voidskipper - Tumblr blog

voidskipper · 3 days ago

Text

WHERE THE SILENCE WARPS

Prologue

Locked away in a hidden facility, a girl with powers beyond understanding has known nothing but control and confinement. But when chaos erupts from within, an unexpected chance to escape surfaces—along with secrets she was never meant to uncover. As she steps into the unknown, one truth becomes clear: freedom comes with a cost she has yet to understand.

Your gut had never been wrong before. Living a life filled with needles and white-tiled walls, you learned quickly the only thing you could trust was instinct.

You had grown up in this place—HNL. You weren’t sure what it stood for; you only knew the badges said it. Men and women in white coats, clipboards clutched tight against their chests, guards shadowing their every move. The taste of metal. The hum of fluorescent lights. The static crackle of radios on the guards' hips. The sharp clack-clack of their polished black boots haunted your dreams.

You spent so long locked away in your padded cell you memorized the sounds—their patterns, like a grim symphony. One set of boots: just a guard. Two sets: a guard and a doctor, usually passing toward A-wing. Two sets, one faint and hesitant: Dr. Eikmo. He was the gentle one. Three sets: Dr. Brenner. The man who buried you in this corner of hell, far from any visitor’s earshot.

But tonight was different. A pressure, heavy and clawing, hung over the facility like a coiled storm. A tiger stalking its prey. Something was coming. Your palms itched, an ache deep in your bones. Maybe this could be the day—

WEEOOO— WEEOOO—

The alarms screamed over your head, deafening. The world plunged into darkness—and then bathed in an ominous, flickering red. The steel collar around your neck—the SDC—seemed to double in weight. Panicked, you clawed at the edges, fingers trembling as you brushed over the sensors you weren't supposed to touch. Every breath came sharp and fast. The noise. The darkness. The wrongness thick in the air.

“Breathe.” You tried to remember Dr. Eikmo’s voice. Deep breath. Calm down. But your heartbeat rattled against your ribs. Ding. The collar’s sensors awakened. BZZZTT! Pain exploded down your spine. You crumpled, screaming, fists slamming uselessly against the floor. Your whole body spasmed, twitching like a puppet with its strings yanked cruelly. The metal collar bit into your flesh, leaving the sharp scent of burning skin. You didn’t know how long you lay there, twitching against the cold tile. Minutes? Seconds?

Then–Bootsteps. Frantic. Dozens of them.

You forced yourself upright, muscles trembling. Pressing your face to the tiny reinforced window in the door. Two figures sprinted into view—white coats stained with blood and grime, wide eyes gleaming in the strobing red light. Dr. Layards leaned heavily against the wall, coughing, cradling his ribs. Behind him, Dr. Connors, sweat-slick and wild-eyed, dragged him forward.

"Connors! What about Nine?!" Layards gasped.

Connors barely looked at you. "Leave her! We don’t have the protocol to open that door!"

“But—” Layards hesitated, glancing desperately at your cell.

"That door's solid steel," Connors snapped. "She'll be fine."

You pounded on the glass, fists burning. “DON’T LEAVE ME!” Tears blurred your vision. You were real. You were alive. Why couldn’t they see you?

Another sound cut through the chaos. A roar—deep, guttural, wrong—ripped down the corridor like a blade through flesh. Both men froze. Connors’ face blanched. Layards stumbled. Without a second thought, Connors grabbed the other man's coat and dragged him away—away from you.

Gone.

You sagged against the door, throat raw, fists bruised, silent sobs shaking your body.

Breathe. Calm down.

It didn’t work this time. Your heart surged again. You felt it: anxiety, horror, betrayal—

Ding. BZZZZZZT.

The collar fired again, seizing every nerve in your body. You crumpled sideways, sliding down the cold wall. Everything burned. The acrid scent of your own scorched skin filled the air. Your mind frayed at the edges, black spots blooming in your vision. You barely registered the sound of a beep at the door’s keypad.

Click. The door swung open. You squinted against the flickering red glow—and saw Dr. Eikmo burst through, gun in one hand, terror written all over his face. "Come on," he rasped, dropping beside you.

You whimpered as he fumbled at the back of your collar, jamming a small key into the lock mechanism. The click of release was the sweetest sound you’d ever heard. The SDC fell from your neck with a heavy clang. You gasped in pain but felt lighter—free. “Thank you,” you croaked, voice thin and broken.

Eikmo didn’t answer. He yanked off his blood-streaked coat and wrapped it around your shaking shoulders. His hands moved quick and efficiently, trembling just slightly.

“Dr. Eikmo,” you mumbled, voice slurring. "What's happening?"

He dug into his pocket, pulling out a small folded square—papers. He opened your hand and pressed them into your palm, curling your fingers around them. “Your file. Copies. Keep it safe. Don't lose it," he whispered. His eyes darted to the door, then back to you. "You don't understand everything yet. This...this will help.”

You stared, dazed. File? None of this made sense.

“I need you to follow me exactly,” Eikmo said. His voice cracked, raw with urgency. "No powers. No matter what. You understand?"

Your throat felt thick. You nodded.

He moved fast, keycard in hand, swiping the inside lock. The panel blinked green.

This was happening. You were getting out.

Before he opened the door, you found your voice again. “Doctor…what happened?” The question came out broken, childlike.

He hesitated. Something flickered across his face—fear, regret, sorrow. "We pushed the little girl from A-Ward too far," he said hoarsely. "She opened a...rift. A gate between worlds. We pushed too hard. Now were facing the consequences." Before you could even react, Eikmo grabbed your arm, yanking you into the corridor.

The world outside your cell was on fire. Bodies sprawled across the gleaming floor, blood slicking the tiles into a grotesque mirror of the pristine halls you once knew. Red warning lights bathed everything in violent, shifting shadows. The stench of iron and smoke clawed at the back of your throat. The screams in the distance. A cacophony of agony ricocheting off the sterile walls. You stumbled, your bare feet slapping wetly against the floor as you struggled to keep up. Eikmo’s strides were wide, desperate. Your legs burned trying to match him—but you weren't trained for this. You had been locked away, contained.

The maze of corridors blurred together—twist after twist, endless white walls smeared with crimson fingerprints. Every heartbeat was a drum against your ribs. Every breath a razor in your throat. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Eikmo skidded to a halt at an unmarked steel door. He slammed his keycard into the scanner. BEEP. The lock clicked. He shoved it open with his shoulder, ushering you in, glancing back one last time. He turned to you, face grim. "This is a ventilation pipe," he said pointing to a hatch on the opposite side of the empty room, voice low but steady. "It was meant for maintenance or emergencies...chemical spills, that kind of thing. But instead of experimenting with chemicals," his voice broke slightly, "they chose to experiment on kids." He grabbed the heavy hatch wheel, straining as he twisted it open. The hinges groaned in protest, screeching against the silent red gloom. Beyond the door yawned a narrow black tunnel, pitch dark. A throat in the earth, swallowing light whole.

"You need to crawl through," Eikmo instructed, urgency sharpening his voice. "Don’t stop. No matter how tight it gets. Keep moving forward."

You swallowed hard, peering into the suffocating darkness.

"You'll come out in the woods, far from the facility. It's the safest way out. Trust your gut when you get there. Avoid the roads. Avoid police if you can. They might not be on your side."

You looked up at him, heart hammering so hard it blurred your vision.

He crouched down to your level, fierce and unblinking. "And listen to me carefully—do not use your powers." His words were carved from stone. "If you do, they’ll find you. They built machines to track you. Equipment designed to catch you if you broke free."

The thought made you instinctively draw your arms in closer. Hide yourself.

"Find people you can trust," Eikmo continued, softer now. "I’ll contact you when it’s safe."

You nodded, your fingers tightening around the crumpled file still tucked into his your coat. You turned your eyes toward the tunnel again. The black endlessness made your knees weak. Your breath caught. The fear clawed at your insides like a living thing.But then—Your gut stirred. It said move, go.

But still, you turned back toward Dr. Eikmo, heart clenching tight. "Thank you," you whispered, voice trembling at the edges. Tears stung your eyes—not from pain, not from fear, but from something deeper, something new. Gratitude. For the first time in your life, someone hadn't hurt you. Someone had helped.

Eikmo met your gaze, and for a moment, the cold, clinical mask he always wore crumbled. He looked at you like a father seeing a child walk free for the first time. "You're welcome," he said, the words cracking around the edges. He exhaled sharply and gave a small, shaky chuckle. "Just... don’t do anything stupid, alright?"

A distant crash echoed down the corridors—a door being battered open. Shouts followed, sharp and commanding, growing louder by the second. Eikmo’s head snapped toward the sound. His face paled. "That's the military reinforcements," he hissed, urgency slicing through the last of his composure. "You need to go, now."

You shook your head. Without looking back, you dropped onto your hands and knees, the cold metal stinging against your skin. You crawled forward, into the darkness.

Behind you, Eikmo sealed the hatch. The heavy clank of the door echoed down the pipe, sealing your fate. You were alone. But you were free.

Please like, comment, and repost if you enjoyed and want to see more! <3