The Station, Part 21

What’s going on? Where am I? Why is it dark? I don’t remember. I feel groggy. The things in the fog! They’re all around d! No, wait. I have calm down, relax and get my bearings. I’m not there anymore. At least I don’t think I am. I can see in front of myself again. No fog. How did I get here? Last thing I remember is glowing eyes. Eyes attached to a stalk, and that stalk was attached to a body that may as well have been created out of my nightmares. But after that, something’s coming back. I was still in that fog, but I wasn’t me anymore. The fog was no longer a barrier. I knew it was there, but my eyes merely saw it as color. Color that varied….I saw my own exhalations and everyone else’s. I saw my brethren moving out from under the guiding branches of our eldest to see the newcomer. A strange thing it is, small, blind, helpless. Terrified. Why so terrified? There is nothing to fear here. All has been taken care of. Perhaps we can help it. Take it to our grand eldest who will show it that we are no threat. Such a pitiful little creature.

I think I must’ve passed out again. Again. Still in the same place as before though. Wherever that is. From what I can tell, it looks like I found that latest tunnel. God I hope so. I need check…but no, I didn’t place a beacon this time. First time for everything. Screw it. What do I need a map for anyhow? I’m not going back the way I came anyway. Shit, I’ve been out of commission for a good twelve hours. Damn that’s a huge waste of time. Oxygen levels reflect the time stamp. Consumption might a little high even for that. That’s just wonderful. Maybe four days to go if I don’t exert myself too much. What the hell was I doing. Hiking? Deep breathing exercises? Well, I know I didn’t eat anything, and now I could eat a horse. I don’t even know why I look at the menu anymore. I’ll just pick anything.

I could have had more, and I really want to, but I need to conserve. So now, where am I? My eyes have adjusted so I’ve switched off the headlamp. Looks like during my mysterious sleepwalk I found my way here. That’s right. I was deeply tired. I think I panicked, and hauled ass here where I fainted or just slipped into a deep sleep. That must have been what happened. I don’t even know if I should mention this, as you’ve been following me from the start. But if you’ve learned anything about me it’s that I’m not one to come to wild conclusions based on scant evidence. So keep that in mind when I tell you about this dream I had. A new dream. It’s a little vague now, but I still think I can recall most of it. In it, I was above the fog, but the fog wasn’t like before. It was in layered in such rich colors that I couldn’t begin to list them, They seamlessly blended one into another. And I was out of the suit again. I felt tall, powerful, and at ease, for the most part. I was concerned, almost worried, about someone. I wanted to help them, but it was afraid of me. So afraid that it began to run fast. So much faster than me. There were other people with me, trying to help with the rescue. One of us had called out, telling us that this strange person might have hurt themselves because they had fallen and did not move again. So we helped it. I and the rest of us were at ease once again.