The Ghosts

Deep in the heart of the station, amongst the many pipes and air ducts, Sam hid. He shifted position trying to get as far behind the oxygen purifier as possible. His shoulder struck the machinery and Sam flinched as the metallic clang echoed through the chamber. He prayed he hadn't been heard.

Sam stared into the enormous glass tank in the centre of the room and watched the water inside swirl around before being pumped out.

First to see them was one of the station engineers, Dan Phillips. He had seen movement out of the corner of his eye and had followed around a corner and seen it reflected in a viewport that looked out into the depths of space. It was a ghost, he told everyone.

Everyone had laughed. They had accused him of watching too many horror vids but he was even referred to the Doc - just in case. Next it was a couple of geologists from the Survey Corps who had seen one of the ghosts drifting through an outer corridor. Well, not seen, they claimed, the ghost was invisible. They had only witnessed its reflection in the viewports. They too had been referred to the doctor.

There came more ghost sightings – sometimes with more than one being seen. The doc couldn't find anything wrong with any of those sent to him and blamed stress and mass hysteria, ordering more downtime for the stations crew. The sightings didn't stop though.

Soon the accidents started.

Dan was the first. A power junction he was working on exploded and he burned alive. The next week, five more died when an airlock in the Survey Corp barracks opened unexpectedly and they were all sucked out into space. Everyone started wearing their spacesuits after that.

Systems failed all over the station and the crew began to think the place was cursed. Even those who still didn't believe in the ghosts talked of leaving.

Then another accident claimed the lives of most of the remaining crew. All the oxygen had mysteriously vented from the mess hall in the middle of breakfast and twenty-seven crew had died, unable to reach their helmets in time.

Only Sam, Miles and Dana had survived.

Then the ghosts had come.

Miles was first. As the mess hall doors reopened, it had drifted up behind him, reflected in the consoles that line the walls, and snapped his neck. As Miles body hit the floor, Dana had let out a scream and she and Sam had run. Somewhere among the maze of twisting corridors they became separated and moments later he had heard another scream. Sam hadn't seen or heard from her since.

Instead, he was hiding. Hiding with his helmet sealed shut. Hiding and waiting. It was only a matter of time. He was all alone and he knew that soon he would see their reflections in the water tank in front of him and it would be the end.