Lieutenant Hallia Yellir - Goetia
Ryan Fender
((Somewhere on Yelik))
She remembered this door— something about it carved its way into the Yelikan’s memory, but she couldn’t place it. The door was metal, not something that slid open at the mere presence of somebody, but something with a round polished handle. That was about the only thing polished on this door, as the rest of it looked like it had seen the weight of its years. Large dents and scorches covered its front, but the scorches looked almost too precise— like they had been painted on with a powdery brush, made to give the impression of something grazing its surface.
The door was… just a door. But the Yelikan could feel as if something was watching her, something waiting as her hand grasped the doorknob. A click resounded, and she pushed it open. Wrenching her shoulder into one of the hollowed dents, Hallia shoved against what felt like the weight of a person, only to feel a gentle warmth touch her face, with the smell of a feast gently luring her in. Inside was a tidy room, or, what was left of it. There was a rickety table, with patches of rust wearing at its legs and it looked set for a meal. The table had been set for a meal, with some plates being served. But there were no chairs that gathered around the table The table was empty, save for the half-filled bowls that served as some feast for the flies that hovered around them.
Hallia stepped even further inside, with her gaze sweeping around the room. As she let her hand slip off the doorknob, another soft click was absorbed in the stillness of the area as it closed behind her. The room was almost… featureless. The greater details of dressers and portraits sprawled around the inside seemed lost to her. The faces were faded, some even blurred from view, as her head swivelled to find a hallway, its entrance had not been well-lit. The shadows that draped on it had laid themselves as thick as a starless void. As her eyes tried to peer beyond what she could see, her attention had been snapped towards something else in the room.
Blink
Her breath hitched in her throat as she could hear the flies buzz louder and louder, whatever air she forced from her lungs fogged up like a cloud. The metal door behind her buckled and crunched under the weight of something heavy—
Blink
A tall, magenta-skinned man loomed over the table holding a ladle filled with some briny soup. The smell of roasted vegetables had tickled her nostrils just as his smile seemed to brighten the room. He passed the bowl to one of the children lining the table. There had to have been nearly half a dozen— with some nearly grown enough to tower over the man, and others barely able to glance over the table as they sat. Laughter filled the room, but whatever words they spoke seemed to blur in her ears. The man had scooped another spoonful, as a woman passed down the now-filled bowl to another. Suddenly, one of the children opened their mouth to scream— faces taught with horror. The man dropped the ladle, and motioned desperately for everyone to move towards the hallway. The darkness felt like it took shape in the moment, twisting and writhing just as—
Blink
Hallia couldn’t move, her muscles froze, just as her breath did in the frigid air. She wanted to shiver, but her body couldn’t even budge enough to manage even that. The flies crawled all over the table, from its legs to its very top. Scittering about like a single mass, consuming and examining whatever caught their attention. Their batting wings filled the room like a grating cacophony.
Blink
There had to have been nearly half a dozen— with some nearly grown enough to tower over the man, and others barely able to glance over the table as they sat. Laughter filled the room, but whatever words they spoke seemed to blur in her ears. The man had scooped another spoonful, as a woman passed down the now-filled bowl to another. Suddenly, one of the children opened their mouth to scream— faces taught with horror. The man dropped the ladle, and motioned desperately for everyone to move towards the hallway. The darkness felt like it took shape in the moment, twisting and writhing just as—
Blink
The room was freezing, with her hands and feet completely numb. Flies blackened the table, the vague shapes shifted on the walls, the ceiling, the door— and soon, they moved to her legs, then up to her stomach. They covered her form, crawling over her eyes, nose, ears and threatening to peek under her eyelids. She was cold.
The flies buzzed like claps of thunder, breaking every attempt she could to latch on to whatever void she tried to cling to.
Hallia desperately tried to reach out— only to realize she had felt warm. A burning sensation resounded in her chest, like molten metal vaporizing ice, she could feel it. Her eyes latched onto the hallway, as the door had been surrounded by the dark mass— but two pinpricks of orange light could be seen in the empty darkness. They grew, and grew until they were the shape of two caverns— moving ever closer until the form of a man could be seen.
Hallia’s stomach lurched as she stared into the hollowed furnaces, empty sockets that once housed eyes with half of what would be a face horribly burned. She had tried to reach out, to shatter what felt like ice that covered her very skin—
((Personal Quarters, Deck 03 — USS Artemis-A))
The Yelikan lurched forward in her bed, letting out an instinctive shriek as she sat up. A clatter sounded on the edge of her bed as a startled feline had fallen onto the floor of her quarters. The twin-tailed, and shaggy tomcat’s eyes gleamed in the dark as what it could best muster up as an annoyed expression glared up at Hallia. With a single order, the lights rose to a dim level as her hand fell to her chest. She could feel her stomach drop to her feet just as her heart tried to leap from her throat. The thudding alone was enough to constitute some sort of medical emergency.
Afraid to close her eyes, her frantic gaze leapt from every corner of the room. Her entire body felt clammy as a momentary shot of adrenaline seemed to fade. Aster’s annoyed eyes didn’t seem to change as he continued to lay on the floor. He lay there as if that was where he had fallen asleep, almost like he was too tired to stand on his own.
Hallia quietly leaned down wrapping her clammy hands around the heavy mass of the tomcat and pulling him close. Silent moments passed as Aster’s head slowly jerked around to meet her gaze, his red-tipped fur jostled as a sand-papery tongue licked the Engineer’s nose. Scratching his chin in return, the memory of the dream faded as the rug of a cat seemed to not want to leave her side.
oO Just a dream, Oo
TAG/TBC
_____________________
Lieutenant Hallia Yellir
Chief Engineer
USS Artemis-A
G239409EK0