What If...

by TheMajorTechie

Story pitch: Deeps

Author's Note:

This was originally written in 2019, but I don't think I ever posted it anywhere. The file itself is labeled "Untitled Story 2", but I've gone ahead and given it a name based on the content.

This story pitch is also posted on Offprint!

“H-hello? Is… is anyone there?”

The walls creaked with a mechanical whirr as the girl stood up, bracing herself against a support beam as she broke out in a fit of coughing.

“Anybody?” she called again, taking a shaky step forward as the creaking sounds continued around her.

The lights flickered above her as she took another step, her eyes landing on the porthole window to her left. Slow-moving silhouettes of who-knows-what lurked in the shadows beyond the glass; an occasional glint in a beady eye made the deep blue hues of the ocean twinkle like the nighttime sky.

Still, the girl shook her head, That’s not what matters right now.

The ship creaked once more, tilting slightly to one side as the girl turned a corner. Just like the one she’d awoken in; this hallway was empty. A flash of bright light filled her vision for a moment as a light blew out nearby. The girl frowned, watching a faint wisp of smoke escape the lighting fixture as she continued walking.

She could hear voices now. They were faraway, and more than just muffled, but she could tell they were voices. Her footsteps began to quicken—a jog, a sprint, a mad dash as she began to race through the halls, her tattered brown windbreaker flapping against her back with every step. She felt her heart pounding to the beat of her legs, each step matching a beat of its own.

The voices grew louder. Closer than before, they seemed clearly cheerful to the girl.

Maybe they can tell me where I am, she thought, her pacing beginning to slow from fatigue.

Maybe… maybe they can tell me who I am.

She came to a stop in front of a heavy metal door. Nothing in particular stood out about it—it was just a door. The girl took in a deep breath, reaching out and pressing a hand against the smooth, cold steel. Almost instantly, the door shot up, vanishing into the ceiling. She shrieked in surprise at the sudden movement, nearly falling backward from her arm jerking away so quickly.

With the door out of the way, the voices sounded clearer than ever. They were still far too muffled to understand even a word, but they nevertheless sounded like language, at the least.

Shaking off the sudden fright the door had given her, the girl continued forward. Her fists began to clench as she continued walking, finding only more hallway to greet her. The voices began to fade away the more she walked now, growing quieter and quieter with every step of the way. She glanced back for a moment in the direction of the voices before turning her focus back to the seemingly endless stretch before her.

Maybe… she thought to herself, half-focusing on the featureless wall to her right, Maybe there’s some kind of hidden passage? A secret door, maybe?

She slowed her steps yet again, brushing her hand against the wall as she walked. Thin, amber-yellow lines of light began to branch out from the path her hand took against the wall, tracing and growing out of the thin layer of dust scraped off by her fingers. The girl’s eyes widened as she came to a complete stop, watching as the wall slowly lit up in a bright yellow-orange.

She took her hand off the wall, staring in awe as the mechanical whirr from before began to grow much, much louder. A nearly invisible seam running vertically down the wall split open with a hiss, the break growing bigger and bigger as the two parts of the wall continued to separate before the girl.

She glanced back in the direction she’d been walking, then to the continued expanse of hallway she’d yet to travel. She closed her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh before continuing into the break between the walls.

“Welcome back, Captain,” a voice greeted, “It’s been a while since we lost you.”

Comments

[Dashie04]

This is very cool.