The halls of the Glorious Heritage seemed strangely quiet, empty and utterly bereft of life. They chilled infinitely colder than usual; yet Keeva found herself wandering them anyway. She thought she felt herself shuddering, shivering beneath her uniform, but couldn't quite bring herself to admit that she was as cold as she was. She'd assumed that this section of the ship was broken. As she tried to find a Guardsman to report the broken air filtration system to but was only returned to the realization that the ship was almost deserted. She couldn't quite figure that out, surely a ship of this size should have someone she could find on it. She glanced down a long, wide corridor hoping that the busier intersection would provide some signs of life. Yes! There. She was certain she could see someone further down the hallway, she quickly rounded the corner and gave chase to the being, who'd turned the corner just ahead of her.
Yet deep within there was an utter feeling of foreboding, a dread for what she would find further down the corridor. Something felt horribly wrong about the current situation, it was unsettling. The further she ventured down the hallway, the greater the feeling became; maybe something to do with the way the corridor just seemed to get longer and longer, a darker shade of grey with every step she took, despite the clear illumination from the sconces that decorated the walls.
At some point she became aware of a high-pitched male voice singing in soprano. She couldn't discern the language, or even hope to understand the long wailing sounds. It was faint, and every time she tried to listen harder to the voice it felt like it slipped further away from hearing.
Keeva tried to press on further down the hallway, led by fleeting glimpses of something she was becoming uncertain of it's actual existence. She'd started following someone down here, but now there was no other signs of life within the halls other than her own. She risked a glance behind her, but was only greeted with total, penetrating darkness; she'd not heard the sound of lights being switched out. In an attempt to recapture her attention from the fearful void behind her the lights in front of her flickered and brightened and Keeva felt a sudden reassurance that she'd been going in the right direction in the first place.
Her confidence grew and she continued into the radiant light, looking for the Guardsman she'd initially seen. The voice became a comfort to her, rising in crescendo as she continued forwards; the uncomfortable wailing tones giving way to sweeter sing-song.
Until the voice abruptly stopped, as did the corridor. She was greeted by a large archaic wooden box standing tall and upright; the wood itself completely dilapidated and fraying, shattered and splintered slats. It was surrounded by natural light from fire-lit candles, she hadn't noticed the change from electronic lighting to these, but somehow it felt right. All that she could think about, was the box and discovering it's contents. The idea of getting into the box overwhelmed her, took over her entire being. It proved difficult, she could see no easy way into the wooden box. No way that logic would give sway to, there was no discernible entrance, no lid too lift.
Keeva was vaguely aware of the singing once again and while it'd proven a comfort only a few moments before, now it was a horrendous distraction, the words seemed to be taunting. Her thoughts became frantic and she panicked, the very thought of the box being un-openable crushed her entire soul. She drew closer to it, looking around it, yet this only confirmed what she already knew. She tried pushing it over, but lacked the strength. She saw her hands reaching out, and started clawing at the box despite it's barbed wooden surface. She grimaced as she tried harder to rake her way through the wood, her own haunting scream formed, joining with the soprano. Her eyes closed tightly as she forced her way harder; when they opened she looked down at her hands, covered in blood, and stuck with splinters.
Somehow, she didn't feel the pain, nor care that her hands appeared to be covered in tatters. She'd done it. She'd opened the box. The feeling of foreboding and dread returned to her as she tentatively pulled the wooden slats away. In that single moment she saw what had been so important; Nathaniels staff. Her hand reached out to grab it and free it from the confines of it's wooden cage. When the blue-sharp tipped spear was in her grasp she felt utterly confused; then pain erupted from her hands and all she could hear was an utterly vicious voice speaking.
"Its time."
–
Keeva woke up in a shock, her eyes snapping open. At first she couldn't tell where she was, the unfamiliar room unsettled her; her heart palpitating rapidly. She struggled to wipe the nightmare from her memories, reaching out for a glass of water only to see her hands covered in blood. She wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn't come. For the first time in her life she felt terrified and utterly alone.