Waiting Shapeless

Chapter 17. Gnumus

Tyler: Human

Tyler's head jerked up. She had fallen asleep curled against the door that had taken her prisoner.

Her wrists were sore from repeatedly hitting the door, and she could tell her voice was slightly horse from yelling.

As she moved into an upright position, she could feel her body was sticky with sweat, her feverish sleep next to that door left her with haunting dreams as she waited. She hadn't meant to fall asleep.

Tyler had always been a curious person; she new that. Matty used to say it would kill her someday, just like the saying about that stupid cat.

She wasn't dead yet, but it was definitely getting the most of her today.

She wasn't sure what to do but sit and wait. She had tried lifting the switch on the wall, even using some of the scrap pieces of metal she had scavenged to pry underneath it.

But it was no use. It was almost as if the lever was now permanently welded against the wall. All of her efforts couldn't even make it budge. She had fallen asleep by that door scared, frustrated, and completely drained of energy.

She waited for her eyes to focus. Normally her suit had a built-in flashlight, but it must have broken before she had gotten in there. She could tell she was still in a dark, stuffy passage sitting on the hard metal floor. How long has she been asleep for?

She blinked in the darkness. She had remembered not being able to see anything before, but now she could faintly see the outline of the door and the smooth walls that encased her.

That meant her eyes had adjusted to light in the tunnel.

But where was the light coming from? If there was a hole or something that led outside then she could possibly communicate with the others and find a way out!

She searched the dark corridor with her eyes for the source of the light. Strangely enough it didn't seem like the light was coming from anywhere in particular, it was just... there.

Aha she thought to herself disappointedly. The light was coming from the ceiling. To her dismay it wasn't a gap or anything that led outside. On closer examination Tyler could see a bluish energy that faintly glowed, swirling slowly along the ceiling like a thick liquid.

She knew what that was. The Lifeline; that's what the Circuits called it. It was what kept the Circuits alive. From what Tyler could remember, if a Circuit ever left the Lifeline they would die. Tyler always thought it was a sad life, never being able to step out onto the ground, never free to explore limitlessly. But, it was their life; they knew nothing else.

The glow from the Lifeline was so faint it was easy to overlook. The ship doesn't have much power left Tyler thought.

She looked down the tunnel. She could only just see the vague outlines of random debris and chunks of metal piled along the walls.

She had two options. She could sit here in the dusty corner and continue to wait for someone to get her out.

Or... she could risk navigating through the haunted ship herself in search of a way out.

Tyler took a deep breath. She must have been waiting here for at least a couple of hours now, although it seemed impossible to tell since she had fallen asleep.

She thought carefully about what she was about to do.

Tyler examined the hauntingly dark tunnel that extended before her. It was such a risky move. The only thing she knew about this ship was that somewhere in its deep labyrinths, Short sat waiting; a deranged and murderous robot. Then there was that other thing she saw when they were approaching the wreckage as a team. Whatever that was, it was still in here with her.

Tyler shivered, goosebumps running along her skin. She scanned the shadowed tunnel nervously. It was still dark enough that she couldn't see much farther than a few feet in front of her. The plasma ceiling was much too dim.

Wandering around the abandoned halls definitely would not be the smartest move she's ever made. But then again, she did just lock herself into the ship. Pulling that lever wasn't the smartest move either.

Tyler took another deep breath. She searched the ground next to her for something she could swing if she needed to. There was a thin bar she had tried to pry open the switch with. That would work.

Tyler picked the bar up and tried swinging it around. It felt awkward in her hands, and as she swung she clumsily lost her grip on the metal. It slipped out of her grasp, smacking into her leg as it flew, surely causing a bruise that she would see later.

She cursed quietly, grabbing her leg and cringing as the bar clattered loudly to the floor.

Her leg would be fine. She would just be limping a bit.

She bent over to grab the metal again, her leg hurting as she bent it.

Then, with hesitation and a slight limp, she started her slow descent into the deep.

She was making all sorts of dumb decisions today.