Ardent

Chapter 5.1

The heat and heaviness of the cargo bay were unbearable. Aliyn tasted sweat as it trailed down her cheeks and onto her lips.

"Alex," Aliyn whispered, reaching up to brush her gloved hand on Alex's shoulder. She tugged at him with urgent fingers as pain shot through her body, causing shock waves of terror to course through her.

"Aliyn, what is it?" Alex turned to face her.

She looked at him, her desperate gaze pleading with him. "Alex, please. I can't move my leg."

Alex's gaze fell downwards to Aliyn's legs. He said nothing. Only the drops of perspiration on his creased forehead revealed his distress.

"Aliyn! What the hell is that?" he cried, falling to his knees beside her, his voice laden with concern.

A human hand reached out from between two crates, clasping around her ankle with an iron grip, its fingers embedded knuckle deep through her pants and into her flesh. The hand was large and male, with black wedged beneath the nails of the visible fingers. It was as white as ash, devoid of any signs of life. Strange black veins bulged from the surface, reaching all the way up to its forearm, giving it a mottled and sickly appearance. The odour of decaying flesh wafted upward, tinged with the sharp scent of infection. Despite the pain, she leaned forward with a grunt, looking over the crates. A shadowed body lay wedged behind them.

Aliyn tried to move her leg, but the hand refused to budge, anchoring itself into her skin, immoveable. The more she struggled against it, the deeper the fingers burrowed into her ankle.

Blood covered the grasping hand, oozing from her wounds in crimson trails as it dripped to the floor. It coagulated in small pools, the sight making her stomach turn in violent waves. The edges of her vision blurred, and bile scorched the back of her throat as wave after wave of nausea washed over her.

"Alex, get him off me! He's grabbing me!" she pleaded with him, bracing her hands against his shoulders.

Alex grasped at the hand, trying to pull it from her leg with a strong tug. The flow of blood that trickled from her wound quickened as he grasped each finger, trying to remove it from her ankle.

The pain was unimaginable, and Aliyn shut her eyes against its onslaught as she screamed in pain. She felt Alex's hands fall away as the ear-splitting sound echoed across the cargo bay. When she opened her eyes, she saw Alex staring at the blood that dripped down his wrists—her blood.

"I can't, it won't move!" Alex exhaled in frustration, his movements frantic. "It won't come off!" He tapped his communicator and spoke, leading streaks of Aliyn's blood on his neck. "Corin, Lillian, get here as fast as you can. We need help!"

Aliyn swayed forward, the immense pain of the fingers bearing down on her flesh causing her vision to blur. Her view of the cargo bay dimmed, colours and objects flickering and fading into blackness. The last thing she saw before she collapsed was Alex's face, filled with terror.

***

Alex opened his arms to catch Aliyn's falling form, cradling her as she slumped against his shoulder. He slid his back down the wall of the cargo bay, maneuvering her to the floor while supporting her weight.

"Aliyn!"

The hand remained embedded into her leg, and he did his best to position her to take much of the pressure off. Her skin was cold, clammy, and devoid of colour, almost the same ashen shade of her hair. Her single black streak stood out now more than ever, a vivid contrast against her paling skin. He felt helpless, unable to do anything but wait for reinforcements.

He glanced at the cuff of the strange hand's jacket, his eyes running along with the red trim. It was the same jacket worn by all crew members of the CSV Ardent.

Johnathan Fritz.

Alex frowned. If he would have caught him sooner, none of this would have happened. In fact, this mission was becoming so unpredictable, that Alex regret agreeing to it. When the door slid open, he turned his head toward the sound.

Corin and Lillian burst into the room, scanning the area before zeroing in on Alex and Aliyn on the ground. They raced across the hold until they reached the two.

"What the hell happened?" Lillian pushed the crates away to reveal the limp frame of the fugitive, his hand still attached to Aliyn's leg. She cursed, her voice echoing through the bay.

Alex widened his eyes. Johnathan Fritz's body was white, eyes open and staring unseeing towards the ceiling. Black veins rose on his visible skin, spreading across every surface like a shadowy web.

The heat of the cargo bay intensified the smell of death, and Alex's stomach heaved as he tried to breathe through his mouth.

"We were looking around, and he latched on to Aliyn. I can't get him off her! His fingers are embedded right down to the knuckles," Alex explained, shifting Aliyn's weight on his shoulder.

Corin moved to Aliyn, brushing a white strand of hair from her cheek. "She's so cold, like ice," he breathed, concern in his blue eyes. "We have to get her to medical, now."

"Alright, Captain Obvious, you try it then! I can't get the thing off her!" Alex's voice rose, terse and cold.

"Calm down, Alex." Lillian gave him a stern look. "I know it's hard right now, but you need to calm down. We'll figure this out." She pursed her lips, the lines on her face deepening.

"It's no use." Corin shook his head. "I can't get it to budge. It's like his skin has gone hard, like a rock." He pushed himself up from Aliyn's side, looking down in confusion.

Lillian pulled a long knife from her belt, its blade glinting in the dim light. "It's simple," she whispered. "We need to relieve Johnathan Fritz here of his hand."

Lillian slid the blade along Johnathan's wrist, severing his hand from his arm in one clean stroke. Bizarrely, no blood came from the wound, and Lillian stared down at it, features contorted in horror.

"That is messed up," Corin remarked, his skin a bit green.

Alex recoiled and stood, cradling Aliyn in both arms, "I will get her to the med-bay. You two stay with Fritz and make sure he doesn't move. He looks dead, but dead men don't latch on to people. I will send help, and we will get him contained. Do not let him touch you."

Alex turned and headed for the door, hoisting Aliyn over one shoulder to allow him to travel faster. The severed hand attached to her leg swayed limply in his peripheral vision, its skin shrivelling as if all the moisture had been sucked from it. It sickened him, and he increased his pace.

His mind swam with endless thoughts as he sped through the empty white corridors. He had never seen or heard of anything like this before. What would cause a human body to go through such a radical change in death? Why had the hand not bled when severed?

Question after unanswered question raced through his mind like wildfire, leaving him teetering on the edge of despair. How could he lose Aliyn? Aliyn was the reason the crew had stayed together all this time. He was certain they would fall apart without her; he would fall apart without her. She had supported him during a very dark time and if it weren't for her, he had no idea where or what he would be now.