Inner Demons Part 1-Chapter 1

Instructions

“Are you sure this is safe...?” Liam asked, shining a flashlight down the dark hallway. “Of course!” Halo replied, flicking the switch on the wall. The hallway lit up suddenly, causing Liam to shield his eyes. “See? Nothing to be scared of!” Halo exclaimed, motioning to the empty hallway. Liam seemed to relax a little. “A-Alright... b-but there still could have been an Imposter...!” “Relax,” Halo told her friend. “Nobody’s died yet!” “We just landed!” Liam pointed out. “Look, if an Imposter attacks you, I’ll keep you safe,” Halo said. “Promise.” Something nagged at the back of her brain... Halo dismissed it as always. She rubbed her forehead. “Is your head okay?” Liam asked. “Yeah, just aches a little,” Halo replied. “Still? I mean, you hit your head pretty hard, but that was weeks ago...” Liam said. “Look, I’ll go to Oli if it gets worse,” Halo reassured Liam. She tried not to show her own concern. From what she had been told, halfway through the trip to Polus the ship had hit a meteor. Liam had found Halo knocked out on the ground with blood seeping from the back of her head. Halo had woken up in Medbay with a concussion and no memory of what she had been doing before. Or rather, anything about her life. Liam had been sitting beside her bed, making sure she was okay. They had been friends ever since. Or were they friends before? Again, Halo couldn’t remember. Oli had hoped the amnesia would go away within a few days, but it wasn’t gone yet, and even though it happened almost two months ago, her head still throbbed sometimes. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Halo smiled at Liam. He gripped the flashlight tighter but nodded at her and began walking down the hallway. Halo followed, ignoring the growing feeling of discomfort from the back of her head. Once they reached Specimen Room, Liam checked his task list. “Alright, I have Sort Samples. What about you?” Halo checked her own. “I don’t have any here,” she said, squinting at the paper to make sure. “I’m still staying here with you though.” “Thanks,” Liam said, giving her his usual nervous smile. Halo smiled back. Liam began to work on his task. Suddenly, a loud crash came from the hallway leading to the laboratory. Both Liam and Halo jumped. “Wh-what was that...?” Liam whimpered, stepping back. “...I-I’ll go check,” Halo told him, trying to stop her own voice from shaking. “You stay here and yell to me if anything happens.” “...P-please be safe...” Liam said. Halo just nodded before stepping into the hallway. Slowly, she crept down it, trying to make as little noise as possible. She reached the corner and took a deep breath before peeking around it. Halo sighed in relief. It was just Cal. He was rubbing his head, and his task list was on the floor next to him. “Hey, you okay?” Halo asked, offering a hand to help him up. “Yeah,” Cal sighed. “Just wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” He reached up and took her hand, and Halo helped him up. 'Kill him.' Halo blinked. 'Kill him now.' 'Excuse me, what?' Halo thought. She rubbed her forehead again. Was she hearing things? Why was there a voice in her head? Halo’s head throbbed harder. “Are you okay?” Cal asked. “M-My head...” Halo mumbled. 'Kill.' 'Kill him now.' 'I won’t just tell you again.' Halo crumpled to the ground. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She gritted her teeth. Through the haze of pain, she could hear Cal calling her name. He said something else, but she couldn’t hear. She gasped, feeling darkness pressing in around her. Before she passed out, she heard the voice one more time. 'Fine then. I’ll do it myself.'