11APR3025
There’s a very specific kind of terror that comes from knowing something is outside your ship, and you have no idea what it wants.
I’m experiencing that terror right now.
It’s been a full day since I cracked open that cursed cargo pod and let loose whatever that was. I still can’t see outside—the Rust Rat’s external sensors are fried beyond repair—but I know something’s out there. Why? Because every now and then, my ship creaks, like something’s brushing against the hull. And the comms? Yeah, they’re picking up weird interference. Garbled words, static bursts, something that sounds a lot like breathing.
I’m not built for this. Give me bandits, corrupt station authorities, angry debt collectors—I can handle that. But mystery space horrors? No thanks.
At this point, I had two choices:
Sit here and wait for death to happen to me.
Do something stupid.
I chose Option 2 (as usual).
I powered up my maneuvering thrusters, hoping that if I fired them at just the right moment, I could shake loose whatever’s out there and make a run for it. The plan was simple: hit the thrusters, do a hard roll, and pray.
That’s when the scraping started.
Not the random, aimless kind. Purposeful. Deliberate. Like something was moving across the hull.
And then, the knocking.
Three sharp, rhythmic knocks—right against my airlock.
I wish I could tell you I reacted with grace. Instead, I may have shrieked just a little and immediately grabbed the nearest blunt object (which, for the record, was a wrench). Because obviously, a wrench is going to help against whatever the hell is knocking from the vacuum of space.
Then, my comms flared to life again. That same calm, unnerving voice from before:
"Open the door."
Listen. I may not be the smartest man in the sector, but I know that opening the door is not the move here.
So, instead of responding, I did the next best thing: I cut the comms, threw the ship into full burn, and ran like hell.
Now I’m a full system away, drifting in some forgotten asteroid belt with half my ship’s systems still non-functional and zero idea what just happened.
But I know one thing for sure—whatever was on that pod wasn’t just cargo. And I think it still wants me.
Scootch
Quote of the Day:
"If something knocks on your airlock, the answer is always NO."
