This is my entry into Finish the Story Contest
With the passage of time, the omnipresent buzz of the generators - and God knows what else in the bowels of that cathedral of circuits - had become like a second skin. Funny how the white noise coming from the racks was indifferent to him and could, at the same time, launch its messages in the most modulated and subtle of languages, in a perfect symbiosis. After months, Ethan was instantly aware when something in the monotonous chanting cracked, foretelling one of the increasingly frequent system errors. He was developing a third ear in place of a third eye.
He just smiled at the thought, his gaze fixed on the secondary pylons n. 6 and 11, the last still working in the experimental orbital station DDG-31/DD-936 Decatur, renamed "The Decaf".
Silence was a mute vowel screaming inside him. Always. React to the atrophic thinking. Dodge the anguish, sharp like the debris of that day. The slashed modules were like scenic elements for a cheap movie. All the modules except his one. Follow procedures, rituals, checklists. All this to not raise his gaze and stare, right in front of him, the hangover of so much pain.
Castaway. At some point, he had renamed the pylons Romeo & Juliet. For each orbital period, about 90 minutes, the two arms were almost touching each other. A fleeting kiss and again far away. From the beginning of the mission, he had liked to play the game of renaming equipment and modules with funny nicknames. He allowed himself a slow sigh.
The inclination of the station displayed the earth down there. He had promised never to look in that direction again but the mauve colour, so iridescent, so alive, so omnipresent, took him by surprise once again. He thought for a moment that it was.. beautiful.. and the remorse for that thought flooded him soon after. Ethan hid his face between his hands as the tears surfaced and many names knocked on his heart's door once again. Inside him, a spark of curiosity wondered if it was possible to locate one of the 19 towers between the mauve nanoparticles' clouds.
“Ethan, I suggest that you sleep in 30 minutes. I detect slightly high levels of cortisol, are…”
“Thank you. I was going right now, old scrap”. He replied to the metallic yet familiar voice through the speakers.
He suddenly suffocated all those idle musings, it was time to rest. According to Querquobad, tomorrow was going to be the day.
Ethan woke from a deep sleep when the blinking lights in his dream became as bright of the sun. He rubs his eyes, yawned, and stretch out his arms.
"Q, report." Silence.
"Q, report." Again silence.
Ethan looked out the small window. He sees a tower off in the distance. It was getting closer. He figured they were moving because, as far as he knew, these towers were not gassed up to move.
Ethan turned his attention back to the lights for a moment. They were going off like fireworks on the fourth of July. He'd never seen the ship do this. Maybe I should have finished that one last thing before turning in.
He unhooks from the wall and pushes himself over to the control panel. He punches the keys. Nothing happens except for the flicking of the screen remaining a constant.
He looked to Romeo and Juliet. The peaceful dance they once shared was now an angry rage of two rams fighting over the rites to mate with the female.
He looks back out the window into the ever-present darkness. The tower latched onto the ship. What the hell?!?
"Q, report. Why are hooking-up?" The silence made him think of the time the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne women cleaned out the ears of Colonel Custer after their words of warning fell on deaf ears.
Gravity was restored to his ship causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. It would have hurt if it wasn't for the shock of their being gravity and the sudden fall giving him no time to tense up. Shaken and dismayed, he gets up to his feet.
When the main lighting system cuts out, a rainbow of colored lights fills the room, creating the look and feel of being on an acid trip. He isn't able to see much else.
He heard the sliding of the locked door locking mechanism unlocking. Although he can't see it, he heard the creaking of the hinges of the cabin door open. He fumbles around in the dark for his oxygen mask. Before he can get it, he takes in a breath. I can breathe. But what am I breathing? The fleeting thought left him as quickly as it came.
His ears caught the click-clack of the steps against the metallic floor. The scratching of fingernails on a chalkboard would bring him more comfort if only he could find one.
Ethan hits his knuckle against a sharp object when he trips over something on the floor. His jaw tightens, restraining a yelp.
"Q, REPORT!"
click-clack, click-clack
"Oh, boy!" comes booming out the darkness. He recognized the irksome, irritating voice from one of the television programs he used to watch as a child but couldn't place where it was from. "Just look at all the good things to eat. I think it would take a dinosaur to eat all of that."
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| Finish the Story Contest Entries | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Town That Changed | Even the Clouds Smile | The Border | Horro Vacui |
| Black Star | Quitting Life | LER | It Awakens |
| Apocalypse and Pretzels |
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Tools:
- The Most Dangerous Writing App - This program keeps me from getting to bogged down with what I think is the perfect way. It forces me to keep writing no matter what comes to mind.
- Grammarly - I use this app all the time to catch my mistakes. If I didn't have a spell checker, you would be lost in my world. haha!
- Hemmingway App: Another useful tool to help you make your writing more clear, comprehensive, and easier to understand.
- Steem World: After the @ symbol, enter your name or anyone elses name to see a host of information regarding what is going on with an account.
- Pixabay: Photo that you can use freely in your blog posts.
twenty-four hour short story - You gotta be quick to get this one posted in time. He posts the contest on Sunday (usually) and ends it about 48 hours later. This contest has a 2000 word limit.
Finish the Story Contest - The contest begins on Wednesday (usually) and end 5 days later. This contest will test your write skills with something a little different each week. Pletty of time to write something around the 500 word mark.
Random Games - Yes, random. She will put this contest out on Thursdays (usually) and end it after post pay out (usually). This is challenging because you don't know what you are going to get.
Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! - Coming out roughly every week. If you enjoy card games like Magic, Yugio, and others like it, you might like this game. Write a fictional tale about the card they present in the contest and your entry just might be the one they choose to showcase.
Tell A Story To Me, And Win 5 SBD! Writing Contest - Kind of random when it comes out but don't worry. You will have two weeks to complete your work of art from the given prompt. Have fun!
Haiku - These are coming out every couple days or so. If you stuggle with rhymes, no worries. Haikus don't have to rhyme. All you need to make a haiku is five syllable on the first, seven syllables in the second line, and again back to five syllable for the last line. So easy it makes me think I'm being super product. LOL