As I sat in the lifeboat, traversing the unruly waves, I reflected upon the significance of the events that had led to the demise of the crew of the Lady Maya and the ship itself. I had just been on an assignment for the army. A navy ship had picked me up in Gabon, and as I boarded the ship, a cadet greeted me and showed me to my cabin. As we walked, I asked him if I could see the captain. He told me I could go up to the bridge and I thanked him as I opened the door to my cabin. I put my suitcase on the bed and started putting my clothes in the closet. When I was done, I decided to head up to the bridge and talk a bit to the captain. When I came to the door to the bridge, I knocked on it, and opened it after I heard the captain’s invitation. I thanked him for picking me up, and asked how long the trip would take. He told me it would be a couple of months, since we were quite a long way from America. I thanked him for his time and went to my cabin to prepare the report I was going to present to my superior when I got back to America.

Between me working on my report and going to the different parts of the ship to converse with various members of the crew, time seemed to go by fast. A few of the members were quite interested in my field of work and asked some questions about the work and investigations I did. I tried to answer them as well as I could, but of course, a lot of it was classified. One day, I was on the bridge with the captain, discussing political matters, when one of the cadets came rushing in. He whispered something to the captain who excused himself and left with the cadet. Around ten minutes later, the captain returned, his face pale as death. He said that we had a slight change in plans, that he had just received a strange message. We were to change our heading to an area off Mauritius, where the distress signal came from. He then changed the ship’s course and we were on our way towards Mauritius. After a few moments, he asked me if we could speak privately. I agreed and we went outside. He looked down on the floor, took a few short breaths, then looked up at me and told me the reason we were changing the course. They had received an SOS, from an unknown vessel. He had decided to wait a bit, in order to hear if there were any more signals coming from the distraught vessel. After around four minutes another signal came, and after eight the third and final one came. He handed me a paper with the transcription of the communicae. As the captain left for the bridge, I stood there, alone, the wind blowing in my face. I took a glance at the paper and then I looked at the horizon. Dark clouds were forming in the far. I inhaled sharply and hoped we would avoid a storm. I then read the transcript.

Incoming: This is the Lady Maya. We require immediate assistance. Oh 
god...god help us.

Incoming: There is no one left. I tried hiding when the screams started. 
Oh god...god help me. I do not know how much time I have got left. 
Please, tell my wife and children that I love them. I will try hiding, 
but this thing will surely be upon me soon. Pray for me.

Incoming. Goodbye.

I read those last words of the crew member again and again. Not much could be gleaned from the text, except a ‘thing’ had been the responsible for whatever atrocities had happened aboard that ship. The weather ahead said it all. We were heading into a storm.

A few days later, the storm hit us. It hit us hard. Wave after wave crashed against the hull. The ship was thrown up, down, side to side in this frenzy of angry waves. It made walking a bit hard. Well, at least for me. The crew was used to such unforgiving conditions. I slowly meandered my way up to the bridge. I knocked on the door and entered when I heard the captain’s invitation. I asked him how close we were to the ship. He replied we should be there imminently. I sat down, looking out the window at the massive waves and angry clouds. Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit the sky. The waves seemed to calm down a bit. And ahead of us, not too far, a ship had appeared. It was a rather large freighter, with the superstructure looming in the aft of the ship. The ship did not appear to move on its own, so I surmised it was the mysterious Lady Maya. The captain maneuvered the ship alongside the motionless Lady Maya, while others tried to contact any crew members, to no avail. I hurried outside, wanting to inspect the ship as soon as possible. The atmosphere was eerie. All around me, cadets were running around, getting ready to board the Lady Maya. The captain was shouting through a megaphone, trying to contact anyone aboard the lonesome vessel. In contrast, the Lady Maya looked like a true ghost ship. There was no visible life, no running of feet on the deck, no shouts as the crew would answer the captain’s calls. I had a bad feeling in my guts. Something was very wrong here. The captain approached me, and told me how the search and rescue operation would be. The plan was to launch two boats with four men each, and the rescue team would climb up the pilot ladder and then board the ship. I would stay in the boat, and await the call from the rescue team. I felt it was a good plan, better to let the experienced rescuers inspect the ship first. As everyone on the rescue team was getting ready to launch the boats, I took a look at the waves. They were still unruly, but nowhere near as high as I had seen them in the past few days.

The first team’s boat was being launched, as we got into ours. As we were being lowered, I got a strong feeling in my gut. A bad one. Well, could be the prospect of being in a small boat in the high waves. Could also be something entirely different. As our boat hit the water, the other team sped up to the pilot ladder, which was situated near the bow of the ship. They quickly climbed it, and were on the deck in a matter of minutes. As the last one from their boat finished his ascent, the first from our boat started his. Everything was going smoothly, the rescuers were scaling the ladder in unison. I looked up as the last one finished his climb. I hoped I did not have to wait for too long. I decided to tie the boat to the lowest step of the pilot ladder, as to not drift too far away from the ship. Time was precious, and I did not need to have to spend any on needless tasks. A few moments later I saw a flash of lightning. And at the same time, the most blood-curdling screams I had heard in all of my existence. The screams came from both my front and my rear. As all I could see in front of me was the massive freighter, I glanced behind my shoulder. The navy ship was not there anymore. Somehow it had vanished into thin air. I decided enough was enough and started climbing the pilot ladder. The ship rocked along the waves, making my ascent a bit hard. I was not used to these extreme conditions. Eventually I got onto the deck. Looking around, I saw no one. No sign of the rescue team. Another important thing I noticed, was that the lifeboats were still in their place. I took a deep breath. I decided I wanted to check the bridge first. As I took my first step, lightning lit the sky. It felt as if someone, or something, was warning me against moving towards the superstructure and bridge. I slowly made my way over the main deck, wary of anything that could pose a threat to me. But there was nothing. Absolutely no life. No sounds, apart from the waves and seagulls and occasional creak of metal. Not unnatural sounds, any of them. As I got to the door to the superstructure, a feeling of dread washed over me. Everything about this situation was wrong. The laws of our reality somehow seemed to be… suspended here. A whole navy ship had gone missing. A large freighter floated in the middle of nowhere, with no crew around. I took a deep breath and opened the door. It creaked loudly against the heavy wall of silence. The first thing I noticed after the loud creak, was the unmistakable stench of death. I covered my nose with my hand, since the stench was quite unbearable. I hurried up the stairs to the bridge, hoping to find answers to this mystery. Out of habit, I knocked on the door. There was no answer, so I slowly opened it and peeked inside. It was empty. Not a soul in sight. Where had the stench been coming from, I wondered. I covered my mouth before heading down the stairs again. This time, I headed down to the lower deck of the ship, hoping for some clues as to where the bodies or whatever was giving away the stench were situated. I moved slowly through the dark hallways of the ship, my flashlight weakly trying to cut through the encroaching darkness. There were doors to my sides, all of which were locked. When I was around halfway through, I came upon the boiler room. As I neared the door, I felt icy chill emanating from the room. That was odd. Boiler rooms, as implied by the name, are inherently warm. That made me surmise that this was the point of origin for these… events. I tried the door. Locked. I took a deep breath and kept on walking, my flashlight guiding me further into the dark unknown. I went by a few doors, all locked. Eventually I was greeted by a door in front of me. I looked at it for a second, wondering what horrors might await me in the coming room. I sighed, and opened it slowly. As I opened it, a wave of harsh smell of death and decay hit me. My eyes watered and I covered my nose. I slowly made my way through the door. What waited me was far beyond what I had expected. I entered the cargo hold and found the crew – or at least, their remains. The crew members bodies were in different states of decomposition. Some looked freshly deceased, while others were desiccated as if they had been dead for several hundred years. The one thing these poor bodies had in common was the fact that they held their hands in front of them, as if to protect them from some malevolent force. And they were forming a circle. I pondered the significance of the circle formation. Then the sounds started. I was not sure if they had been there this whole time, but they were now just loud enough to give a low clicking sound. It was coming from somewhere behind me. I decided to head back, look for more clues about what could have happened in this sepulcher of horror. I went back the way I came, the clicking sound increasing in volume as I got closer to the boiler room. When I was back at the boiler room, the clicking sound was both louder and more frequent. I had to get into that boiler room, to find out what made that sound, and why the room was so unnaturally cold. I needed to get outside, have a breath of fresh air. The stench was overwhelming. I ran up the stairs, opened the door and went outside. I took a few deep breaths. As I looked into the horizon, I saw a flash. It was very bright so I closed my eyes for a second.

When I opened my eyes, everything changed. The sky was not gray anymore, it was… purplish, I guess would be the best description. The sea, or surface, beneath us was still, as in no movement. At all. The sea, or surface, looked pinkish. The colors on the ship looked… both duller in some places and sharper at others. And the ship I was on, it was… well, best I can describe it, the ship had been separated into five different segments, that lay scattered around in a circle. As if someone had taken a giant knife and cut it into pieces, and afterwards strewn the pieces around. The ship segments lay probably around 30 meters apart from each other…no, 33 meters. It had to be. Purple sky, large metal objects split up and scattered, 33 meters apart in a circle, pinkish surface. I had an inkling as to where I currently found myself. I had to try something to be sure. I walked to the starboard of the ship. My movement was quicker, I moved faster and the movements somehow felt more fluid. Then, I made my way to where the ship had been…sliced. I stood at the edge, and slowly moved my right foot forward. I had to see if I would hang over the edge, or if anything else happened. As I did, I saw my foot appear at the other part of the ship, and a chilling sensation went through my body. My mind was blown. Or some would call it… shocking…sensation. At that moment, I knew where I found myself. And I felt a chill run down my spine. It was Eyl’tiark, also known as ‘the veiled pocket. Very rarely did it come into contact with our dimension – or world, if you like. Now I got frightened. I had heard about this dimension, but I never thought I would find myself caught in its grasp. The clicking sound now seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I looked over to the bow part of the ship, which lay…behind, maybe, the stern in which I found myself on. A dark shadow was forming under the front of the bow. It was not large, just a small patch of blackness, lying between the pink surface and the ship. As I watched, it slowly stretched and elongated, both vertically and horizontally, as if to devour the metallic hulk. I knew I had to hurry, if I was to escape this dimension.

1. There was one room I had not yet investigated. The communications room. I hurried back inside, and up the stairs. The communication room was situated under the bridge. As I entered the hallway where it was situated, I realized that the door was open. I felt a slight pinch of apprehension, as I made my way to the inviting door. When I was upon it, I slowly peaked inside. The room was full of equipment specialized for communication, and at the radio sat the forlorn person, who had sent the last radio signal. He, or she, was emaciated, as if he had been here for decades. The skin was desiccated, dried up, clinging to the skull as if the blood had been drained from the body. The mouth was wide open, and the hands were in front of it, as if to ward off an unknown assailant. However, the high…contrast…in colors, helped me spot a keychain lying on the floor. I picked it up and tucked it in an inside pocket of my trench coat, while making a short prayer for the unfortunate soul in seat in front of me. Remembering how cold the boiler room was, I decided to scour the ship to find a pair of gloves. I had seen some metal lockers close to where I had entered. Probably where the crew stored equipment and such. I went back to the entrance, tried a few keys before I could open one of the lockers. The locker was full of padded coats, for use in harsh weather. I decided to take one, just as a precaution if the boiler room’s temperature was too low for my liking. I opened another locker, a smaller one, and found quite a lot of padded gloves. I took a pair which fitted me well, and took on down to the lower decks. I shone my flashlight through the darkness of the lower recesses of the ship. It was weird to experience. The light shone through the darkness of the part I was in, then the pinkish surface was visible, and the light continued at the other parts. I hurried towards the boiler room. Each time I went to another part of the ship…or teleported, if you will, I felt that chilling sensation. As I made it to the part with the boiler room, I noticed that the clicking had increased in intensity. Instead of the sporadic click…click…click it now had around 4 seconds between clicks. And, I also noticed that the darkness here was somehow…thicker. Then I realized it was not because it was thicker. It was because it was an entity, a manifestation of something, shrouded in darkness. I slowly crept closer to the door. The darkness seemed to have no interest in me, and did not move. I fumbled the keys, trying desperately to open the door. I needed to see what was happening in the boiler room. When I finally found the correct key, and heard the loud click, my heart skipped a beat. Did I just see the darkness move? I quickly opened the door, and looked inside. What I saw was a large room with three rather massive engines, two on the left side and one on the right. The room was very cold. I could see my breath. And on the engines, frost was forming. In between the three engines, currents of electricity flashed in between them. And in the center, a large diamond-shaped darkness, it’s vibrant edges pulsating in unison with the currents. I surmised that this was the point at which these events started. Perhaps if I could somehow interrupt the currents, it would give me enough time to escape from this ship. Time was of the essence, and I knew I had to act fast. I looked around, trying to find anything that might help me in my endeavors. My eyes caught a large, red spanner, leaning up against the wall on my right. Would it be enough? I grunted as I picked it up, since it was rather heavy. I looked at the engines, trying to see a pattern in the currents. But I heard a noise outside the room, so I threw the spanner at the engines, aiming for the line of the currents. The spanner flew from my hands, spinning in the air until it hit the nearest engine. As luck would have it, the spanner hit the engine at just the same time as a current was flowing through it. There was a loud banging sound, and a bright flash. I blinked a few times after the flash, and realized the colors were back to their normal self. The room was still icy cold, but the currents had stopped. However, the clicking sound was still there, not as rapid as it had been before the engine had been hit. I knew I had precious little time, so I hurried out. As I came out on to the hallway, I realized the darkness was still there. As I aimed my flashlight at it, it seemed to…back off, and gave away a hissing sound. I backed away from it, still pointing the flashlight at it to keep it at bay. When I felt I was far enough away from it, I turned and ran, down the hallway, up the stairs and out to the main deck. I ran to one of the lifeboats. The mechanism did not work. I had to manually offload the boat. The clicking sound was increasing in intensity, so I had to hurry. I knew I had seen an L-shaped iron rod in one of the metal lockers inside. I hurried back, glancing to my sides to see if there was any signs of the darkness. It had not followed me outside. I quickly made my way inside and to the lockers. I opened them one after one, until I found what I was looking for. I thanked the gods as I picked the rod up. Just as I had envisaged my escape from this accursed ship, I heard a noise behind me. I turned and saw that the darkness had encroached upon me. My fight-or-flight response kicked in, as I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran towards the darkness. As I ran, I also threw my flashlight at it, hitting it and making it…wince, would be the most apt description. It gave me enough time to get out the door, out into the light, out where my salvation lay. The clicking sound had almost reached a crescendo as I lowered the lifeboat into the water. As it reached the ocean, I jumped off the ship, landing beside the boat and climbing in. I hurriedly tried to get as far away from the Lady Maya as I possibly could. After a few moments, I saw as the ship blinked out of existence. I sighed in relief. I looked around me, nothing but ocean in every direction. I was hopeful that another vessel had picked up the SOS of the Lady Maya. I just prayed they would be here in time. Then, a realization hit me. As I had been pondering the possible outcomes of my maritime endeavors, a sound had disrupted the overwhelming silence. Not a loud sound, but a rather dull clicking sound.