“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Well, they are wrong. I still cannot get the screams out of my head. How could what should have been a simple search and rescue mission go from being just “part of the job,” as my Captain said to a proper nightmare? Was it when we boarded this ship? Or perhaps when we decided to come here in the first place? All I know for sure is that our fates were sealed when we heard the distress call. I guess that is where all our problems began. If only we knew then what we know now. May the gods have mercy on our essence.”
“Good cycle, Captain. I hope you slept well.”
“Hm? Oh, Lieutenant Spears. Yes, good cycle to you as well. Anything to report?”
“Nothing as of yet. It looks like another gentle cycle ahead of us. Maybe if we’re lucky, that comet Lark was tracking will come closer, and we will get a good view.”
“Better luck next time, Spears. You missed it when you were napping.”
Leaning forward over the command consul. “Oh, what is this I hear about a nap?”
A quick glare to Lark, “Oh, I just closed my.”
A shrill alarm broke the laughter filling the room. A red notice pulsated on my screen. With a few taps of the screen, I was the first to hear the message that would spell our doom. My voice cracked a little bit as I spoke. “Captain, we’re receiving an emergency message.”
“Play it for us, Lieutenant.”
A panicked voice poured out of the speakers inside the command center. The speech was broken by static as we listened.
“Mayday Mayd… Mayday this is…. Harp aboard the SS….Day. Requesting immediate….. sector 13. We have suffered heavy…. Caused by….. ship systems offline or minimal function. Please ……. Rescue…… have mercy…..”
“Lieutenant, open communications. Attention, ship in distress, this is SS Dark Saint. Your message has been received. Help is on the way.”
“Captain, I was looking at the charts, but it does not show a sector 13. Why is that?”
“Well, Lieutenant Lark, it is because sector access was restricted to all except for the agency spooks back when I started my career. It was stricken from most star charts and purged from the records. Has the ship made any attempt to respond to our message?”
“No, Captain, it appears to be set to repeat about thirty seconds after finishing the message. My guess is either the communication equipment is damaged, and they can only send the recorded message, or no one is listening on the other end.”
Reaching down, the captain inputs a combination, and up pops an old notebook. “Lieutenant Lark, if memory serves, I should have the navigation route to sector 13 on page 12. Just try to keep this notebook and its contents a secret.”
“Yes, Captain, let’s see page twelve. If these calculations are correct, it should take roughly fifteen hours to arrive at sector 13. From there, we should be able to close in on the message’s source.”
“Very well, Lark, make it happen and let me know when we arrive. I hope we are not too late to rescue any that might need it. Lieutenant Spears forward a message to fleet command that we will attempt search and rescue.”
“If only we had missed that distress call. Or, if we had the complete message, maybe things would have turned out differently, but as it stood, we had no idea the nightmares that awaited us or the creature that stalked the ship’s dark corridors. I can still hear the screams.”
About the Creator
Chris James
A simple writer for fun. If I think a topic is interesting enough my mind races to fill in a story around it. Any genre is fair game. However I do enjoy writing horror and science fiction and fantasy.
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More stories from Chris James and writers in Fiction and other communities.
What was that
Childhood is a time of wonder and excitement, learning, play, and exploration. However, for many, the light of the day brings joy and happiness. The dark of the night brings mystery and even terror. Below are two stories that touch on two childhood fears to drag them out of the deep dark places of our minds. Tonight I bring for your reading terror. Our first tale is titled What was that? The second story of terror is titled Inside my closet. Remember, it is never too late to read with the lights on.
By Chris James2 years ago in Fiction
Two Wrinkles In Time
It is pointless to run, my darling, because sixty seconds ago, I will kill you. My blade will have sliced reality open right in front of you. It will have first pierced it as it would a bed sheet left hanging to dry, flapping in the wind on a Sunday afternoon. But the metal will have drawn a line in the air that the ghostly tear will have followed. Then I, La Dyablès, machete firmly in hand, will have emerged from what your mind, at the time, could only interpret as the other side of here—whatever that means to you. I know. I have seen that look on the faces of countless unlucky… clients. You will not have been the first nor the last to try and reneg on a riches for soul contract only to present this visage to me when I come to collect.
By Lily Séjor4 days ago in Fiction
Someone Else's Life
I stand waiting, watching the glowing numbers count down, anticipating the sharp dinging sound of the old microwave. It shall soon alert me that frozen meatballs, mashed potatoes and carrots have been heated through, now ready for consumption.
By Susana's World2 days ago in Fiction
Miniature Mind Musings #8:
Recently, I spoke with a family member who I struggled to catch up with for a longer timespan than I would’ve liked and what struck me was how societal templates filled in on successive days routinely suck our time into a vacuum of seemingly infernal deficiency.
By The Dani Writer4 days ago in Longevity
Comments (2)
Great story, you area a skilled writer. Had fun reading this story
Reminds me vaguely of an early storyline in The Expanse , a distress call that was a trap, great story, and whether a story is ten words or ten thousand words if it works then it is fine. You got a subscription too.