The Vanishing Crew
February 14, 2025
The Orion-9 drifted silently in the void, a dead ship with no distress call, no response, and no explanation. The crew of the SS Callisto had been sent to investigate, but Captain Liora Hayes already had a bad feeling.
“Docking complete,” her pilot, Anders, announced. “Still no life signs.”
Liora adjusted her helmet. “Stay sharp. Something’s not right.”
They entered through the airlock, stepping into the dimly lit corridors of Orion-9. The emergency lights flickered. The air smelled wrong—stale, like something had been sitting, undisturbed, for too long.
“Where the hell is the crew?” muttered Morales, the ship’s engineer.
No bodies. No blood. No signs of struggle. The ship’s log was still active, though—the last entry made two days ago. Liora pulled it up.
“Chief Medical Officer Patel, Log Entry 573: The hallucinations are getting worse. I swear I saw Jensen last night, but that’s impossible. Jensen went missing three days ago. Just vanished. No trace. I don’t know what’s happening, but if anyone finds this—”
The log cut out.
And then, from the corridor behind them, a voice whispered:
“Help me.”
Morales spun. “Did you hear that?”
Liora’s grip tightened on her weapon. “Yeah. I did.”
They moved cautiously toward the sound, weapons drawn. The corridor stretched before them, empty—until the lights flickered, and a shadow moved.
Anders cursed. “What the hell was that?”
Liora stepped forward. “Who’s there?”
No response. But the temperature dropped. The whispering returned.
“We didn’t leave. We can’t leave.”
Morales backed up. “Captain, I don’t like this.”
Liora’s pulse pounded. “We’re getting to the command center. Now.”
They reached the bridge, sealing the doors behind them. The logs showed something terrifying—the crew hadn’t left the ship. They had just… disappeared. One by one. No traces. No explanations.
And then Liora saw the last video entry.
Patel was staring into the camera, but something was behind her. A shadowy shape, twisting in the dim light, its form barely human. Patel didn’t seem to notice.
“If you’re watching this… it’s already too late.”
The screen glitched.
Anders whispered, “We need to get out of here.”
But the whispering inside the room had already started.
Liora turned just in time to see the shadows moving.