Blood on the Horizon
- Chapter 1 -[]
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Rude Awakening[]
I woke up with a jerk of my head and a gasp as if I were drowning, sucking in air as I opened my eyes to be greeted by steel.
Shifting, I flailed about, spinning listlessly in a circle until I managed to force a stop inside a corner of the room.
Weightless, I stopped and gently leaned my head against the wall. "What happened, How did I get here, And Where was I?" These were all questions that I needed to find the answers to.
Closing my eyes, I tried desperately to recall what I had been doing before I ended up here.
I had been working, and I remembered saying goodbye to a couple of coworkers before heading into the office to collect my laptop and vest. I remembered sliding everything into my backpack and zipping it up before sliding it on my shoulders and signing out for the day, then waving goodbye to the principal and opening the doors. Then nothing, there was no memory of what happened after that.
Why couldn't I remember what happened? I tried to understand how I had ended up here and came up with nothing.
Alright, deep breaths. I forced myself to breathe and focus on the immediate situation.
Inhale, hold, one, two, three, and exhale. Inhale again, hold for four seconds this time, then exhale.
Alright, focus, what do I need to do first?
First, assess my kit and make sure that I'm not missing anything important.
My backpack was present, along with my laptop and my chargers, check.
Armored vest, in the backpack, check.
Handgun, locked into my belt, check.
IFAK clipped to the belt as well, check.
Extra magazines, check.
Flashlights and other gear, check.
Cell phone, check.
Everything that I had on me when I left work was still present. I nodded to myself.
Second, figure out where you are.
I was in a room, a very dark room lit only by a small light above a doorway or hatch of some kind.
Reaching into the cargo pocket of my pants, I pulled out the small flashlight that I kept there and pressed the button on the back once, the beam sputtering before flaring out to reveal the room.
"You scared me, man." I laughed a bit, the fear easing in my chest as I saw someone's back. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?" I pushed lightly against the wall and began floating closer.
The man remained there, my flashlight finally revealing the truth.
"No no no!" I tried to move away, the initial panic gripping my chest as my heart roared in my ears.
Crashing into the body, I flailed like a madman, driving us apart and sending us in two directions.
The mummy hit the other wall with a sickening crack, and my stomach dropped at the sound.
I knew the man was dead and I winced as a part of the mummified corpse floated off out of the flashlight's beam.
Calm, deep breaths again, and refocus, panic doesn't help survival.
"Oof!" The air rushed out of my lungs as my back hit the opposite wall, my backpack absorbing most of the impact.
But it slowed me down, and I shone my flashlight around the room to get a better picture of the room.
There was only one exit, a small cot was in the corner, and there was some sort of computer terminal next to it.
The floating body had rotated, and I could barely make out what was on the uniform that it was wearing.
On one side of the uniform, there was a strip of white, with two railroad tracks stitched in, and a lopsided star on the other.
Bracing myself, I swallowed and closed my eyes as I thought for a moment. What were my options here?
The body was my best chance of understanding where I was. I stretched my arm out to push away from the wall back toward the body.
This time, I was ready. I grabbed the mummy and held back nausea as I began going over the uniform, looking for anything that would help me understand.
There was a small plastic card of some kind in one of the pockets, and some sort of giant wristwatch on the left wrist.
Unstrapping the watch, I hooked it onto my belt before shining my light on the card.
"Sorry Captain," I read the card. "But I don't think you'll be needing this anymore." I slid the card into my pocket before patting the mummy down one last time and pulling out a misshapen star with what looked like a plug on the end of it.
Allowing the body to float away, I covered my mouth and swallowed back the bile that burned the back of my throat as my skin crawled and the hair on my arms stood up.
I drifted away from the Captain and began looking around, carefully shifting my weight, I flung an arm out to shift my view toward the door, the motion spinning me slightly and revealing the way to open the hatch.
My momentum carried me at a snail's pace to the door, but there was little else to do but wait.
"Always thought zero gravity would be more fun than this," I sighed and crossed my arms while waiting. "No one ever thought to mention the slow parts."
I closed my eyes and waited. I would reach the door eventually, and then I would be able to explore the rest of the ship.
I opened my eyes and yawned as I stretched, the darkness confusing me. Wasn't there normally the light from my desk in the corner?
I shook my head for a minute, clearing the fog. Right, I needed to open the door.
Clicking the button on my flashlight again, I reached for the door console and shined my light on it once I had a decent grip.
Stabilized, I took a good look at the control panel. Thankfully it was in English and well-labeled.
"Thank God for the small blessings," I said as I pushed the button that said, "Open".
The hatch hissed open, revealing a hallway that was as dimly lit as the room that I was in.
"No, come on!" I tapped the back of my flashlight, the beam steadying out after a few flickers.
Pulling on the control panel, I grabbed the frame of the hatch and pulled myself into the corridor.
Shining my light into the darkness, I saw something that sent chills down my spine.
SLS Manassas was painted onto the wall, the reflective letters bouncing light off and revealing more floating bodies.
Then my flashlight stuttered before dying one final time, leaving me with nothing but the red of the emergency lights.
"Work," I slapped the flashlight again, jiggling the connections enough to cause it to flicker on.
Flashing the light around while it was working, I began looking for signs that would point me in the right direction, I had an inkling of where I was, but I needed to confirm it.
"Engine room," I read out loud, seeing the arrow pointing to my right.
Using the handhold that was neatly placed on the wall, I pushed off toward the arrow, my flashlight finally dying as I reached out and grabbed a hold of another handle.
Hooking my leg into the handhold, I unholstered my pistol and unscrewed the weapon light, detaching it from the rail and holding it in my teeth while I holstered the weapon again.
"Let there be light," I muttered as I flipped the light on and winced, my eyes hurting from how bright it was at first. "Now, let's hope that it's not too difficult to turn the main power on."
I pushed off in the direction of the engine room, the hallway straightening out as I floated through and into a much larger space.
"Holy shit," I swore as my weapon light caught a reflection of something in the distance, a giant biped strapped down next to a bunch of crates.
"No," I shook my head as my thoughts began to spiral. "Focus Mark, survival first."
Bracing myself, I spun around and absorbed my impact with my feet, my left knee throbbing as I bent and grabbed another handhold.
Putting my light back in my teeth, I crawled like Spider-Man from handhold to handhold until I reached another door.
Crossing my fingers, I opened the door and pulled myself through, my knee still protesting its treatment as I used my legs to push off in the right direction.
"If there were anyone else here, then this would be the single coolest thing I'd have ever seen," I said as I looked at the massive fusion reactor that was in front of me. "I certainly hope they left behind an instruction manual. Because I have no idea how to science the shit out of this."
Taking my backpack off, I looped the strap through one of the handholds and then tied it to my arm before unzipping it, grabbing the rain jacket out of it, and putting it on for the extra insulation.
Zipping the bag up, I relaxed my body and closed my eyes while shutting my weapon light off and sliding it into my pocket.
Inhale, hold, then exhale.
Inhale, hold, exhale.
Inhale…
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