Hide and Seek
I was walking down the main corridor of the ship when my earpiece began vibrating. Subconsciously, I tapped it to allow the communication to pass through. On the other end of the line, I heard a familiar voice requesting an order.
“Hey, uh, Caitlin. Do you copy?”
I continue my path down the corridor as I answer. “Yeah Ben, what can I do for ya?”
It was common for Ben, the lead engineer behind maintenance to contact me for various tasks throughout any given day. We’ve known each other for quite some time now. Him and I were put into leaderships positions when we left Earth on operation H.O.P.E.
I hear ruffling from the other side of the connection. “There seems to have been a pipe burst down in the Engine Room. Would you mind swinging down there to patch it up quick?”
“Yeah I can head down there quick.” I respond. My feet continue to connect with the metal below it as I reach the end of the corridor and head right. The engine room is connected to a set of stairs not far from me.
“Great, there should be an Aerowrench Multi-Tool tool already down there for you.” Ben says.
“Copy that.” I respond. I tap my earpiece again to close the connection between as I approach the spiral staircase. My feet clash again the steel as I manage my way down to the ship’s lowest level. I walk into a narrow hallway and find the Aerowrench Multi-Tool tool Ben must have been talking about.
Through the doorway to my right lies the engine room. The room takes the shape of a sphere with a massive amount of open space. It’s full of coolant pipes and other machinery to keep the ship running efficiently.
I began looking around the room for the burst pipe that Ben mentioned. I made my way over to the main section that stored an abundant number of pipes. It felt like I was lost in a maze of metal with all the pipes interconnecting around me. Over to my right, I could hear the loud missing sound that a busted pipe would typically make. Getting to the pipe felt like an obstacle course, but eventually my mystery had been solved. Except that mystery was quickly replaced with another mystery, one much more frightening.
I looked down at the pipe to see that the burst was caused by a massive hole in the shape of an oval. The edges of the impact were also sharp as if the pipe didn’t just burst but rather someone impaled it. Even stranger than that was the liquid that was oozing off the pipe onto the ground. It’s purple slime-like material covered the surface around the impact. I touched my earpiece again and waited for the corresponding vibration.
“Hey Ben, I found the uh burst in the pipe.” I said. I looked down again at the hole in the pipe just to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
I heard Ben from the other side of the line. “Good work. You having any trouble patching it up?”
I tried to gather my thoughts before I spoke again. “The burst doesn’t look natural if I’m being honest.” The could feel the tone of my voice begin to change as I started connecting the pieces in my mind. There’s only one thing on this ship that leaves a purple substance in its path.
“Why would you say that? You think someone is sabotaging the ship?” Ben replied from the other end of the connection.
“Maybe not someone, but something.” I reached out and touched the purple slime substance, it’s goo-like material covering my finger.
“Where is Subject 1 being held?” I asked Ben, panic began to fill my voice. More ruffling populated the other side of the mic as I could hear Ben in the background asking others for the information. Suddenly, Ben’s voice becomes full and clear again, except now full of concern.
“Caitlin you need to get out of there now.” He says. Panic now starts to betake my emotions.
“Ben what’s going on?” I demand. I hear others in the background frantically talking over each other.
“Subject 1 is reported to have escaped his holding. It might have made its way down to the engine room by this point. Just forget the pipe burst and get back upstairs now!” In all my time working with Ben, I had never heard him in such a frenzy.
Just as I was about to reply, I hear a loud clash from the other side of the engine room. I quickly turn off my earpiece so I can hone in on the noise. Using the pipes to conceal me, I crouch down and slide myself towards a crate that sits closer to the center of the room. I peer over the crate but see nothing but more metal and various machinery.
Another loud crash fills the air, this time coming from my left. I jolt sideways and look towards where I thought I heard the noise being emitted. As I slowly pace myself towards another batch of pipes where I heard the last crash, I finally see what I was looking for. The pipe buster.
The creature stood at around seven feet tall and its skin resembled a dark grey material. Its eyes were double that of a human and had more of an oval shape than circular. From its mouth, I could see a purple slim dripping down on the floor, resembling the same slime I say on the busted pipe.
About twenty feet in front of me stood subject 1, the alien that was captured only a few weeks ago and brought aboard the ship. We were certain we could contain it and use it for testing, but it seems we overestimated ourselves. Before I could ponder its existence any longer, the creature cranked its head 90 degrees straight at me.
Frantically, I ducked behind the crate and turned on my earpiece again. It vibrated as Ben connected. LI could hear loud footsteps inch closer and closer to my position.
“Ben.” I quietly say into the earpiece. “It’s here.”
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