Oberon's Gift

“There are wasps in my f*****g brain!” the man screamed. "Give me the damn pick! I need to get them out!"

It was a... terrifying thing. Watching Adams experience his power. I grew more and more fearful as I thought about it. Even from such great distance, the ancient being had this sort of power over men. Sure, he was no longer directly affecting him. He wasn't giving Adams specific nightmares anymore, but he had left his mark. Like he did with the rest of the crew. Even me. Though, I was lucky. Lucky if you consider seeing visions of monsters and insects tunneling under your skin. I could control myself. I could resist complete madness, even if the hallucinations were digging deeper into my soul. I was the only one who could do anything not based solely in fear.

"Shh, it's ok John." I whispered to him, holding him back. "The wasps will be gone soon."

The gunshot sounded like a scream from hell and when Adams' lifeless body fell to the floor, it looked like it turned into tiny little faces, all crying in pain. Each one blaming me. i knew not to listen. I was in control. I wasn't senselessly killing like Johnson. I wasn't Cannibalizing my fellow crewmen like Mercy. I wasn't painting the walls with s**t and blood like Graham. And I certainly wasn't trying to fly the ship into nearby star like captain Puto.

At that last thought, I realized we were still on collision. I had to stop him. I rushed my way to the deck, ignoring the monsters in my head. Except for the one holding the emergency axe. That one was Johnson. I had to sneak around him. When I did make it to control, I stepped into a scene that i prayed was only in my mind. Blood and organs, splayed across the room and the captain dancing with a headless corpse. Others around were positioned in ways... I personally find disturbing.

"What are doing!" I yelled at him. "What have you done!"

The captain turned to me with the most disturbing smile I had ever seen.

"Me and Abby we're just enjoying a dance, Lieutenant!" He exclaimed. "Why don't join us."

Abby, Abigail was his daughter. Turned twenty three just the day before. Whole life ahead of her. A bright future, but now she had none, like the rest of us. I shutter to think what her last moments were and i feel sick, thinking about what the captain was going to do. I simply shook head and raised my gun. The screams were a slight quieter that time. I had corrected the course, pointing the ship toward the nearest confederate line and recorded a message. Warning the next people to bored should come armed. Just in case. I finished all that, just in time to realize Johnson had come into the bridge. Holding that axe. I tried to shoot him, but, my gun dry.

He hacked me to bits. I lost an arm and a hand trying to defend myself. He kept hitting me until i lost conciseness. I suppose he thought i was dead. I honestly do wish I was.

You can guess the rest. The confederation picked up the ship. Killed a few of us and put the survivors in a ward. When I had healed and the nightmares dulled, another officers had me debrief them. they asked what happened. I could only tell them that a man with pointed ears made the crew go mad...

They're still looking for him.

Author's Note

This is a short sci-fi horror story.

Reviews

[thewritingwriter1990]

Interesting... This is the first story I've read of yours', so can't make too many judgments. There are some punctuation and grammatical errors, and (this could just be me) it seems as though there are missing scenes, as if some sentences aren't connected to others, like missing pieces. I do like the whole "crew going mad" setting though, and wonder who the man with the pointed ears could be... perhaps Oberon? I look forward to reading your other works Poet of Black Wings :)