Another Life (Oc x reader)

Chapter 15 - Nervous System

In the med lab, Julian explains to Ethan what he's found out. "So these protein chains, that's what's making us sick?"

"Well, it attacks the central nervous system." Zayn walks over to them. "A huge spectrum of potential symptoms. With you, it's your sight, with Michelle, her amygdala's gonna rabid."

"This is the first non carbon-based life-form ever discovered. I'm naming it Bernardium Pageius." Julian says.

"If you're trying to get in my good books by attaching my name to some bizarre space flu.. Not the way to do it." Bernie tells him.

"No, you're the source. Patient zero."

"But.. I don't have any symptoms."

"I isolated this from your blood. You stepped out on that rogue planet, you brought it back with you. It explains why Petra got it without leaving the ship. You're the carrier."

"Does this mean that we all have it?" Ethan asks.

"Those of us awake do. The crew still in soma sleep are safe." Zayn tells him.

Julian takes his helmet off.

"What are you doing?" Bernie asks him.

"The virus is airborne. I was infected the moment you woke me up from soma."

"What's Julian doing awake?" Petra asks from the isolation room and they look at her, she looks a lot better now.

...

Erik is getting desperate since they can't crack the song puzzle. He tells Singh that they should go to the bar, to take a break. There, he meets Harper again. She tells him that all she wants is the truth. He tells her that if he wins at trivia game, she'll leave him alone for a month, but if she wins, she gets half an hour to talk about The Artifact. At trivia, Erik complains about pop culture questions, but he ends up winning with his team anyway.

...

Ethan is making his way down the corridor toward the mess hall, where everyone is going to have dinner. You walk around the corner and see him.

"Need a GPS? I make a pretty good tool." You say and lean on the wall.

His face whips in the direction of your voice, though his eyes obviously don't focus. "Yn. Oh, Yn, I'm so sorry. I was just so.."

"I know. It's fine." You tell him and take his hand. He smiles, relieved. You guide him to the mess hall and to a seat, then sit down beside him.

Everyone is talking and laughing and getting a glass of wine.

"I'm so happy to see you. Do you remember anything? Like, asking us to throw you out of an airlock?" Bernie asks Petra, chuckling.

"If you'd done that, Zayn would have thrown you out, you know that?" Ethan says and they laugh.

"Oh, no. First, do no harm." Zayn shakes his finger. "Even in space."

"Here's what I remember. One minute, I'm standing there, totally fine. And the next thing I know, every nerve in my body is on fire. Pain like I've never experienced, but.." She shrugs. "Now it's like nothing ever happened."

"Apparently that's how it is with childbirth, my mother explained it just like that." You tell them.

"Otherwise, woman would have stopped having children a long time ago." August says.

"Or figured out a way to make men do it." You say and they laugh.

"And you Ethan? Anything yet?" William asks.

"Uh, no, not yet."

"Well, I mean, if Ethan's symptoms follow the same pattern as Petra's. It's only a matter of time before he regains his sight again." Zayn says.

Oliver stand up with his glass. "I have a toast to make. To space bugs." He says and they cheer. "You pack a punch."

Petra starts to look nauseous. "I should have stopped at one plate."

"Let's get you back to the med lab, this was a little too much too soon." Zayn says.

She starts to sweat and groan. "Oh, my neck." Reaching to her neck she gasps.

Then Petra yelps and spasms, cracking sounds from her movements.

"Whoa, what is that?" Bernie asks seeing the red on her neck.

"Hold her arms!" Zayn says and they grab her to keep her from accidentally hurting herself.

"Guys, what's going on?" Ethan stands up.

You just sit frozen and stare at Petra with wide horrified eyes.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" He shouts.

"Her nervous system is being pulled straight out of her!" Bernie shouts.

Ethan grabs your hand and pull you up and behind him. You gasp in horror as Petra's nervous system falls out of her body and to the floor. It slides itself lazily along the floor and you all look at it in shock. Soon it stops moving. Looking at Petra's dead body in Zayn and Bernie's arms, you whimper and cover your mouth, eyes watering. You instinctively hide your face into Ethan and he wraps his arms around you in comfort.

...

"This virus is communicable. It's deadly and we have no idea how to stop it. Protocol is clear. We initialise a decontamination of the ship. William wake up a new crew." Ethan informs everyone as you're standing around the table on the observation deck.

"First, we'll open all the airlocks. We'll vent the infected atmosphere and contents into space. And second, the ships fire extinguishing system will spray the interior with a liquid chemical disinfectant and destroy any remaining microbial life." Julian says.

"Its contents?" Bernie says. "You mean us, Julian, cause that's what you're talking about here. Mass suicide."

"Bernie." Ethan says. "This virus will kill every single one of us."

"Not me. I'm resistant to this thing."

"Geez, Bernie." August says.

"He's not wrong." Javier tells her.

"I'm not talking about saving myself. I'm saying.. use me. Make me your guinea pig. There has to be a cure. I did this. Let me fix it."

Ethan sighs. "It will take an hour to rig the system with disinfectant. So, record messages to your families, spend it with each other. Whatever you want, the time is yours.. I'm sorry, I wish there was another way." Ethan says.

On the way out Julian asks Bernie if he was serious about offering himself as being a guinea pig. He says yes and go the med lab.

After everyone has left the observation deck you turn to Ethan. "We don't know if the same thing will happen to you."

He's about to rub his forehead, but then suddenly his eyes focus on his hand in front of him and then move to your eyes.

"Yes.. We do." He says, seeing you.

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