It all started on the 674th day of the Aether II Mission. Loud shouting filled the spaceship early in the morning. Iris' eyes flew open, and she sat up hastily and disoriented. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she wearily followed the loud voices.
"We can't just lock him into the medical room," Sebastian cried.
Andrei huffed. "Do you want to throw him out of the fucking ship?"
"Of course not! But we need that room!"
Iris entered the control centre. "What's going on, guys?"
Her crewmates turned to her, their faces red and angered.
"We have a problem, Iris. Commander ... well, it's easier if we just show you." Sebastian's jaw was clenched.
Andrei nodded in agreement and both men led her to the medical room. Like most of the rooms that were for anyone's use, it had no door. There was a so-called shutter that could be used in case someone needed privacy. It could be opened from both sides of the room. However, the medical room was also one of the few rooms that had a "seal". The seal could only be activated from the outside of the room and was a lot more robust. The seal was only to be used in emergencies, such as a breach in the spaceship's shell.
Iris breath hitched when she saw that the seal had been activated. She turned to her crewmates.
"The Commander is in there? Are you both mad?"
Andrei pressed his mouth in a thin line. "Wait a second."
He activated the small computer next to the room. After typing in several codes, they could see the recordings of a camera. The camera was installed in the right corner of the medical room, so it only showed the entrance that was now closed by the seal.
The sight of her Commander made Iris' legs buckle under her weight. Her stomach turned and her eyes widened.
"What the fuck?"
Andrei's hand touched her shoulder in a brotherly way. "We don't know what happened. He had the night shift in the control. When I got up to take over, he was already like this."
Iris couldn't lift her eyes from the video playing on the screen. Commander Theo was hammering at the seal with inhuman force. His hands were bloodied, several fingers already broken. There was a mixture of blood and hair on the ground – hair that the man had pulled out himself.
"Can we help him?" Her voice shook.
"I don't know, but we need that room. We need the medicine."
"He attacked me as soon as he saw me," Andrei retorted. He lifted his sweatshirt. Iris gasped at the sight. Five bloody and swollen cuts marked his stomach.
"I know but we need the medicine. Even to just treat your wounds," Sebastian sighted.
Iris nodded but knit her brows thoughtfully.
"We would need sedation to calm the Commander down. But everything, except for a few first aid kits, is in the medical room. Is it too dangerous to open the seal with Theo raging like this?" She asked.
Sebastian shrugged with a deep sigh, looking at his Russian friend.
Andrei shook his head. "It's too dangerous. This isn't our Commander right now. We need to wait. Maybe he'll calm down in a bit."
"Hopefully, the room won't be fully trashed by then," Sebastian muttered.
"I'll –" A loud crash interrupted Andrei. All three crewmembers flinched and turned to the seal. There was a huge bulge in the white material.
"Was that...?" Iris whispered, her face turning pale. She could only imagine the immense force that must have been used to create such a mark in the seal.
Another bang filled the silence, and the bulge got larger. It was as big as a fist.
"Iris, go and get us a weapon. Anything you find. Go!" Andrei ordered. With one last look back, the woman turned around and ran towards the control centre.
The loud bangs were suddenly drowned out by the spaceship's alarm. The automatic voice of the system informed about a breach in the seal.
Iris ran faster until she finally reached her destination. Her eyes scanned the room hastily, looking for something that could be used as a weapon. The toolbox! She grabbed the first few tools she found, a screwdriver, scissors, and a torch.
She was running back when a screech rang through the spaceship. Shivers ran down her spine at the sound.
"Sebastian!" Andrei screamed.
Iris turned around the corner and nearly crashed into Andrei. Her mouth opened at the terrifying sight but no sound left.
There was a large hole in the seal, and their Commander was unrecognisable. Scratches covered his body, most of his hair was pulled out. His right hand wasn't a hand anymore. Iris stomach turned just by looking at the piece of flesh.
She automatically stepped back when she saw his eyes. The once so friendly and bright eyes were bloodshot, the blue irises hidden by the enlarged black pupils.
The Commander was bent over Sebastian's body, his legs trapping Iris' crewmate to the ground. Sebastian had a gash on his forehead, and his leg was bent in an awkward and wrong direction. He was screaming in agony.
Andrei grabbed one of the tools from Iris hand, the screwdriver. He mumbled a few Russian words, almost like a prayer, before he attacked his own Commander.
Both men fell to the ground, freeing Sebastian, who was immediately crawling towards Iris. She reached for his hand, trying to help him up. But Sebastian only knocked her hand away.
"You need to run!"
"Not without you and Andrei!" The woman cried back, packing one of his arms and dragging him away from the two men who were fighting loudly. Sebastian freed himself from her grip.
"Listen, Iris, you need to run. Now!"
She didn't listen to him. Instead, she shook her head and ordered him to stay there. Then she ran to help Andrei.
Andrei was laying on the ground, one of his arms tightly around the Commander's neck, the other was holding the screwdriver. The tool was buried deep in the Commander's chest. But Theo didn't even seem to notice. He was growling at Andrei, his teeth bloody from when he had bitten the Russian only seconds ago.
With as much force as Iris could muster, she threw the torch at Theo's head. Andrei used all his power to rip the man's head back as soon as the torch hit and with a loud snap the Commander's neck broke. The lifeless body fell next to Andrei's.
It was quiet for a few seconds, while both astronauts tried to understand what had just happened.
"Andrei? Are you okay?" Iris' voice was barely a whisper.
"I -," the astronaut started, before his body began trembling. "Run!" The man cried, his last clear thoughts before his pupils began to enlarge and fire burned through his body.
Iris stumbled back, right into someone.
"Sebastian?" She whispered, as hands grabbed her, fingernails sank into her skin.
It was too late. NASA never heard anything again from the Aether II Mission.
