The Differents (Eyes That See in the Dark)... An Electric Dreams Story

2018
I remember dying...
Long before any of the strange events began...

The Differents...

Pixabay

(Eyes That See in the Dark)

X Years Later...

I recall thinking I was blind when I woke up. Everywhere was pitch black; darkness so thick that I could almost touch it. And for a brief moment I feared for what the afterlife might truly be.

But then I moved my arms forward instinctively, and as it came in contact with something, there was a flicker of light. I repeated the motion, voluntarily this time. And I recall pushing open what was a man sized door, and so it was I came out of that box-like enclosure. First thing I thought.. I wasn't dead after all.

But then I was scared. I neither knew nor understood why, but deep down inside, something terrified me. At first I assumed it was because I was alone, and when my weary eyes was fully adjusted to the lights, I called out in fear.

"Hello..."

"Hello Frank, how are you today?"

I heard the voice, but I saw no one. I wasn't alone it seemed, but the fear in me wasn't going anywhere. I looked around..

"Who... Who are you?"

"I'm Trudy, your guardian angel."

Still, I couldn't see anyone..

"Where... Where..."

A sudden sound behind me stopped my question, and in the process almost stopped my heart as well. I turned around, and for the first time since I stepped out of that box, I noticed the others..

They were six in all, and as I watched, they slowly opened. Four men, one lady, and a child emerged, each of them trying to adjust their eyes to the sudden light. After the almost physical darkness of those boxes...

"What were you asking Frank?" The unknown voice again.

"Where are we, err... Trudy?"

"Oh well, we are in The Whale. This is a..."

"Wait, what...?"

Turned out we were in a space ship, far outside earth. And according to Trudy, outside of the milky way galaxy as well. I and the others, we were some sort of castaways. He called us The Differents... The seven of us.

But Trudy only knew my name. That was the only name programmed into it's system.

You see, Trudy was an AI built into the space ship's mainframe. But there were some notable information it lacked, this being one of them...

When they were fully adjusted to the change in scenery, the others and I gathered round. No one it seemed, remembered their names. Except me, that is. So we all decided to go by numbers; I was number one, while the lady and the little girl were numbers six and seven respectively.

But something else beside our identities bothered me. No one could remember why or how we got here. No one, it seemed, remembered anything before waking up. Of course I didn't tell them I remembered being dead before. I didn't trust any of these Differents yet, and the events which followed were to prove me right.

"There's a basement in Dock C. There are manual files on each of the Differents there."

Trudy had come to our aid. We would probably find details about our lives in those files. Differents three, four, and six were sent to get the files. The rest of us went to the storage room to take stock of our food supplies.

This was the first time I blacked out...

...

When I woke, everywhere was pitch black again. The thick darkness was back. I knew what to do this time, so I reached forward, and again I stepped out of that box.

"Trudy..."

"Hello Frank. Or should I call you number One now?"

"Frank is okay. What happe...?"

The words stuck in my throat, and my hands fell limp to my side. I stood rooted to the spot as I watched in shock.

All the other Differents were coming out of the boxes again, all except one. Number six. And I couldn't take my eyes away from her, or what was left of her.

The box was open, and her large eyes seemed to stare out from them at me. Her head hung at the top, attached to the box in the most grotesque of manners. The rest of her body was conspicuously absent, and blood dripped off her severed head onto the floor of the box.

I remember the screams of number seven piercing the icy silence like a hot knife through butter...

I took control of my wits, and tried to arrest the situation. I closed the box with the horror image. And I rallied the others. No one knew anything, not even Trudy. Everyone blacked out the same way I did, and neither of the two earlier groups remembered getting to their destinations before the blackout.

But then we had to try, regardless of the sad event of number six. So again we regrouped, and set out for the storage room and Dock C. This time I led numbers two and three to the latter destination.

I recall seeing those files. And the words "it comes in pink and vomits green" written on one of them.

Then just as I was about to reach out and pick one up, I blacked out again...

...

When the darkness returned this time, I had two mixed emotions; fear, and frustration. And soon as I stepped out, the fear multiplied.

Five of the other Differents were gone. Only their severed heads remained. The horror was unreal, almost as unbelievable as the discovery which followed.

Different number seven stepped out of her box...

You...

Only now I realise you're no Different, you're something else.

I remember everything now. You're the reason we're all here.

As I watched, her eyes changed and she transformed.

"Trudy.." I called out in a mixture of plea and fear. "You.. you are..."

I blacked out...

THE END...?

#SladenSpeaks

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Written for @tygertyger's Electric Dreams Contest

It only keeps getting harder. These prompts...

Phew...

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