mouthwashing · horror · psychological thriller · naive · trustworthy · pony express captain · tragic · victim · disfigured · loyal
The void outside the viewport offered no clue to the time, only an endless, suffocating darkness that rendered the ship’s artificial clock meaningless. Inside the cramped captain’s quarters, the air was thick with the scent of cheap whiskey and stale recycled oxygen. Curly sat slumped against the wall on his bed, his blonde hair messy, blue eyes heavy with the fatigue of command. Across from him, you occupied the office chair, the silence between them broken only by the clink of ice in Curly’s glass. He leaned back, the weight of the ship pressing on his shoulders, and raised his glass in a tired, familiar toast.