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fangbangerghoul · 6 months

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Photo credit: @labelle-fleursauvage

Ghoul Adventures! Part 1 The Gang Finds a Cave This Halloween edition of Starfield tales takes our Main Character and some of the crew of Constellation on a spelunking adventure in search of what is causing all of the spooky rumors at the local citizen outpost. Ao3 Link Minors DNI, all fictions written is for 18+

Thank you to the numerous people who helped beta read this fic and I appreciate all of the assistance and feedback you have given me! I hope everyone enjoys this cute Halloween Special!

“This is ridiculous,” Andreja groaned as they hauled a few more backpacks out of the ship.

It was a cool evening and the star in the sky was starting to set on their side of the planet. It took a lot of convincing but Ghoul managed to convince Andreja, Sam and even Barrett to join on her night expedition of the caves ahead. There were rumors regarding strange activity coming from inside them. Some settlers even claimed they could hear screams echoing through the winds towards the caves.

This planet had oxygen, light vegetation, mountains, and some fields of desert-like qualities. There was a small range of purple and blue mountains ahead that was the home of the cave Ghoul was excited to explore. The locals referred to it as Banshee’s Lair because of the three generations of tales that were passed on. Ghoul was determined to figure out the mysteries that lay ahead and was proud at the fact that she managed to persuade her companions to join her.

“It is not so ridiculous if it ends up being the home of an Artifact!” Ghoul said with hope as she helped pick up the final bag that contained some of the extra scanners and recording devices.

She grabbed them from the electronics shop in The Well before they left to make sure everyone could have their own devices. If she were to actually capture anything supernatural it would be very thrilling. Ghoul didn’t feel like a complete believer but like Barrett would say sometimes, the impossible can be possible.

Sam was dressed with his cowboy hat, dirty jeans, and rustic leather coat, looking at the landscape with his hands on his hips, taking in the wonders of this planet. Ghoul caught herself torn between staring at the same scene he was admiring or the way his hair rustled in the light breeze. It was then he happened to turn to look at the others and caught her looking at him. Before she could play it off, a smile tugged at his face as to say, ‘gotcha’.

“Are we all ready?” Ghoul asked the crew around her as they all were grabbing their own packs and equipping their gear.

She pulled up the map on her Constellation watch to see the direction they had to trek in. The system’s star was just on the horizon and she knew it would probably be smarter to gain some ground with daylight. “This isn’t my first spelunking expedition.” Sam boasted a bit as he adjusted his hat. He had his gear ready and zipped up his coat from the slight chill in the air. “You should probably bring a coat to wear. It’s only going to get colder from here on out.”

“I am sure I have something in my bag.” Ghoul looked at her bare arms and thought about it for a moment whether or not she wanted to dig for a coat. It wasn’t like this planet reached deadly freezing temperatures. She was also only 75% sure she had a sweater in her bag but if she didn’t have one, perhaps the hike to the cave and the climbing would keep her warm.

“Ready to see the impossible? I am sure whatever the locals are referring to about this cave is something that is easily explained. Like maybe a translucent alien that screeches as a mating call.” Barrett said excitedly. The man was layered up in clothes including a warm knit hat and pulled out a slate that was in his shirt pocket. “Year 2330, October, 31st. Theory for the expedition of Banshee Cave. Alien lifeform that has a translucent body structure. The screeching heard from the locals could be a possible mating call or basic communication between multiple life forms. End.”

They all stared at him.

“What? We should be taking notes. We are a science collective.”

'Placing the slate back into his shirt pocket, he smiled awkwardly at everyone. But Sam just patted his back in encouragement as Ghoul nodded.

“I am armed just so everyone knows. We don’t know what resides in those caves and I am not trying to let us find out the difficult way,” Andreja said with her sharp accent. No one took the moment to speak against the idea and as Ghoul looked around they seemed to be nodding in agreement .

“Let’s go catch some ghosts!” Ghoul said amusingly.

As she walked in front, she playfully bumped into Sam, the one who was the most skeptical out of the bunch from the start. He rolled his eyes because she had barely moved him and followed her close on the trek.

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The mouth of the cave was rather large in scale. Ghoul and the rest of them all stood there in awe staring at the size of the crystals that decorated the outsides of its dark mouth. There was a faint noise that could be heard when everyone held their breath and just as the locals said, it sounded like a whisper of a screech.

“In Old Earth mythology Banshee’s were supernatural fairy-like folk that were an omen of death for those who heard their mournful screeching.” Barrett said out loud to no one in particular. The air around all four of them felt both electric and eerie and it didn’t help that there was a faint menacing sound in the distance of the cave. Goosebumps trailed up Ghoul’s skin and she told herself it was probably the chilly air.

“Well like you said before,” Sam cleared his throat before continuing, “In my experience, the ugliest things live in caves. It’s probably an alien they just haven't seen before.”

“If it is then we can dispose of it and then leave.” Andreja said with confidence, seemingly unaffected by the whole conversation. Her motivations were clear.

“Listen we might get lucky and there is an artifact here. Everyone, make sure to have your scanners on to search for the source of the anomalies the ship picked up on earlier and I would appreciate it if you all turned on the recording devices I gave you. Just in case.”

Ghoul spoke like a confident leader. She was excited to have planned this little side project. It was a nice relief from their constant search for otherworld wonders, if there was a possibility there was another otherworld wonder in this cave.

“Just in case, for spoooooky ghosts?” Sam said with a hearty laugh and his fingers danced in the air as if they were little creepy crawlies while he teased her a bit.

“Last I recall you were the one who brought up wanting to do a séance so I don’t want to hear it big shot,” Ghoul retorted with a fake sneer. He essentially was the one who gave her the idea whether he realized it or not. Not that she was going to tell him and let it get to his head.

“I obviously said that as a joke. We were surrounded by giant crystals in a cave that echoed forever. How did that not scream séance to you?” He defended himself which earned him a deprecating look.

“Either way, this should be an easy expedition. We will all go in together as a team and if it starts to fork then we can pair up or all go separately. Can everyone check their comms for me for a moment?” Ghoul asked as she continued to give the run down outside of the cave they were about to explore.

She wanted everyone to still be cautious even if there were no obvious threats to their wellbeing. Individually, they tested their comms to reach out to Ghoul and the other’s around in a circle. It was about to be Ghoul’s turn when her comms started to make a loud distorted noise that came through. The noise pierced her ear and she had to take out her earpiece immediately.

“Ow, what the fuck!” She growled in pain and furrowed her brows while she inspected the piece. It was all fairly new equipment and had functioned properly until this moment. “Did anyone accidentally try to speak into theirs while I did?”

They all shook their heads and Barrett walked over to inspect her comm.

“It looks functional to me.” He placed it in his ear and tested it out with no issues. The older man just shrugged his shoulders as he handed it back. Ghoul took it from him warily and stared at the comm a moment longer before she placed it back in her ear.

“That was weird,” she murmured and looked back at her watch to check the time. It was 21:00 in UT and she knew it was time to get moving. Ghoul clasped her hands and smiled at everyone. “Scanners, recording, and be careful where you step. Let’s explore!”

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The inside of the cave was spacious and wondrous. The walls were slick with moisture and large teal and citrine crystals lined the floors and the walls. The cave ceiling glowed with bioluminescent flora and fungi that lit up the cave well enough for them to move around without the need for flashlights. There was a slight echo as they shuffled around and about 200 meters into the cave there was a large pit that led deeper into it. When they got to the gaping hole they all silently began to click their harnesses together in a soft sporadic melody. The harnesses were used to hold their body weights equally for when they ventured down. The pit was dark and it was extremely hard to tell how deep it really went. The dampness in the air started to sink into Ghoul’s bones and she felt a shiver run up her back.

“I told you to bring a coat,” Sam said with a smugness under his breath to her as he finished buckling his harness and connecting his ropes to it.

The other two were still finishing planting their gear into the edge of the pit, oblivious to their conversation.

“If I listened to everything you said then I wouldn’t be exploring this cave right now.” Ghoul clicked her ropes and harnesses together. She tested the pull on the rope that was hooked into the ground one good time before she prepared herself to leap down. “Race you down, cowboy.”

The jump was thrilling as her body descended into the darkness. The rush of icy air that she penetrated through encapsulated her body in a tight hug. After a few moments of freefall, she used her legs to ground herself against the wall, slowing herself to keep from accidentally breaking a few bones by not stopping in time. She heard the others slowly leap off as well and that was when she shifted to turn on the flashlight. Her left arm held onto the rope as her right hand shined the light through the cave to see where they were. The pit continued on but there were a few openings to choose from if they decided not to continue down.

“Where to, boss?” Sam asked as he hung from his rope causally. Where the others seemed to grunt and struggle a bit with balance as they stayed in place, he seemed unbothered.

Ghoul glanced around, trying to decide which would be best.

“Does anyone have a scanner readily available?” She asked as she very gently tried to reach into her bag for hers.

Without asking, Sam swung closer to her and grabbed her rope to help her stay in place so she could look without struggling so much. His body was warm, pressed against her and she welcomed it even if her body shivered from the difference in temperature.

“I do, captain.” Barrett waved his flashlight and scanner to signal it to her and she paused her search for the moment.

Even though Ghoul was no longer struggling, Sam held her rope with his hand, switching between arms once to redirect the weight he was holding. She was surprised at his gesture so she made a mental note to quickly make a decision.

“Please tell me what you see and if any particular direction messes with the scanner more than any others. We have three openings across from us and still have the bottom of this pit we can explore.” Ghoul directed and noticed Andreja was pulling out her own scanner to look as well, which was helpful as she had apparently buried hers in her bag.

“East opening seems to be the best bet but there are other signs of disruption when pointed below us,” Barrett said and pointed a flashlight at each direction he referred to.

Before Ghoul could speak, they all heard the scattering of footsteps from the middle opening ahead of them. “What. Was. That?”

“Sounded like an animal,” Andreja whispered and you could hear her pull the blade out of her thigh’s weapon harness.

The quick scattering happened again but this time the direction the sound came from was unclear as it echoed within the pit with them. They all focused their eyes as Barrett and Ghoul shone their flashlights around each of the areas. Ghoul could feel Sam’s grip tighten and his body felt like it was slowly adjusting around hers as if he was preparing to shield her.

“Weapon’s out just in case,” Ghoul whispered to not alarm anything that might be near them but loud enough for her companions to hear her. “Let’s split. It’ll make it harder to track us if there is a predator in here.”

“Are you sure-?” Barrett's voice quivered with nervousness with his back to the wall of the cave that they were all hanging from.

“Yes, everyone is capable of handling-” Ghoul was interrupted with a screeching noise that echoed through the cave and pierced their souls. It came from above them and suddenly she felt gravity push her down without cause. She couldn’t see exactly what was above them but it was becoming quite clear her rope was no longer hooked at the top and she was falling quickly.

“Fuck, Captain!” Sam shouted as he held on to her rope for dear life and it was followed by a loud groan as the burn of the fiber ripped at his palm. He had to now hold all of her weight rather than the partial amount he did earlier and the difference caused drops of sweat that started to line his brow.

She dangled from the other end of the rope helplessly but it was clear on his face, he wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. Ghoul was trying her best to control her breathing from the sudden anxiety the short freefall had given her. Andreja and Barrett were shouting below to see if they were both okay and frantically started to slide down the pit more to get near the both of them.

“I am going to move Sam,” she warned loudly.

Ghoul gently bent her body to reach her black boots to grab the blade that was confined in it. She always made a point to keep a knife there for emergencies and this definitely felt like one. As her body began to straighten out, she heard Sam grunt as he lost some of his grip and she felt herself drop within a blink of an eye. Ghoul barely had enough time to think and as her body fell in a quickened pace, she slammed her knife into the rock of the cave with all her might. The contact made little sparks fly off the steel blade and it barely, if at all, penetrated the rock. Her other hand was trying to grip the wall and she could feel the rocks cut into the skin on her hands and fingertips as she clawed at it. Another attempt to throw her blade into the rock wall and it finally caught in a slit that was already there. The yank on her shoulder from the sudden stop was a jolt of pain that triggered her to suck in her breath through her teeth.

“Captain!?” She heard them shout from above and she gave herself a moment to recoup before responding.

“I’m alive!” She shouted and further tried to dig her already raw left hand into the rock wall to steady herself. The tips of her fingers on her left side barely had something to hold on to and the knife in the right felt like it wasn’t going to hold for much longer. Ghoul heard someone come down on their rope and when they were close enough for her to see she could not say she was disappointed. Tight dirty jeans and leather boots made their way closer to her and she couldn’t help but notice how snug those pants were on her companion’s bottom. She wanted to make a sly comment about how Sam was blessed with a nice ass but being one slight move away from freefalling had her hold her tongue for now.

“Are you alright?” He was now eye level with her and planted his feet into the wall to hold himself before his free arm wrapped around her. The smooth move was quite the feat and Ghoul found herself wondering how strong this man really was or if he had taken a supplementary aid to help him.

“Fine,” she murmured in annoyance from the whole ordeal. “Did anyone see what the fuck was up there?”

As he began to pull them up, she had wrapped herself around the front of his body and was trying extremely hard not to think of the position they were in. Sam’s body stiffened as he pulled them both up and he seemed to make an effort not to look directly at her as she held onto him tightly. He tried to look above to see how much further away the other two were, but as he did his hat slipped off his head revealing his soft wavy blonde hair. Ghoul noticed the cowboy’s hat falling as soon as it happened and immediately snatched it.

“Got it.” She breathed with a wince of pain from having to grab it with her raw left hand.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Now we are even.” She teased him as his face scrunched up from the effort it was taking him to climb up with the both of them plus their gear was taking him.

“Are we now?”

“Yes, I saved your hat’s life, what would you have done if you lost this old, smelly thing?”

“Take that back,” he demanded, sounding offended.

They finally reached Andreja and Barrett who were resting on the ledge where the three other openings were. Sam and Ghoul saw that they had already fashioned a rope line that led to their friends and as Sam sat in place, Ghoul reached for the rope. She placed her knife in her mouth just in case she got thrown off again and did her best to ignore the painful electric that shot through her left hand as the raw flesh rubbed against the fiber of the rope. Ghoul focused on one arm in front of the other and not the soreness in her muscles. Andreja had her arm out and ready for Ghoul as she reached to the other ledge on the rope and helped pull her up. A small hiss escaped her lips as it was the same shoulder that was yanked suddenly when she fell and Andreja immediately started to inspect her arm.

“What was injured?” She inquired and her hands softly squeezed from the joints in her fingers to up her elbow.

Out of the corner of Ghoul’s eye she saw Barrett pull Sam up and he stood there panting a bit and bent over trying to catch his breath. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to do what he just did for her and she made a mental note to show him her appreciation somehow later.

“My, uh, shoulder. Right. When the knife finally snagged, I think I pulled something out of place or tore a muscle,” Ghoul answered Andreja, while her fingers gently felt their way up to Ghoul’s tender shoulder.

“Did you feel a pop? Or a snap-like sensation?” Making a popping noise with her lips for emphasis and Ghoul shook her head.

“No, but I should be fine. It’s most likely minor or I would feel worse.” Ghoul tried to reassure her worrisome friend.

Andreja never acted so protective over the others when they were injured and sometimes, she wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or offended. The dark haired woman nodded once in acknowledgement, understanding the message beneath her words that Ghoul did not want to be bothered with it right now. It was time for them to move forward and figure out what the fuck happened.

“Sam, are you alright?” Ghoul asked as she noticed he was leaning in a corner not too far from everyone.

This particular area had an abundance of the glowing plants and the faint glow showed his tired face within the dark. The bioluminescent fungi and plants were beautiful and useful for lighting the paths ahead of them.

“Just needed a moment, Captain,” he reassured her.

“Heard,” she said in response and walked over to Barrett who was looking at something on the ground. When she got close to both him and the object, she noticed it looked skeletal but she couldn’t decipher a skeleton of what. The only thing that stood out was the size of it and it was almost the size of her own head.

“Do you know what kind of animal that is?” She asked curiously to Barrett as he took a few photos of it then entered them to search on his tablet for any clues of what it could be. “Do you think that scream was from the animal that killed this one?”

“I don’t know for sure. However, if I were to theorize, I would say yes to the second. But then I would ask what size is this predatory creature because a loud scream like that would have to come from something three times the size of this skull.” Barrett’s response was a mixture of him talking to himself and him actually responding to her question. He was prone to rambling and that wasn’t a bad thing to Ghoul but at this moment, she knew they probably should be moving along soon. Her heart still felt a little heavy from the panic of the fall earlier and some of that anxiety was also rooted in the fact that something threw her hook into the pit. It did not feel like simple luck that the creature was able to do that; it felt almost intentional.

Ghoul’s thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of a gun being fired not too far from Barrett and her. She looked over in alarm to see what was happening and Andreja was shooting above them towards the location where they had originally come from. Instinctually Ghoul grabbed her pistol from her leg harness and aimed at the darkness where Andreja was firing but she could not see what Andreja was seeing.

“Andreja!” Ghoul finally shouted to get her attention as her companion kept her focus on the darkness above but at least stopped with the rounds. “Where is it? What is it?”

Sam was standing beside Andreja now and he looked just as confused as they did as he shrugged.

“There was something coming down at us and I couldn’t exactly tell what it was but I saw the intent in its body language,” Andreja growled, aiming her gun once more.

“Hold fire!” Ghoul put her arms out and Andreja reluctantly listened to the command of her captain. It was unusual for something to trigger Andreja into a frenzy like that and now Ghoul was even more concerned about what resided with them in this cavern.

#sam coe #starfield #starfield fanfiction #halloween fic #sam coe x spacefarer #andreja #barrett #cave diving #suspense

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