Chapter 4
Unknown
I was naked, shoeless, and couldn't have cared less.
I ran to the door, slamming my hand against the screen on the side as I'd seen the monster do it.
I didn't expect the door to slide open, yet it did.
Thank fuck. I stumbled from the room, trying to get my bearings.
I had tried to remember the way between the cargo room where I'd woken up and this place, but I'd been struggling against the two gooey monsters and had been somewhat distracted.
Understatement of the century. I had been terrified.
They had led me through endless corridors, pushing and shoving whenever I stumbled.
There had been dozens of other monsters, leering at me, howling and growling and yipping – or maybe they weren't monsters.
Aliens.
My memory still hadn't returned but I was pretty sure that humanity hadn't encountered aliens yet. But even without my memory, I knew that I had watched science fiction films. Based on those, I couldn’t help but think that this was a space station full of aliens.
I hadn't spotted any other humans, which was both scary and reassuring.
I didn't want anyone else to be in my predicament.
Unless the other metal coffins in the first room were full of humans.
All doors opened for me. Was this a trap? Was he – if that monster was indeed male – just toying with me? Not that it mattered. I had to try and get out of here. I wasn't sure where I was running. All I knew was that I had to get away.
It had been a miracle. One moment he'd had his hands on my body, touching places he shouldn't have, the next pink mist erupted from the ceiling. It had felt cool on my skin, not unpleasant, but the monster had started screaming as if in terrible pain. I hoped he was still suffering.
His rooms had looked alien yet strangely familiar – metal chairs, cabinets, tables, a circular bed close to the floor that reminded me of a giant dog bed – but out here in the corridors there was nothing I could use for guidance.
Strange symbols danced across the walls as if they were massive screens.
Maybe they were. More pink mist covered the ceiling, but it was no longer filling the rooms.
I just kept running, hoping against hope that I would find a way to escape. I didn't dare think of the alternative.
Another door. On the other side were three corridors, all looking exactly the same except for the symbols flickering all over the walls. I hesitated for just a second, then took the middle corridor. It didn't matter, really.
No. I wasn't going to give up this easily. There had to be a way to escape, even if this was a space station. Maybe I could find a nice alien to give me a lift on their spaceship. Or I'd look for a spot to hide until they forgot about me.
I was being overly optimistic. Maybe that was one of my personality traits. I was still trying to piece together what kind of person I was.
A survivor.
I ran and ran. More crossroads. I always took the middle path if there was one, otherwise I went right.
Earlier, there had been many monsters – aliens – about, this time I encountered nobody.
I didn't have time to find that strange.
My feet were freezing from running on cold metal, but I wasn't out of breath.
Apparently, I was a sporty sort of woman.
I slammed my hand at yet another sensor. Nothing happened. The door stayed shut. I pushed against the screen again and again. No luck. This clearly wasn't the way.
I turned around to look for any pursuers that might be about to corner me.
Nobody was coming. Yet just because I couldn't see anyone didn't mean that they weren't on their way, a few doors behind.
Or maybe they were watching me. If this was indeed a place built by aliens, their technology would be way beyond anything I could imagine.
There might be cameras all over the place.
Maybe that's why they weren't running after me.
They didn't have to. They could let me use up all my strength and then capture me once I was unable to continue.
That thought made me want to punch the wall in frustration and fear. And I did. Not punch, exactly, more of an exhausted slap.
Green lines appeared around where my hand had hit the wall, spreading rapidly, forming circles upon circles, like bubbles.
They floated around for a moment, sort of beautiful, then combined into one giant circle bigger than me.
The green lines flashed brightly before the wall in their centre began to shimmer.
Gingerly, I touched it. But I didn't. My hand went straight through as if the wall had suddenly turned into air.
Or maybe it had never been there in the first place.
I looked around one more time. The door was still locked. There were still no pursuers. I could have gone back to the last intersection and chosen a different corridor. Instead, I took a deep breath and stepped through the shimmering wall.
Warm air hit me before my eyes could adjust to the darkness on the other side.
Green lines, just like the ones that had formed this doorway – or portal?
– flickered across the rounded walls as if they were running away from each other.
I seemed to be in some sort of giant pipe, completely dark except for the occasional flash of green lights.
A row of thick black cables covered both floor and ceiling, while the walls were bare metal.
It was hot and humid in here, very different from the cold corridors I'd been running through.
I peered into the darkness, trying to see the ends of the pipe. It looked exactly the same in either direction. Deep black darkness with flashing green lines racing across the walls. It didn't seem to matter which way I turned. Going right seemed like in keeping with tradition.
I'd only taken a few steps when a voice echoed through the space, seemingly coming from everywhere around me at once.
"Ssssstop. Wait there. I will come for you."
It was a male voice, lisping slightly, in an accent I couldn't place.
I froze, spinning around as if I could see who'd spoken. But of course, I didn't.
"Who are you?" I asked in a cautious whisper.
No reply. In the distance, something dripped, but the voice didn't talk to me again.
Should I do what he'd said? It hadn't been the monster from earlier. I would have recognised him anywhere. This voice hadn't sounded as creepy and threatening. But it could be a trap.
No. It had to be a trap.
There was nobody here to save me. Even without my memory, I knew that I was alone. Why would anyone want to help me, a human on an alien planet or space station or spaceship – whatever. It was highly unlikely. Staying here was stupid. I'd just make it easier for them to find me.
I licked my lips, realising how thirsty I was. I couldn't do anything about that.
I had to make a decision. Stay and wait or go on. It wasn't really a question. I wasn't going to become a sitting duck.
Rolling my aching shoulders, I turned right and started walking again.
The humid air felt nice against my naked skin.
I was finally warm, hot even, for the first time in.
.. who knew. I'd woken up cold in the metal coffin and had been freezing ever since.
But just because I was now warm didn't mean I was any less scared.
Fear drove me on, even though I was becoming markedly slower.
The floor in this pipe was curved and uneven.
Piles of cables and debris regularly blocked part of the way.
If anyone had been in here recently, they hadn't bothered to clean up.
It made me feel just a tiny bit safer from the five-eyed monster.
But had moving away from the portal been the right decision? I kept asking that myself as I walked through the semi-darkness. On reflection, that lisping voice hadn't sounded unfriendly. Or maybe it had – who was I to know what a friendly alien-monster sounded like.
The green lines flashing past me suddenly winked out of existence, leaving me in complete darkness. I stopped walking. What new terror awaited me? Had they found me? Was I about to be returned to the monster?
No. Fucking. Way.
I would fight. I would run. I would not simply give in. In his rooms, the five-eye monster had made it very clear what he intended to do to me. The pink mist had saved me – for now.
The darkness painted vivid scenes of pain and terror in my imagination. A shudder ran down my back. I had to move on before they caught me. I stumbled along, almost tripping several times. At least the pipe was entirely straight.
Something caught around my foot, and I fell.
My hands hit a hill of what felt like metal wires, thin and sharp.
Pain raced across my palms. I didn't need any light to know that I'd cut myself.
I let myself drop back, catching my breath for a moment.
My hands were burning. I pressed them against my chest, feeling warm liquid on my skin.
I suppose I should be glad I hadn't fallen face first into the wires. I could have cut my throat.
Maybe I could use them as a weapon. If only the lights returned so I could see what I was doing.
As if they'd heard my wish, two single green circles appeared on the walls on either side of me, like giant eyes. Instinctively, I cowered low, making myself as small as possible.
"I told you...to stay...in place..."
His familiar voice was almost a relief.
"Glad...you moved... Change of plans. Follow the stars."
Stars?
"Who are you?" I asked, neither too loud nor too quiet.
"A... friend."
He sounded exhausted. Or maybe in pain.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
An amused hiss echoed through the pipe.
"I am... the only one...you can trust."
I hated not knowing. Was this a trick or was he really helping me?
"...have to go. Follow...sta-."
With a metallic click, his voice was gone. I was alone again.
The two green circles became smaller until they were solid dots the size of my fist. Were those the stars he'd mentioned?
They flashed simultaneously, then flitted along the walls in jagged, irregular paths. They almost seemed jumpy with excitement.
I didn't really have a choice. I got back to my feet and began to follow the dim light of the stars.