Grim Darkness? Imma Farm, Okay? 1 (WH40k, Commission) (Patreon)

I don’t know what happened, where I was, how I got here, or anything remotely related to those questions. I only knew that the moment I woke up, my head was pounding, my arms were numb, and my body was cold, as if someone had dunked me in ice water.

I tried opening my eyes, but it felt like someone was holding them closed. A bright light was shining on my face, and when I did finally open my eyes, everything was a blur. My senses began coming back to me one by one, and with them, pain.

After a moment, my vision began to clear, showing me my surroundings. It was dimly lit, flickering panels that reminded me of old, yellowing fluorescent lights showed uneven footing, dull gray metal walls surrounded the area, and pipes hung above me. The air smelled metallic and wet, like rust and oil.

I attempted to lift my head, but a sharp pain shot through my skull, forcing me to put my head back down. I groaned, the pounding in my head growing worse as I became more aware. Where was I? How did I get here? I tried to think back, to remember something - anything - before waking up here, but my mind was a blank slate.

Cautiously, I attempted to lift my head again, slowly this time. The room spun for a moment before coming into focus. It looked like some kind of basement or weird bunker, all metal walls and exposed pipes. There were no windows that I could see, and only one door - a heavy looking metal affair with no handle on this side.

With great effort, I managed to push myself up into a sitting position, my limbs stiff and unwilling to cooperate. I looked down at myself and saw my clothes were ripped and stained, though I didn't appear injured apart from a few bruises. Had I been attacked? Kidnapped?

Fighting down panic, I took a few deep breaths, trying to keep my mind clear. I had to figure out where I was and what had happened to me. Swinging my legs over the side of the rickety cot I had been lying on, I attempted to stand, only for my knees to buckle, sending me to the cold steel floor.

“Ow,” I muttered with a groan, forcing my arms under me and pushing myself upright.

I still wasn’t able to stand, but I did manage to get myself into a sitting position to more thoroughly take in my surroundings. Besides the cot I’d woken up on, there was a shovel leaning against the wall by the head of the cot, and a metal, sci-fi looking footlocker by the other end. Half shuffling, half crab walking, I made my way to the foot locker and opened it, revealing a crap ton of seed packets and a box of potatoes.

I slowly closed the footlocker, my mind racing. Seed packets and potatoes? What kind of twisted place was this? I looked around again, searching for any clue that could explain my bizarre surroundings.

The shovel caught my eye. Grasping it tightly, I used it to pull myself to my feet, leaning heavily against the cold metal wall. Taking a few shaky steps, I made my way across the small room to the heavy door. There was no handle or knob on this side, and when I pushed against it, it didn't budge. Locked tight.

I made my way back to the cot and sat down heavily, wincing at the throbbing in my head. Had I been kidnapped and thrown in some bunker to... farm potatoes? It made no sense.

Exhaustion suddenly washed over me in waves. I needed to rest and try to regain my strength. Lying back down, I pulled the thin, scratchy blanket up over myself, willing my pounding head to stop aching. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the sound of dripping water coming from a leaky pipe in the ceiling. Eventually, I fell into a fitful sleep.

When I awoke, the lights were still on, but the pounding in my head had gone down a bit, enough for me to sit up. I took the opportunity to look around, trying to find something, anything, that would help me understand my situation.

There was zilch in anything I could see that made my current circumstance make more sense, but I did see a panel next to the door that I’d missed earlier. Using the shovel as a walking stick, I hobbled over to the panel, leaning against the wall next to it for support. I pressed a button that looked promising and the door slid open.

Peering through, I was treated to the sight of a dimly lit metal tunnel. I would honestly think it would look like something from a Ninja Turtles movie, except for the sheer size. Seriously, the wall opposite me looked like it was far enough away that you could run an eight lane highway through with room to spare!

A chill wind blew past me, making me shiver. It was freezing, and dark outside too—no windows anywhere along its length. Shaking off my apprehension, I hobbled down the long, winding corridor. I found a few other rooms, a few of which had similar metal doors and strange panels like the one by my room.

With a sigh, I hobbled back to the room I’d woken up in. I had no idea where I was, or even how long I had been here, but I did have a growing feeling of dread. Nothing about this place made sense, and I was getting a sinking feeling that I was trapped here.

[hr][/hr]

There was no way for me to have any sense of time, but after what I decided to call a ‘day’ I’d managed to recover enough that I wasn’t afraid I’d collapse if I stepped wrong.

I rested for a while longer, trying to gather my strength. When I felt ready, I decided to explore the room more thoroughly.

The shovel was simple but sturdy, made of plain metal with a wooden handle. Good for digging, if I needed to.

I went over to examine the footlocker again. Inside were dozens of seed packets, for vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, spinach and beans. Enough seeds to start a small farm. There were also several large bags of potato seeds.

Strange. Why was I being provided these things? Was I expected to grow crops in this cold, sterile bunker?

I noticed a small door on the back wall of the room. Opening it revealed a tiny bathroom with a toilet, sink and a rickety looking shower. At least I wouldn't have to worry about necessities.

After using the facilities, I checked myself in the grimy mirror. I looked exhausted, with dark circles under my eyes. My long hair was a tangled mess. I turned on the sink and splashed some of the icy water on my face, trying to wake myself up.

Feeling slightly refreshed, I returned to the main room. I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a ventilation shaft near the ceiling, pumping in fresh but cold air. That explained the chill.

My stomach rumbled loudly. I realized I couldn't remember the last time I ate. Searching around more carefully, I found a small cupboard built into the wall. Inside were several cans of beans, vegetables and soup, plus a few bottles of water. It wasn't much, but it would keep me alive for now.

I opened a can of soup and ate it cold, too impatient to figure out how to heat it up. The food helped clear my head. I knew I needed to learn more about this place if I was going to find a way out.

With my shovel in hand, I slowly made my way back into the twisting metal corridors, searching for clues. After what seemed like hours, I found myself standing at the entrance to the room. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was enough to make me start feeling hungry and tired again.

As I entered, I saw the lights flickering and dimming. I made a mental note to see if they did this regularly. Perhaps that would help me keep track of time.

After a meal of canned beans, I lay down on the cot and tried to think. I couldn’t keep wandering forever, I needed to do something productive. The other rooms I’d found had some boxes, there was a sludge in the tunnel that kinda looked dirt-ish, maybe I could make a grow box and try to grow some of the seeds? It wasn’t like I had anything else to do.

The next day, I set to work building a makeshift grow box. Using an empty metal crate I found in one of the storage rooms, I filled it with the sludge from the tunnel floors, mixing in a bit of the soil from the seed packets to enrich it. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing.

After planting rows of carrot, tomato and spinach seeds in my new grow box, I rigged up a makeshift watering system using some tubing and an old bucket. My engineering skills were limited, but necessity is the mother of invention. As long as I could keep the plants watered, they should be able to grow under the dim overhead lights.

I’d only just finished setting everything up when I got one hell of a surprise. A green, translucent screen appeared in my vision, making me yelp and nearly jump out of my skin before I calmed down enough to read the text on it.

[quote][center]Metal Grow Box (Junk Quality):

• Carrots (Scarlet Nantes): 1560 Hours to Harvest
• Tomatoes (Azoychka): 1800 Hours to Harvest
• Spinach (Emperor): 624 Hours to Harvest[/center][/quote]

…did I have an isekai gamer power related to gardening?

I shook my head, trying to clear it. This couldn’t be happening. This was a dream, or a hallucination. Something had gone horribly wrong and now I was seeing things. That was the only logical explanation.

But the longer I stared at the green words floating in front of my eyes, the more convinced I became that they were real. They weren't fading or going away, no matter how hard I tried to ignore them.

What the hell was happening to me?!

I stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the shovel I'd left lying on the floor. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, and my hands were shaking.

Sinking down onto the edge of the cot, I buried my face in my hands. This was too much, too fast. My mind raced as I tried to make sense of it all.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Freaking out wasn't going to help matters. I needed to approach this logically and figure out what was going on.

The green text box was still there, hovering in my vision and showing the growth times for the plants I had just planted. It seemed benign enough for now. In fact, it was actually kind of useful information to have. If the numbers were accurate, then I'd have fresh produce within…

I paused for a moment to run the numbers in my head. Six hundred twenty four divided by twenty four… a bit under four weeks.

Rising to my feet, I inspected the stores of canned food I had. I needed to figure out how often I could eat before I had a crop I could harvest. More than that, I also needed to plant more of the seeds. I needed a bigger garden.

I looked at the green box and tapped one of the names of the plants, causing the window to expand.

The new screen showed a detailed description of the crops, with additional information about their growth rates, and what kind of soil they needed. But there was a rather peculiar ‘button’ on the screen that was labeled “Augment”.

Pushing on it, my eyebrows rose as I read through the options available. Most were grayed out, but the ones that weren’t? From the descriptions, they’d solve most of the quiet fears I’d been having in the back of my mind. Specifically regarding the lack of actual sunlight and the fact that I wasn’t sure just what the sludge I was using for dirt was.

Pushing on the option called Light, the list of available Augments popped up, and my jaw dropped. It was a list of things that would generate light. From simple things like a lamp, to the really crazy, like a sunflower-sized solar panel or a glowing mushroom.

Looking over the other options, my hopes rose. They all had similar lists. The more advanced ones were locked, but most of the things that would give me light or warmth were available. If I was right, then survival was no longer something I was fooling myself with, but actually possible.