Cosmic Dash: Pause & Effect

Day One: Part One

He switched to the Hearpoint music application and checked his notifications for new music. His eyes widened as he saw the new release from Triflock, a popular trance group. Two Parrack twins and one Hauke posed in trendy clothes with eyes shut and somber expressions between the sun rising on a dark planet and the word "Migration". This must have been their latest annual album. He placed a finger on the album art and heard a sample. Multiple synthesizer arpeggios murmured over a lead piano melody. The notes reverberated in Dorian's ears before fading into silence. Dorian closed his eyes as he listened, feeling a chill run up his neck. Dorian began to download the album and forwarded a notification to Senn. Since Senn was the sort of person who would listen to the singles from an album and then go back to his favorite music from college, this notification might have been pointless. Still, if he was a fan of Triflock's old material, he might like this new album.

Dorian queued up several more album and playlist downloads before exiting the application. He stifled a yawn and smacked his lips as he stared straight ahead in the dark, quiet room. The room seemed almost too quiet. When the ship was in transit, the silence was always underscored by a low hum that could be heard throughout the ship. He got out of bed and stood up, stretching himself out. The soft vibrations at his feet were missing, too. Did the ship stop moving? Great.

He put his data-wallet down on the nightstand and trudged towards the washroom. After a cold shower, he put on comfortable pants, a neutral-colored shirt, and slip-on shoes. He had nobody to impress unless they were having a heart attack and he had to use a defibrillator on their chest. When they would come back to life, they would see him in his professional, no-nonsense clothes and be impressed, marveling at the smart, quick-thinking medical intern who saved their life. As he walked to the galley for some breakfast, no one marveled at him at all.

Bunk Room: Hour 4

The black void was stifling. Dash struggled against it, but it seemed to enclose around him. It grew tighter and tighter around the contours of his body. He kicked and thrashed as hard as he could, but the sludgy darkness swirled and coalesced around him, and as he opened his mouth to scream, the void flowed into him. He couldn't breathe, but he couldn't die either. In panicked silence, he choked, almost drowning in black but then, suddenly, a reprieve. As the pressure subsided he found himself floating in nothingness. His breaths were gasping and desperate. He was no longer drowning, but the ink still lingered in and around him.

It was then that he heard the tearing of fabric and saw a gleaming light rip through the darkness. A dagger tore through the void, leaving a gash of frayed black edges. The light was blinding, but Dash looked toward it to see what existed beyond the veil. Vark came into view, his throat ripped out in gruesome detail... his gash throbbing with each labored breath and the red and pink insides of his neck slick and moist. Worst yet was the smile, as though he had knives where his teeth should have been.

Dash had only been asleep for a little over an hour when he found himself waking up from his latest nightmare. Everyone else was out of the bunk room by now, with the exception of Guugel, who was reclining on his bed, with little else to do today. Guugel's single eye opened and turned to him.

Another nightmare?

Dash felt the question echo in his skull. He sat up and brushed some wet hair from his forehead.

Want to talk about it?

Dash grunted as he threw his legs over the side of his bed. He threw his head into his palms and replied: "I'm fine."

Guugel shrugged and lied back down, eye closed.

You really should open up about these sorts of things.