Far Pangaea 21 : Restless Night

Malcolm Brand woke up from his nap, which turned into a good eight hours of much needed sleep. Stirring he got up, fully dressed when he had laid down initially. Rolling his tongue around his mouth he still tasted the fruit on his breath. He had a light sweat but choked that up to the humidity. When your ship is stuffy and without air conditioning it was a natural aspect of the situation.

"Damn it's hot in here." He murmurs hearing his stomach rumble.

Deciding to go get some air he accidently trips in the darkness over his waste bucket. Stumbling but catching his fall he kept on his feet. However the facsimile trash can toppled over spilling it's contents. Growling he knelt down to pick things up.

"What the hell?" His hand comes across an apple, "Where did you come from? I only had that one apple stashed away. Ate that before snoozing." He stands up bewildered then shrugs, "Lucky day I guess. Wait a minute. There's no apple core in that mess."

His eyes wince at the thoughts running through his head, "Did this thing grow back while I was asleep? Huh! The never ending meal. I can live with that. Saves me battling the vine beast to grab more of these."

Puckering he decides to eat it. His stomach was growling and the taste for it pursued his thoughts. Damned delicious he admitted to himself.

Cameron Scott was still awake. His drunken state was easing up but he couldn't sleep. Sitting up in the cockpit for hours playing Solitaire. After a long turn sitting his bladder needed relieved. Grumbling he stood up and stretched before looking out the window at nothing but a dimly lit moonscape. Fidgeting he decided to step outside the ship to take a piss. As the ramp opened up he trudged down the steps into the sand.

The cows were quiet mostly. As was the horse. So, he moved east of the pen to a spot he decided was good enough and out of the path of foot traffic. Whipping it out he stood with his back arched looking up at the stars. As his stream steadily flooded the dirt below he felt a chill go down his spine.

The chill made his gaze lower to pierce out into the darkness. Something caught his eye.

In the shadows maybe 60 yards away stood what appeared to be a woman. Her flesh ghostly white and in a dress that drifted in the gentle breeze off the plain.

"That you Maddy?"

Squinting as he shook off his pecker and zipped up, he realized something.

"Can't be Maddy. Her ghost is naked. I see a dress. Awww fuck."

He stammers in step deciding if he needed to run or see if this woman needed help. Maybe she was stranded here as well. He opted to risk the unknown.

"Are you lost here like we are?"

The woman merely stares and appears distraught. Her reaction made Cameron assume she was terrified.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. If you got lost in this crazy place like we did you must need friends. Come on over I'll introduce you to everyone."

She shy's away and steps toward the cow pen. In the static charge of the fence there was a gentle illumination that cascaded outwardly. In her stride Cameron matched it after swallowing hoarsely. He attempted to get closer to her. Her attention was more on the cattle than him. This gave him the nerve to approach her.

"Surprised to see those? My friend Jack rescued them from the desert. You must be hungry."

She folds her arms over her shoulders and shivers.

"Cold? I think it's balmy myself. But, that dress might not be that warm. You look as if you just came from a wedding or something."

No words spoken, nor does she look at him.

"Umm! My name's Cameron. What's yours?"

Finally, she tilts her gaze toward him at an angle. There was a softness yet needy glint in her vision. Her eyes were amazingly beautiful. As was she. Yet, her flesh was pale white. That alone gave Cam the chills.

Still, Cam offered her a handshake.

Eying his hand she bites her lower lip. Her reaction appeared as if resisting. The emotion made Cam extend his hand further.

"It's alright. Only friends here."

Suddenly, he realized something. He knew this face.

"Wait! I know you. Is your name "Sabbath"?"

Hearing the name her eyes light up. Her lips tremble, "How do you know my name?"

Retracting his hand he reaches up under his shirt collar and tugs at the locket he found at the carriage site. He had kept it close because he needed their memory to last as long as possible. Nice guy that he was. Opening the locket he showed her the two black and white photos inside.

The woman was mesmerized and crept closer to face Cam while her hands reached up to examine the pictures. Touching his hand faintly she jumped. Her eyes flaring at his warmth.

"Here! This belongs to you. I found it out there at the carriage in the desert. I held on to it. This might sound silly but I was trying to keep you alive. Even if it was only in spirit. I had no idea you really were still alive." He unhooks the clasp and offers it to her.

The thought he had made her reel in step. It was a beautiful gesture.

"I must go." She whispers.

In a blur of speed the woman was gone. His eyes didn't even have time to adjust. He had to shake his head wondering if he was dreaming.

"What in Sam Hill?"

Suddenly, fear struck him and he raced back up the ramp. Shutting the door behind him to the outside world.

He met Malcolm in the cockpit and stood there breathless.

"You look like you shit your pants." Malcolm winced.

"Might have. I'll check in a minute. Ummm! I just met a lady out there."

"Lady? What?" Mal leans over the window looking out but the angles were all wrong. Cam's location was in a blind spot.

"Recall that locket we found of the two ladies? I met "Sabbath Black". I gave her the locket and she almost cried. Then ran off into the desert."

"Serious?"

"Very. The only thing is, she ran away fast. By fast I mean blinding speed fast. I bet she moved 100 miles an hour. Gone, Baby, gone."

"You're still drunk."

"Nope. That shit sobered me up. I'm not lying."

As he caught his breath he sits down beside Malcolm then narrows his eyes, "You coming down with something? You're sweating bullets."

"I'm good. Alien food might not be setting well if anything."

Cam frowns, "I feel fine. Had seconds even."

With a shrug Malcolm offers, "We can track her in the morning if you want. She couldn't go far. Nothing out there. She must be held up in one of the stranded ships or planes."

Shivering Cam nods, "Sure. Sounds good. You notice that in two weeks time we've seen a lot of crazy shit? Met a lot of new folks. Greta. This Animahni mermaid. Her fishy friends. And, now this Sabbath girl. Feels like we're magnets to weird shit."

"True that. Makes you wonder what's further out there." Mal tilts his profile.

Cam feels a bit of tension suddenly, "I hope she's alright."

"Here's my worry. If you remember the passengers of that buggy left their clothes behind. Shredded clothes. So, if that was this Sabbath how did she survive that?"

"Maybe she got away from whatever attacked them. She wore a dress just now so she's not nude. I wonder if the torn up dress belonged to the other girl in the locket?"

"Could be. We'll have to ask her when we find her."

Fidgeting Cam tilts his ball cap, "Man that woman was HOT!"

"And, like 200 years old." Malcolm chuckles wiping his brow.

"I got no shame. She doesn't look a day over 190."

The two men laugh it off. Until Cam grew silent.

In the distance "Sabbath Black" stood in the darkness. She had returned to her original crash site. The carriage looked ransacked. Her tears flowing down her alabaster cheeks at the visions of that fateful day. A silent scream carried away her memories. To be filled with horror. The horror of what she had become.

Within his secluded chamber James Ian Pryce sat up reading. He had utilized the alien fireflies they had found in the labs to create enough light to stay busy on sleepless nights.

At the foot of his gravity bed on the flood rested Xander.

James was trying to clean up the video images from the rooftop of the ships outer hull. The escape pod made him curious. The feeds were barely legible but as each second cleared up more he did know one thing. It was NOT Lucas Dorsey that had escaped in it. By the fearful reaction of the figure they were running from Dorsey himself. Further examination James sits up straight.

"Whoa! There was another Ganthorian. A female."

Stunned he sits back with a palm on his forehead. Further exploration of the feeds show Lucas Dorsey drugging the Ganthorian residents to a paralyzed state then breaking their necks while in their seats.

"Dannnng! That dude's brutal. Wonder where they went?"

Closing up his pad he releases a simple frequency that turns out the bug light.

In the dark James thought about Dorsey's violent acts. He quickly became the Boogeyman.

Seconds later the light was back on.

Xander was still dreaming.