[DISCONTINUED] Making It Out Alive

Chapter 21 - Distrust

I stared at the hologram voting system with dread.

This is what caused both Clover and Budgie's deaths. I'm afraid that we might kill someone innocent again... I don't want anyone else to die...

I got a glimpse at everyone at the table. None of their expressions revealed on who they were voting for, which scared me slightly.

They could be either be voting for Ocean... or me.

I realized just then that I didn't truly want Ocean to be ejected. Me neither, of course, but I was worried that if they were about to kill Ocean, it would be all my fault. And even worse, in the heat of my anger, I had voted for Ocean. I wished that I could undo what I had did, but it wasn't possible. My vote was final.

Anger had gotten the best of me. And now, I feel more guilty than afraid.

Ocean still consistently held their arm, flinching in pain or shutting their eyes and muttering something inaudible.

Guilt comsumed me to the point where my mind completely tossed out the idea of me possibly being ejected, and the fact that a meeting was going on at all. I kept trying to see if I could tell who Ocean was going to vote for going by expressions.

The only expression I saw was stress, and maybe some irritation.

I wouldn't be suprised if I found that Ocean had voted for me. I wouldn't be suprised if I found that everyone had voted for me.

But me being ejected wasn't the only problem I was worried about, as I said earlier... Ocean could die too...

A noise that could only be described as a "whirr" filled the room, and voting results appeared on the screen.

The words "Nobody will be ejected" were at the bottom of the screen, which caught my attention first. It filled me with relief.

Four people had voted for skip, two people had voted for Ocean, and two people had voted for me.

"Thank God, nobody's dying today." Calypso said, whipping her brow. "I was hoping most people would skip. Remember the last two times we ejected people? It ended in failure and guilt..."

~

The crew was receiving fresh, new tasks and being in reassigned groups. Some people would be alone, like me.

Because my partner, and my friend, was murdered...

"As some of you might have heard from the meeting, Aubbie is indeed dead. She was stabbed while her and Caylee were together, and the lights were out. She had managed to make it to MedBay, yet the Imposter returned and broke the cord to her air source, and that is how she died." Calypso informed, some parts of her speech seemed quiter than others, likely because of the sorrow that had overcome everyone after this tragic news had just been shared.

"So..." Calypso continued. "I would prefer it if you get into groups more, to protect each other from incidents like these happening. Preferably a group of three; but two is also acceptable. Being alone isn't recommended, but some people work best alone, so it's fine if you choose to work solo. Now, go ahead and tell me if you want to be paired with someone specific."

I was about to tell the red suited leader that I wanted to be alone, until somone spoke first.

"Can I be paired with Caylee?" Soul asked.

I turned to look at them with slight suspicion in my eyes.

Soul has barely talked to me at all since I was on this ship... so why do they want to be paired with me all of a sudden?

Calypso nodded, singling that me and Soul were officially partners.

Well, not just us. Soul's dog, Harvey if I remember correctly, had just begun to sniff at my leg.

"Let's get going then, shall we?" Soul asked me.

"Sure." I said, not happy of course. It felt weird being paired with someone who wasn't my friend. Someone who wasn't Aubbie.

Soul's first task was in Sheilds. When there, I decided to finally question them.

"Soul?" I asked.

"Yeah?" They replied, seeming to mostly focused on the task in front of them.

"Why did you choose me as a partner?"

Soul stopped their task and turned to look at me.

"I felt like you needed to be with someone you could trust. After... all this stuff that happened... I can barely imagine how hard it is to lose a friend, even if you've only known them for such little time. It feels like... you didn't get to spend enough time with Aubbie before she passed, doesn't it?"

"It does. And I feel bad..." I felt myself starting up an emotional rant, but didn't stop myself for some reason.

"Because all she wanted was a friend. It seemed to me like I was her only friend then... which might seem a little dramatic, but it really seemed that way. Aubbie looked so happy to have me around, and I felt the same way too. And what's even worse... I never even got to say goodbye to her. She slowly and painfully died... with nobody around her except a cold blooded killer."

Soul looked at me with a heartbroken expression.

"Caylee, I..."

"Don't. Its okay." I said. "Let's finish our tasks. Once everyone's tasks are done, we can return to earth."

I heard a whining noise coming from below me. It was Harvey, giving me sad eyes and laying down on my foot.

"I guess dogs really can understand emotions." Soul said, reaching and picking up their dog.

"I always believed that." I said, then looked over my task list. "Let's see what's next on the list. I have a task in Reactor."

"Me too!" Soul said. "We can both do our tasks in there. Let's go!"

Soul led the way, with Harvey right at her side.

I couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion that lurked inside my chest. Soul seemed nice, they seemed to understand me and my feelings.

But... after Aubbie's death, it made me realize one thing.

You can't trust anybody.

I followed the orange suited crewmate, keeping my thoughts private, but my gaze on Soul public.