Horror Story 2955 - Shifting Darkness

Shifting Darkness By: Uboo

Beep, beep, beep, clank. The sounds of shifting metal can be heard from the hab area. It is a space lullaby many won’t forget. To sleep is to dream, and to dream is to sleep. Hopes and dreams come from those who wait—from the cold windows of Microtech to the darkness of Pyro. All those who roam will always long for home. These are the thoughts and mindsets of the crew of the Vara, longing for the unknown but hesitant about what is to be found.

Tisiphone Heptane was the captain of the Vara exploration vessel. She was known to be dedicated and thorough but a bit of a mystery. As an exploration vessel, the Vara was tasked with traversing the Hades system. The crew of the Vara wore uniforms that had a deep green stripe on the outer sides of the pants and sleeves of the shirt. They were light to the touch but durable and thick. The rest of the uniform was black with tiny gray accents that were barely visible.

The crew set out on the Vara on October 20, 2557, with a hope of learning more about the lost civilization of the Hadesians the previous inhabitants of the Hades system that have been lost. Their main objective was to find new technology or artifacts from the bifurcated planet Hades IV. The danger would be tremendous due to the radiation and gravity swells surrounding the planet. It was on the sixth day that the nightmares started for some of the crew. They could be heard screaming out in their sleep in the sleep quarters. The doctor on board questioned the crew, but they could only remember a shadow. It seemed only the rookie crew members were having nightmares. Cabin fever was what they chalked it up to be as the final diagnosis. Hades I was the first stop for a quick survey for any signs of life and radiation. Everything seemed normal, and Captain Tisiphone was pushing the crew to hurry to get to Hades II for the next leg of the mission.

It was on October 27, 2557, while passing in Hades II orbit, when a strange vibration started to radiate through the ship. There was one crew member on night watch at the helm. They were slowly drifting in and out of sleep while shadows were creeping in the dark. The crew was awakened from their sleep with flashes of light and a pounding in their chest. Screams could be heard from the helm of the ship. A power surge started popping through the ship, with sparks flying all around. Figures could be seen in the shadows with each flashing spark. Captain Tisiphone came running to the sound of the crew at the helm to find them nowhere to be found. Then that’s when it happened: a figure emerged from the walls of the ship. It seemed to phase-shift with vibrations through the walls of the ship. Standing on two legs with dark, muscular red skin with raging blue veins. Blood could be seen dripping from their long teeth. You could see the unhinged look in their eyes of death and destruction from their history. Captain Tisiphone threw her command tablet and ran for the other crew. You could hear the footsteps clanking behind her. The other crew met her halfway and froze as they saw the creature emerge from the shadows under the emergency lights. Captain Tisiphone collapsed to her knees, and two crew members went to help her up. She looked up to the side to see long claws wrapped around her crew members’ head, with blood oozing out between the creature’s fingers down the uniforms green stripes. At this point, the crew was in panic mode, running for their small science vessel docked in the hangar bay. Just then, a second figure emerged in front of them. Screaming and pleading for help with nowhere to go. Their screams fell silent, and then, in their last breaths, they felt that vibration they felt before. Captain Tisiphone closed her eyes for the last time. The last transmission from the Vara was on October 27, 2557, orbiting Hades II. The ship nor the crew were ever found again.