Among Us: Salvation

Chapter 5: The Protector

Severn twisted the screws loose from the admin panel and dropped them into his pocket. The metal hatch swung down on its hinge. Within the wall, the wires weaved into clusters and knotted clumps. Grumbling under his breath about cheap supplies and insufficient resources, he slipped a gloved hand into the gap.

"Careful with those," Uma said from the card terminal. "I got an awful shock the other day."

As he began dividing the threads, an exposed coil flung out a sprinkling of sparks. He stumbled back, almost tripping down the dip in the floor. "How do they even end up like that?" he huffed.

"Let me help you," the captain offered, putting her gloves on and shifting some of the contorted wires. "Watch that red one there... and the yellow... try wrapping it the other way. There you go."

"Whoever thought it was a good idea to use these wires, they're an idiot," Severn muttered, leaning down to reach further into the circuitry and untangling the blue coils at the back. Electrics hissed and crackled, but he held his ground.

"That's command for you."

"Have you received anything from them?" Severn asked. She shook her head. "You've heard nothing?"

"I contacted them to report Selene and Isla's deaths, and George's incarceration, but they are refusing to take my calls. They won't even acknowledge official reports."

The engineer scrunched his features together and persuaded a stubborn wire through the connector. With a little prompting, it clicked into place. "I don't understand why this is happening. We're on an insignificant vessel, and we have nothing of value, so why would somebody want to kill us? The security footage has been checked multiple times, and nobody seems to have been doing anything suspicious."

"Unless there's two of them."

In the silence, Severn ceased winding the cables and withdrew his arm from the gap. How had he not thought of it before now? There were no patterns to the killings, no evidence to surmise that it was the work of a singular person. "Supposing there is another involved, it doesn't explain why they're killing us. We're a research vessel. There's no expensive cargo, and if it was someone trying to take the ship, why would they choose this one? It's a piece of junk."

"I don't know," Uma sighed, pressing her fists into the surface of the computer desk. Her temples pulsated and her body ached. As much as she wanted to lie down in a dark room and forget for a while, there was still work to do and the innocent souls left on the ship to carry home safely. But which of those souls were innocent? She liked to assume she knew, but deep down the distrust wracked her.

A breath shuddered through her rib cage, and she shoved herself back up, eyeing the junior engineer as he shuffled his feet. She didn't want to think badly of people, especially not those like Severn, but even sweet souls could commit atrocities. They all had it in them. "Forgive me, it's not very becoming of a captain to speak in this manner."

"Nothing to forgive, Cap," he assured her, trying not to take her vigilant looks personally. He couldn't blame her mistrust. He'd contemplated the same, and he guessed the others had too. Suspicion bred fear, and fear made people consider the worst. Friends became enemies and long-held ties snapped under the desperation to survive.

He sank into the red swivel chair and scratched at the tender skin of his palms. "There's no going back, is there? Regardless of what happens, whether we find out who did this and live, I can't see there being a way we can return to how things were."

"I suppose not," Uma said, "but that doesn't mean there isn't hope. We will get through this, Severn. I'm not sure how, but we will."

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