Awakening Love - A Remake Of The Original

₱ink Blood

Three weeks had passed since our return from the mysterious planet. In that time, my side had healed quite nicely, and Yellow had allowed me to resume my duties on the ship. I had also been diligently working to regain my voice, training myself to speak again. Occasionally, Cyan would follow me like a lost puppy. He had fallen into the habit of shadowing me during the day, watching me from a distance, and then accompanying me back to the cafeteria. It was a routine that had become oddly comforting, and I found myself not minding his silent presence.

Today was no different. We were in the weapons room while I downloaded some data. Cyan stood nearby, as usual, listening to my ranting. He rarely responded, but I knew he was there, absorbing my words. On this particular day, I had chosen manatees as the topic of discussion.

"And they're just so flubbery. How did nature create such a chill creature? Of course, they compare nothing to a capybara, but they still rank top 3 in chillness. Capybara, of course, is number one. But right now, we're not talking about those little rodents; we're talking about the drunk sailor's mermaid. What do you think about manatees, Cy?"

Cyan remained silent for a moment, clearly deep in thought. "I've never seen a manatee before," he admitted, eliciting a gasp from me. He flinched slightly, uncrossing his arms when I erupted into a sudden fit of coughing. I held up my hand, signaling for him to wait patiently until I had recovered before returning to our topic.

"You've never seen a manatee?! What planet were you born on?!" I ignored the way Cyan's hand tensed when I grabbed it and pulled him out of the half-room, into the corridor that led to communications. There was a noxious odor wafting from the nearby shields room, but I disregarded it, my excitement overriding any discomfort.

Once we reached the communications room, I released Cyan's hand and rushed over to the download panel, quickly linking my tablet. It took just a moment for the ship's database to bring up an image of a manatee. "This," I announced, gesturing to the picture, "is a manatee."

Cyan stared at the picture, his head tilting in that endearing way of his. "It's..." he began, his voice trailing off, which earned a soft giggle from me.

"Big," he finally settled on, returning his attention to me. I chuckled softly, nodding in agreement.

"It is indeed," I replied.

Just then, Green appeared in the doorway, causing me to startle. "Hey," he began, "have you seen Pink? I need her help with the O2." He looked at Cyan and me, his expression puzzled.

I realized that I hadn't seen Pink all day, and it was unusual for her to be absent from breakfast.

"Odd," Green muttered, crossing his arms. "Everybody I've talked to so far has said the same thing. This ship may be big, but we're surrounded by space. Where could she have gone?"

Both Cyan and I noticed Cyan's tensed posture. I knew it was just his usual quirkiness, but Green didn't have that context. There was no way that Cyan could be involved in—

"There hasn't been an attack for a while," I suddenly realized, a sense of dread clawing its way up my throat. That could only mean one thing: Pink was the next victim. And that smell...

Without wasting another moment, I rushed out of the room, closely followed by Green and Cyan. The trip to the shields room was eerily quiet, and it felt much longer than it should have been. The stench grew stronger with every step. I yanked open the metal covering of the vent, and—

Green gagged and stumbled off to the side somewhere, but in that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care. My focus was consumed by the horror just in the vent behind me, and I couldn't tear my mind away from the nightmarish scene. I sobbed uncontrollably, feeling a mixture of grief and terror engulf me.