Futuristic Into the Dark

[Lenchan]

The childish glee in Islia’s eyes darkens at the sight of Sebastian’s somber expression that had become just as common as his uplifted one, lately. How was he fairing? Studying his face, she could see the hints of pain, but just how badly was he wounded still? She had little faith in her patch job and lamented quietly at the thought of the permanent scars she’d left with him. Hopefully Erich could take a look at him soon enough and make sure they wouldn’t fester. She looked away from him, pulled back to reality and informed the two behind her they were coming upon their destination. And surely enough the sounds of water could be heard in front of her, rushing and soothing and calling out to her. She was absolutely parched and fatigued and longed to be off her foot which was, she was fairly certain after the long trek, was severely injured. The trees halted abruptly at the foot of the riverbank and dropped off into the shallow stream. She could see the river floor beneath it, but couldn’t be sure how deep it was.


She looked around for something to prod it with, undoing the sack on her back and setting it beside her against a tree. Her eyes landed upon Sebastian’s walking stick. That’ll do. “Sebastian, may I borrow your support. Erich, please lend him your shoulder for the time being.”

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian tosses the walking stick to her, wobbling a bit. He holds his hand out to Erich and shakes his head, signaling to stay back. The Doctor looks at the river, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches Islia do her work.


He turns his head back in the direction they came from, his eyes flicking about the woods with concern. This Doctor was getting paranoid. Scared. Delusional. He suddenly turns around, facing the tall trees with panic filling him. He could have sworn he had heard laughing, though to the rest of the crew, there was nothing. Sebastian's pupils dilated. As he continued to gaze at the forest, he could see those terrible, ruby colored six eyes again. But there were more than one. The laughter grew louder and louder, forcing the young man to start backing up toward the river bed. He stumbles over roots and weeds, sweat visibly beginning to form on his brow.


Flashbacks of the crash were slamming themselves into his vision. The man trips over a root, falling onto his back. A loud grunt escapes his lips, accompanied by a spurt of blood. "No," He says softly, crawling away from the woods. He nearly slips into the water as he continues to look at the woods in pure terror.


To Islia and Erich, the woods lie dormant. For some reason, their Captain was having an anxiety attack.

 

[Lenchan]

Islia dropped the branch carelessly, sacrificing it to the river without a second guess as her body reflexively moved to Sebastian’s side. Her eyes flashed terror at the sight of him, frightened and bloodied all over again. Quickly her eyes traced the line in his, carefully studying the dark as thoroughly as she could. There was nothing out there, but the dark could be deadly in its right, without the aid of an agent. It slithered its way into the minds of men for centuries, ceasing their hearts and turning their minds to its shelter behind fear. Islia knew the darkness well, and she was afraid, but her fear was her strength, heightening her senses, bringing her mind to incredible clarity; preparing her muscles to do what they must to drive her forward. “Sebastian, look at me.” She squeezed the doctors’ shoulder lightly and waited for him to look to her before she continued. “You’re safe with me. You’re safe with Erich. And we are safe here with you. The only way we can stay safe is to think clearly and be fierce in the face of the doubts and fears that wish to claim us. There is nothing but fear out in the darkness now and fear is not something to be afraid of. It will keep you alive.”





She didn’t expect her words to be miraculous, but she knew in time he would calm. “Slow your breathing. Count your breaths. In. And then out. You know the drill, doctor. Focus on that.” A fresh way of concern covered her face as she was reminded of his punctured lung. "Can you breath??" Her face was almost comical in its fear at the thought of performing surgery on him again.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian's hand snaps onto her bicep as she kneels down next to him. He looks at her, blood spilling over his bottom lip slowly. "Sh-she killed all of them," His eyes remain wide, their hazel color appearing easily in the soft lights within the forest. "She's killing t-them right now, and then she's coming to kill you,".


He slowly drops his head down into her lap, shaking and crying uncontrollably now. "We're all going to die here," He clutches his hair tightly, pulling at it with ferocity. "I couldn't stop i-it on the ship, and I can't s-stop it here," Sebastian looks back at the woods, pointing at it. "She's coming! Run, run.. Run!" He yells, slamming his head back down into the dirt as he writhes in mental and physical agony.

 

[Lenchan]

Islia’s skin chills instantly. She… The daunting question had finally found its answer, twisting like a blunt razor in her chest, painful and infuriating. Why had he failed to mention? Why had she resisted asking? She snatched him up from his physical self-detriment and hissed sharply at him. “Tell me what happened back on the Dawn, Sebastian. Tell me what you saw!” Her emotions raged against one another, screaming for her to stop, to be gentle, to mend his wounds, still his fear; urging her ferocity, urging her to fail, to succumb, to hurt him. To hurt anything. To hurt herself. She let them all rage and war at their leisure. For now she remained sharp and silent. She wouldn’t let up till she had her answer.


But she did. In fact, she let him go completely, letting his body do what it may in response. The emotion drained from her face as quickly as it’d come, returning to some vague reminiscent state of the stoic woman who’d fondly been deemed “Ice”. Her ragged breath resounded in her ears as his words repeated, ringing in her head and pulling her mind to the other survivors. Perhaps they’d all died in the crash. Perhaps… An image of flame slid along the edges of her mind. Had those terrible eyes engulfed in them been real after all. Her voice was even when she spoke. Even, steer, and dark like the night that encircled them all. “Sebastian… What happened in the cargo hold? Put aside your selfish fear for now. Trust me, it will wait for you. Put it aside and tell Erich and I so that we all may have a chance to survive.”

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian lays on his back, staring up at the stars. His face, body, breath, all go motionless for a few moments. He then begins speaking, "I saw flames of the kind that don't belong in this universe," He pauses and gulps, closing his eyes, "I saw eyes of which have seen thousands of years of slaughter. Bloodshed. Torment. I felt the breath of a creature who desired nothing more but to destroy anyone it crosses paths with,".


He slowly sits up gazing into the sand. "I saw a thousand lifetimes ended,". The Doctor looks at Islia, his eyes devoid of emotion, "Worst of all, I saw fear. We cornered this.. This thing. We all know what happens when an animal is cornered.. It will do everything it can to regain control,". He shivers, "And that's what scared me the most.. It's afraid, and is going to get rid of what scares it. Us,".


@Jarkov Malachai

 

[PingFire]

Erich remains silent nearby watching the two, listening closely. Sebastian's words striking fear into his mind, without saying a word he reaches into his pocket and grips the handle of the weak revolver, his hand trembling he pulls the hammer back with a soft "Click" as he turns his head to the direction they came, his eyes scanning the forest.

 

[Floodwater31]

Alex had constructed an account of what had happened as he drifted in and out of consciousness, now he mostly stayed conscious, unless he tried to move the filing cabinet which lay on his abdomen, so he lay on the wall (now the floor) in shallow water. If he had to bet, there was a 7 to 3 chance that this was his grave, starvation and infection were the leading causes in his mind. A lime green bird perched on a cabinet a few feet away, wait, not a bird, no beak. The avian creature opened it's mouth so it almost looked like it was smiling, revealing a row of sharp teeth. 9 to 2, predators, all in. A second creature, similar to the first, perched next to it's brother, they were the size of small dogs. It seemed they were content to watch him for now, "Come on, I got a little surprise for you, you little vulture", Alex's right arm wasn't pinned, and he'd already worked his knife free earlier, which he had in his hand under the water. The birds simply sat and watched him, as if to say we'll wait, we like to play games we win.


Why'd I have to choose the reference room of all rooms? Alex indeed shared the reference room with the three birds (9 to 1), the reference room contained paper copies of all the manuals and blueprints for the ships various parts, the same information could be accessed from the ships terminals and many of the parts had been replaced, making the reference room mostly useless. So when Alex ducked into the first room he saw to avoid getting tossed around like a rag doll in the hallway, he instead was thrown around like a rag doll with a bunch of metal filing cabinets in the reference room. It was a miracle he wasn't dead, instead he was bruised to hell and going to starve out, sorry, get eaten by five bird things (15 to 2). As for the water, he had two theories. Either a water pipe was ruptured and had emptied a portion of the ships water supply into the room, or the room was surrounded by water, the second theory was supported by the fact the water wasn't exactly clear. Alex tried slide the filing cabinet leaning on the one on top him him away, causing a drawer to open, showering it's colorful contents onto Alex, surprising both him and the five bird things (what? you expected there to be six birds followed by more odds?). It took Alex a moment to identify the inappropriate material as vintage playboy. What nut smuggles vintage playboy onto a space ship? He quickly started throwing the now pulpy porn into the opposite corner (he may or may not have been aiming for some lime green pest), he'd rather not be discovered dead in a pile of vintage playboy.

...

​

It was getting darker, and as it got darker the birds got more agitated, more jumpy, had hungrier looks... it seemed they'd wait till it was dark to go for the kill....

 

[Lenchan]

Islia listened quietly to his story, watching his eyes as they relived the final moments of the Dawn first hand. All the terror and fear and strife one human could muster presented itself in full color or his tired, troubled face. He looked worn beyond repair, but Islia dismissed it, trusting in his soft heart to mend. When his eyes met hers, her resolve faltered momentarily. They were lifeless as if he were already dead. And he seemed to fully believe its inevitability. Saving him was quickly excelling well beyond anyone’s abilities.


The young man finished, his death sentence to them all hanging in the air thick and pungent against the sweet floral scent of the brush surrounding them. Islia turned her head towards Erich, letting the options formulate and weigh against one another in her mind. After a long moment of silent staring, she spoke to the apprentice. “Erich, please, Sebastian needs medical attention. It would appear he’s stared to bleed once more. I believe one of his broken ribs punctured a lung, but perhaps not. The two of you need to postulate together what needs to be done to ensure his survival.” Her eyes tentatively rested on the gun between his trembling hands. She didn’t like the feelings of inexperience handling the weapon wafting off of him. Perhaps it was just fear. Either way, she extended her hand for it. “I will play secondary apprentice and guard dog for now. I suggest we hold off on a fire as well.”


@PingFire @iTrinity

 

[PingFire]

He looks back at her and Sebastian, slowly lowering the hammer of his fire arm so it doesn't go off. "Alright.. Here.." He hands her the revolver and opens his box that now has the etched word "Ted" on the side of it. He pulls out what they have of medical supplies and walks over to him and kneels down. "Mmm.." He mumbles to his self. "He's coughing blood from his lung but he hasn't started choking on it.."

 

[iTrinity]

"Nothing can be done," Sebastian holds his palm up to Erich. "My lung isn't torn, at least, not yet.. I'll need proper surgery if I hope to live past a week from now,". The Doctor sighs, coughing shortly after. More blood, crimson in color, erupts onto the glowing green grass. "I need to stay off my back to prevent the blood from pooling,".


He sighs, "Box Boy, could you please retrieve the walking stick Islia tossed into the river?". Sebastian flashes an amused grin in her direction. "Islia, I would like to speak to you,".


After Erich fetches his walking stick from the river, Sebastian slowly pushes himself to a standing position. "Erich, if you could set up camp that would be wonderful,". He approaches Islia, keeping a three or four foot distance between them. "Let's find somewhere private, if we could,".

 

[Lenchan]

Again, Islia remained quiet and contemplative as Sebastian informed them of the futility of any further playing at jungle doctor. Where in the hell… This solidified what her top priority had been all long. They needed to find the other survivors and the second half of the ship. She watched motionless as crimson sprang from Sebastian’s lips and painting the ground. If this thing really were hunting them, it presumably could smell blood, but just how far off was it? Maybe it’d gone in the complete opposite direction from them. Maybe what remained of the crew had been spared. Digging her fingers into the ground and lifting a pile of fluorescent dirt into her palm she dropped it over the blood, her eyes fixed only on the task at hand as if the other two weren’t mere inches from her reach.


As Sebastian made light of her folly, smiling at her and addressing Erich, the blunt thing in her chest twisted. It was a strange sensation. She felt so empty yet somehow it was digging its blade into her, finding purchase that wasn’t there to begin with, creating it just for the sake of destroying it. Her eyes remained on the ground, lost to the world in front of her, until Sebastian called her by name, pulling her back. “-ere private, if we could.”





Her brain filled in the blanks, instructing her to her feet. She stood there, looking back at him and gave a short nod. “Of course.”

 

[PingFire]

Erich nods and goes through their supplies to see what he can use to make a tent. He uses the metal poles as a frame and drapes the blanket over. He fashions small pillows out of the scraps of clothing. He lies down on his back under the makeshift tent, taking a closer look at the grass.

 

[iTrinity]

Sebastian begins walking down the river, toward the waterfall. The walking stick he leans on sinks into the moist dirt around the crystal clear water. Algae within the river glow vibrantly, creating a beautiful display of lights that shine onto the duo's faces. Sebastian smiles softly at the water while they walk. He was calm now. He'd learned to accept what was coming and simply deal with it the best he can when it does come. The air was warm, yet not too hot and humid. It was the autumn season on this planet, or at least one would assume due to the cooler temperature.

​

They pair eventually reaches a rock structure that bridges over the river a small distance away from the waterfall. Sebastian stops atop the rock structure, wobbling slightly as he gazes off into the dazzling display of bio-luminescent lights that coat the river.


@Lenchan

 

[Lenchan]

Fatigue and starvation started to rear their ugliness, slowing her reaction time and she stumbled quite a bit. The motions were harmless in any other situation, but her foot had found the will to send fresh signals to her brain. I’m injured down here you silly bitch, it moaned. If you don’t want to feel pain, then you’d do good to stop walking around like it’s a fucking marathon. Her eyes closed and reopened willing her mind to subside, focusing on Sebastian’s back before veering off to the water beside them, pulled by the sounds of a tranquil paradise at night. There was a certain peace in the silent trek between them and she reveled in it's comfort.





It was then her eyes dared to take in the beauty of the surrounding forest. The brilliant blue lights of the river, each its own blip of life, flowed freely, beautifully in a symphony of calming white noise. The human side of her couldn’t help but overflow with emotion, her vigor shinning quietly within her pupils. It was fleeting, however, being stolen away as quickly as it came, her muscles tense, her body reminding her of the danger it the dark.

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Danger on the Horizon

Speaking of danger in the dark. Coming out of the sky was a most peculiar ball of fire, it simply might be some low orbit debris from the ships crash now entering the atmosphere but... Burning debris doesn't burn blue and have that big a streak... nor did it move through the air like that in a free fall. A few specks of red light blazed into existence only for a moment at the center of that burning mass... but they gave chills to 'Ice'


Whatever it was, it crashed near where The flight deck had.

(all will be revealed shortly)

 

[iTrinity]

"Sit and rest," Sebastian says with a smooth tone. "You're safe,". He takes off his cracked glasses, tucking them away into his shredded clothing. He leans on his walking stick, reaching into his knapsack. Digging around for a moment, he eventually pulls out an old CLIFF Bar. Yes, even that business survived for nine hundred years. It was flavored with chocolate and coconut, but still had the signature CLIFF nutritional value. "Eat,".


After she either rejects or denies the snack, he'd kneel down by the river. He takes out a small canteen, scooping some of the water out of the river. He grins a bit as the glow remains in the water, "Odd," He remarks casually, "The water has bio-luminescent properties,". Sebastian, instead of drinking any for himself, offers the canteen to her. "Come here, I need to make sure you haven't been bleeding this entire time,". He pats the stone beside him.


Sebastian's eyes widen as he watches the blue ball of flame smash into the ground near the ship. "Must just be debris," He tries to say without a tone of worry. "Just rest," The Doctor orders in a bit less of a relaxed tone.

 

[Lenchan]

Islia takes the bar without protest, undoing the wrapping and breaking its contents into three equal parts. She took her share between her lips, enjoying the sweet delicious scent and tucked the other two back into the pack before returning it to him. Compromise, she smiled softly, though brief – before her eyes could lay upon him their kindness was stolen again, narrowing sharply at the irregular fireball descending into the sky. It was chillingly beautiful, but haunting in its precision. Her mind couldn’t help but think the worst. Still her body did what selfish deprived bodies do, taking the nutritional bar from between lips and chewing slowly, savoring its immediate relief as the sugars and protein made their way down into her system to do their work.


Her eye’s watched the ball descend out of the line of sight behind the canopy in a loud, muffled thump. Her heartrate skipped and began to quicken, thinking back to Erich alone and unarmed. Her eyes drift to the side, studying Sebastian carefully. Surely he didn’t expect her to believe him. But he was right. She lowered her head and smiled the warmest, most genuine smile she’d felt in years. Sitting beside him, she audibly sighed in relief, leaning forward and gathering her blue strands into her hands, exposing the sandy brown roots that had begun to grow out. The first thing he should check was the hole in the back of her neck. She hadn’t properly treated the wound at all and being so close to her brain was indeed worrisome in terms of infection.

 

[iTrinity]

He gently scoots behind her, kneeling once more. Sebastian takes some water out of the canteen, splashing it onto the back of her neck. This would sting a bit, but ultimately it would rinse the loose blood and dirt off. "Hopefully these microbes in the water are friendly," He chuckles, "Though, oddly enough everything but us seems friendly on this planet,". He starts removing bits of metal and glass from the wound with a pair of tweezers, apologizing occasionally, "Sorry, I know it hurts,".


After he finishes, he gently takes the cloth that he'd been using to block out the fog that day off from around his mouth, tying it around her neck and effectively the wound. He tries not to do so too tightly. "Feel better?" He asks, staying kneeled behind her as he packs away his medical supplies.

 

[Ironrot]

Caitlyn looked up at the panicked girl, honestly surprised that such a small person would be the one to survive such a bad crash. Though it was great to see another survivor Caitlyn would've rather seen an adult, as they could've been much more of a help.
"How far away is your dad?" Caitlyn asked, propping herself up on her arm.


@Ironrot

Sally pointed back the way she had came


"Hes.." She took a shallow breath to stop her from crying, "Hes in the food locker. He won't wake uupp!"


Sally looked on the ground, noticing the scattered medical supplies. She had no idea what to do with any of them, but she understood that it was the time for something them this. She bent over to pick up a rolled bandage, cradling it in her hands awkwardly. She walked to Caitlyn's side and offered it to her.


It felt good to do something useful. She sniffled but stopped audibly crying. Sally pointed at Caitlyn's leg. She had not noticed the injury until just now.


"You're hurt too?" She asked, through quiet sobs.

 

[Maki]

Caitlyn looked up at the girl and nodded. "Yes, I'm hurt." She said, glancing down at the large gash on her leg. Her eyes quickly darted back to the girl as looking at it made her feel sick. "But, I'll be fine. Your daddy is our top priority. Do you think you could carry one more band-aid? She asked, looking at the one she already had. It would be a struggle to get to the food locker, her injury making it very hard to move. Caitlyn knew that her leg should be taken care of quickly before it gets infected, but someone's life was at stake, and her leg wasn't worth nearly as much as a human life.


@Ironrot

 

[Alite]

Adalric heard a caw as a green bird flew over him. Where is it going. "No clue, but it isn't here. I can't go there until everything here is organized". There were many people in the med bay with you when you woke up. "Good point I should get there". He turns around and walks back in heading to the med bay, and hears Caitlyn asking someone if they can hold one more bandage. Adalric enters and sees Caitlyn on the ground, her leg bleedin profusely, and Sally next to her holding some medical supplies. "Your leg needs treated badly". He looks at Sally and notices she looks worried. "What happened. Where is Arthur?"


@Kayzo @Ironrot

 

[Lenchan]

Gritting her teeth and bearing it, Islia almost revels in the pain, surprised such a small thing could muster so much spunk within her nervous system after the long 40 or so hours of relentless work and struggle. Admittedly the water felt cool and wonderful against her skin. It’d been too long since they had the luxury of a surplus in water that would allow something like this. She licked her cracked lips, parched and craving the eerie liquid so much it burned. Still, she remains still and unresponsive, letting the doctor display his craft with ease.


After he finishes, Islia releases her hair and it slinks back to it's usual disarray around her neck and shoulders. Pretty soon these bangs will be long enough to put back in a ponytail. I’ll welcome the day, she smiled knowing, no matter how soon, it may never come. Her honey eyes turned on him, quiet and contemplative, as she nodded in approval. “It feels great. Thank you, Sebastian… For everything thus far.” She chuckled softly and looked away, feeling the discomfort of her own rawness settle onto her skin. It was such a habit, closing people out and locking herself away. Yet somehow all the people of the Dawn moved her and tore at the chains of the door she hid behind. She was happy to have met them all; another genuine feeling she hadn’t felt in some time. Looking out to the ebb and flow of the water, she offered “And you? How are you feeling?” His words rang again in her head. ...One week... Just one.

 

[Ironrot]

Sally walked around the area, looking for a bandaid. As he searched, she gathered an assortment of medical supplies, depositing them in in bowl she made by lifting the front of her dress. Maybe they would be useful for her father. Eventually she found a box with a picture of a bandaid on it and returned to Caitlyn. Sally offered Caitlyn the collection with a smile, the bandaids sitting on top.


Sally turned her head when Adalric arrived. She audibly gulped, her face twisting. For a moment she had forgotten about Arthur, letting simple tasks push him out of her fore-mind.


"Daddy is in the food locker and he won't wake up" She spoke quietly, tears blurring her vision.

 

[Floodwater31]

It had been dark for awhile, but Alex could still feel the eyes still on him. Something bright must have passed, briefly illuminating the room as it passed by. Survivors? "Help! I'm still alive! Over here!", there was no way Alex could have realized that the light had come from the sky. What the light did do was illuminate the birds, still watching him with their unblinking eyes. As the last of of the light filtered through an unseen hole, a streak of purple entered the room, which collided with several streaks of lime, the mass of feathers and flesh fell to the floor just as the light was gone. The only evidence of the fight was the thrashing and splashing happening somewhere off in the other corner of the room. Sounds escaped the lips of the creatures as the fought, but then there was silence. The ruffle of feathers. And quiet.


Nothing had come remotely close to Alex.