I looked around in all directions as the bathroom and Medbay lights went off. I took out my pad, turned it onto flashlight mode, and scanned the area. Suddenly everything looked paler and darker, and I saw dust floating around. Cautiously I moved into the Laboratory, but the lights were off too. It felt...abondoned. And creepy. Like a first-person horror game that you know nothing about.
Did the Imposter turn off all the lights again? I think. That happened on The Skeld…
I looked out from the exposed balcony with the telescope. Besides the lava far below , everything else was dark. I only then realized that the purple sky was extremely cloudy, making it pitch black, and from looking at the base from here all the lights were out.
It was just a pitch-black complex.
My heart began to race as I waited for the doors of Upper Decontamination to swish open. When they did, I ran down the hallway into the Specimen Room and used my pad's light to check out the room. Cyan and Lime were gone, and the bin Lime was supposedly sorting stuff in was still open. I called the names of all of my crewmates, but I heard no responses. Coming through Lower Decontamination and into Admin, I checked the Admin Map, itys green light eerie in the black void around me. The yellow crewmate icons showed all but three people in Electrical; one other was in O2, heading for Electrical, one was in the Dropship, and one was somewhere Outside.
That makes no sense…the Dropship? Do they have a task there or something? They should be helping with the lights? I shook my head to clear it.
I left Admin, using the map included in my pad to find my way through the silent darkness.
There was no snow falling, and what snow was there was just in slushy puddles that glistened like quartz as my pad-flashlight swept across it. My pad-flashlight illuminated the purple rock and metal pods, too, as they appeared from the darkness, and they disappered just as fast as I moved past them. I think I was passing by Weapons when I heard a distant scream that was cut short.
I instantly thought of Cyan or Tan. What if that was one of them?...Or someone else?
Thankfully, one of the crewmates I was worried about proved themselves safe as Tan peeked out from behind the Communications board that controlled the radio tower.
"Blue? Is that you out there?" Tan called.
"Yes, it's me," I replied, focusing my pad-flashlight at her and Communications in the distance. I walked over to her, where she was crouching out of sight. I sat down with her, looking around.
"It's an Imposter who sabotaged the lights, I'm sure of it," I told her. "Don't worry. If I'm here, no one Imposter can get us."
"But two or three can," she replied, giving me a steady look. I leaned a bit closer, but I couldn't see her face behind her visor.
"Tan…? You alright?" She didn't sound right.
"Yeah, I-I am, I'm just worried, and I mean, well, no," she looked at me again then at the Communications board. "Nothing."
We sat there for a moment before I suggested, "Should we go check and see if we can fix the lights in Electrical? The rest of the crew could be there…"
"I…I guess so, Blue," said Tan, "But we've gotta stick together."
" 'Course, Tan."
Tan pulled out her respective pad and turned on its flashlight mode, and quickly the two of us ran towards O2, to get to Electrical. We got in, but the hallway to Electrical was locked. Tan began to leave to try and go in through the other way, but I flicked the levers all in the same direction and the blast doors opened. Shrugging, Tan followed me and helped, as we had to do this twice more to get through the different sections of Electrical, but eventually we got to the main breaker area. A mass of crewmates had gathered, all trying to fix it like stubborn mules, and hostile shouts were beginning to rise over the commotion.
"Get out of the way!" I yelled into my megaphone. "Move aside so someone can fix the lights!"
Like moths at a streetlamp, though, the crew all pushed and shoved, trying to reach that electricity box. Then there was a loud BANG and a brilliant blue flash, and then a FLUMP and louder shouting. The crew backed up, the lights blazing back to life as someone must have hit the right breakers in the right ways, but that wasn't why the crew was backing away. At the foot of the electrical box laid Rose, several bullet marks piercing her suit and oxygen tank.
"NO!" hollered Fortegreen, shoving aside Gray to get to his girlfriend. He held her in his hands and shook her, asking for her to get up, but she didn't. Everyone fell silent except for Fortegreen's oral mourning.
"Who did it?" snapped Olive, looking around at everyone, trying to speak up over Fortegreen's ungodly sobs. His visor, narrowed like a snake's eyes, found me. "Blue! What're you doing here?"
"Trying to repair the light network, duh! Same with Tan!" I said. "I didn't shoot Rose! I couldn't even get past all of you!" I said into my megaphone. Noticing how Tan covered helmet where her ears would be, I deactivated my megaphone and clipped it back onto my belt.
"He's right," said someone. I think it was Cyan.
"Well, did anyone see who?" sneered Olive.
"Maybe it was you," croaked Fortegreen, glaring at Olive.
"N-no, Fortegreen, why would I shoot my twin?"
"Because you're an Imposter."
"I'm not! And wouldn't Rose be an Imposter, since we're twins?"
Fortegreen fell silent again.
I looked at Tan, then Gray, Olive, Fortegreen, the body of Rose, then to Cyan, Lime, Pink…
"Hey, where's Red?" asked Pink before I could.
"Maybe it's her," suggested Gray, who's visor was all scrunched up. "Maybe she's hiding after her kill, like Coral did with White."
An idea burst into my head. "On my way over from the, um, Specimen Room, um, er, I checked the Admin Map to see where everyone was. Tan was Outside, hiding at Communications"—I heard Fortegreen blurt "then maybe it's Tan?"—"and then one of you was in O2, probably going to Electrical, and one was in the Dropship!"
"Why the Drop…ship…" Cyan finished his thought in his head, and we gave each other a look of grim realization. Pink saw our exchange and sprinted out of Electrical towards the Dropship. Tan, Cyan, Lime and I followed her slowly, but picked up the pace once we heard a sad groan across the base. Inside the Dropship we found Pink standing in place, trembling, sniffing.
In front of her was Red, laying on her belly for the last time, legs and arms spread out as if she was making snow angels. She's a real angel now, came a bad thought that I pushed from my mind. Shattered and bloodstained glass from Red's visor was littered around her head, tinted in the red puddle spreading from there. Lime quietly reached down and lifted up Red's head, showing a cracked visor and helmet, and just bloody darkness inside—at least, from what we could see.
The scream I heard before I found Tan, I recalled.
"That must've been Red," I said for no real reason besides publicly acknowledging the fact.
"We must bury them b-b-b-both," cried Pink. "Red…and…Rose…"
I nodded in silent agreement.
What did these two ever do to die like this?
Once again that day, within a short time range, we were seated in the meeting room in the Office.
"WHO. SHOT. ROSE."
Fortegreen was the first to speak. He sat alone at one end of the table. Near him was Pink, Gray, and Olive, and on the other end was Lime, Tan, Cyan and I.
"I don't know," said Tan. She gave me a look. "Did you see?"
"No, Tan," I replied. I think I stared at her for a little while, because I only remember paying attention when Lime said "...Blue's the Imposter."
"Lime, shut your trap!" I demanded, pounding the table. Lime and I faced each other. "Tan and Cyan both have me cleared. And Cyan's cleared, Tan…it has to be you, Lime, and someone else—"
"—since it was a double-kill," finished Pink. "I think it's Gray. I have barely seen him around, and he was closest to Rose the whole time from when he, Rose and I were doing tasks when the lights went out RIGHT UP UNTIL HE STEPPED AWAY FROM HER BODY." I'd never seen Pink so mad before, even before with Yellow, who i thought she hated with every ounce of her sanity.
Olive took a good look at Gray, bobbing his head from side to side. "Maybe."
"I think it's him, too, then, I guess," said Cyan.
"I…I dunno," said Tan. I could see why she thought that. I never saw the two in the same area, so she had close to nothing to base her opinion on Gray with.
Olive nodded. "Well, maybe…actually…" Then he looked at Lime. "Lime…?"
"Uh…" Lime looked around nervously.
"If we're all voting Gray…then I guess I'll vote him instead of Lime," I said. I don't need to act even more suspicious by targeting him again. Plus, Cyan hasn't spoke of him being suspicious in any way yet, and I guess...well...
BEEP. Fortegreen tapped Gray's icon on his pad, and Pink and Cyan followed suit.
"WWWhat the heck? WWWhat the heck?" said Gray. "I'm falsely accused. I have an alibi."
"Really, huh?" I said.
Gray raised his chin and looked dead into my eyes, as if threatening me to go on with something that would debilitate his reputation.
Well, I acknowledged his threat, but nonetheless, I continued.
"Guys, I was in O2 a while ago when Gray came in from the tree room, but I didn't see him in there before! He must have climbed through the hole in the tree room!" That was partially true, but... "There's one outside Electrical, too, and one inside as well…Cyan, Pink, remember the vents on The Skeld? The Imposters used them. These strange holes in the ground might be the Imposters' way of transportation!"
"So we should fill the holes!" yelled Cyan. "Even if Blue doesn't have the right answer for the Imposters using them, they're still a safety hazard!"
"I agree!" said Pink and Fortegreen at once.
"But back to when I was in O2, Gray was acting very suspicious, and he cornered me—"
"And I gave you hand warmers!" interrupted Gray angrily.
"Yeah, to get my guard down," I responded, "you reached for something else in your pocket I think, I mean, I thought I saw you, nah, I DID, and then Red came in so you couldn't kill me. And now Red's dead, because YOU WANTED TO CLEAR THE EVIDENCE BEFORE KILLING ME YOURSELF!"
"NO! YOU'RE LYING! VOTE BLUE!"
"VOTE GRAY!"
"NO NO NO NO NO IT'S BLUE BLUE BLUE BLUE BLUE!"
Panicking, I turned to Tan.
"Tan, remember when you were sleeping in Medbay from those aches?" I asked her. "Remember?"
"Yes, Blue…" Her visor dimmed.
"Well, someone set that potentially poisonous drink on your table, and when I came in, I saw the tip of a crewmate's dark helmet disappearing down the hole in the bathroom! So Gray, an Imposter, is using the holes—a tunnel system! That's why we haven't seen him that much!"
Tan looked from Gray to me, then to Gray again, and me again, back and forth and back and forth—"Alright, Blue. I'm voting Gray."
"NNNOOO! BLUE'S TRICKING YOU, TAN! TAN, YOU KNOW, RIGHT? YOU KNOW! LIME! YOU KNOW I'M CLEARED, RIGHT?" Gray came over to Lime and grabbed his shoulders, locking gazes. "Please show them I'm not an Imposter, right? You know!"
"Lime. If you vote Gray, I won't be after you. You'll gain my trust. FULLY." I lied. Well, only kind of. I'd always be a little suspicious of him, but until the time could possibly come for that to be brought up again, I'd spare him from my stupid hounding.
"Lime, you know I am not a homicidal alien. You KNOW!" Gray pleaded.
"Gray, Lime!" I yelled.
"Blue, Lime!" Gray yelled back.
"BLUE!"
"GRAY!"
"BLUE!"
"GRAY!"
"BLUE!"
"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" screamed Lime, cracking from the pressure. He voted someone, and the session ended, everyone having cast their vote. "I know it's Gray."
Gray froze, his death in a pool of lava imminent.
"A w-while ago I saw him with a smoking laser pistol at the entrance to Security, right in front of White's body," Lime sputtered. "He told me that if I snitched, he'd tear me to pieces. He tried to shoot me, but his weapons were taking a few minutes to reload. So, I reported the body and said nothing out of fear. It's Gray."
Gray sat rigid, absolutely shocked. I checked my pad to see the votes: all but Gray himself voted Gray, and Gray voted me.
Fortegreen and Olive rose from their seats in unison and marched towards Gray, who was frozen in fear. His mind must've been reeling. He knew he was going to die. It was a little sad, really. He might have a family. Friends. Whatever. But what he did...as an Imposter...just killing with no thoughts about it, right? He deserved it, his death sentence, fully.
"I will kill you, Lime," Gray hissed with lots of venom, in a voice like ice grinding against Polus rock. A voice I only had heard Maroon speak in before, when he revealed himself to be a…
Gray's upper half snapped back and blood splattered over Lime's suit, covering his visor. Lime screamed and backed up quickly, crashing into his chair behind him. A gray, long, slender tongue slithered in between the rotating fangs that sprung from the rim of Gray's top and bottom half. It was his mouth. It wasn't the Imposter mouth, Imposter body, Cyan and I'd seen in Purple, Black, and Maroon on The Skeld. It was a different kind, a different form.
The tongue wrapped around Lime's head and spun like a saw, squeezing. Olive and Fortegreen grabbed Gray and pulled him back, but long nail-like things tore from Gray's mouth and clawed at them, some striking Olive. Lime's helmet and what was inside that shot into the air with a pop, and Gray's tongue cut downwards. Tan grabbed my arm and pulled it in front of her visor to not witness the carnage that began to go down in the Office. I looked away as well. We heard bubbling, crackling, and then a loud roar and the sound stopped. We heard loud footsteps and growls, and, possibly granting way to myself getting a night terror, I risked a glance at what was going on. Almost the entire north side of the Office's meeting room was broken and messy, with red blotches and other things on them. Lime's boots and parts of half of each of his legs stood upright, and his waist was a red chunk outlined with his broken lime suit and a singular, long bone protruding from it. Rubber, glass, and a beaten-up and dented air tank studded the wall, breaking through the wallpaper, creating a hole to the outside.
Trying not to barf, I saw that Pink had grabbed some strange mop with bubbling suds from Storage at an alarming speed and was cleaning up the gore the best she could, while Fortegreen, Olive, and whatever thing "Gray" was had gone to presumably the lava lake.
"Stay here, guys," I told Cyan and Tan, "and don't look. Trust me." They nodded, and so I went outside. Olive stood at the tip of the pilaster, looking tired and weak, staring down at the lava lake below. Fortegreen stood nearby on the rim of the chasm. One of his top hats was strewn in pieces on the ground, and another was gone—it'd fallen off and into the lava in the tussle.
"We got one," I said. "We've avenged White's death, and Rose's or Red's death, whichever one Gray killed, right?"
"But not the other," Olive's voice echoed throughout the lava-filled chasm, "and Coral's death was a mistake on our part. I think."
"You were quite suspicious of her the whole time, though, and voted for her Ejection, Olive," Fortegreen said.
"You were one of the two to toss her to her death," Olive snapped, coming off of the pilaster and onto solid ground again.
"Guys, please don't fight," I asked in almost a whiney way, "we just Ejected one Imposter. I don't want you guys to tussle and fall into the lava. If you did, then it'd just be Cyan, Pink, Tan and I."
"Surprised you care," Fortegreen grumbled. "Pink's an acquaintance of yours, Cyan's your BFF, and Tan is your...crush."
I blushed hard. "What? Um, wait, nah…. But I care for the crew. All of you." That was a partial lie, another of many lately. "But one of you still needs to go. One Imposter cannot kill twice that fast—like Lime said."
Fortegreen nodded at that, grimacing and folding his arms. I saw fresh slashes on his suit's sleeves then.
Olive rose from the pilaster and walked back to solid ground, nodding as well. Before I could, he finished my sentence.
"Then there must still be one among us."