Once I felt that I'm not alone, I started focusing my attention outward, rather than my usual shtick of getting lost inside these countless fantastical universes. Maybe I just convinced myself that I still get lost in those. After all, I haven't produced any meaningful output in years. Guess I was just trying to convince myself, that I hadn't lost my magic. That peculiar thing that once got me out of quite a few pickles.
What if what I was doing, where I was drifting about, hasn't really been the source of energy that I went to before I decided to play at being an adult? I did not observe the same results, so it doesn't seem that far fetched to assume, that wherever I was visiting, wasn't really the realm of spirits.
Focus! I had to focus. Whatever is prowling outside isn't gonna care about my philosophy or inner conflicts. At best it's gonna be amused and proceed to attack. At worst it's gonna sense my negative thoughts and find me even easier.
Unlikely though it may be, a friendly face isn't gonna care about self-sabotage, either. They would – in fact – be justified in becoming a lot more wary, given our location.
This wreck of a personal carrier may be a good hiding spot, but I should still prepare. I'm sure that bent, rusty door is the only way in, least on the accessible side. The one below me is fused with the ground. Why am I wasting time on this?! Fucking focus!
Shut metal window frames. Popped out bullet proof glass. Rusted, sharp and pointy bars of vehicle frame. Grabbable? Loose? Indeed! Not quite free yet. Requires force. Will make noise. Go for it? Wait. Observe. Listen.
It's closing in on the vehicle. Grab bar close to frame, one strong tug should break the thin thread of metal it's connected to. Hearing thumps on hull of carrier. Feet? Boots? Something blunt, so no claws. Likely no lesser creature. Two distinct blunt surfaces touching the hull in rotation. Bipedal.
Should I try farsight? Haven't been able to in years. Channeling would make me vulnerable. It's moving toward the door, too late for that. Go for the metal bar!
I prop myself up from the side of the carrier's chassis I was sitting on. Taking a step towards the bar, I steady my feet on both sides of it. My right hand takes a hold of the bar near the bottom, where the it's still connected to the chassis, my other hand grabs about half a meter higher up. With one swift jolt I pull on it.
With just a quiet little snapping sound the metal thread breaks. Massively overestimating the required force to pull the thread apart leads me stabbing the other end of the bar against the chassis, however. Making a resonant, vibrating wave of percussion; almost like I’m situated in a giant resonating bowl. Whatever is out there is now sure to focus its attention towards the inside of the carrier.
I grab the bar at the bottom near where the thread used to be. Not as many sharp edges there, so I can hold it with more force. Guess wielding it like a baseball bat is as good an idea as any; never trained in melee weapon combat. Still able to thrust with the far end if need be.
Listening and observing. Nothing. No movement outside. No sounds at all. Literally no sound. That can’t be. I should be able to hear at least something, not nothing. Is it manipulating sound waves somehow? Never encountered such a creature. A new kind, perhaps? No time for scientific curiosity, need to find a way to recover my hearing. Or do I? I can still see.
start closely watching the door; or rather, what’s left of it. Ten seconds pass. Thirty seconds. Ever so quietly sounds creep back into my mind. I can hear again, albeit distorted and very low volume. Whatever blocked out my hearing seems to be fading.
The entity didn’t come in here, seems to have left. The feeling of a presence is gone. The carrier’s broken door is still, the hull stopped vibrating. I relax my stance. I return to breathing calmly. I think I can hazard a look outside. And so I do.