Chapter 6: Portent
Myers sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. She was deeply dismayed about being taken off the Purgatory mission. This was distressing for her as she had no idea why she felt this way. Myers raised her head and gazed at the porthole on the other side of the bland little room. The ship was now facing away from Purgatory, and all that could be seen now was the sparkling tapestry of deep space. As she searched for solace among the glittering splendour of the cosmos, Myers contemplated how she would cope with remaining on the ship when it touched down on the moon's surface.
A shrill buzz interrupted Myers' train of thought. It was the door buzzer. Myers' sighed deeply, and tried to compose herself before greeting the visitor.
"Come in." She said with purpose. She waited a few seconds, but no one entered. The buzzer sounded again.
"Come in!" Myers barked, becoming frustrated. Still the visitor did not accept the invitation. When the buzzer sounded for the third time, Myers' hoisted herself from the bed with an angry huff and approached the door. She reached for the small red panel to the right of the doorway and struck it with three fingers. The door did not open. Myers struck the panel again, and again. Still the door remained in place. Myers was becoming nervous. She drummed repeatedly on the door panel trying to elicit a response, but to no avail. The door buzzer sounded again, but this time it did not subside. The relentless lament filled the air within the claustrophobic chamber. Myers' began to back away from the doorway, her stomach turning as she realised that, once again, something was amiss.
"Hello!" she called, "Who's there? Whoever that is, this isn't funny!" But this was no joke. The lights in Myers' quarters began to flicker, plunging the room in and out of inky darkness, then they died. Myers continued to back away, harassed mercilessly through the impenetrable gloom by the wail of the buzzer. Her heart leapt into her throat as she collided with a solid cold mass. It was the wall. As the petrified sergeant stood motionless in total visual deprivation, the sound of the buzzer began to change. The pitch began to fall, gradually turning the shrill wail into a slow, monotonous groan. The new sound now forced itself upon Myers' senses. A horrible, sombre sound, it was like the howl of tormented souls crying for salvation. Myers' heart almost stopped as a voice emerged from the din.
"It loooks li-i-i-ike yo-o-u-u-'re g-o-o-i-i-ng o-o-o-n the mi-i-isssion a-a-after a-a-alll." It said in a horrid, uneven drone. It was then replaced almost instantly by a sharp whistling. Myers grabbed her head on either side, grimacing as she was consumed by the pain.
The whistling finally abated, and Myers' released her head from the vice like grip. She looked up to find the lights were back on, and that the buzzing had ceased. She then rested her throbbing head on her sweat soaked hands and sighed deeply. Whatever the medic had done to help her clearly hadn't worked. Myers jumped with fright as the magnetic lock released and the door moved aside with a quiet hiss. Now deeply suspicious, Myers paced warily across the room, listening hard for any further phantasmal sounds that might emerge above the cacophony of her own heavy breathing. With extreme caution, she stepped out into the corridor, and was greeted by the rapid beating of footsteps coming from her right. She looked down the corridor to see two men dressed in grey jump-suits, each carrying a white case, running flat out towards her. As they drew closer, Myers recognised them as the chief medic and one of his staff. Neither of the two said a word, either to each other or to Myers. They simply sprinted down the gently curving hallway to whatever emergency that awaited them at their journey's end. A cool gust of air flowed over Myers as the medics ran past in front of her. Overtaken by morbid curiosity, and the awful feeling that this may involve her, Myers left the doorway of her quarters and began to jog steadily down the corridor after the two healers.
Myers had been running for several minutes, following the sound of the medics' footfalls to the scene of the emergency. But now the footsteps had fallen silent. Myers was getting close, and could feel the beating of her heart increasing with each step she took towards her destination. Myers made a right turn down a narrow section of corridor with doors every few yards of its length along its smooth metal walls. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Commander Clarke and a young private standing either side of an open door. Myers walked cautiously down the hall, all the time anticipating a harsh reaction to her presence from the commander, but it never came. The commander was staring through the doorway with a grim expression, and the young private, also staring into the room, stood with his eye-brows raised and his jaw hanging, visibly shocked by the scene. As Sergeant Myers drew up along side them, Clarke gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing. She then returned her attention to the contents of the room. Following Clarke's example, Myers also turned her gaze into the darkened room. The interior of the chamber was pitch black. Nothing within the room was visible but for an awkward rectangular patch of light that fell across a grisly spectacle. The two medics were crouched over the half-visible corpse of corporal Leopold. The body lay prostrate, the torso reaching out from the darkness to the left of the onlookers. The blood shot eyes were wide open, staring mindlessly into oblivion. The head lay sideways on in a lake of blood whose source was a crimson cascade that tumbled from between ice blue lips. The chief medic looked up from his gruesome charge towards the commander.
"Collapsed lungs, ruptured blood vessels," he said, listing the symptoms, "all consistent with rapid decompression of his surroundings." He then looked up at Myers. "It looks like you're going on the mission after all." Myers blood ran cold.
Myers sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. She was deeply dismayed about being taken off the Purgatory mission. This was distressing for her as she had no idea why she felt this way. Myers raised her head and gazed at the porthole on the other side of the bland little room. The ship was now facing away from Purgatory, and all that could be seen now was the sparkling tapestry of deep space. As she searched for solace among the glittering splendour of the cosmos, Myers contemplated how she would cope with remaining on the ship when it touched down on the moon's surface.
A shrill buzz interrupted Myers' train of thought. It was the door buzzer. Myers' sighed deeply, and tried to compose herself before greeting the visitor.
"Come in." She said with purpose. She waited a few seconds, but no one entered. The buzzer sounded again.
"Come in!" Myers barked, becoming frustrated. Still the visitor did not accept the invitation. When the buzzer sounded for the third time, Myers' hoisted herself from the bed with an angry huff and approached the door. She reached for the small red panel to the right of the doorway and struck it with three fingers. The door did not open. Myers struck the panel again, and again. Still the door remained in place. Myers was becoming nervous. She drummed repeatedly on the door panel trying to elicit a response, but to no avail. The door buzzer sounded again, but this time it did not subside. The relentless lament filled the air within the claustrophobic chamber. Myers' began to back away from the doorway, her stomach turning as she realised that, once again, something was amiss.
"Hello!" she called, "Who's there? Whoever that is, this isn't funny!" But this was no joke. The lights in Myers' quarters began to flicker, plunging the room in and out of inky darkness, then they died. Myers continued to back away, harassed mercilessly through the impenetrable gloom by the wail of the buzzer. Her heart leapt into her throat as she collided with a solid cold mass. It was the wall. As the petrified sergeant stood motionless in total visual deprivation, the sound of the buzzer began to change. The pitch began to fall, gradually turning the shrill wail into a slow, monotonous groan. The new sound now forced itself upon Myers' senses. A horrible, sombre sound, it was like the howl of tormented souls crying for salvation. Myers' heart almost stopped as a voice emerged from the din.
"It loooks li-i-i-ike yo-o-u-u-'re g-o-o-i-i-ng o-o-o-n the mi-i-isssion a-a-after a-a-alll." It said in a horrid, uneven drone. It was then replaced almost instantly by a sharp whistling. Myers grabbed her head on either side, grimacing as she was consumed by the pain.
The whistling finally abated, and Myers' released her head from the vice like grip. She looked up to find the lights were back on, and that the buzzing had ceased. She then rested her throbbing head on her sweat soaked hands and sighed deeply. Whatever the medic had done to help her clearly hadn't worked. Myers jumped with fright as the magnetic lock released and the door moved aside with a quiet hiss. Now deeply suspicious, Myers paced warily across the room, listening hard for any further phantasmal sounds that might emerge above the cacophony of her own heavy breathing. With extreme caution, she stepped out into the corridor, and was greeted by the rapid beating of footsteps coming from her right. She looked down the corridor to see two men dressed in grey jump-suits, each carrying a white case, running flat out towards her. As they drew closer, Myers recognised them as the chief medic and one of his staff. Neither of the two said a word, either to each other or to Myers. They simply sprinted down the gently curving hallway to whatever emergency that awaited them at their journey's end. A cool gust of air flowed over Myers as the medics ran past in front of her. Overtaken by morbid curiosity, and the awful feeling that this may involve her, Myers left the doorway of her quarters and began to jog steadily down the corridor after the two healers.
Myers had been running for several minutes, following the sound of the medics' footfalls to the scene of the emergency. But now the footsteps had fallen silent. Myers was getting close, and could feel the beating of her heart increasing with each step she took towards her destination. Myers made a right turn down a narrow section of corridor with doors every few yards of its length along its smooth metal walls. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Commander Clarke and a young private standing either side of an open door. Myers walked cautiously down the hall, all the time anticipating a harsh reaction to her presence from the commander, but it never came. The commander was staring through the doorway with a grim expression, and the young private, also staring into the room, stood with his eye-brows raised and his jaw hanging, visibly shocked by the scene. As Sergeant Myers drew up along side them, Clarke gave her a sideways glance, but said nothing. She then returned her attention to the contents of the room. Following Clarke's example, Myers also turned her gaze into the darkened room. The interior of the chamber was pitch black. Nothing within the room was visible but for an awkward rectangular patch of light that fell across a grisly spectacle. The two medics were crouched over the half-visible corpse of corporal Leopold. The body lay prostrate, the torso reaching out from the darkness to the left of the onlookers. The blood shot eyes were wide open, staring mindlessly into oblivion. The head lay sideways on in a lake of blood whose source was a crimson cascade that tumbled from between ice blue lips. The chief medic looked up from his gruesome charge towards the commander.
"Collapsed lungs, ruptured blood vessels," he said, listing the symptoms, "all consistent with rapid decompression of his surroundings." He then looked up at Myers. "It looks like you're going on the mission after all." Myers blood ran cold.