We reached the quantum field, our hearts racing with anticipation. Days of frenzied simulations, sleepless nights, and endless debates had led to this moment. The ship's instruments hummed as we began our carefully choreographed dance, navigating the treacherous energies with precision.
At first, everything went exactly as planned. The quantum field repelled us, its energies pushing against our ship like an invisible hand. Maya's hands moved with confident ease, adjusting our trajectory to compensate for the field's fluctuations.
"Looking good, Rowan," she said, her voice steady. "We're right on track."
But as we approached the center of the field, something strange began to happen. The energies that had once repelled us now began to shift, their polarity reversing like a magnet's flip.
"What's going on, Maya?" I asked, my brow furrowing in concern.
"I don't know, Rowan," she replied, her eyes scanning the data streaming across her screens. "The field's behavior is changing. It's...it's attracting us now."
My gut tightened as the ship lurched forward, pulled by the field's newfound gravity. We were being drawn into the heart of the quantum abyss, further than we had ever intended to go.
"Try to compensate, Maya," I ordered, my voice firm.
But it was too late. The field's attraction grew stronger, warping space-time around us. We were trapped, helpless to resist the quantum field's sinister pull.
The wormhole behind us collapsed with a deafening silence, severing our escape route. We were trapped, adrift in the quantum field's unforgiving expanse.
Time itself began to unravel. One moment, the ship's instruments crawled to a sluggish halt, as if mired in molasses. The next, they blurred into a frenetic frenzy, their readings whipping past in a maddening whirl.
Maya's eyes darted between the screens, her face pale. "Rowan, I'm losing control! Time's gone haywire!"
I gripped the arms of my chair, knuckles white. "Compensate, Maya! Try to stabilize our temporal frequency!"
But it was too late. The ship shuddered, its hull protesting as the quantum field's energies tore at our very fabric. A jagged hole materialized in the ship's side, its edges fluttering like a torn curtain.
"Breaches in decks three and four!" the ship's AI wailed. "Atmospheric pressure dropping!"
Victor's voice cut through the din, his tone laced with fear. "Rowan, we're experiencing gravitational waves unlike anything I've seen! If we don't—"
His words were severed as he was sucked out of the jagged hole, his body flailing like a ragdoll in the void. The quantum field's energy tendrils wrapped around him, tearing his flesh apart with surgical precision. His skin ripped open, revealing the glistening meat beneath, as his muscles, tendons, and ligaments snapped like brittle twigs.
"VICTOR, NOOO!" Maya shrieked, her eyes fixed on the horror unfolding before her. "Oh God, his body is...it's being torn apart!"
Victor's bones began to shatter, his skeleton disintegrating into a thousand fragments. His skull cracked open, spilling out his brain matter like a grotesque, pink slush.
"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Dr. Chen wailed, his face pale with terror.
Sophia's gaze was frozen on Victor's disintegrating form, her eyes wide with horror. "This is...this is horrible!" she whispered, her voice trembling.
As Victor's bones began to shatter, his skeleton disintegrating into a thousand fragments, the ship lurched forward, accelerating wildly.
As the ship accelerated at an unfathomable rate, Sophia's body was subjected to an unbearable force by the field. Even I cannot understamd exactly how this field works, as no one other than her experienced even a feaction of it.Her eyes widened, and her mouth froze in a silent scream. The sudden acceleration proved too much for her human form to withstand.
But it was too late. Sophia's body was torn in half, her torso and upper body sucked out of the ship through the gaping hole. The lower half of her body remained, exploding in a gruesome display of blood, organs, and intestines. I stumbled backward, my eyes fixed on the horror before me.
"Oh God...oh God..." Dr. Chen whispered, his face pale with horror.
I tried to process what I was seeing, but my mind refused to accept it. Sophia, my friend, my companion, was gone. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me as I stared at the gruesome scene.
Maya's face was pale, her eyes fixed on Sophia's struggling form. "Oh God, Rowan...look at her!" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Even though I wanted to save them, it was impossible as my legs were frozen with fear. I tried so hard to get enough courage to reach deck 3 and 4, but it was simply impossible. It was like I was watching a movie knowing I cannot change the ending.
"Rowan, why is it that we get to survive while our whole team is suffering there?" Whispered Maya, her voice breaking while crying.
"I guess it is our fate that we both are safe here since the captian's deck is not destroyed yet. The glass is preventing the quantum field to directly penetrate our deck.Even though I want to save them, I lack the courage to even reach near to the door. I fear death just like them too, Maya."
"PLEASE ROWAN!! YOU GOT TO HELP ME! SAVE ME FROM THIS MISERY. I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" Dr. Lee shouted in fear, horrified by the scene.
He started running towards our deck, but slipped due to Sophia's blood on the floor and met an unfortunate end. He too, like Victor, got sucked by the hole. Terrified, he screamed and screamed until the sudden warping of space around him, leading to him getting speghattified into molecular level.
"NOO!! Not you too!" Shouted Dr. Chen, Standing alone in the deck, covered with blood.
"No...no... please....PLEASE HELP ME!! HELP ME PLEASE...I..I beg you Rowan Please. SAVE ME!!!" Cried Dr. Chen.
The shock and this sudden state was too much for him to handle. He panicked and panicked until the stress got the better of him. He clenched to his heart tightly, his face turning blue while his eyes bulging out.Then, he finally collapsed right in front of us due to a heart attack.
Everything went black....
I woke up suddenly, realising the state we are in and letting the reality settle in. I looked around, only to find Maya beside me...barely alive. Maybe she got hit by something in her head, but it was already too late when I woke up. By the blood loss, it can be easily deduced that she is living her last moments. I woke her up.
"Hey...Maya, wake up. What exactly happened after I became unconscious??" I asked curiously.
After taking her time, Maya said"After you collapsed, I cried realising how messed up this situation is. All our hopes got crushed by this quantum field. It was the first time we reached the centre, and to think it was this destructive..."
"I understand,Maya. But what happened to you? How did you lose this much blood?" I asked.
"Well...Look around yourself. I gathered all the courage left in me and single handedly took the command to at least save my leader. You owe me one, Rowan." Chuckled Maya while breathing heavily.
I finally realised where we were. The venture logo was visible right in front of me. In about a few minutes the back up will reach us, and that Maya saved my life by sacrificing hers.
"B-But how is this possible? Wasn't the wormhole from where we entered got closed??"
"It's simple, we were travelling at light speed. Of course we can escape the field if the direction of the ship can be changed by 180°. But that became a rather typical task single handedly. Due to a hole in the ship, it was hard to steer it and I needed to turn on the emergency levers present in deck 3."
Maya took a breath and continued
"Since there was very low atmospheric pressure, my head kinda exploded and...yeah that's it." She laughed while looking at me, her eyes locking with mine. "Rowan, promise me to make up to me by making sure no one will suffer the fate we suffered."
"I promise, Maya. I promise that I will dedicate my whole life to make sure no one will suffer like us. Even if I had to change blackwood's mind or the whole world. I promise to fulfill your last wish" I said with tears in my eyes.
"Thank you...Thank you so much, Rowan."
We looked at each other, I slowly leaned towards Maya. We locked lips, and she died in my hands. I cried and cried until there were no more tears left to shed. Maybe during these last moments, I fell in love with her.
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