Original Ficlet

[icarus_chained]

For a prompt of comment_fic. A tiny little military horror story on the theme of darkness. I apologise in advance for my lack of knowledge of the military, its ranking system or its tactics.

Title: Kingdom of the Blind
Rating: Light R
Fandom: Original Work
Characters/Pairings: The Lieutenant, the Sergeant, the Corporal. Team.
Summary: Three men, remnants of a military unit, are caught in a pitch-black base when they begin to realise that their previous understanding of their circumstances may have been ... somewhat off
Wordcount: 953
Warnings/Notes: Dialogue only. Darkness, psychological warfare, body horror, vengeance, language
Disclaimer: Mine. More or less, anyway.

Kingdom of the Blind


Lieutenant: "Doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense."

Corporal: "Sir?"

Lieutenant: "... Do me a favour. Try the surface elevator, corporal. Find the button and push it, will you?"

Corporal: "But ..."

Lieutenant: "Just. Just go with me on this. Alright? Try the elevator."

*screech and whirr of waking machinery*

Sergeant: "... But that's impossible. We've just had a full-scale EMP strike. Total blackout conditions. Not even the flashlights work! What the hell ...?"

Lieutenant: "Humming."

Sergeant: "What?"

Lieutenant: "I wondered. I thought ... I don't know what I thought. But I've been hearing it. The past four hours. The whole time. I couldn't figure out what I was listening to. The humming. Listen for it. When the elevator stops."

Corporal: "... Sir?"

Lieutenant: "Listen. Both of you. Shut up for a second and listen."

*dull electrical humming*

Sergeant: "Sir? What is that?"

Corporal: "... It's the fluorescents. Isn't it, sir. It's the lights."

Sergeant: "What? But that would mean ..."

Lieutenant: "It would mean they've been on, all this time. It would mean the lights never went off. This base never lost power. Yes."

Sergeant: "But ... but none of us can see. And the ... None of the computers, none of the radios ... I mean, the power has to be gone, sir! It's pitch black in here, and all our communications are down. The power must be ..."

Corporal: "It's not the power. It's us. Whatever happened. It didn't happen to the base. It happened to us. That's what you mean. Isn't it, sir?"

Lieutenant: "... Our communications are gone. Every stash of non-electrical supplies beyond basic water and food has been cleared out. In four hours, provided my watch hands haven't been tampered with, we haven't met a single other living soul down here. But the elevator works. And the lights ... the lights are still on. We just ... can't see them." *swallows* "I think, corporal, that this is most definitely happening to us, yes."

Sergeant: "... Presuming enemy action, sir. Why would they ... why would they take our ... Sir. If they've blinded us deliberately, why not kill us? Why shut down communications, take away everything that would let us realise that it's not the electrics that are the problem, and then ... and then just let us run around. Why would ... What is this?"

Corporal: "... If you turned off the lights and blinded somebody in the dark ... maybe you'd feel like turning the light back on and seeing how long it took them to figure it out. Maybe that's why you blinded them in the first place. To watch them. To see ... what they did about it."

Lieutenant: "The lights are still up. What do you want to bet that the CCTV is as well, corporal?"

Corporal: "... I don't know. How about a new set of eyes? You got one of those on hand, sir?"

Sergeant: "Jesus. Jesus Christ."

Lieutenant: "I doubt it, sergeant. I think he was more for giving sight back to the blind than taking it and letting them run around the rat maze for shits and giggles. Nah. I'm thinking the source of this little piece of bullshit is a little further downstairs."

*distant sound of a door closing, somewhere beneath them*

Corporal: "... And possibly literally and all. Hah. Well, hell. A fine sense of theatre this bastard has, hmm?"

Lieutenant: "... That's one way to put it, corporal." *racks slide* "Well, kids, let's get--"

Sergeant: "The elevator works. Sir. The elevator works. It's usable."

Lieutenant: "... Yes, sergeant. What did you have in mind? You want to head surfacewards? Try to pull out?"

Sergeant: "I don't think this is the kind of game where they let you bug out early. Sir. You go to all the trouble of blinding someone and playing four hours worth of fucking games with them, I don't think you just let them hop aboard the elevator and go home free."

Corporal: "... He's got a point. So. Then what?"

Lieutenant: "I'd be interested in hearing that myself, sergeant."

Sergeant: "... You remember what we left in the armoury, sir? We didn't have a use for it, because we didn't think some sick fucker had gone and blinded us instead of just knocking the power out like a sane sociopath. So we left it, because there was no point taking out what was already gone. But now ..."

Lieutenant: "Now, we've got a reason to even the game. And two floors down we've got the means."

Corporal: "The CCTV hasn't got sound, sir. If that's what they're using, they don't know what we've been on about. I reckon they opened the door to come get us because we've been stood here like a bunch of idiots having visible panic attacks. So maybe we've got some surprise, too."

Sergeant: "We get down there. Disable the elevator first. They were going to use it to pull out when we were done for. So cut that off. Get down the stairs, shoot anything that moves on the way. Knock out the power for fucking real this time. And then--"

Lieutenant: "Then we see who really rules, in the kingdom of the blind."

Corporal: "Take out the sun, even the one-eyed fucker is gonna be having some problems. I like it, sir. I like it a lot."

Lieutenant: "So do I, corporal. So do I. Nice to see you back on track, sergeant."

Sergeant: "Thank you, sir. Sorry, sir. Let's knock the bastard off it, sir."

Lieutenant: "Yes indeed. Well then. We've got an eternal night to bring about. Let's not piss about, lads. Take point, sergeant, and lay on, MacDuff."

Sergeant: "Aye sir. And the devil take hindmost, sir?"

Lieutenant: "You know what? The bastard's welcome to come try it, sergeant. Let the devil come and try."

Corporal: "... And hi-ho Silver and all."