The Big Nothing

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by 5ha5ha

by 5ha5ha

Journal Entry One

So this is my first entry in the journal in the ship. They told me to start making entries once it felt like I'd been here a year. To be honest I have no idea how long I've been up here, this ship doesn't seem to have any on-board computer calendar thing, and there's no way of telling how long a day is when you're in space. Hell time isn't even told in years anymore. The lights started dimming at certain parts of the "day" a while back, I guess that's meant to simulate night time or something, it's really just some weird twilight lighting that makes everything look weird. Fuck space is weird.

Journal Entry Two

I think it's been a day since my last entry, I'm supposed to try to space out these entries evenly so that they'll be able to analyze them when I get back. I'm supposed to talk about what I did on any given day to demonstrate...something or other about the human mind.

Today I walked around the interior of this ship 231 times. I know because I counted, I counted because I'm bored.

Journal Entry Three

You know that saying "In space no one can hear you scream"? It should be "In space there's nobody to hear you scream". Because it's empty up here, like, completely empty. I'm not even sure if this thing is moving. So I'm trapped in a tin box the size of a house, floating up here. Now I know how Major Tom feels.

Journal Entry Four

I spent today bouncing around the different rooms, it's the same stupid thing I'd do when I was bored as a toddler. So I guess I'm really that bored. The lights seem to be going into that dim twilight thing more frequently now and it's starting to annoy the hell out of me.

Journal Entry Five

Okay so today I did something I wasn't supposed to. There's a hotline in here to call the guys back on Earth, you know, in case of some major fuck up where I find a way to break a window and depressurize everything, or open the airlock and get sucked out, which would be bad of course.

So anyway I called the hotline even though it wasn't an emergency because I was just that bored, and some four-eyes on the other end reads me the god damn riot act. Apparently it's a huuuuuge waste of resources to tie up the lines. Well excuuuuuse me princess but I'm floating around in a metal box, I thought I was the primary resource here. And then when I tried to ask about the stupid twilight gloom lights these idiots put in here he said he didn't know what I was talking about. God dammit I'm sorry I signed up for this project, I thought space would be exciting.

Journal Entry Six

Okay, so ever since I called that hotline, that twilight gloom seems to be coming more and more. I guess this is some scientist version of a practical joke. Whatever it's not like I was using the light for anything. I don't have books, or television, or any sort of hobby. Incidentally, you know that astronaut food completely loses its novelty after you eat it nonstop for a year or however long I've been here.

Journal Entry Seven

So I was asleep right? I was in my quarters with the window that looks out into space or whatever. And I was woken up by something. And it it took me a few seconds to realize what, but then I realized it was a scratching noise. I looked out the dome shaped porthole or whatever and I swear I saw shadow moving away. I don't if it was a dream or what, but that was the most exciting thing I've seen in ages!

Journal Entry Eight

So today I decided I would try to stay up as long as possible. I was doing fine until the lights did their stupid dimmer switch thing. I guess my body just decided to accept this murk as night time. But I swear as I was fading into sleep in my quarters, something darted by the windows. I'm almost positive I saw it.

Journal Entry Nine

Okay I'm thinking there's some sort of connection between these twilight lights and the creature I've been seeing. The last time the gloom descended, I stayed just outside my quarters staring at the window until I could see something pass by. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, it was like it was there, but it wasn't, you know? Christ I'm sounding like a stoner. Okay.

Well I don't really know how to describe beyond saying it was dark. Like, darker than space, which is pretty dark. It sort of crept up from under the window thing and crawled onto it. Then it tapped the window and scratched it. It reminded me of my cat back home. I felt really bad for it but I wasn't sure what to do. I should probably call the hotline about this.

Journal Entry Ten

So apparently I'm a no-nothing crazy who should just ignore whatever hallucinations I see. Well fuck that noise. I saw the thing again, today it tapped on my window during the twilight time and signaled me to move over to the airlock. It definitely wanted me to open the thing but I just sat there. I don't know what to do.

Journal Entry Eleven

I tried to call the hotline again but I didn't get a tone or anything. I think this must be some sort of test. It all adds up, the lights, the creature, the fact that this all started after I called the first time. I've made up my mind, tomorrow I'm going to open the airlock and let it in. I don't think I can bear NOT letting it in anymore.

Journal Entry Twelve

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck I let it in through one of the airlock doors. I was about to open the second one when I realized what had woken me up that very first night. It wasn't friendly tapping it was full on fingernails on a chalk board scratching. So I left the thing in the airlock and ran back to my quarters and did something I should have done from the very start. I looked out through the porthole, and I looked down beneath it and that's when I saw the long, dragging, twisting scars that ran up the side of the hull.

I tried calling the hotline but the wires seem to be cut. I can't let this creature out again because the ship looks like it's been mauled by a puma. I have to just leave this-this thing in the airlock and hope the scientists back on Earth realize something is wrong. I walked by the airlock again and watched as the creature realized that I wasn't letting it in. It flew into a rage and started pounding on everything. I slowly backed away from the door until I couldn't see this fucking thing anymore. Now I've holed myself up in the bathroom and I can hear him pounding.

Journal Entry Thirteen

I heard the sound of breaking glass