Lights

A cold sweat trickled down Yusef's bruised back as he returned to the halls of the ship. Lingering pain across his back and down one leg gave him a slightly limping gait as he headed to his next task. The shock at being pounded into a wall by someone he once called a friend had subsided and now registered as only a nagging disappointment. Yusef had followed the stampede of astronauts rushing to fix the reactor with gratitude, firmly shutting the gate to Luke's fiery rath. He knew that if it weren't for the meltdown he would have been inflicted with more serious damage. Worse, he could have killed. He'd been at the mercy of Luke's outrage.

Yusef didn't really know what he was thinking when he had blurted out the accusation that dared Luke to retaliate. It had only succeeded in provoking the other man to aggravation. Yusef understood the danger Luke presented to the operation, and his conscience was screaming at him to say something, anything, during the meeting. His intent had been thwart Luke's plans. Even if it would result in sentencing him to death. Yusef knew only one of them was going to make it off this ship alive. "I'm not planning to let Luke get away with whatever scheme he has forged," Yusef stated to himself. A contingency must be devised, he thought. And fast.

Suddenly, the electrical hum of the lazuli-tinted floor lights that lit up the hallway faded, shutting down. The overhead lamps began to dim in response. Flickering out, they plunged The Musk into near-complete darkness. This left only the emergency reflectors to illuminate Yusef's path. The pale blue lights cast an eerie glare onto the metal floor and Yusef's line of sight reduced to a few steps in front of him.

Yusef shuddered and stuck to the walls, barely able to see the markings written on them. Through the confusion that toiled his mind, he strained at his memory of the different ship sectors to find his way around. The ship was quiet except for the huffs and puffs of internal mechanisms. It felt to Yusef as if The Musk had decided to take an inconvenient nap. The creaking of the floor had become magnified with the lack of sound, adding to the disturbing silence.

With limited vision, Yusef's imagination ran wild, turning shadows into menacing aliens that tormented him. His hands began to vibrate; his stomach rolled in his chest. A chill rippled through his body and his skin became dry and stiff as if a wintry wind had blown over him. Yusef turned a corner and looked down another hallway. Barely making out the words written on the wall beside him, he noted that he was nearing Medbay. He quickened his pace. It felt like he was being watched.

Making a left, Yusef came to the entrance of the medical area and paused for a moment, peering in and trying to assess what was before him. A strong bitter scent of disinfectants and foreign chemicals wafted into his nose. The stuffy air didn't help ease his anxiety. From the emergency lights in the hallway that streamed into the front of the room, Yusef was able to make out two rows of beds lining the white and blue walls. Each was fitted in warm cotton sheets and white puffy pillows. The thought of curling up in one of the beds to fall into a blissful sleep, escaping the horrors outside, was tempting. The solitary and neatly folded blanket on the bed nearest to him invited his weary body. The darkness heightened his fatigue and exacerbated the physical and mental exhaustion nagging at his brain.

But no.

He had to get on with his tasks. He had to stop Luke.

From where he was standing, Yusef noticed a faint glow coming from the corner of the room. That's where his task was. Hurrying forward, he confirmed that he was in the right place. Two monitors, each with an overload of information, blinked back at him. Looking closely at the screen to the right he realized it was a glass observatory. Behind the glass was an extremely sterile looking room holding a table with an array of multicolored liquids in test tubes lined in a rack. To Yusef, this was seemingly part of some kind of experiment. Taking his eyes off the samples, his attention turned to the larger monitor. The anatomy of an astronaut along with strings of garbled text loaded the screen. From the task description, Yusef needed to submit a medical scan of his own to test the system, ensuring that it operated properly.

Before the computer was an oddly shaped platform. It was the "ScanMoTron 2000", an outdated version of one of the newest medical advancements that measured weight, height, blood type, and other details concurrently. This one required a wired power source, meanwhile, the new "ScanMoTron 3000" was wireless, more efficient, and came with additional scanning features.

"Looks like they ran out of budget," Yusef laughed to himself.

The old scanner's round center was something like a greenish translucent surface. Its edges protruded and curved giving the machine an emblem-like appearance. Casually stepping into the center of it, Yusef felt the machine power up. The sensors worked perfectly, commencing the medical scanning procedure with a blip. Almost immediately, a green holographic grid rose from the scanner. The grid stretched over his body and tiny tendrils of energy stretched out carefully probing him, inputting his body's data into the medical database. High-pitched beeps sounded as the machine automatically typed out each character on the computer in front of him. He cringed at how loud the machine was. It seemed like the sounds echoed throughout the entire ship like a ringing dinner bell. As the hologram passed Yusef's visor he felt his skin prickle. He prayed that it would be over soon. Reaching his head, the hologram merged and flickered as it conformed to his body's shape then quickly resumed examining him from the top to the bottom.

At last, the process was finished, and the ship was left to its dead silence once again which was somehow reassuring to Yusef. He checked off another task on his tablet and shoved it back into his pocket, the list was reaching its end. He moved into the far corner of the room away from the luminance of the computer screen. He had to blink a few times to readjust his vision. The intensified contrast due to the lack of light in the Medbay made it harder to see. Yusef's shivering had abated, and his mind was no longer in a state of disorder knowing that no one could see him shrouded in darkness.

He decided that he needed a little rest from the tasks, taking a moment to relish the tranquility. He deserved it. In his lethargic state, his weariness outweighed his vigor to stop Luke. The screen of the computer amused him as he repeatedly read through his medical details.

It had only been about a minute when Yusef thought he heard distant footfalls. His eyes had become heavier with fatigue, but the disturbance lifted the load making him attentive. "How have the lights not been fixed yet?" he questioned to no one. Maybe the teammates disregarded the malfunction to get on with their tasks? Understandable. It wasn't exactly a life-threat situation that needed prioritization. Yusef dismissed the thoughts, reminding himself that he should be paying attention to the approaching astronaut. Earnestly gazing at the entrance of the room, Yusef's shivers returned. The clangs against the floor were drawing nearer.

As the footsteps reached their crescendo, Yusef shrank deeper into the dark corner he stood in. Fearing discovery, his heart rate increased, and he was very happy the scanner wasn't still tracking him. Rapt, he stood as still as possible hoping that whoever was outside would simply walk past. His dignity relied on it. If he was found being idle, not completing his tasks, he would be a shame to the rest of his teammates. Who could blame him? He was almost beaten into a pulp a short time ago. I was almost killed! his thoughts screamed.

At last, the silhouette of the astronaut passed briskly outside the room. Yusef breathed a sigh of relief. In the darkness, he couldn't tell who it was, but he was glad he wasn't noticed. His mind instantly relaxed, as he promised himself a few more minutes before he got back to work. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the wall, imagining the only place he would love to be. On Earth, in his house, with his family, with his friends.

A sudden halt of the footfalls crushed his solace. He waited for it to fade around the corner, but it was evident that the astronaut had a change in motive. Yusef waited, listening attentively for their next move. It was almost immediate when the footsteps switched direction and headed back towards Medbay. Yusef could feel his heart pounding in his chest even louder this time. His eyes narrowed onto the entrance as the astronaut moved with purpose, closer and closer. In seconds, a figure appeared once again, slowing as the shadow reached the room, but didn't go past. Instead, it stopped directly outside the doorway as if knowing that Yusef was there. Even through the thick veil of darkness. Yusef's mind raced, as he suddenly felt vulnerable. Was it him? Was that Luke?

It had to be.

Holding his breath, Yusef shuddered as his sensed eyes boring into him, digging through his skin to reach his soul. How could he know? There was no way.

The astronaut took a step forward. Yusef still couldn't deduce whether his presence was made known. It could just be their task, he tried reassuring himself to no avail. He felt like a frightened child playing hide-and-seek, thinking that he couldn't be seen but was as clear as day to the eyes of an adult.

"Hello Yusef," called out the dreaded, familiar voice.