small yelp. The creature turned around and stared straight into my eyes. I was transfixed staring at its face. It had a deer¡¯s skull placed over its head like a helmet. We both sprinted for the stairway hoping the light would keep it away. All of a sudden, everything felt off to me. I felt like I was falling and hit the ground with my gun hitting me in the face. I was a little dizzy from the heavy magazine of the MP hitting me and could hear Yuri shouting in the distance. The creature was soon staring at me, blood dripping from its face. Then hit me with its large fist. Everything went black. Chapter 4 - The Den I felt damp. It also smelt horrible. I had a massive headache and my face felt caked in something. I tried to remember what happened. I vaguely remember seeing the creatures face and falling on my back but not much else. It looked like a behemoth of a monster and that alone scared me. I had to figure out where I was and how to get back to the research center. It was safer, or at least I think so. After what happened I don¡¯t think it is anymore. I tried to move but the headache made me have to lay back to rest a little longer. It was pitch black and not a single amount of light was anywhere. I tried to think of where I was. If I was in an area with little to no light, I could be near the Atrium or under the research section of the ship. I tried calling Yuri using the computer inside my head but couldn¡¯t get an answer. It kept ringing for 5 minutes and I was feeling disheartened thinking he might have been killed by the Behemoth. I started moving trying to figure out where I was. I needed to find a map. Maps are posted near the stairways and the entrance or exit of every major room. I was near a wall so I could at least try to find a stairway or door. I checked myself real quick to see what I had, or at least feel what I had. I didn¡¯t have my gun anymore. That was for sure. I still had the vest that held my magazines though the magazines were gone. My flash light was gone as well as the tools and the multi tool I just picked up. If I had the tools, I could¡¯ve gotten access to the AI room or the engineering room. At that point I could¡¯ve reactivated the system and gotten myself put back to sleep. Of course that all changed once the creature appeared. I continued along the wall and bumped into a few pipes and vent access points here and there. I almost fail down what felt like a service shaft before I saved myself. Just from what I¡¯ve bumped into, I could be in the engineering spaces. If so then the creatures nest might be down here. If all the levels are this dark, I¡¯m in for a long way back to the research center. Best bet would be to head to the hanger bay. The hanger bay had multiple large glass windows about 2 meters deep that one could look through. It wouldn¡¯t give much if any light at all but it would be something. If the ships inside or anything could be illuminated then it would help in seeing around the area. I had it mapped pretty well in my head and hoped my sense of direction inside wouldn¡¯t be fucked up. I walked onward hoping id run into a door by now but never found one. Where the hell was I? I started going through a mental layout in my head when I started walking on dirt. I was dumbfounded at first, confused as to how there is dirt on this ship. Then I remembered the Colonization room had it. Some of the machines required dirt to work and activate for its sensors and the builders thought it would be easier to just bring some dirt instead of changing up the sensors on the equipment. It was a bit archaic but the equipment could work for hundreds of years with no issues. I walked around bumping into equipment and pipes when I finally found a doorway. I opened the door but seemed to have found a supply closet. The sound was muted inside and did not have the echo some of the other rooms or spaces had. I tripped on what felt like a mop and nearly smashed my face against a wall. I felt around the area and found a panel of some kind. It might have been a power switch. I flipped the breakers. If power wasn¡¯t going to this section then I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything turning on. I flipped the first one and heard a buzzing coming from it. I turned that one off right away. The second one didn¡¯t have any reaction once I turned it on. The third and fourth one made a weird noise happen in the distance. The fifth one gave me hope. Flipping it on turned on the light in my little room. I could actually see what I was messing with. But it was short lived. Looking down I saw what I had tripped over. It was a dead woman. I flipped her over and saw her face. It was Arlette Jackson. She was the senior medical officer onboard our ship. She looked like she had been dead for some time. That would explain the horrid smell of decay. But the next question is how many dead filled the room¡­ I saw the breakers. The ones I turned on earlier were water generators. The one below the closet light wasn¡¯t marked yet I was curious. I flipped it to see what it turned on. ¡°PSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-¡± Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. That was the intercom¡­. The last one was the light for the main room. I flipped the switch and looked into the Colonization room. It was ghastly. The red lights were all that turned on. All I could see was blood. I saw the area where I thought I was laying and the dirt was a deep red. Bodies were all over the place. I gagged understanding now what I was covered in. I held it back and looked for an exit. I saw a doorway on the far side of the room, to my left or right looked like more storage closets or machinery rooms. I just happened to pick the one with the power panel in it. Lucky me¡­ I started moving forward towards the door when I heard quick taps like something running nearby. I got down low and stayed quiet expecting the behemoth to come running in even though the sounds coming did not have the same weight to it. What I saw confused me at first. It came running into the room but it wasn¡¯t a large creature with a deer head for a mask. It was a little taller than a human, at about 8¡¯ and from the lighting, looked like a pinkish color to its skin tone. A humanoid like creature but all wrong. It was on the far side of the room and came through the door I was hoping to go through. It was very skinny with elongated arms and legs. The hands were claw like with long nails. The unnerving part about it was it did not have a jaw.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It stopped right after the door way and looked around the room. I was on the far side of the room near the storage closets still so it couldn¡¯t see me in the dim light. If it¡¯s been storing things in here though it was pitch black before I showed up, it could be something that navigates by sound and smell. It let out a scream and charged towards the center of the room. Its tongue was hanging from the roof of its mouth flopping here and there. It stopped at one of the bodies and just looked at it for a moment. ¡°No! Don¡¯t touch me! NO!¡± He made me nearly yelp hearing him yell like that. I didn¡¯t know what to do or how strong the creature was. That was answered right away. The creature got down on its knees and snapped the passenger¡¯s femur in two. It went methodically cracking and breaking all of the man¡¯s bones all while he was screaming in pure agony. After the first snap I had to look away. All I could think of was my wife, hoping and praying she wasn¡¯t one of the bodies in the piles. It lasted for 5 minutes before the creature crushed the man¡¯s skull. I slowly moved towards the door way hoping others wouldn¡¯t come in. I honestly hoped the blood of the newly killed person masked my smell. I was about twenty feet from the entrance when I heard more footsteps. A group of three came barreling into the room. Each one was similar looking to the other with little differences in looks. Two of them looked feminine and the third I just couldn¡¯t tell. That one was missing an arm and looked like it was limping. The other two started chittering and moving towards the bodies while the one with the limp just stood by looking around. They may have been alerted by the man¡¯s screams. I inched forward towards the door and made it through. I brought out an internal map, it didn¡¯t say where I was but knowing I was in the radar/colony room, I had an idea of where I was at and needed to go on the map. If I take a left I could find a stairway that would lead down to the hanger bay. I might be able to find something to defend myself while I navigate the ship. I started walking down the hall to the stair way and saw the captains quarters on the right side. If I could access that, I might find something useful. The door had no power going to it but it looked ajar. Like something was trying to break in. It was bent inward like someone had tried to pry it open with a tool. I started moving it aside to get- BRR BRR BRR The ringing in my head stunned me for a moment. Whenever one talks through the computers, they do not have to be audible about it. Some people speak out of habit and naturalness but most end up just speaking in their heads. The computer can pick up the thoughts and transmit them audibly to the other party. I answered. ¡°James! Are you OK?¡± It was Yuri, thankfully he was alive. ¡°I¡¯m here, though I¡¯ve lost my weapons.¡± ¡°Where are you? You have been gone for two days!¡± Pardon me? ¡°I am near the Colony room, but what do you mean? My internal clock still says the 22nd.¡± ¡°Well when it hit you it might have knocked your brain loose or something because it¡¯s definitely the 24th man. What is in the CR?¡± My Mind was filled with questions wondering what was going on but I knew now was not the time. ¡°It was¡­ filled with unpleasant things. That creature we saw, it¡¯s not the only one.¡± I thought back to the man and the creature breaking all of his bones one by one. ¡°What do you mean? Are their others?¡± ¡°Y-yes, something doesn¡¯t feel right about them either.¡± Something truly didn¡¯t feel right at all. I didn¡¯t have the same dreadful feeling albeit it was there. But I felt off, like something was gnawing at my mind. The one that was limping didn¡¯t seem like the others. ¡°I am still in the research section. I¡¯ll try to come get you!¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t come down, I¡¯ll work my way up! It¡¯s too dangerous to even come near.¡± I didn¡¯t want to risk losing a friend after seeing what happened, especially after what we had been through. The only choice I had was to go to him. It seemed he wouldn¡¯t back down though. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m coming and well meet up in the middle. Head to your room, I was able to get a list of everyone¡¯s rooms and will meet you at yours.¡± Looks like I had no choice. ¡°Yuri, what happened upstairs?¡± Too late, the call was cut off. If he was coming down from the research section, he would have to make it through the crew lounge and then navigate the maze of rooms to mine. I continued trying to open the Captain''s cabin to see what I could scavenge from inside. The door creaked and groaned with each burst of pressure I pushed against it. I finally got the door open. No red lights were present in the room. I worked on a panel in here once before and slightly remember the layout. From the front door, the main compartment had the Captain''s desk and with manuals and such in a shelf beside him a few steps after you walked in. In the back right corner, his personal cryopod and what I was really looking for, an emergency kit. Each kit had an assortment of survival gear in it. A flashlight, two first aid kits, a knife, batteries, enough MRE''s to last a week, and a small bag to hold it all. I walked towards the corner with the kit tripping over a chair but righting myself just before I knocked my head against the desk. Moving my hands across the wall I found the box. I found the flashlight inside but nothing else. It was either already looted or poorly stocked before hand. Turning on the light shown it was already looted by someone. Shining the light on the empty cryopod confirmed my suspicions of the Captain havingsearched through it already. I searched through the rest of his rooms and found a safe but could not find the combo. With my search through the Captain''s cabin completed I quietly left the room. Heading towards the security checkpoint leading to the main crew cabins, I heard more footsteps. It was one of the trio that ran into the room. It was the limping one. It stopped in front of the door and just stared at it. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was doing at first. But then I heard a soft sound coming from it. It was¡­ weeping? It sounded like a soft cry was coming from it. I just stood in place hoping it wouldn¡¯t notice me. I couldn¡¯t really move anywhere if it was right there! I crammed myself into a corner trying to keep as much of me hidden as possible but still see what was happening.