Patient Zero

Chapter 7: 'Unseen' (2825 words)

Vievel whirled around, his flashlight bisecting the darkness behind him. He was alone. He turned back only to again come face-to-face with the same empty crooked passage he'd been staring into a moment before. There was no-one else in the tunnel with him, at least as far as he could see.

"I know you're there, I can see your light," the voice said, a thoroughly disgruntled sound filling up the passage. It was a distinctly male voice, an Aelfr, sounding heavy and rough, but beyond that Vievel couldn't tell much about the speaker. The invisible Aelfr continued, not interested in waiting for Vievel's response or perhaps just enjoying the sound of his own voice. "Might as well stop pretending. When we gonna stop these games huh? Wandering about, pretending like you forgot all about me - ship's dying. You might as well open that door, I ain't gonna hurt-cha if you do". His voice meandered on, growing steadily louder as he continued. "No point in wasting time, come on now, I'm getting bored-" he sighed, letting slip a small groan as he did. "Y'know if I gotta open this door myself I won't be particularly happy." An edge developed to his speech, weary and cautioning. "Give it a few hours you'll all be oxy-sick and I'll still be on my feet, why not make it now? Better for you." The voice paused for a moment. "I'm a finer friend than I am an enemy, that I promise-"

"Hello?" Vievel ventured.

"Well, hello. 'Bout time. You coming in?" Vievel looked around, listening for the speaker.

"Coming in where?" Vievel asked. He turned around once more, quickly scanning the passage behind him for the invisible Aelfr, and once again coming to face with nothing but the stone.

"What'dya mean where? Into my cell of course". A laugh echoed out, a deep-seated hoarse laugh which twisted into a cough and ending in raspy sputtering.

"Your cell?" Vievel asked once the coughing sound had finished.

"Yeah". Vievel heard the speaker tut to himself. "Wait a second - where are you?" Vievel hesitated, not sure whether to offer that information. Not knowing where the invisible Aelfr was speaking to him from made the decision all the more difficult.

"You're in the vents!" The unseen speaker let slip another short laugh, one which quickly died in a series of painful-sounding throat clears. Vievel tried to deny it.

"No, I'm-uh-I'm outside your cell," he said, squeezing the cloth in his hand.

"Hah, not a chance bub, I can see your light flickering through the ceiling vents too. You've gotta be in the vents," the invisible Aelfr said, hacking as his voice caught slightly. "Excuse me," he said. He noisily hawked up mucus before he spat, making a grunting throat-clearing noise several times before he finally chuckled. When at last the sound had dwindled away he spoke again. "So hey, wanna open the door then?"

"W-what?" Vievel stammered.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya, promise," the speaker said. The words hung trepidatiously on Vievel's ears. Even an Aælfir could be a dangerous confrontation if they were from a different home ship or even just the wrong house; just because they were the same species didn't make them friends, and his family, the Ulmadr, were long-stood enough that they had made more than a few enemies. Then, beyond even the blood feuds, rivalries, and opportunists, there were the Aælfir who belonged to the forbidden houses, the exiled who were a blight and a danger to all Aælfir in good-standing. Perhaps sensing Vievel's apprehension he spoke up again. "We can go our separate ways soon as it's open, if you like, just need a hand with the door, that's all," he said. "You know the ship's dying right?". He left the statement dangling, but the implications were clear. If Vievel didn't help, the Aelfr would most certainly die shortly after the ship, once the remaining life support and gravity systems shut down, nothing would survive on the ship; the Ulmadr home ship had done considerable damage to the Dwurkn frigate even before it had made its boarding breach. Parts of the Dwurkn ship were already uninhabitable, and it was only under the influence of Aælfir medications, designed to help cope with the low-oxygen, that Vievel could breathe normally.