Whispers in the Dark (part 3)
Posted on Fri Sep 12th, 2014 @ 1:08pm by Lieutenant JG Miranda Stefani & Lieutenant Jensen Foster
982 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission: What Dreams May Come
[CONTINUED]
He was walking down a dirt road, a house in the distance. Lush green fields with white flowers surrounded him on both sides. Trees very much like weeping willows back on Earth swayed in the gentle breeze that blew. A feeling of happiness came and with it, a fleeting smile that broke his normally stoic visage. It was Kai's birthday, his young friend was turning thirteen. Holding the gift he'd gotten his young friend in his right hand, he had flowers for Kai's mother in his left hand.
But then something made him stop. There was a stillness, a quiet to the air, that he found just a bit odd.
Looking around, he found he was standing in a graveyard. Around him were tombstones and black trees with ash-gray leaves. The air was thick with fog, the grass beneath his feet crunching with fallen leaves. Noticing that the flowers in his hand were black and dead, he dropped them. They broke apart once hitting the ground and made a sound like a glass shattering.
A tombstone stood before him, crooked and crumbling. The lettering on the stone-face was faded with age. He could barely make out the words.
Reaching forward, his fingertips touching the rough stone, he read the words.
BELOVED BROTHER, FRIEND, AND SON
2364 - 2391
Flinching away in horror, Jensen uttered a scream and ran. The present, which he'd held onto so tightly, fell to the ground with thump. He didn't stop to get it, but ran from the voices suddenly whispering all around him.
Then he heard a voice that made him stop dead in his tracks. It was his own.
Turning around he looked upon the grim and ghastly ghost that was himself. Horror froze on his face and he could do nothing, when his own hand, decayed and gray, reached for him. Staring into the empty eye sockets his dead specter said, "You deserved death, for all the other deaths you allowed to happen. Death is who you are. Death is what you shall become..."
Wrenching awake with a scream, Jensen looked around his dimly lit quarters. Emotions from everyone were bombarding him, but he swallowed and took a second to calm himself. It was just a dream. It didn't mean anything.
Getting out of bed slowly, he went into his living room and looked upon the sad remnants of his quarters. The ship had been lost in this damned cloud for so long, it wasn't surprising to find that he was having nightmares along with the rest of the crew. But he'd managed to get by. But tonight was different. He could tell himself that the dream was just a dream, but something about it rang truth.
Shaking his head, he walked over the window and peered out. Nothing but cloud. Like the fog from his dream...
Calling out, he said, "Computer, play Beethoven, Diabelli Variations."
Suddenly his quarters were filled with the whimsical sounds of classical piano. Going to his chair, he settled in it and hoped that the music would calm his thoughts. And allow him to start his meditation a little sooner than he'd normally do so.
~~~~~
Miranda sat in the back room, working out a new watering pattern for the arboretum. For some reason, the current pattern had caused several cases of root rot. That, or the drainage system was clogged again. She hoped not. The last time, she'd had to climb between decks and manually clean out the detritus.
A moaning sound from the main room caught her attention. Fearing the pipes were faulty, she stood and headed out of the office to see what was going on and possibly turn off the water until she could get ops to fix the problem. However, when she walked into the room, one of the trees reached for her and swatted her across the face.
"What was that for?" she cried, stepping back to see who was in the tree. "Hey, up there! Come down or I'll call security!"
In response, the tree branch smacked her again, almost knocking her over. Miranda stepped back and reached for her combadge, but the branch smacked hera gain, sending it flying across the arboretum.
Then she noticed a hole in the tree that hadn't been there before. She knew most of the trees, and none had hollows in their trunks. Something was definitely wrong. She turned and headed back to her office to call for help, but the corridor was gone, covered by a thick growth of fern.
"Ha, ha, joke's over," she said loud enough for anyone in the arboretum to hear her.
There was another moan. This time she could tell that it came from the tree itself. Maybe someone had placed a recording device inside to scare her? She moved closer to look inside, but before she had a chance, something picked her up and tossed her into the large maw in the side of the tree. She hit the far side hard enough to bruise her shoulder. She sat on the soft loam and rubbed her shoulder for a moment.
The tree should not have been large enough for her to fit inside. Nor should the sides have been a smooth, buttery yellow. She turned back to the opening, but it was gone. Then whatever light had allowed her to see was extinguished, plunging her into darkness.
The tree began to laugh, a low, gruff sound and Miranda screamed.
Miranda woke to find herself tangled in her sheets. "Computer, lights!"
She was in her room. With a relieved sigh, she flopped back onto her bed. "Computer, play earth classic rock music, decade 1970s."
With the lights on and the music playing, she again tried to go to sleep.
____
OFF
Lieutenant Jensen Foster
Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant JG Miranda Sefani
Botanist
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