Ghost Adventures AU- Survivor!Curly (Part 2 of Chapter 1)
“Did you hear me?” Zac asks.
“I asked if you want to be part of the walk-through. We’re gonna go through the history of the rooms and give the viewers a better picture of the events.”
You know I don’t need to be there for that. “Oh, uh… I’ll let you handle that.”
I stare back at me, smiling before disappearing behind the corner and beckoning my crew to follow. Daisuke and Swansea pick up the equipment in the room. Daisuke wraps a cord around his shoulder and lifts metal boxes in each hand. He beams up at Swansea.
“I’m excited to get started! I’ve never been on a ship like this, let alone something as historic as the Tulpar!”
“I get that you’re excited, kid,” Swansea says, lowering his voice so I can't hear,” But tell me all about it without its Captain right there. You can't say you’re excited to see the site of a tragedy when it’s only survivor is standing right there-”
They both turn to me, surprised that I was even paying attention, I think. “It's…”
My eyes begin to sting. Thorns and bile in my throat. My two best engineers, unscarred, unharmed. Not yet collided with the asteroid that is Captain Curly.
“It’s alright, really. I used to get excited when I visited wargrounds when I was younger. I was really into history back then. I got really into Range Wars- Ah, anyway. I guess it’s different when you’re a big part of that history. I… used to feel guilty about getting excited to learn about what happened. See the sites. But please, don’t feel guilty for being excited. It was a big deal when I thawed out.” I laugh. “I guess it’s still a big deal.”
Maybe I should feel guilty. How would I feel if I knew the worst portion of my life was their favorite tragedy?
“Captain, I-” Daisuke starts.
“Please, Dai, it’s alright.”
Swansea elbows him in the side. “Do not be condescending right now, Lo.” He turns to me. “Please forgive them. They’re still learning the ropes and honing their people skills.”
“It’s alright, it was my mistake. Pleased to meet you, Lois.” I extend my hand for a shake. They look at it like a child looks at broccoli. I notice the equipment wrapped around their shoulders and the boxes in their hands. For such a small one, they sure do know how to carry the weight. “Ah, right. We can do proper introductions later, after you’ve set up.”
Lois takes a deep breath, smiles with their teeth and says, “Sure thing, Curly.”
I see them now. Much shorter with dyed pink and purple hair. The left side of their head shaved down but still dyed with a string of black and white that look like stars. Colorful blots that look like planets or galaxies. Muscular like I was back in my hay-day.
“I think, maybe a pink? Or purple?” I hear.
“Pink is so unprofessional, Daisuke.”
“Swans, you need to get with the times! No one cares about dyed hair anymore, old timer.”
Swansea smirks and rolls his eyes as he sips his water. He waves a packet of electrolytes between his fingers and tears it open. “You kids these days don’t know how to respect your elders.”
“See, even you know it, Swansea! Should I call you the grand elder from now on? Or is there a title better suited for you?”
“Ha! Our dear Captain is closer in my age than yours.” His plastic spoon clinks against the mug. “I think he’s the grand one here.”
Daisuke bows to me deeply. “Grand Curly. Please know I have the utmost respect for you,” he says, giggling.
“Oh-ho, is that supposed to be a play on my name, or-?”
Swansea tosses me a packet of my own.
“Hell yeah! You got it!” Daisuke jumps onto the counter and swings his feet, careful not to hit the cabinets again. “See, Swans? Cap’s got it alright. What’s your-”
The word comes from somewhere outside of me.
“Huh?” I say, looking over my shoulder and around the room for the distant voice.
“I didn’t bring him here, and I really dont think doing so was a good idea!”
It’s around the corner, I realize. It’s not Daisuke’s.
“So you get pissy with him like it’s his fault?” Not Swansea’s.
“No! I’m pissy-” The hydraulic whir of the main doors opening cut Lois off. Was it a bad idea to come here? Am I not ready?
No, I’m ready. I’ve talked with Mary about this. She thinks I’m ready. She did mention exposure therapy… If she says it’s okay, then I’m okay.
Standing at the doors. The button on the right is a steady, bright red, bouncing off the walls and hitting me directly in the eye, flushing my vision into crimson on mahogany.. This must be what hell looks like. I blink and it’s all flashing. Bright, bright red attacking me. A siren blares in my ears and rattles my brain in its skull. EMERGENCY flashes across my retinas. WARNING across my skin. EMERGENCY across my bones. WARNING across my hands.
Something else. I need to think of something else. Anything else.
Anything, Anya. Anything.
Daisuke did talk about wanting to dye his hair when he returned from the trip. Pink or purple, but he leaned more towards pink. “It’s my favorite color,” he confided one day.
They live on through the pieces of other people I can't unsee. Every passer-by looks like you. Every bright-eyed and bushy-tailed youngin gets to live the life you could have had. And you live on through each one of them.
I don’t care to wipe the tears before my hand meets the button. Everything is green and the hissing around me is real. Safe and familiar. It’s real when it punctures my eardrum and drills deep into my cartilage. The doors open so agonizingly slow, revealing my battered ship one piece of loose debris at a time.
Yet in just a single moment I see it all for the first time. Shiny, brand new, built just for me and my little crew. Not including our unexpected addition.
“Captain! We’re just about to do the walkthrough. You change your mind?”
In the deep green light they wait for me. Zac, Lois, and Momo, chords wrapped around their necks and shoulders, cameras and tripods set up by the set of doors that lead to my doom.
“Yes, actually,” I say. “Yes, I have.”
