Disclaimer: The Among Us universe belongs to InnerSloth LLC and PlayEveryWare. This is a work of fanfiction and is not intended for profit or copyright infringement. I do not own the rights to Among Us or its setting/universe.

After the funeral I shut myself in my cabin. I don't read the journal like I normally do. I don't sleep, either. I just sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the hummingbird Quill made me. It's still beautiful. I'm still broken. Some of the beauty carries a hint of sadness - a sense of melancholy longing. Broken shadows of happy memories that used to be and are no longer.

The door opens and I don't look up to see who it is. I don't have to. I can tell by his smell and the way he walks. Del sits on the floor in front of me. He doesn't look me in the eye, focusing instead on the region of my knees.

"I owe you an apology."

This surprises me. I don't know why it does because he's right - he does owe me an apology. I just never expected him to recognize it himself. What does that tell me about us? I wonder. Am I so prejudiced to assume he doesn't have feelings, or is he simply more self-aware than I thought?

I set the hummingbird back on the nightstand next to the journal and Dr. Barnett's glasses. My collection of mementos from the people I love.

"I lost my temper and let it affect how I treated you," he says quietly. I look up to find sadness in his eyes. "I don't know what else to say apart from the fact that I let Minka get under my skin. I'm not proud of it."

I don't say anything. I slip off the edge of the bed and join him on the floor. I push aside the blankets and pillows and wrap my arms around his neck. He pulls me into his lap and we sit quietly together for a long time, our breaths mingling and our hearts beating against each other. Eventually he releases me and we settle into the bedding on the floor. I rest my head on his shoulder and stare at the shadowy ceiling. He nestles his face into my hair and kisses the top of my head.

"Do you think he knew?"

"Hm?"

"Zale. Do you think he knew he was going to die?"

Del was quiet for so long I wonder if he heard me. Then he says, "I don't know. I think he something something was going to happen. It was unlike him to split off from the group and go somewhere by himself."

"I guess it's impossible to know when you're going to die. At this point we really shouldn't be surprised, should we? Osiris is right. This MIRA-forsaken ship will be the death of us all."

Del's arms tighten around me and he turns on his side so he's pressed up against my back. I feel the tickle of his breath on my ear as he whispers, "You're not going to die on this ship, Sage."

"How can you possibly promise something like that?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"And the rest of the crew?"

"Well, I can only do my best. Osiris will help me."

"Osiris is a broken man," I murmur. "I saw it in his eyes. He's lost all sense of himself."

Del doesn't reply. He moves the hair away from my neck, exposing the skin to the cold air. I shiver. Goosebumps erupt along my body as I feel the warmth of his lips and nose on my neck. I close my eyes and focus on the way his body fits against mine. The way he places butterfly kisses along my neck and ear and jaw. The way his hand looks for a place to rest, accidentally brushing against my breast. Or maybe it's on purpose.

I don't know and I don't care.

He eventually settles in with one arm wrapped around my stomach and the other providing a cushion for my head. I wonder, vaguely, where Quill is. Maybe he'll walk in on us again. I don't really care about that, either. Most likely he'll just be happy to have the bed all to himself. I smile. Stupid, stupid. Stupid things.

Eventually Del's breaths become deep and steady and I know he's fallen asleep. Eyes still closed, I banish all thoughts of Zale. My mind is clear and free from death and Dr. Barnett and George Korbel. I focus on matching my breaths with Del's. I don't focus on the fact that every breath I draw could be my last. My fate has been determined and death is inevitable.

I tell fate where to stick its death and finally drift into unconsciousness.

When I wake up I'm alone in the cabin. My fingers reach out, seeking Del's warmth, and find only cold sheets. I lift my head. The crumpled pillows and sheets on the bed are evidence of Quill having slept there the night before. So he came in, after all. I wonder what he thought when he saw Del and I tangled up together.

I'm sure he'll not hesitate to share his thoughts when I see him this morning.

My stomach rumbles loudly and I glance at the clock on the ceiling. It's well past breakfast time. I push myself into a sitting position and stretch, noticing the kink in my neck. I must have slept on it wrong. I'm not used to sleeping on the floor. I stand, unsteady, and smooth my hair back. I don't dare look in the mirror - I already know I must look like death. I step out of the cabin door and close it behind me.

The hallway is void of everything and everyone, apart from the voices. They issue from the Cafeteria, loud and angry and piercing. I pause, listening to distinguish who it is that's yelling. Osiris. Minka. Quill. I'd recognize their voices anywhere.

"-happen to be in 'solitary' whenever something happens!" Osiris roars as I timidly peek around the door to Cafeteria. He leans over the center table, all up in Minka's face. She sits there, handcuffed and unflinching. Del sits next to her, gripping her upper arm to make sure she doesn't lash out. "You need to stop using that excuse - it's getting old! How do we know you can't morph into a monster and crawl through the vents? There's nothing I wouldn't believe anymore!"

"Well, if you're all so determined to blame me then I guess I don't stand a chance, do I?" Minka retorts. "Just get it over with and kill me already - then you'll see. Then you'll be sorry!"

"You guys, we need to calm down!" Quill raises his hands in a placating sort of gesture. "Nothing is going to get solved with us jumping down each others' throats. We just need to ask everyone where they were last night and what they were doing and then break it down logically from there."

"Logic? Logic! What in MIRA's name makes you think this can all be solved with logic? I don't care what anyone says - Minka is the only one who's openly shown any aggression. She's mean and volatile and needs to be taken care of!"

"I agree with Quill," Del's deep voice cuts through as Minka levels and acidic glare at Osiris. "You two have been at odds with each other since liftoff and it's easy for you to act on emotion. We have to analyze this from a more logical perspective."

"I like that idea." Lenna's voice is small and timid. Tears stain her face, as they so often do nowadays. "We should tell everyone where we were."

"Fine!" Osiris throws his hands into the air and angrily turns away from Minka. He sees me hovering awkwardly by the door and snorts. "Great! Here's another person to tell me my ideas are stupid. So glad you could join us, Sage - come right on in! Unless you're planning on accusing Minka of murder, in which case you might as well just leave."

My eyes scan the group, noticing how small it is. Two prominent figures are missing.

"Where...where are Kenzo and Ebba?"

Something inside of me already knows the answer to this question. I push the thought away, refusing to believe it. We just found Zale. How could there be another death so quickly? But Lenna's tears and Quill's hard expression say it all.

My knees shake. I lower myself to the ground. Quill rushes over and crouches in front of me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. My whole body shakes. Ebba is gone. And Kenzo with her. How could this have happened? Why didn't I know about it until now? I think back, racking my brain, trying to remember if I heard any strange noises in the walls last night. I come up empty.

I hold my head in my hands, staring at nothing in particular, allowing my eyes to go unfocused as I try to process what's going on.

"Lenna was the first one up in the morning," Quill whispers to me as I shake my head. "She went to find Kenzo in the kitchen but he wasn't there. Naturally, she assumed the only other place he could be was with Ebba in Oxygen. When she got there, she found -"

"Death," Lenna gasps, fresh tears streaming down her face. "Death...everywhere! It was awful, Sage. All of the plants were withered and black and decaying. The smell was unbearable. Then I f-found them..." Her voice breaks off on a high-pitched note.

"All we know is that we were all together during Zale's funeral last night," Quill continues softly. "Except for Minka. We're trying to piece together when and how this could have happened so quickly. We need to discuss where each of us was after the funeral - what we were doing and who we were with. The funeral was around nine in the evening and Lenna found Ebba and Kenzo in Oxygen around nine this morning. That's a twelve hour window we're working with. As soon as the funeral ended I left to go work in Upper Engine. I was all alone for two hours. Around eleven o'clock I walked back to the cabin and fell asleep."

"I was in the kitchen last night after the funeral," Lenna whispers. "I hadn't eaten all day and was famished. I snuck a little nighttime snack before heading to bed in my cabin. Kenzo was with me in the kitchen but then we parted ways at our cabins. I don't...I don't know where he went after that."

"What time did you arrive at your cabin?" Quill asks.

"I don't know...around ten? Kenzo and I chatted for a while before bed."

"Which direction did Kenzo go when you guys parted? Did you see?"

"I don't - west, I think? Toward Upper Engine?"

"Hm. I could have sworn I didn't see or hear anyone in there with me, but I suppose it's possible he snuck through while I was distracted...Was anyone with Ebba at all last night?"

Everyone shakes their heads.

"I think Kenzo was," Del says. "But they're always together, so it's impossible to know. She probably went back to Oxygen to tend to her plants. I believe she sleeps there, despite having a cabin all to herself."

"Well, we all know where I was last night," Minka drawls, rattling her handcuffs for emphasis. "Where I always am, day in and day out. I was in my cabin, reading that journal Sage gave me." Let you borrow, I think bitterly. "Real page-turner, that one. Chock full of fascinating stuff. Kept me up all night. I didn't see or hear a single thing. Didn't do anything, either," she adds icily, glaring at Osiris, who scowls at her.

"Where were you last night, Osiris?"

Osiris, who had become mysteriously quiet throughout the entire conversation, flinches as though he's been slapped. "Weapons," he snaps. "I was there by myself, working out for three hours -"

"Three hours?" Lenna gasps.

"It's how I blow off steam," he grumbles. "I was probably the last one to fall asleep last night. I got back to my cabin, took a shower, and finally went to bed around midnight. Satisfied?"

Small nods. A few shrugs and some whispers. Quill helps me to my feet and guides me over to the table where Minka and Del sit. Minka eyes me scrupulously as I take a seat. I ignore her, staring instead at my hands, which are shaking.

"So what about you, Little Red? Where were you last night?"

This is ridiculous, I think to myself as I feel the blush rise. But everyone else has been forthright with their information, so I share mine, anyway.

"I left the funeral as son as it ended at nine and went to my cabin," I say in a small, empty sort of voice. "I was by myself for about an hour or so before -" I pause. Minka raises an eyebrow. Osiris eyeballs me critically.

"Before what, Sage?" Lenna asks nervously. Certainly she doesn't think I'm actually capable of malcontent? If I don't speak the truth soon, however, then everyone will suspect me.

I swallow hard. "Before Del came in," I say loudly - perhaps a little too loudly. "We, um, talked for a bit and then...fell asleep."

Osiris snorts loudly. Minka rolls her eyes and Quill scratches the back of his neck, avoiding eye-contact with me. I don't know what to do with my gaze so I look at Lenna. Her face is a mixture of excitement and hurt, like she can't decide if she's elated about the developments between me and Del or offended that I didn't tell her sooner.

"So you weren't alone," Osiris says. "Great. And I assume that means you were together for the entire night? Too...busy to go off and murder anyone, hm?"

I recognize what he's insinuating and feel my blush deepen. I open my mouth to correct him but Del gets there first.

"It's not like that, Osiris," he says calmly, betraying no hint of emotion or embarrassment. "Yes, Sage and I were together the entire night last night, give or take a few hours. The first hour after the funeral I went back to Communications to see if I could salvage anything from the wreckage. No luck. So I went to find Sage and that's all. We didn't hear or see anything."

"Too busy inhaling each other, no doubt," Quill mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. I shoot him a venomous look.

"Well, that accounts for everyone, except for Ebba and Kenzo." Osiris sighs heavily. "If Ebba really was in Oxygen, then I can only imagine Kenzo had joined her after the funeral...but then why would he have gone west from Cafeteria? Either he knew something was off or he was up to no good."

"Are you really suggesting Kenzo was guilty?" Lenna looks dubious. "He's dead, genius. What, do you think he impaled Ebba and then decided, 'Well, I guess I better take care of myself, too?'"

A muscle works in Osiris's jaw but he says nothing.

"I'm sorry...impaled?"

"Yes. It was awful," Lenna says, her voice wobbly and eyes shining. "Straight through both of their heads..."

"Well, I'm so glad we had this conversation," Minka says scornfully. "It really helped clear things up, didn't it? No murderer, but we do have a gym rat, a snack fiend, and two lovebirds. Great use of our time."

"It was better than attacking each other with no evidence," Quill defends, looking slightly put-out.

"Sure. But now what? Are we just going to keep talking in circles or are we actually going to do something about it? There's six of us left - that's over half the crew dead and gone. Clearly my defense lessons have done nothing, since we're all dropping like flies. Guess we're just sitting ducks, waiting for the killer to -"

"CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE TRYING?" Osiris howls, spittle flying from his mouth. "For MIRA's sake, woman, what would you have us do? IF accusations don't work and talking things out doesn't work, then what are we left with? Don't forget, just because your story checks out doesn't mean you're out of the hot seat yet. You're still the number-one suspect in my mind."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots!" Minka pretends to quail. "So what are you going to do, tough guy? 'Take care of me'?"

"Guys! Have we considered the fact that maybe it's none of us?" Lenna chimes in. "I mean, think about it. Up until now we've assumed this monster can either possess people or turn human. Well, all of the humans are here...that we know of. What if someone has been freeloading this entire time? If this thing really can shapeshift and travel through the vents, what if that's what it's been doing for three months? Maybe it lives in the walls." She gazes around at the glittering floor-to-ceiling windows of the observation deck, as though it might give her the answer she's looking for.

"I suppose that could be true," I say, a jolt of fear and trepidation shooting through me. Why hadn't I thought of it before? "If that's the case, they're probably listening in on our conversation right now."

"I think it's bullshit," Osiris informs us. "We've been on this ship for months. There's been no sign of another lifeform among us -"

"Apart from all the death," Quill points out.

"I've searched this vessel from top to bottom and haven't found a single thing," Osiris insists.

"What about the sabotage?" Del asks. "The cut wires. The lights going out. The doors locking mysteriously...surely that's a sign of malicious life on board?"

Osiris's face works furiously as he struggles to contend this point with evidence to the contrary. All that comes out is a frustrated sort of gurgle.

"You saw what that thing did to the Communications room," I agree. "It was completely destroyed. Like it was set on fire, but not. How does that even happen, anyway? I definitely think something is hiding in the walls."

"So let's put it to a vote," Osiris says, earning him odd looks.

"You want to turn this into politics?" Minka sneers. "This is a spaceship crew, not a democracy."

"You're just scared because the odds are against you."

"Scared?" Malice glints in Minka's dark eyes. "Try me."

"Fine. Maybe we will. All in favor of tossing Minka off this ship, raise your hand."

Osiris raises his hand. No one else budges. My brain is still sluggish with sleep and I'm having a hard time comprehending anything that's going on. Minka throws Osiris a deeply self-satisfied look.

"Dear me," she clucks her tongue sadly. "Look at that. Guess our glorious resident bastard is on his own, after all."

SMACK!

Osiris reaches across the table and backhands Minka so hard she falls off the bench. Even Del doesn't have the reflexes to intervene. Before he can stand to confront Osiris, Minka jumps to her feet. Her face is lit with a terrifying greed. She licks her lip, which is coated in blood, and rushes at Osiris. It doesn't matter that she's three times his size. It doesn't matter that her hands are still cuffed in front of her, or that she's rapidly loosing blood from the cut on her mouth. She has Osiris locked in her sights and nothing will stand in her way from breaking him. When she's a foot away Osiris swings at her. She ducks and his fist goes wide. Using her momentum and body mass, she throws herself into Osiris's gut. He collapses and Minka presses a foot against his windpipe, slowly applying pressure.

"Give me one good reason," he hisses. "One good reason and maybe I'll consider sparing your life!"

Del, Quill, Lenna and I stand up in unison. Del moves towards Minka but the movement alerts her faster than blinking. With a hideous expression, there's a rustle of fabric, a flash of metal, and a rush as something shoots through the air at Del. He expertly dodges it, which means it soars straight past him and hits the person directly behind him.

Me.

Too late, I realize what's happening. My lagging brain tries to understand. The electric shock of pain sends an intense tingling sensation to my extremities and I feel my hands go numb. I stare at the dagger sticking out of my abdomen, waiting for the pain to kick in. I wait. And I wait. Shouts erupt around me. My crewmates are nothing but blurs of shape and sound. I sway on the spot. Pain erupts like a flower blooming, hot and wet and heavy, and I feel sweat break out across my entire body.

Someone grabs my shoulders, preventing me from collapsing. I lean against them, seeing black spots prickle my vision. I open my mouth to speak but all that comes out is a gasp.

"Don't speak, Sage," someone says, their voice tinny and distant like someone speaking to me from the end of a football field. "Don't speak and try not to move. Just breathe. Breathe as deeply as you can..."

I don't register much of what happens after that. For a strange moment, it seems like the pain is gone. Every time I move there's a small pinch but as they wheel me to Medbay it seems almost like they've already removed it and I'm back to normal.

But they haven't removed it yet. I know because when they do remove it the pain is back, but doubled. Tripled. I scream as the burning erupts in my abdomen, sending hundred-watt volts of electricity shooting through my muscles. I shudder and gasp, tears streaming down my face as I feel a hot-red poker stabbing into my skin. I drift in and out of consciousness as the pain ebbs and flows, sometimes gentle and dull, other times sharp and unbearable.

When I finally come to I'm shaking and drenched in sweat. How long has it been? Hours? Days? I can't tell. My skin is sticky and pallid and hot to the touch. A rush of cold sends shivers through me. My breathing is shallow and I stare at the ceiling of Medbay, lying on a cloud.

"Sage."

I turn my head, which feels like it's full of rocks, and watch as three anxious faces swim into view. Quill, Lenna, and Del gather around the foot of my bed, their expressions open and full of fear.

"Wh-what happened?" The words are difficult to form. My tongue has swollen to three times its normal size. It's a dumb question - I know what happened - but I'm delirious. I feel slow and sluggish and I'm afraid to move even a fraction of an inch, lest the pain return with a vengeance. Quill steps closer and kneels next to my bed, placing a hand against my forehead. His touch is cold and tremulous.

"You were lucky," he whispers. His green eyes are ringed with red and he looks like he hasn't gotten much sleep. How long was I out for? "It missed all of your vital organs by inches. Osiris says you'll have a scar and some nerve damage. If you're even more lucky, the nerve damage will go away."

Osiris has experience with dagger wounds, I remember suddenly. Minka stabbed him, too.

"But...where is Osiris?"

All three of their expressions collapse, turning grim. Quill averts his gaze and goes mysteriously mute. I look at Lenna, who bites her lip and shakes her head. She can't say. A weight drops in my stomach.

"He's not -?" I begin, alarmed, but Del steps in with a reassuring shake of his head.

"No. He's still alive. But he's not...all there. You were right, Sage. Something in him broke. After you got hurt he was furious. Then -" He stops, his voice turning into a whisper as he gazes into my eyes. "Then he killed her."

The silence smothers me. I stare at one drawn face to the next, horrified and refusing to believe it. I dare each of them to contradict the statement. None of them do.

"Ebba and Kenzo just died!" I croak, feeling the burning prickle of hot panic. "I haven't even seen them yet! We haven't even said goodbye! There can't be another death already!"

"We all killed her, Sage."

Quill's words are cold and sharp and I stare at him in alarm.

"Wh-what are you -?"

"I said we all killed her," he snapped. Tears glisten in his eyes. Anger? Remorse? There's definitely evidence of both. "As soon as we saw what she did to you it was all over. No one was happy with her after that, myself included. We put it to a vote again and it was unanimous. She has far overstayed her welcome on this ship. Osiris knocked her out and, well..."

"She's gone," Lenna whispers. "No funeral. No goodbyes. No nothing. Just...gone. Sleeping in the stars."

An icy fist plunges into my chest, gripping my heart and flooding my veins with cold.

"Y-you don't mean...she's not..." My heart quickens and I try to sit up but Quill pushes me back down. "You mean she's out there?" I gesture my hand wildly to the ceiling, indicating the starry expanse of space. I try to imagine it. Minka, with her bubble-gum pink uniform, drifting aimlessly through space, cold and dead and alone, her dark blue-streaked hair floating around her pale, bluish face like seaweed floating through the ocean..."

"She killed herself, Sage," Del growls. "Anyone who's foolish enough to pull a knife during a time like this deserves what she got. That dagger was meant for me. It's my fault you're hurt - I should have taken it. Killing Minka was the right thing to do."

"The right thing?" I shriek. "Del - it's murder!"

"She almost killed you. It's justice."

"Now we're not any better than the Polusians!" I gasp. I sit up again, swatting away Quill's hand, and lever myself slowly, painfully to a sitting position. I collapse against the fluffy pillows and stare at the three of them accusingly, studying each guilty face in turn. "Are you all pleased with yourselves? What made you think this was a good idea? We're stronger together, and now we've done nothing but allow fear to divide us! I hope you realize that you're playing straight into this thing's hands - whatever it is that's out to get us has successfully manipulated all of you, Osiris included! I cannot believe you didn't ask me first!"

"Osiris pulled you back from the brink of death!" Quill cuts in, looking scandalized, like he thinks I should be grateful that my almost-killer is now dead. "We weren't even sure you were going to be alive to have a say! Don't you understand what we've been through - what I've been through - for the past five hours?"

I don't understand but I can imagine. My near-death experience must have been enough to send them all spiraling, grasping at whatever kind of sense they could without thinking clearly. I know it's useless to argue. Even if I had been awake to to have a say, my one measly vote to spare Minka would have been overridden by the other three. It's frustrating. It's beyond frustrating - it's infuriating. I'm incensed with the whole lot of them and I want them to know it. As much pain as they're in at almost losing me, I want them to feel even worse with the knowledge that, even though I'm still alive, their actions have only pushed me farther away.

"Get out," I tell them. When none of them move, I say it louder. "Get out!"

"Sage -"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it. I want you all to get out of here! I feel sick just looking at you!"

Lenna stifles a sob and a pang of guilt rips through me. I can't bear to look at her. I stand my ground and look into Quill's eyes instead.

"I thought I knew you," I whisper. What little light was left in his eyes extinguishes as my words. The ache in my abdomen swells the more worked up I become and I want nothing more than for all of them to leave me the hell alone so I can be at peace with my thoughts and pain. Then, because I'm on a roll, I add the final crushing blow. "Grandfather wouldn't have stood for this. He was ten times the man you are."

Quill's mouth opens in shock, his lower lip trembling. I glare at him, ignoring the physical and emotional pain riddling my body. I glare until he stands and, without a word, slouches miserably out of Medbay.

"And you," I shoot at Lenna, who shies away from the fire in my eyes. "You're capable of many things, but I never would have thought murder was one of them. You've surprised me in the worst way possible."

Poor kind, sweet Lenna. Always going along with what other people think because she doesn't have the guts to stand up for herself. She seems to know what I'm thinking because she sucks in a shuddering, snotty breath and wipes her nose on the sleeve of her uniform before turning and running out of Medbay, her cries echoing back to me as she leaves.

I look at Del.

"I have nothing left to say to you."

He reaches into the pocket of his dark blue uniform and pulls out the small black book that once belonged to my grandfather. He sets it carefully on the small table next to my bed and says, "I know you think we've made a mistake, Sage. I accept that you're mad at us. But in time I know you'll come around. Eventually you'll realize we did the right thing."

He leaves without another word.

I don't pick up the journal. I don't even look at it. I've read it cover to cover and studied it thoroughly. Nothing in its pages can help me now. I lie back down to stare at the ceiling, feeling thoroughly miserable.

I refuse to give Del the satisfaction of admitting that they made the right decision. The more time passes the more stubbornly I refuse to accept their actions. I'm still of the firm belief that kicking Minka off the ship is as good as murder. Still, I can't ignore the facts. A day or so passes after Minka's death, during which no one falls victim to the mysterious killer. I have to admit that this is suspicious. Osiris certainly acts like he's caught the culprit once and for all. He struts around the ship with his head held high in a self-satisfied sort of way. He comes to change my bandages regularly, and though I dig into him like I did the others he refuses to let my words bother him.

After a couple days I find enough strength to stand. I may be a little wobbly on my feet and my abdomen is perpetually sore, but I refuse to let myself become bedridden. No one has brought Ebba or Kenzo to Medbay and I want to give them a proper sendoff. I wheedle Quill into bringing me to Oxygen, ignoring the stab of guilt at the memory of what I said to him. He eventually gives in, under the condition that I allow him to push me in a wheelchair. I accept the offer, secretly feeling relieved as I settle into the wheelchair. Del, of course, insists he come with. Lenna has been tip-toeing around me ever since I left my bed, no doubt wondering whether I'm going to start yelling at people again. She politely declines the invitation to tag along.

"I don't want to...see them again," is her excuse. I nod, ignoring the look on her face and the way she avoids my eye when I look at her. It hurts but I know I deserve it. I brought this on myself.

There's a truth to Lenna's words that resonates with me. The last thing I want to see is more death, but I know that the bodies need to be brought to Medbay, inspected, and prepared for burial. And so it's with a heavy heart that I make my way to Oxygen with Quill and Del, sitting tense in the wheelchair as it rolls across the scuffed metal floors.

I sense the destruction even before the doorway comes into view. The air is dead and putrid and thick with decay. The once-vibrant vines that grew around the entrance to Oxygen are now shriveled and black, sagging across the open doorway like a torn veil. The placed used to smell of rich soil and fresh dew on lush leaves. Now everywhere we look we're met with nothing but blackened husks, wilted leaves, and mold. The tiny silver fish float bottom-up in brackish water at the top of the tank, bloated and gray. I lift my shirt over my nose. The smell is unbelievably strong, like compost and low tide. There's no sign of life anywhere. Surely the culprit didn't care about harming the plant and fish life. After all, they originated from the same planet.

So what happened here?

It's almost as mystifying as the entire Communications room being burned to a crisp. It's not just the passengers who are in danger anymore - now the entire ship is being eaten from the inside out.

We smell them before we see them. The putrid stench of rotted and decaying flesh stings our nostrils, churning my stomach as I force myself to keep my breakfast down. They sit on the floor in front of the tall metal lockers in the back of the room. They're slumped against each other, eyes closed, mouths gaping open, soft pale skin sloughing off dead muscle. Blood clots bubble from their mouths, thick and congealed, and stains their faces and uniforms. Kenzo sits in front of Ebba, almost as though he was trying to shield her from something. A tiny, perfectly circular hole sits in the center of Kenzo's forehead. The edges of the hole are tinged green and bits of brain dribble down his forehead.

With the help of Quill and Del supporting me from both sides, I stand from my wheelchair, wincing at the aching stab of pain in my side, and hobble closer to the bodies. Upon further inspection, I notice the hole runs straight through Kenzo's head and lines up perfectly with the one in Ebba's forehead. Same size, same place, like a carpenter drilling through two planks of wood. They were killed at the exact same instant, with the exact same weapon.

Lenna used the word impaled. I think back to the anatomy study of the Polusians in my grandfather's journal, trying to identify what could have happened here. At first, I can't think of anything. This certainly wasn't the work of thousands of teeth or jagged claws. Nothing appears broken or stabbed or fileted. The kill was simple and precise and clean. I stare at the hole - so similar yet so different to a bullet wound - and wonder what could have caused the discoloration of the skin around it...

And then it hits me. Poisonous tongue barbs. I remember my grandfather writing about a very similar death that occurred during Polus I. Whatever this thing is, it's reverting to its old habits of killing, striking with precision but using a different method every time. At this point it's like I'm reliving all the events of the journal. As each entry gets shorter, so does the time between kills. The killer is getting stronger - braver - and its not wasting time. Not for the first time, I entertain the idea that there's more than one killer among us.

Quill and Del swiftly and silently load the bodies onto a gurney and wheel them to Medbay. Kenzo has some serious bulk and it takes both of them to lift him. Del carries Ebba's frail body between his arms, lifting her like she's nothing more than an infant. Her head lolls against his shoulder and the skin on her body is so thin and soft I'm waiting for it to slide off her bones at any second.

Once we're in Medbay we begin the process of cleaning the wounds and injecting the bodies with formaldehyde to keep them from decomposing further before we can properly say goodbye.

"We have to figure out who did this or we're all dead," Quill tells me. I nod but say nothing. What can I say?

"How do you think the plants died?" I ask, tying off the bandage and gauze wrapped around Kenzo's forehead. "I mean, the timing is just too perfect to be a coincidence, isn't it? The only thing I can think of is that they were somehow connected to Ebba."

"She was certainly their source of life," Del agrees grimly. "She took care of them like they were her own children. They depended upon her."

"Polus plants don't work like the plants from Earth," Quill says sadly, staring down at Ebba's old yet peaceful face. "They made a connection with her - they chose her. When she died, there was no reason for them to go one. They just...gave up."