Void Travelers

Chapter 1: Screams

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.” These ominous words were uttered to me by my team leader right before we were about to launch into space on our farthest mission ever. I chalked it up to Gordan trying to say something profound before we were about to make history, but missing his mark and saying something not quite unusual, but not uplifting either. I can't remember exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of some witty response that you would hear in one of those sitcoms popular well over 60 years ago.

Something like “Was that supposed to inspire me?” or “If you wanted to freak me out, you did a good job”

And even though that was about two and a half years ago, it not only was a constant point of thought in my memory, I felt like it haunted me. I was so eager to figure out what he meant by that, but every time I asked him, he brushed it off or told me one day I’d figure it out, and that I should just stop asking him.

Well, I don't wanna jump the gun or anything, but I think that day’s today.

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It's been five, maybe six days since our ship was attacked. It was a massacre, I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. Which with how it looks, might only be a couple more days.

I’d just finished my tasks and experiments for the day and was about to go work out and then relax, but then I got called into the helm. I usually keep my radio on the lowest volume setting because honestly, while it was amusing to hear Gordan and Avery bicker back and forth over which dehydrated food tasted the best or whatever they wanted to argue about that day, it got annoying after the 3rd month. So I did what any normal person does and turned the radio down and shoved it into my back pocket, so that I could tune out every call that didnt involve me, which is almost all of them. But that day I heard my name being called.

“Mark, Mark we need you in the helm NOW”

I’ve never heard Gordan talk with that much urgency. So I sprinted over to the helm, thinking of all the possibilities, this emergency could be, while also thinking of a funny entrance quip I could say to maybe lighten the mood.

I busted into the helm, slightly out of breath, but I quickly put on my best Old english accent and shouted

“What doth you need my liege, my excellency, o Gordan the wise”

“THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR JOKES”

The entire mood changed.

I didn't see it when I first walked it.

But then I saw it.

There was some sort of ship in front of us.

It was oddly shaped. It looked like someone had taken either modeling clay or softened soap and roughly created a crude imitation of a ship from that old arcade game, Galaga. It had these wings that protruded out, and a central cockpit of sorts that, to my best guess, had the living quarters and command station of whoever was infront of us. But what made it worse was the way I felt. I felt this chill run up my back and up my neck, with this uncomfortableness that was between having to sneeze but can't, to having an itch you just can't seem to scratch away.

“We need you to try and make contact”

I could see the sweat and fear build on Gordan's face when he said that. So I put my jokes aside and got to work. Being the communications officer, I was one of the only ones who knew how to send a message to anything. Normally I sent our daily updates back home but right then and there I needed to try to get a message of peace to whatever, whoever was in front of us. Our lives depended on it.

I tried everything, but nothing seemed to be getting through.

Sweat poured down my face, but I didn't care, I was either going to get a signal out or was going to die trying.

It's funny how that is though, Neither ended up happening.

As the ship came closer and as the rest of our crew of 23 people flooded the helm, the tension in that room was so strong I could feel it as if it was a physical tangible object in that room.

But I failed. Whatever was on that ship, was now on our ship.

The lights turned off, and within seconds our backup lights flicked on, flashing periodically in order to save power.

I never knew why the backup lights were always that eerie shade of red, it always bugged me. But right then, we didn't care, the rest of the crew and I only had one focus, to run.

And run we did, we ran to where our space suits were stored just to prepare for the worst. And after we were all kitted up, I heard Gordan come on the radio.

“WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT ENGAGE, RUN, HIDE, DO WHATEVER YOU THINK YOU CAN DO, BUT DO… do not engage”

And so I did. I hid. Where no one would ever be able to find me. But that was my problem.

From where I hid, I could hear the screams of my crewmates as they were dragged off, presumably to the other ship, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I didn't do anything to stop it.

I thought I was lucky, maybe the only one who survived, and that I could come out of hiding and steer the ship back home.

But then I heard this bloodcurdling screech

SCREEECHHCCCCCRRRRCHCHCHC

as if the entire ship was being destroyed, crumbled up, and thrown away like a ball of tin foil into a trash bin.

And then I saw a bright flash of light.

The whole ship was torn apart, by some ray of sorts. And for some reason, I was spared.

I woke up surrounded by debris, drifting aimlessly through space. And that's where I’ve been for the past 5 days. Or maybe 6 days.

It's hard to tell time when you are spending all of it surrounded by a empty void that seems to only get darker and darker over time, and the destroyed remains of a place you once called home.

But that's not that bad compared to what happens next, it may have been the empty black void, or the absolute nothing you hear, or maybe some combination of both, but you eventually lose your mind. The only source of humanity is you, and when you are surrounded by nothing but emptiness, and remains that remind you of friends, family, and someone you once thought you were, the humanity you thought you had, slowly wanes away.

It may have been because of the nightmares, where I was forced to relive that terrible, horrid, experience I just had not even a week ago, but around what I can guess was the third or fourth day. I started hearing noises. But not just any noises. Screams. Screams that I know, the screams of my crewmates. They echoed in my head for hours at a time, while I tried to focus on something else.

Something that could make the pain go away.

Something that could make the screams go away.

And that's when I remembered the words Gordan told me before we launched

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.”

I was confused about what he meant by that, and I thought originally it was just some random goofy thing Gordan was saying to try and confuse us, but in a good way. But now I think I know what he means.

When you are in the vacuum of space, you are surrounded by nothing. Eventually, you'll go insane. The sound of your heartbeat turns into ear-piercing pounding, the sound of your breathing turns into screams and you start to hallucinate something to distract you in the great abyss, we call the vacuum of space.

For me, I think I can see a spaceship off in the distance, but it's probably just a chunk of debris from my own spaceship.

Hell, knowing my luck it probably is something from my chambers, because that would be ironic in a sick kinda way. The thing I’m imagining is some spaceship coming to save me is actually a part of my bedframe or some other odd piece of furniture or trinke….Wait… it's getting closer.

It cant be

Chapter 2: The Rescue Ship