No Sleep for the Haunted

Posted on Fri Feb 14th, 2014 @ 8:19am by Lieutenant JG Saia Roswell

426 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: In the Dark

Saia was rather looking forward to lights out. She figured with the sense of peace she felt being here, there would also be, finally, a good night's sleep. She grinned as she checked on her scientists and bid them a good night. Her timid little ensign and even some of the tougher ones had to be coddled just a bit. She reassured them that the Marines were well-armed and there would be a watch.

Then as she was finally settling in, she hummed to herself as she turned down her sleeping area and once tucked in and felt she would remain warm as she slept, she let out a content sigh and closed her eyes. Nightly creatures filled the air with their songs and wind rustled the leaves. She smiled without opening her eyes. With so much sleep debt and exhaustion even from a few hours ago, she drifted off almost immediately.

About three hours later, she bolted up, heaving in breaths. Her eyes were wide open, but she was basically blind. She heard only vague whispers of a living ghost. Aside from the impulse to sit up, her body refused to move. The gear was meant to keep body heat regulated, but she had not been overheated. In fact, because of the sweat, she found herself feeling rather chilled once she began her descent back into reality.

Before she could recollect the dream that had caused her such shock, she remembered where she was. She started to undress and found, thankfully, that only her undergarments and long johns were damp. She removed them to hang and dry. She put on fresh layers and decided that sleep might not be a good idea. It was quite obvious what she had dreamt about. What she always dreamt about when she finally managed to fall asleep.

She felt a moment of depression and hopelessness that she could never escape being haunted. At least awake, she felt a semblance of peace. And while she couldn't find anything but horror in her dreams, she could be useful in the night. She stepped out and looked at the sky. She then looked out at the perimeter of the camp. She listened as well. She wasn't sure if she should volunteer for official watch duty or not considering how one Marine reacted to her attempts of assisting, but she decided to keep and eye and ear out all the same.

(Tag whoever is on watch or also awake... even if it's to scold her to being out and about during lights out. :)

 

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