Tisis - Halloween special

Darkness.
Nothing but darkness, all around me.
In the distance, I hear the whimpering of something...or someone. Who it is, I can't tell.

My name is Sirus Loctor, even though I'm more commonly referred to as D-264 and I'm 5 years old. We are prisoners aboard a ship, which was supposedly sent to rescue the remainders of humanity, but all the noble promises were forgotten the instant my ancestors boarded.
Or at least so the stories of my elder go.

My elders have told us, that in the old world, this day was known as 'All hallows eve', the day before a religious festivity, where the people who sacrificed themselves for their faith were honored. But they also told us something different. They told us, that the worlds of the living and the dead supposedly are closest at this very evening. Some say, that all the souls of the deceased can only pass on at all hallows eve, but some others also say, that some of the dead souls come back from the other side. And tonight, I intend to find out, how much of this old story is actually true.

I made a pact with an Asmodean girl to let me and a few of my friends out to check on the garden. She was more than happy to oblige with a smug smile on her face...apparently she didn't think that we had what it took to go to the garden after the lights were out.
We can't tell any of the grownups though, because the penalty would be steep, if any of the adults were to find us...especially if they were to be Asmodean. Despite the hospitality the girl's mother has shown us, she would not hesitate to punish us if we were found to break the rules.

In the dead of the night, I gather my friends and we wait at the gate of the block, but for the longest time nothing happens. My friends already begin to question, whether that girl will actually show up, but I believe her. I want to believe her.

A few minutes later, I see a faint light showing up in the distance and eventually I hear the girl whisper, "D-264, are you there?"
I walk up to the bars and reply, "Yeah, I'm here."
"Are...does anyone know?", the girl asks nervously.
I shake my head, knowing full well that she can see me even in the dark.

The girl looks around nervously, probably checking if there's anyone else waiting in the wings, but we made extra sure that we came alone and that nobody noticed.
After a few seconds, she whispers, "Okay, come on out." before her face begins to flicker and I feel the door open beneath my hands.
The girl whispers, "Okay, go, go, go. Oh, I hope nobody finds out. Dad would be furious!"
I reply silently, "Shh, the grown ups will hear you! Come on guys!" and we hurry outside of the compound. The face of the girl flickers again and the door behind me closes again and I hear the lock click shut.

Now I'm getting anxious myself, after all this is the first time I'm walking these corridors by myself. And the nervous whimpering of Sam behind me isn't helping at all.
The girl switches on a flashlight once we're away from the cell entrance and says, "Okay, and why are we doing this again?"

I tell her about the stories again, like I did the day before and that I wanted to make sure, that the dead we are burying in the garden we work aren't actually getting up on the night of All Hallows Eve, like the stories tell us.
The girl chuckles, "Oh, that's such nonsense. We keep a strict surveillance on the garden at all times and believe me, neither your dead nor anyone else walks in the garden at night. Not this night or any other."

She is brimming with confidence, but there are some things even the advanced sensors of the Asmodei cannot detect. And if I'm right...if the stories are right...I'll prove it to that girl and anyone else who ever doubted my elders.

We walk through the abandoned corridors as the girl explains, "I disabled the sensors leading to and in the garden, but we need to hurry. The guards will notice the blackout sooner or later and go to check. By that time, we have to be done."
Gary behind me asks, "M...maybe we should go back now?"
I glare at him, "You can go back if you want, you chicken!"
"I...I'm not a chicken!", Gary exclaims but then shuts up.

The Asmodea leads us through the corridors we've already walked a countless number of times with unwavering confidence, but the closer we get to the garden sluice, the slower her movements become. Suddenly she switches off the flashlight and whispers, "Careful!"
We quickly hide in a crevice, as a guard comes walking by. I almost piss my pants, as images of the severe punishment we could expect flash past my eyes, but apparently he doesn't notice me at all.

However strangely enough the guard suddenly stops, tilts his head and then turns around and comes back past us, but once again doesn't notice us.
The girl switches her flashlight on again and we make the rest of the way to the garden. She opens the sluice and we slip into the garden.

Only after the sluice door behind us closes, my legs start shaking. The Asmodea communicates with the ship again and the lights flicker to life.
As the surroundings brighten up, a huge load falls off my shoulders and we walk towards the main graveyard in the back of the garden.

The girl says aloud, "See, nothing to be scared of at all. Everything is just as it always is and always will be. Can we go back now?"
I am leaning towards just going back and letting the case rest, but then I'd be the chicken. We still need to make it to the graveyard and check on the graves.
"We...we just need to check on the graves. Y...you can wait here, if you're scared.", I say, trying hard to stop my voice from shaking. Despite everything being bright, it's still a whole different story from the day, where there is someone about everywhere. Right now, everything is quiet and empty and it's giving me the shivers.

Sam and Gary boast that they're not scared at all, but Simon says, that he'd rather stand watch at the sluice, just to be safe that nobody is coming.

That's why the four of us go on by ourselves, laughing about Simon's cowardice. I mean, there really is nothing to be scared about, right?

We keep walking, when suddenly the lights go out and the emergency lights flicker to life.
The Asmodea screams out in surprise and I jump a little myself. And there's the whimpering again and I say, "Sam, stop that already."
"I'm not doing anything!", Sam complains.
"Is that you then, Gary?", looking back at him in the red lights.
Gary just shakes his head and now the whimpering seems to move around us.
The girl whispers, "This...this is complete nonsense. The dead can't come to life. Dead is dead. And nothing can change that..."
"Erm...why did the lights go out?", Sam asks.
"I...I don't know. May...maybe the system realized that the lights should be out and switched them off? I...I'll switch them on again. Yeah, I...I'll do that..."
The face of the Asmodea flashes up again, but after a few seconds, she looks at me disturbed and says, "I...I can't reach the ship computer. The...the communication is dead..."

Gary exclaims, "Okay, that's it. Call me a chicken all you want, but I'm going back to Simon. I...it's not like I'm scared, but if the system catches us, I don't want to be here any more. That's all. Yeah, that's all there is to it."
Gary turns around and hurries back towards the sluice.

The Asmodea says, "May...maybe we should do that too. I mean, my dad really will be furious if he finds out..."
"Yeah, you said that before. Look, I appreciate, but I have to make sure. It's...it's just past that hill, right?"
The girl nods and says, "Yeah, just past that hill. From there, the nutrient distribution system forcibly decomposes the bodies and distributes them in the entire garden."
I nod and stride forward, fighting the urge to just call out to my mom. She can't hear or help me right now anyway. I need to do this by myself. And I can do that. After all, I'm already 5 years old. I'm a big boy now.

After walking a few steps, Sam shouts, "Hey Sirus, wait for me!" and runs after me, shortly followed by the Asmodea, who states briskly, "As your guide, it is my responsibility to make sure, that all of you boys make it back to your accommodations fine. Everything that is to happen to you will fall back on me. As such, if you're going..."
"Yeah, I get it, I get it...", I remark, interrupting her little speech. Good to know that Asmodei can be scared too.

We climb the hill, when the remaining lights go out as well and the Asmodea screams out in terror.
"But...but that makes no sense...", she whimpers, following up with a number of explanations why the emergency lights simply cannot fail to function.
I say, "Relax, no system is infallible. We...why don't you turn on your flashlight again?"
"G-good idea.", the girl stutters and fumbles around her waist.
But after a few seconds, she curses, "What...why won't you work, you stupid..."

Suddenly a loud noise makes all of us jump and everyone spins around to different directions. I feel like we've finally been caught, but there aren't any lights pointing at us...or at all.

It's as dark as it is inside of the cells. Yet, it somehow feels even darker. And colder.

Now the whimpering returns, but now it seems a lot louder. Also, it seems to come from a tree in front of us. In fact, it seems like it's coming from the great oak. My elders call it 'the tree of the dead', because it's situated in the middle of the main graveyard.

"We...we really should be going back now.", the Asmodea urges us, but I reply, "In complete darkness? How are we going to find our way like this? I mean, the garden is huge!"
"But...but how are we..."
"We...we just need to figure out what's going on here, right? C'mon, this is what we came here for, isn't it?", I try to reassure her, but in fact my legs are shaking.

Now the whimpering turns into a voice, not much more but a whisper. But I still can understand it. 'Come.', the voice whispers.
Sam says, "Okay...I say we don't go to where the spooky voice is. Good idea?"
"I...I second that.", the Asmodea agrees.

But the voice just doesn't shut up and for some reason it feels familiar.
I don't know why, but for some reason, I feel like we should follow the voice and as such, I begin to walk forward.

As the others notice, they shout after me, but I ignore them. I need to do this. I know I have to or else I'll regret it to the end of my days.

A few steps later, the Asmodea suddenly grabs my arm and says, "I...I can't just...", but gets interrupted when Sam suddenly screams like I've never heard him before.
We hurriedly turn around and only see him getting dragged away by something that looks like ghastly creatures, clothed in white, shining in a pale white.

"Sam!", I shout, but just like that, they're gone and everything is silent.
"We need to leave now!", the Asmodea shouts and I simply nod, grab her hand and make a run for it. I don't know where we're going and even stumble a few times, but my feet are simply flying.

However it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere, because the whimpering and the voice never seems to change in distance. In fact, it seems to get louder with each passing moment and tears have begun to stream down my face. I was a fool for trying to tamper with this and now Sam is paying the price...probably Gary too. Simon, Simon was smart. Simon stayed behind. Oh and Eva, who didn't want to come at all. Eva was always smarter than the lot of us.

Suddenly, the lights flash to life again, blinding me and when I open my eyes again, we're surrounded by monsters! Honest to goodness monsters!
I scream out in sheer terror and the Asmodea next to me breaks down, screaming and crying.
One of the monsters says with a strange voice, "Darkness awaits those, who do not honor the dead. Darkness awaits those, who do not honor the living. Darkness...awaits you."

Then, all of a sudden, I feel so very tired and as one of the creatures extends their claws to me, I black out.

Hours later, I hear the voice of my mother say, "Sirus...Sirus, it's time to wake up. Time for work."
I shoot up, screaming and sweating. I'm in my spot, right next to my mother, who keeps me safe inside her arms. My mother takes me into her arms and cradles me, "Shh, shh, it's alright...everything is alright. You just had a nightmare..."
"No, no, it wasn't a nightmare! I mean, there...there were monsters and..."

My mother smiles at me and says, "Don't worry, the monsters can't hurt you. I'll protect you, no matter what. Now get up. You don't want the Asmodei to get angry, do you?"
"But you aren't listening! There's monsters in the garden! The dead! They rose!", I shout at her, but all my mother does is smile.

She drags me to my feet and says, "Come on, you're a big boy, aren't you? You're not going to let a little nightmare scare you like that."
I reluctantly get up and look around. The following day, I seek out the other kids, but one look into their eyes tell me...it wasn't a dream.

But I can't tell any of the grown ups that we went into the garden...I guess it's better to keep it as a nightmare...but heaven knows, I'll never go into the garden again at night...especially not on All Hallows' Eve.