Isolation

Chapter 53

Cassidy picked up the cup of hot coffee she had brewed in the cafeteria. She walked through the halls all the way to the infirmary. She handed it to a sniffling Mark, who was wrapped in a heated blanket. He sneezed.

"Bless you," she said.

"Thank you," he said. He took a small sip of the hot beverage. "Oh, that's good."

"It's a good thing we found you," she said. "Well, that Tim found you."

He was sitting across from Mark on another bed. Mark laughed lightly.

"I can't believe you did that to rescue me," he said. "How did you know I was there?"

"Vera called when you went to the roof," he answered. "Said you chose to become a human lightning rod. I knew what that meant. I did the same for Sara. I was lucky to get to you in time."

"That's gonna make for some cool scars," Cassidy said, pointing to the branching lightning pattern on his skin.

"Yeah," he said. "Well worth the cost. Everyone is safe."

"Almost everyone," Damien said. "The doctor said you could go see her. You're well enough to walk."

"I don't know if I can. The screen was one thing, but for real? I don't know..."

"All of your friends are there," Tim said. "Let's take a walk. I'll go with you."

Something about what Tim said made Mark trust him. He had that feeling about him. Looking in Tim's eyes, before he knew Maria had died, he knew Tim had seen more than his fair share of grief. The way he spoke about Sara captivated him in a sense of security. He trusted in following his footsteps.

All of his friends were there, just like Tim promised. Vera was with Rocco, holding each other. James had his arm on the glass, staring at Sara. Sasha and Juno cuddled with Blaez and Edon in the corner. Aiden was standing apart from everyone, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked tired. They all did. They perked up when they saw Mark enter the room with Cassidy and Tim. Vera marched over to Mark. He thought she was going to hit him or something. Instead, she hugged him.

"You're a freaking idiot," she said. "You had me terrified."

"I'm sorry," Mark said. "I didn't know what else to do."

"You could have told us," James said. "We could have helped."

"I wasn't putting you guys at risk. I didn't know if it would work."

"It did," Aiden said. "Thanks for saving our asses."

Cassidy put her hands on her hips. She looked through the glass.

"Now that we have one crisis solved," she said, "we need to deal with another."

"Right," Mark said. "Sara."

He looked at the creature that had taken her over. Her eyes were full of black. Sara's veins were neither red nor blue. They mimicked the same shade of void.

"She's taken over by the Drax?"

"Something like that," Cassidy said. "Officer Tanner said it covers all essential organs, even the heart. Maria died from a heart attack, courtesy of the creature. It could do the same to her."

"But it hasn't," he remembered. "It wants the Frag Drive."

"We can't give it sophisticated technology like that," James said. "But... it's Sara we're talking about."

"It's either the drive... or Sara's life," Tim said. "I know what I would choose in a heartbeat, but I'm not the Captain. You have to weigh the risks, Mark. It's your final decision."