Dead Space: Rebirth
Introduction - Lost & Found
The air is cold and bitter, stinging at the nose and nipping at the joints. It moves with great speed, pushing past all in it's way as though hoping to escape the long, dark and compressed tunnels. Walls bare peculiar marks, with a strange language etched into their stone, and vivid pictures carved to almost pinpoint accuracy. Truly, the architecture is a wonder to behold.
Down one of these tunnels is a pair of bright, blinding lights. They seem to float in midair, side by side, with one moving frantically in all directions.
"Can you believe this?!" A voice laughed. "We've been here for…what? Twenty years? Yet we've never seen this place before? It's simply marvellous!"
The other light turns calmly to the other. "Don't be so loud, Hank. I can hear you perfectly clear without you shouting into the comm."
"Sorry, sorry!" Hank apologises, rather loudly, making his companion sigh deeply. Immediately, he apologises again, only with a hushed tone. "Sorry…"
The pair are walking; one calmly, while the other, Hank, does so with quick, poorly placed steps.
"Just look at this structure, Keith. Just…look." Hank comes to an abrupt halt, making Keith stop just a few feet ahead. Hank's lips then curve to form a grin. "Simply fascinating…"
"Hey." Keith huffs through the comm., growing tired of Hank's intrigue with the markings. "Are you coming or not? Smyth said we need to find out what's down here."
Hank suddenly stands straight, waving his arms like a lunatic "To hell with-!" He stops, seeing Keith stood staring towards him. Though he wore a helmet, Hank could feel the frustration in Keith's gaze. "To hell with Smyth." He started again, using a quieter voice. "These are most likely ancient text. Do you have any idea what this could mean?"
"Of course I do." Keith states, simply, before beginning to walk once more. "But that doesn't mean I'm in any position to aid you when we'll soon have Smyth breathing down our necks, demanding to know what this place is."
Hank tries to come up with an argument, but finds his mind to be lacking in any sort of adequate reasoning to convince Keith that they should take their time in exploring the tunnels.
After venturing deeper into the darkness, the pair hit a dead end.
"Now what?" Hank asks, raising a brow.
Keith places his hand against the wall, and brushes slightly. Then, using both hands, he starts to feel all around.
Just before Hank is about to question his actions, Keith states, "Hold up…there's something…" He moves his fingertips over four strange circles, carved into the wall, and his thumb on another. And then…nothing happens.
Stepping back, Keith examines the wall one more time, before deciding it would be best to turn back and search for another way. As both he and Hank set off, he hears it…distant, yet perfectly audible…chanting. The noise seems to come from behind, and then in front. Looking Hank up and down, he sees his friend disappear into the blackness before him. The voices grow louder, coming from above, below, right and left! And still he cannot find the source!
It soon becomes too much, and Keith collapses to the ground, his legs giving way. He falls, unconscious…and in his hand lies a strange artefact; extremely dark blue, with glowing symbols, crooked in shape and menacing in appearance. And Hank was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his screams echo through the halls, some distance away.
Many questions will be raised, and very few answered. But one thing is for certain:
This…is just the beginning.
Author:
Thank you for reading the Introduction! It's just a small taste of what's to come, and sets the stage for the first chapter which, without this, would be too confusing to be deemed readable.
I hope you enjoyed this small, bite-sized intro. Please keep an eye open for the first chapter, which will be much longer than this! Once again, thanks for reading!