From Beyond

[cityship]

The crew will see them slinking off, disappearing around hallways--shifting shadow shapes and the backs of heads ducking around corners. They're always people they think they know. Dead loved ones, perhaps, or loved ones they're not sure are dead or alive. They lead crew members into dangerous places, sudden drops, parts of Stacy where things can go wrong.

And they do go wrong. Floors drop out. Ducts become damaged somehow, invisibly, and suddenly spew hot steam. Around the children, items slam into walls--poltergeist activity.

Whether these are really those lost souls, or just illusions, is hard to tell. Either way, those that are part-ghost or have supernatural powers will have a helluva workout. The upside is the presence of the ghosts might disrupt the Waking Dreams to allow people to escape them more easily.

Which is good because the dreams will start to cause injuries now. Real ones.

And refusing to go to sleep doesn't save you when the dreams can happen while you're awake.

[ooc: Waking dreams will continue--and start causing injuries. Furthermore, ghostly apparitions will start to cause poltergeist activity and lead the crew into danger. Start to raise the alarm, meatship. It's starting.]

Comments

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it is," he confirmed. "I ran into another guy earlier and we were both having the same problem. But the wounds disappeared before..." He was kind of glad it was just Fletcher here. It was a pretty embarrassing blunder to make.

[greennotgold]

Fletcher sniffled a little, but he had to stay strong. He had to get Russel to the medical area. "We're-- we're gonna figure it out, right? It's going to stop soon, right?" Maybe then Russel's arm would heal itself...

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Everyone's working on it. There's too many people here to just let this get us like this." His voice was shakey, but he was pushing himself past it. This wasn't the worst wound he'd ever suffered.

[greennotgold]

"Mm..." Fletcher nodded. He supposed that was true. But his other hand went to grip Russel's shirt as they made their way to the tubes that would take them to MedBay.

[deep_sky_diving]

They're not the only ones traveling the ship, though. Tess happens to be around, in fact, moving cautiously in her form-fitting, space-age suit. The slight heels the suit currently has click lightly against the floor, and the helmet is closed—Fletcher will likely recognize the suit, but to Russel there might be anything under the female but inhuman form.

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

Russel noticed there was someone around, but not who it was. He was more focused on keeping steady. But there was someone walking along ahead of them. He wasn't sure if they were real or not, but it was a chance he was willing to take. "Hey!" he called out, sounding exhausted.

[greennotgold]

Fletcher's eyes widened when he caught sight of the woman. He did know that suit, though he'd only seen it once before. Could it really be...? "Ms. Tess?" he called.

[deep_sky_diving]

"—Fletcher!" Tess says, her voice amplifying through the suit perfectly despite the helmet still being closed. "Russel—are you two okay?" She hurries forward. The slightly exaggerated motion of her head looking between Fletcher and Russel makes up at least a little for the lack of eye contact.

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

He looked a bit relieved that it was her, not a stranger. "Yeah. If it's normal to have your arm in two pieces..." he said, smirking a bit, but he was tired, clearly.

[greennotgold]

"Brother's hurt..." Fletcher didn't mean to whimper it out, it just sort of happened. "We got stuck in a nightmare and-- and he fell."

[deep_sky_diving]

"Which one's the good... here, let me help," she says, sliding in to nudge Fletcher out of the way so she can wrap her arm around Russel's waist, preempting Fletcher's role as his physical support. She is, at least, very stable—she could probably even pick him up and carry him, in fact, if he could manage to suffer the indignity.

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

Even in this situation, that indignity would not be tolerated. "...Thanks..." he said, sincerely. His skin was cold to the touch, and he was pale from the shock of the injury, so it was clear he was putting a braver face on.

[greennotgold]

Fletcher backed away to let Tess move in, and he wrung his hands nervously. If it came right down to it, he could probably scold Russel into allowing Tess to carry him. His health came first.

[deep_sky_diving]

The skin of Tess' suit is actually warm to the touch—not overly so, but the pleasant body-temperature warm of actual skin, a side effect of the cleverly-engineered cooling system. But that doesn't leave it any less sensitive. "You're in circulatory shock," she observes. There's something a little weird in her voice... "Looks like we're all heading to the med bay." Her tone stays cheerful and energetic, but—huh? And why has she left the helmet sealed?

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

Questions like that are far from his mind right now. And even normally, he doesn't know enough about the girl to raise questions like that. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "Looks like at least anatomy is universal," he commented, as though he was trying to prove that he wasn't too bad off. It was easier to lean on her than on Fletcher, though, so he took advantage of it. Her body was nice and warm, though...

[greennotgold]

Circulatory shock? That sounded bad. Fletcher swallows nervously as he watches his brother lean on the woman. "You'll help me get him there, right?" Of course she would. She was a friend, after all... He was curious about her helmet, yes, but right now his concern was all for Russel. That question would come later.

[deep_sky_diving]

"O'course I will, hon," Tess says, nodding at Fletcher. She reaches out with her free arm to ruffle the boy's hair a little. She guides Russel forward, seeing how quickly he can move with her solid support and still keep his balance steady.

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

He kept up very well, mostly out of a steadfast refusal to do anything less. His stubbornness had its benefits. "Just don't drop me," he said, smirking over at her. He assumed she could see it through her helmet. He wasn't concerned about this being a dream, because she was acting normally.

He tried a smirk at Fletcher, to prove that he would be alright, that he wasn't in such dire straits that the boy's worried face was actually necessary.