A Halloween Sci-fi Story!

The ship’s hull loomed up out of the darkness, their spotlights sliding over the pallid metal, momentarily bringing the husk to life before moving away to return it into the cold black.

“No response to any hails.”  Kat peered at the freighter.  “It looks old.  I wonder how long it’s been out here?”  

“Not that long.”  Mike swivelled around in his chair, and tossed a flip chart over.  “It is an old ship, but it’s been on active duty.  I matched the registration to a Mirage company freighter that was returning from the system a few days ago.  The Amazon.  Should be able to get a bounty off them for its return.”

“Okay.  We’d better head over and check out the damage.  See if we can find out what happened to the crew.” 

“We should wait.”  Robert had remained quiet up until now, just starting at the ghostly wreck on the screen. 

“What for?”  

“Do you know what the date is?” 

“Yeah.  Star date four one-“ Mike started, but Robert waved a hand.

“No, no.  I mean the proper date. On Earth.” 

“I guess that depends where you are…”

“It’s the thirty first of October.”  He glared at Kat. 

“So?”

“Halloween.  The night when the barrier between the living and the dead is at its weakest.”

The silence stretched out. 

“You’re joking, right?”  Mike started to laugh.  “Does Halloween even count in space?”

“Of course it does.  You think ghosts care if they are in space or not?”

“Seriously Rob, we’ve got a job to do here.  If we don’t lay claim to this salvage someone else might get it.  And the faster we get it back, the higher a price we can drive.”  Kat got up and went to the door.  “I’m going to engineering to update Linda and Adam on our find.  We’ll go over an in an hour.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The airlock creaked open, and then jammed with an echoing thud. 

“Something making it stick?”  Kat’s voice sounded distorted over the suit radio, but they could still hear that there was some concern in her voice.  If they couldn’t get the airlock to close again once they were done, it would mean delays while they fixed it before they could tug the ship home.

“I’ll have a look.”  Linda was chief engineer on their salvage ship, the Eliza Grapple, and often came aboard to assess the damage on the wrecks they recovered. 

“Maybe it’s a ghost!”  Mike chuckled, and then cleared his throat as Kat turned to glare at him.  “It’s pretty far open.  We could go on ahead.” 

Kat shone her torch along the edge of the door. 

“Yeah, okay.  Just be careful” 

They ducked under and stepped aboard the freighter. 

They were in a ready room.  Alabaster surfaces were edged with brown and orange.  Three spacesuits were locked into place in alcoves along the wall.  The only light came from soft orange emergency strips which outlined the suits and the doors; beyond that, darkness. 

“Okay, first things first.  We’re pretty near to the bridge, so I say we check that out now.  Emergency power is still on, so my guess is the crew used the escape pods and the ship auto powered down.  It may be that we can just give the command to put the full power back on from there, rather than having to rig it up for a full tow.”

“I wonder why they evacuated?”  Robert sounded glum.  He had protested again before they had come over, but Kat had insisted, claiming it would do him good to get over his fear. 

“Maybe it was-“ Mike noticed Kat staring at him.  “-just a technical problem that meant they had to use the escape pods.” 

“The log will tell us.”  Kat beckoned them.  They forced the door to the interior of the ship open, and started up the dark corridor towards where the schematic showed the bridge to be. 

There wasn’t a mark on the ship.  The staircases were full of empty echoes.  The gravity was normal.  The corridors were clean and clear.  They even suspected that the air was good, but they kept their helmets on anyway. 

“It may have been damaged elsewhere.”  Adam pointed out.  “It is a huge ship.”

The bridge had the same orange emergency lighting strips, and a few blinking red lights on the consoles, but that was all.  No signs of damage or destruction. 

Adam flopped down into one of the brown velour egg-shaped chairs. 

“Hmm. Ah, here we go.”  The power flicked on.  The ship lit up, dazzlingly bright after the soft glow of the emergency power.  Black monitors started to draw green graphs and scroll diagnostics. 

“So, where are the crew?  A ship this size there must have at least been twenty just to fly it.”

“Some of the lifepods have been jettisoned, but I can’t find a record entry for why.”

“You sure it’s safe to have the power back on?”  Robert asked. 

“It shouldn’t turn on if there’s a-“

The lights flickered down and then came back.

“Problem?”  Mike asked.

“It should be okay, but I’d like to take a look down in engineering to be sure.”   

“That’s a good walk.”    

“Well, you could all use the exercise.”  Kat waved them off.  “I’ll keep an eye on things up here.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three headed off down the corridors at a brisk pace. 

“Nice pumpkin.”  Adam commented.

“What?”  Robert glanced down guiltily at the keychain hanging from his belt.  It was in the shape of a jack-o'-lantern.  “Oh, thanks.”

“You like Halloween?” 

“Um. Yeah.”

“No you don’t.  You freaked out like a baby about coming on this wreck today.”  Mike pushed open a hatch to the stairwell and peered around the door.

“Fine.  It’s to keep away evil spirits ok?”  Robert shot him an angry look. 

“I didn’t realise you were superstitious.”  Adam checked the schematic and pointed down the stairs.  They set off.

“I’m not really, but, you can’t be too careful.  I mean we’ve disturbed a lot of… resting places.”

“Don’t you think those souls would be more angry at the people who killed them rather than the ones that came to salvage the ship afterwards?”  Adam mused. 

“Oh don’t tell me you believe in ghosts too.”  Mike sighed.   He stepped out of the stairwell into a corridor, identical to the ones above.  “Ghosts aren’t real.”

The lights went out.

“Not a word.”  Mike snapped his torch on.  “That’s just the power failing.  Not some damned ghost.”

“Kat?  Any reading on the power?”

They all waited for a response.  None came.

“Something blocking the transmissions?”  

“I didn’t think there would be anything to block them here… must just be the ship’s construction.”  Adam sounded doubtful.  “Come on, there’s probably a hard line to the bridge in the engine room anyway.”

They moved on, the beams of the torches washing over the walls ahead of them.   The lights flickered once as they traversed one corridor, but then stayed off.

Eventually they came to a doorway which was jammed shut.  No amount of rewiring, pulling or shouting at the thing would budge it.

“Come on you piece of junk!”  Mike kicked at the door.  A faint wail emanated from behind it.

“What was that?”  Robert took a step away.

“What?”

“I heard something.”

“It’s your imagination.”  Mike thumped the door again.

“Shh Listen!”  Adam tilted his head.  There was a groaning sound from beyond the door.  “If he’s imagining it, so am I.”

“…well the door is jammed anyway.  Is there a way around?”  For the first time Mike sounded a little uncertain.

Adam got out the schematic.

“Yeah we can cut through the canteen on this level.  There’s another access corridor and stairwell on that other side.”  

They set off again; Robert kept turning around and shining his torch on the jammed door, just to make sure it was going to stay shut.  A few turns later and they found themselves in a wide room full of tables and chairs.

“Look.  Wherever the crew went, they were in a rush.”  Mike swept his torch beam over the tables.  Half-eaten meals lay abandoned.  Some drinks had been knocked over, spilling liquid across the floor.

“Come on.  The sooner we get the engines checked out the sooner we can tug this creepy scrap pile back to dock.”

They only managed to take another two steps before they found themselves floating upwards.  Plates lifted from the tables, liquid gathered into bubbles.

“What!”  Adam reached out and grabbed one of the tables.

“Gu-“ Kat’s voice was cut off by a static burst.  “b- kirrsht -ip.  Kirrsht –ear me?  Oh-”  

“Kat?”  Mike tried the radio, but there wasn’t any further transmission. 

“Maybe we should go back.”  Robert glanced the way they had come, trying to judge a path through the floating food.

“We’re closer to the engine room now than the bridge; or our ship.”  Mike shook his head.  “We just need to get down there and Adam can fix it.” He pushed off a table towards the door they had been heading for, bumping some plates out of his way. 

“Adam can fix it.”  Adam mimicked in a disgruntled voice, but he followed Mike’s lead.

Robert wasn’t at all keen on continuing, but he didn’t want to be left alone, so he went with them anyway.

They pushed their way down another two corridors, and then came to a junction where Adam checked the schematic again. 

“It should just be two levels down from here.  I think we go right.”

“Hey, look at this.”  Mike was shining his torch down the other corridor.  Hovering there, twisting over and over, was what looked like a coin, glinting as it reflected the light.  He set off down the corridor.

“Mike!  That’s the wrong way.”  Robert protested.  Adam shrugged and followed him.

Mike snatched the coin out of the air and turned it over in his hands.

“It looks like an old doubloon!” 

“A what?”  Adam frowned.

“Treasure.”  Mike held it up to show off the gold. 

“Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”  Robert had floated up behind them, unconsciously clutching his pumpkin keychain.  “Why would old Earth coins be on a freighter?  And why floating in a random corridor?  Clearly it’s valuable.”

“Maybe pirates attacked and stole the treasure, and they dropped this one.”  Adam offered.

“We haven’t come across any damage or signs of violence.  Something isn’t right.”

“Well let’s see where this leads.  There might be more of it.”  Mike set off again, rounding the corner.

“What about Kat and Linda?” 

“It will only take a minute.”        

They passed through a door which whooshed shut behind them.  Emergency lighting encircled a row of hatches along the wall. 

“Escape pods.” 

“I think most of them have been fired.”  Adam pointed with his torch beam at the small lights by the hatches; most showed red. 

“Looks like it.”  Mike went over to try and peer through the window of one which still showed a green light. 

“I don’t think you’re going to find any more treasure.  There’s nothing to see down here.”  Robert hung back near the door with Adam, eager to be leaving.

“Perhaps you’re right.”

An echoing clonk reverberated around the room.  They all froze.

“Maybe it’s the power trying to come back on,” whispered Adam.

A red light started to strobe.

“Run!”  He yelled, realising too late what was going to happen.  He kicked himself towards the door that they had entered by.  Robert had jumped at the command, but Mike was floating in the centre of the room, with nothing to push off, he could only watch as the hatches opened. 

Adam slammed his fist into the door panel and it opened.  An alarm attempted to sound but gave only a single groan as the door broke the airlocking procedures that should have been built into the ship. 

Robert barely reached the aperture as the air started to rush violently past, leaking into the void beyond.  Mike had nothing to grab.  He screamed as he was blown towards the dark holes.

“MIKE!”  Robert tried to reach for him, but it was impossible.  He could barely pull himself through the door.  Adam reached for the panel.

“No, what about-“

“He’s gone.”  He hit the button and the room closed off, stopping the powerful force.

The men floated in the corridor for a few moments unable to comprehend what had happened to them.  Robert regained his senses first and tried his radio. 

“Mike?”  The suits had an air supply; he might still be alive if nothing had torn it, he reasoned.  He pushed the radio again.  “Kat?  Linda?” 

“They must have noticed that.”  Adam said softly.  “They must have seen.  They can pick him up.”  His voice wavered.  They didn’t even know if Linda and Kat were still aright, never mind if they could see what was going on down at this end of the ship. 

“I think… I think something on this ship doesn’t want us here.”  Robert started slowly.  Adam didn’t disagree, but it shook him out of his shock and he straightened up.

“We’re going to the engine room.  If we can signal Kat, there’s still a chance…”

Robert nodded.  He wanted nothing more than to escape the ship, but he knew the best hope they had to contact their captain now was to press on.

They sped along the corridors using any handholds they could find.  Only Robert had a torch now; Adam had dropped his in the escape pod room.  Down the cold metal staircase they floated, into the heart of the ship.  As they reached the deck their feet connected back with the floor; it seemed the gravity was still on down here.

The term “engine room” wasn’t quite accurate; the area was more of a series of rooms connected above and below by huge archways and metal staircases.  Pipes and wires twisted and turned along walls and ceilings.  Tanks loomed overhead, consoles blinked and turbines stood still.

Robert ran his torch over the scene.  A hundred shadows jumped and wavered as the beam passed over machinery and electronics jumbled together. 

“Main console should be over here.”  Adam pointed, and Robert turned the beam to follow his arm.

They both yelled out. 

A pair of eyes was staring back at them through the darkness.  Movement, as it leapt towards them.

“It’s a cat!”  Robert redirected the beam, and they saw the little creature trotting up to them, tail held high in greeting.

“How did it get here?”

Robert reached down and stroked it as the moggy as it attempted to rub around his legs.

“The crew must have left it behind when they abandoned the ship.  Guess the air must be okay after all.”

They went back to the console, the creature trotted after them. 

“Let’s see if I can figure out the radio.” 

Adam rebooted the console and started a diagnostic with the emergency power, and then found a channel to the bridge.

“Hello, Captain?  Can you hear me?”

Nothing.

“Can you signal our ship?  Maybe she went back to the salvage vessel.” 

“I can try.”  Adam changed the channels, and almost immediately Kat’s voice burst to life. 

“-you guys?  Please!  Linda’s hurt and I don’t know how much longer I can wait.  The airlock closed on her… and…” She made a gulping gagging noise.  “I don’t know where to find you.”  

“Kat!”  Robert almost shouted.  The moggy gave a mew.   “We’re in the engine room.  Mike’s been blown out of the ship, you have to look for him!” 

“Oh god.  I don’t think she’s breathing...” 

“Kat?” 

“She is.  It’s shallow but it’s there.  I’m going to have to go; I need to get her to the hospital.  I hope you guys are alright; I promise I’ll be back.”

“What, no wait!” 

“I don’t think she can hear us.  We’ve only going the incoming transmissions…”  Adam stopped and looked up at the engines.  “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Do you hear that?”

Robert listened.  At first he couldn’t hear a thing, but then he noticed a faint buzzing noise.

“We have to get out of here.  I think when we turned the power back on before we started a reaction in the main core.  I think…”

“Oh God no.” 

“Grab the cat.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they had cleared the first floor, the lack of gravity helped them along, and they floated quickly up the centre of the stairwell.  The cat laid its ears flat against its head, but other than that it sat quietly.  They exited the stairwell, and started down a corridor.

“We’re not going to make it,” Adam gasped.  “If the captain started the disengaging sequence right away, it’s too far.  We won’t get there until she’s already disconnected the ship.”

“Then what do we do?” 

“There’s a chance.  Not all of the escape pods were jettisoned…”

“No way.”  Robert shook his head and shuddered.  “Being vented into space is not an escape plan.”

“There’s another escape room on this deck.  It may not have malfunctioned,” Adam insisted.

“I don’t think-“  There was a distant rumble.  Robert felt the ship vibrate under his hand.  “Actually, let’s try the escape pods.”

There were further rumbles, and some groans as they hurried along the darkened corridors.  Finally they reached the escape pod bay.  Adam opened the door; a man leapt out at them.

“Help!”  Adam yelled as he fell backward, tangled in the man’s arms.  Robert recovered his senses and grabbed the back of the man’s suit, yanking him away. 

“It’s empty.  It’s just a suit.”  He let out a relieved laugh.  It was short lived.  “Did it just get… brighter?”  A roaring sound reached their ears.  It felt warmer, and the orange glow from the emergency lights seemed just that bit stronger. 

“Go!”  Adam pushed past the drifting suit into the room beyond.  Items fell around the room in a zero gravity mess.

To their relief, although the hatches to the pods had opened, none had been jettisoned from this room.  They bundled into the closest one, and Adam turned to close the door.

“It’s stuck!” 

He flicked the panel down, and started to fiddle with the wires.

“Hurry up Adam!”  The light beyond the corridor door was growing in intensity.  “Hurry up!”

Suddenly flames were licking past, a violent ball of energy.

“I got it!”  The doors slammed down, and they were all thrown over as the rockets engaged, shooting the pod away from the ship. 

Robert closed his eyes as the light became blinding.  The cat dug it’s claws in through his suit, but he didn’t even notice. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kat was about to jump away from the ship, when it exploded.  She watched it on the screen, blossoming in fire and then collapsing in on itself.
“Oh God.”  She whispered.  “I left them there…”

A sensor alert sounded, and she quickly checked the scanner.  An escape pod!  She turned the ship to intercept it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later they stood on the bridge of the salvage vessel, the welcoming view of the spacestation rotating on their screens. 

“I’m sorry.”  Kat spoke softly.  “I’m so sorry.  I should have listened to you, Rob.  We should never have gone on there.  Not on Halloween.”

“It’s not your fault, Kat.”  Robert replied.  He was busy digging out the flesh of a pumpkin he had bought from the station. 

They had all agreed to put a lantern on the deck tonight.  It was only sensible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilogue

Mr Paws stretched out on the cushions and licked his lips.  The humans had given him a nice fish and fresh water, and now he had found a comfortable warm spot to get some well-earned rest.

It had taken them long enough.  He didn’t know how long he’d tried to find which of those buttons was the one to summon them.  It had worked in the end though.