Daily Dreaming

The deep dark of space stretched out before me as I looked on from a small viewing platform. I was on a space station, in a central core orbited by multiple ringed sections that I could see slowly spinning some distance away. The station was deathly quiet, and there seemed to be no power save for the bare minimum required to keep everything running. Emergency power lights around the perimeter of the viewing platform shone dimly with a murky purple hue.

There was nobody else with me, so I descended from my position down a narrow set of steps into a mechanical room below. All of the systems were in hibernation, but one terminal was flashing so I walked over to access it. On the main screen there was an option to manage the power output to the whole station, which I activated. Almost immediately there was a low rumbling sound from deep within the facility, like a large engine revving up, and then within a few seconds the lights on the ceiling slowly began to glow.

As well as turning the lights on, the power caused two doors to open on either side of the room. Picking at random, I headed towards the door on my left and followed a short corridor into another room. This one was much larger than the last, with storage containers and boxes stacked around a central open area. To my right was an airlock door with a row of hanging space suits next to it. This seemed to be a way to access the spinning sections when they aligned with the core.

Opposite me, a floor or so above, was a balcony that led deeper inside. There was also a door on my level leading in the same direction, so I decided to head through it. On the other side a large corridor stretched out into the distance, slowly bending to the left with no end in sight. I spent a long time slowly following the path, ignoring other doors that appears in the walls, hoping to find some answers as to where I was and why I was alone.

I had been walking for so long that I was in an almost trance-like state when something in my field of view jolted me back to reality. At the furthest point of the corridor a small yellow glow was slowly growing larger and more pronounced. I stopped and stared, waiting to see what it could be. It grew brighter and brighter, and closer and closer, until I could make out that in the centre of the glow were many small dots. It was impossible to determine their shape, but they was semi-transparent and floating around each other in a regular pattern.

The hairs on my neck stood on end, and something deep within me suddenly urged me to run. I turned and began sprinting back in the direction I had come from. Considering turning into one of the many doors I had previously ignored, I felt as though it was best not to get lost in the unfamiliar passageways of the station. Looking behind, I could see I had put some distance between myself and the lights, but they were nevertheless unceasing in their pursuit. So on I ran, until I made it back to the large cargo room.

I headed straight for the airlock and began putting on a spacesuit. When I looked up towards the door I had come from, I was horrified to see the yellow light glowing around it. Whatever it was, it seemed to possess the ability to pass through objects, meaning I couldn’t block it from following me. The only option I had left was to exit the core and get to one of the outer rings, hoping that the void of space would be enough to stop my pursuer.

With the suit on, I opened the airlock and shut the door behind me. Pressing a button on the other side, I started the depressurisation procedure and then looked back through the small round window in the airlock door. The yellow lights were crossing the room, moving ever closer to me. I hoped that the process would finish in time, and after some agonising seconds a bulb flashed red and the outer door opened.

I was now facing the deep expanse before me, with an unknown threat behind me. The closest station ring was still some minutes from passing by, but I was now very afraid of what the yellow mass might be. There was only one choice left open to me – to jump with little enough momentum in order to slowly drift into the path of the outer ring as it spun round. I hesitated and took one last look back, only to see the yellow glow engulfing the airlock door. Turning again, I jumped.

Floating slowly forward, I initially felt a wave of relief flood over me. I had also managed to get the momentum of my jump fairly spot on, and was moving gradually between the core and the ring’s path in such a way that I thought I might just make it. However, a creeping curiosity got the better of me. I tried a slight turn to look behind me. As I did, my eyes was filled with yellow. The creature had followed me into space, and I was now too slow to outpace it.

Within seconds I could see nothing but the yellow glow. All of my senses numbed, save for a tingling sensation throughout my body. I lost control of my thoughts, which raced at a breathtaking speed from cradle to a grave I hadn’t even reached. Then the yellow turned to white, and all senses faded until I was no longer conscious.

—

The day was pleasant, with a blue sky and chirping birds. I was walking along a dirt track surrounded by a low green forest, with flowers of all colours covering the floor. Ahead of me my cousin was walking with his young baby in his arms, pointing out pretty things that filled her little eyes with awe. My sister was next to him, laughing at some conversation they were having, whilst my mum walked alongside me. Everyone was content.

Was this another dream, or was this a trick of the yellow glow? When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t tell.