Abandoned 1-04

It took a minute or two for my sensible sanity to return. I froze, then backed away from the hatch, hugging myself in fear. Well, if that didn't inform the invaders I was here, nothing would! I waited several minutes, rubbing my sore hands, but there was no sound, no comms, no vibrations except the normal background ship noise. Which meant the status display was correct and I was completely alone. I shuddered in despair and buried my face in my hands.

When I finally stirred from my grief and fear, I went through my desk and found dressings and gloves to protect my bleeding hands and the bottle of gin I kept for restorative purposes (it's amazing what a shot of gin can do for people expecting vodka). I used a bit of the gin on some extra dressings and patted the area over my head wound until one of the dressings came back clean, waited a bit, then patted again -- no blood. At least I wasn't bleeding out. I checked my weapon, grabbed another box of ammo, and opened the hatch a couple of centimeters.

The corridor seemed brightly lit after the near-dark of the office. I squinted but it was impossible to see the corridor on the other side of the library hatch: the emergency light over it was aimed right at me. I also couldn't see through the main corridor hatch across from the library. I took my pistol out of its holster, kicked my hatch wide, ducked and spun to check the corridor the other way. Nothing. The TARDIS door at the end of the corridor looked stable, although it wavered and swung in a way that still unsettled me after two years on this ship.

I peeked back starboard which was still as clear as I could make out. I didn't know why I was bothering - it was perfectly obvious that I was the only human on the ship. What was I expecting, an alien monster? But that brought back memories of childhood and sneaking off to watch horror vids with Artemis, then hiding in the attic until Father promised all the monsters had gone to Beatrice's house and were terrorizing her instead. That trickle of doubt kept me from relaxing. I wished Father were here.

I sighed and stood up. This is ridiculous, cab! I scolded myself. You've always been sensible and prepared for whatever happens. What's up with this? I sniffed in disgust at myself, squared my shoulders, and walked as boldly as I could to the library hatch.