Heavy footsteps on the steel floor echoed down the hallway. They originated from a lone man, struggling beneath a large and overflowing rucksack. As he progressed down the hall, he could feel the air change from airconditioned cool and clear to warm and humid. The sound of his footfall began to soften as the ground underfoot became moss covered. Eventually he stepped out into a vast chamber.

The ceiling was half a mile high, and the floor area was several miles square. It was also completely overgrown with plants and trees now. It was like the forests that had existed back on earth. The man’s destination was somewhere near the centre of this lost zone.

This vast ship had many so-called lost zones. Some were places like this, places that had grown wild across the centuries. Others were more recently occupied by those that had fled their duties on the crew. All had lost their connection to the central control system.

This particular zone officially known as 1178-22-b, had been abandoned so long ago that it was almost entirely forgotten. Only its inhabitants knew about it and the handful of travelling merchants, that passed through from time to time.

The man pressed on into the overgrown chamber. Damn every time I come down through here it seems hotter and this humidity, urgh. The sweat beaded up and dripped up off Vincent’s brow as he moved. He pulled and adjusted the straps to his bag as he walked. The ground had become spongy underfoot and the give in the straps had become a pain. The real floor was buried under layers and layers of dead organic matter that had been deposited over the ages. I wonder if this is what the real ground feels like? He had never stepped outside himself, so he couldn’t be sure, he had only heard stories about it.  

Vincent had travelled down here to trade with some of the local ferals. Any group that had reverted to a primitive state or had just been out of contact for long enough were called ferals. In practice it was almost any people that were no longer connected to the ships serving crew. Some people might even mistake Vincent for a feral himself.

The group he was going to trade with were hardly primitive. They were educated up to a point and lived in a society, but they had been disconnected from the rest of the ship for so long they had developed some strange beliefs. Be that as it may, he had built up a bit of a connection with the community over the years. He would always come to visit if he was passing the area. It was probably something to do with the simplicity of their lifestyle. It was reminiscent of the past in the world that had been left behind by this place.

As Vincent trod further into the overgrown zone the plant growth became denser with each step. He checked the handgun on his hip was still there. His field of view was limited now to only a few feet in any direction. He had only come across herbivores on his travels down here, but there was no harm in being cautious.

There were rumours of biological monstrosities on the loose in some of the deeper lost zones on this ship. Then there were the renegades and pirates. He had never known them to venture into this area, but there was always the first time. For now, this place just seemed to be inhabited by the creatures that were bred and released the by the ones that had made the area to revert to this. The only other life here was the community up ahead.

Finally, the undergrowth begun to clear, and he could make out the large, cleared area up ahead. It was always a relief when he reached this point of his trip. At last, it’s in sight! He breathed a sigh of relief, heaved his bag back into position over his shoulders one last time and pressed on for the clearing.

Once he passed the overgrown section the air in front of him shimmered like the edge of a bubble inside water. He held his hand up in the air in front of him and a person sized doorway opened in front of him. He stepped inside and the doorway closed behind as he passed. Vincent smiled as he spotted the simple houses in the distance and the smell of food cooked on an open fire wafted over. The two young boys that were kicking a ball about outside of the nearest house noticed him approach.

They immediately stopped their game and ran towards him. “Vin!” They shouted.

He took the large rucksack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground next to him. The pair ploughed into him as he stood there.

He laughed as they did and bent over to greet them, ruffling their hair as he did so. “Hello you two. I’m glad to see you both full of energy as always!”

The larger of the pair was excitedly fidgeting. He couldn’t wait to ask Vincent. “Vin, vin. Did you bring the thing that you told us about last time?”

Vincent crouched down as he pretended to think. “So that’s what this is about? I did, let me see where I put them.” He reached over to his bag on the floor nearby, opening the top.

He rummaged around in the top of the rucksack for a while until he pulled two small devices out of the bag. They were simple toys, something he had never played with as a child but had heard about from reading the ships records.

When he told the children about them on his last visit, they got very curious and excited about them. They begged him to bring them ones to play with and after a little grumbling Vincent agreed. They hadn’t proved difficult to make. Even without a blueprint it only took a little programming on the functioning matter printer near his home.

The look on the pair’s faces when he pulled them out, was more than worth the effort. Both boys grasped for the toys as soon as they saw them.

“Hold on. Hold on. I need to show you how they work first.” Vincent stood back up and out of their reach. “Watch carefully… You place this on the top here. Then you pull this ring as hard as you can.”

The spinning part flew up into the air much to the boy’s amazement.

“It really flies!” Said the smaller of the pair.

Their reaction brought a smile to his face. “I told you it did Nathan. Now you need to go and collect that if you want to have a try yourself.”

Nathan ran off in chase of the miniature helicopter.

Vincent offered up the other toy to the older boy. “Here you go Ethan.”

Ethan was grinning from ear to ear.  “Thanks!”

Vincent looked over the surrounding fields before asking. “Are your older brother and sister around? I have some things for them too.”

Ethan looked towards the closest house. “They’re inside.”

“Thanks!” He ruffled Ethan’s hair. “Okay, I’ll head over and say hello. You two play nicely with those now.”

“We will!” Ethan said before running off after his younger brother.

Vincent slung his rucksack back over his shoulder and headed towards the house. The front door was wide open, but he still knocked on the door before he entered. The young woman cooking across the way, looked up from what she was doing and noticed Vincent stood at the doorway.

Realising who it was, a warm smile spread across her face. She pushed her pan off the flame and rushed over to meet him. “Vin!”

“Hey Felicia.” He lifted his hand in a greeting. “Mind if I take a seat?”

“Make yourself at home. You know you’re always welcome here.”

“Thanks.”

He slung his bag down on the ground and pulled up one of the simple chairs from the side of the room and took a seat.

Vincent leant to the side and rummaged around in his bag for a moment. Finding what he was after he passed over a handful of cardboard packets. “Here, these are for your father.”

Felicia looked curiously at the collection of small packets, she blinked as she turned back to Vincent. “What are they?”

He thought for a second how to explain then settled on the obvious. “It’s medicine. I don’t know if it will help him, but it’s all I could get.”

Her eyes widened. “Vin… Thank you!”

Felicia took the packets from his hand and was studiously looking them over.

“The instructions are printed on the back. All you need to do is follow them.”

Felicia’s father had an unknown illness. It afflicted his chest and he had been bed ridden for months now. Vincent had done his best to guess what it could be and tried do what he could to help with his limited medical knowledge, it wasn’t much.

Of course, a quick trip to a medical bay and scan would easily clear things up. It would undoubtedly be treatable, but that was never going to happen. He had tried and failed many times at trying to convince them to venture out from the reserve as they called it.

Vincent had given up once he realised his efforts were beginning to offend them. The medicine he brought was just strong antibiotics, antivirals, and immune systems boosters. He hoped it was something they could cure, but that was far from certain.

Felicia finished reading the back of the packs. She placed them on the small table that was nearby. Turning back to Vincent she threw open her arms and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re always looking out for us. I’ll make sure he takes them!”

“Thanks Felicia, that makes me feel better… You know you could always…” He started, thinking he could give it one last try before Felicia cut in.

Her arms dropped and her pleasant smile was quickly replaced with a serious look. “You know we can’t leave here. Even if we could, father would never agree to it.”

He held his hands up apologetically. “I know, I know, sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Hearing Vincent apologise brought her smile back. “It’s okay. I know you’re worried about him… The spirits will provide unless it’s his time.”

The spirits. Vincent knew well that they would be of no help to her father. It was part of the belief that had sprung up in the community here over the many years they had been cut off. They could still read and write. Some of them could even operate the simple automatons they had here. The ones that still carried the control genes that was.

Apart from Felicia, her father and older brother were the only ones that possessed that ability. It all fed into the belief that the spirits moved the machines and provided for them. They treated the command protocols like prayers and rituals to be carried out to keep the spirits happy.

Vincent once struggled to keep from laughing when he first come across the community and witnessed this for himself. It was something he no longer found amusing. Questioning their belief any further would only alienate himself from them, and he didn’t want that. He wanted to do what little he could to look out for them.

Vincent’s gaze turned to doorway that led to the rest of the house. “I just hope that they will… Can I, can I see him?”

“Yes! Of course, you can. He would be sad if he found out you’d came over to visit and hadn’t said hello.”

“He’s well enough for visitors?”

“He’s been up and down, but you should go and see for yourself.”

“I will.”

“You know the way. I’d better get back to dinner. You are going to stay for food, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

Felicia waved a hand in front of her face. “You wouldn’t be.” She smiled. “Plus, Milo will be upset if you don’t stay.”

“Where is he? I didn’t see him in the fields.”

“He was busy in the work shed earlier. He won’t miss dinner don’t worry. Now go and see dad!”

“Okay, okay.”

Vincent got up from his seat and headed towards the corridor that led to the room Felicia’s father was in.

Felicia called out as he left the room. “I’ll call for you when it’s ready!”