Outlast

01 | Launch

The ship was hotter than Dylan expected. The heat along with the thick gear he was wearing, and to top it off, a helmet that he knew protected him but was really getting annoying. Even thought it was his fourth trip to space, he always got anxious just before lift off.
'Nervous huh?' Said Doyle Allen, the co-pilot sitting next to Dylan, who was managing the controls and flipping a bunch of switches that Dylan had no idea about. All he was responsible for is to be the captain. Richard Greuy, the technician sat behind them fiddling with a photo which looked tiny compared to his hands which were protected by the suit. Next to Richard was his best friend and first mate, Cade Tolmy. He was looking around, surely feeling as nervous as Dylan, unlike him, this was Cade's first mission outside of simulations.
'Don't worry, I won't kill us on purpose' Doyle laughed as he readied himself for take off, beginning to count down. Dylan disliked his sick sense of humour. He didn't find jokes related to death remotely funny. He preferred a drink coffee and read the newspaper at 5 am type of person.

Dylan didn't expect it to happen so quickly, the blast shocked him and forced him to get partially knocked out. He was still but his eyes were closed and he could feel a force, nothing physical but a force pushing down on him. He guessed it was gravity and he loosened himself. Mistake he thought. He blacked out instantly.

Dylan groaned, his back ached and his neck was sore. As if he just went through a wrestling match where the contenders were allowed to beat up the audience. When he opened his eyes they were instantly blinded by bright rays which he couldn't identify the source of. 'Where am I?' Dylan mumbled.
'On the ship dude, I told you I wouldn't kill us' said Doyle with a smirk plastered onto his face.
Dylan had a headache already, It had only been what? Ten minutes? Since the start of the flight but it had felt like hours to him. Even Cade looked fine, that was definitely not fine. This was Cade's first mission how did he look so normal?
'So anyways' Richard tried to break the tension, 'about how long until we reach our first destination?'
'I hope you guys packed your bags because we have about 9 years of free time' winked Doyle.
'No, seriously.' Cade and Dylan said simultaneously.
'Ok fine, I was joking. It's actually around 9.5 years' remarked Doyle sarcastically.
To which none of the crew replied to. Everyone knew it was true and everyone was silent except for Doyle, who was whistling the tune to Don't Worry, Be Happy. No one on the ship volunteered for this mission. They were simply drafted for being the best at their role. Doyle was an ace pilot by the age of 16 and Richard was building robots at 9. Dylan however, he had instinct. An instinct for survival. No special talents, he was just a natural leader. And Cade; he was a researcher. Good at taking in information and developing them into great ideas, very creative too. All of them had a job to do but no one seemed to be in the mood. Dylan guessed that missing out on around 18 years on Earth would make even the happiest person feel sad. And it surely did for them.