He looked down on the fo'c'sle of the ship and felt a slight dread that sent a shiver through him. He needed to know what was behind that door.
He felt himself being propelled forward. To his horror he seemed to move downward until he was standing on the deck a short way from the door to the hold. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw movement. Blurred shapes darting about in a mysterious manner, taking no notice of him.
The smell of machine oil and salt was strong in his nostrils and he shivered as a chill wind moved through him. Trying hard to tamp down his mounting dread he looked about. The wind rose, and there was a low moaning somewhere just beyond the anchor chain to his left, rising briefly to a howl before falling back.
Suddenly he was drawing closer to the door, drifting, but had an inexorable urge to turn and run. The strange blue glow from the slightly open door pulsated at a growing rate. He drew closer to the door, his nerves raw and on edge, paranoia beginning to gnaw at the very fabric of his mind. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out.
Watching as his hand moved with a will of it's own, he grabbed the handle as the wind again surged to a howling pitch and banshee wails filled his tortured ears. The pulsating light was blinding and his mind went blank. He felt his heart would explode. As he pulled the door open -
The first officer looked over at his navigator and shook his head. This really couldn't continue. He got up with a sigh, walked over to where his mate sat slumped in his chair, a thin line of drool coming from the corner of his mouth, twitching and moaning. He poke him hard in the ribs and barked "wake up"!
The navigator jumped in his seat and came to attention. He shook his head and looked at the first officer. "Oh man, you wouldn't believe what I was just - hey, have you ever wondered what those guys do at night in the forward hold. I mean, what's with that blue -"
"Look, if I catch you sleeping again you're going on report, got that"? He shook his head again as he headed back to his seat and then added, "no more scarfing pizza before you go on duty, got it"?
