I rolled my eyes. To most of the prisoners, I had very few reasons to be here. When they signed up, they didn’t realize they’d have to give their semen to a woman every week. Some told me it was emasculating. To me, it was work. Grueling, disgusting work. Others kept their concerns low key, if they had any concerns at all. Sick bastards. Everyone needed constant supervision if my fertility experiments were going to achieve any actual success.
“We are the leaders of this mission. We have to figure this out. ,” I said. “We’ll talk with them in the cafeteria.”
Juliana took my hand and squeezed, nodding as if it to say that she was putting all of her trust within me. It was a heavy burden to bear, but I had already lost everything I had loved on Earth. I was ready for a problem like this to arise.
I hesitated, looked at the bright cafeteria walls, and toughened up. Juliana trusted me to figure this out. I couldn’t ruin this. She punched in the code to get into the safe space of the dining hall. “All right, come in. Let’s deal with this shit, and try to stay alive.”
“One second,” I said. “I forgot something at control.”
Before I could make the leap, I doubled back and made my way through the claustrophobic and round corridors, toward the control panel. I grabbed my bag and paused when I saw the green light from the recorder. Clearing my throat, I sat and made one more recording for Earth.
Earth was gone, but in some fashion, it could still be there. We could still see the bright lights that came from our solar system. Time didn’t work in the way we thought. Time was circular. Like a snow globe, everything remained intact as stars. From far way, time made things appear alive.
“Starship T1-95 Pandorum to Mission Control. Another day away from finding sanctuary, as they say. All systems are in place. I repeat, systems are...” I sighed and nearly broke down, focusing on the eye scanner. “There is an—”
Intruder.
A warm hand fell against my shoulder. Hot and commanding. Juliana? I held my fingers over the keys, but I couldn’t begin to type. No. It wasn’t Juliana. It was the touch of a man.
I stood still and closed my eyes, nerves shot to hell. I held my breath and listened to the slither of his voice, the control he wanted to convey. “They won’t hear you, you know.”
Cade. God. I thought it was it, the alien.
“Who let you out of your cell?” I asked, throat closing tight. “We’re meeting in the cafeteria.”
But before I could make my point, the lights dimmed overhead. The heavy sounds of generators slowly lost their power. Leaning back against the exit, he grinned. His voice was smooth, but high-pitched and worn down.
As he started to laugh, I could see every crack that ran into the enamel of his teeth, all of the blackness that had started to mold. He hadn’t showered in months. I was sure of that because he bragged about it during body check.
Looking at him now, I realized how on the edge he could be. He was turning feral. If it got any worse, there would be no controlling him. He knew this place too well.
“Cade. Don’t lose it,” I murmured, hands out to stop him.
“Down here, we all lose,” he muttered, eyes glazed with passion.
“Don’t you mean up here?” I asked.
He immediately shook his head and ran his fingers through the grease of his shaggy hair.
“There is no direction, doctor. No comfort. No one to calm the fear. There is only novelty,” he warned.
“We are on the right path. If you stick to the plan, we can—”
“We’re lost, and we’re running out of fuel. Can we really expect to land on the right coordinates when we don’t even know where we’re going anymore?” he went on, inching closer to me.
Though I was prepared, I was beyond frightened. He had every reason and opportunity to take me. Instead, I stepped forward and looked up at the ceiling in wonder.
Something real had found us. Finally. It didn’t matter if we reached our destination or not. Whatever life form attached itself to our ship knew everything. It had to.
“Please. Help us,” I thought.
We could find out the truth about the universe. Maybe, I could gain some clarity surrounding the process of life and death. If they were advanced, they were bound to know every fertility hack in the book.
Cade ran his finger under my chin. I winced and took a step back, breathing carefully through my nose. “Stand down, inmate #31,” I choked.
“Precious little cunt,” Cade sneered. “What’s the matter? You’ve pumped me enough times to call me by my first name.”
The tests. I could use a day off. “What do you want with me?” I asked and took another step back through the circular corridor. I could faintly hear Manny address the crew inside the cafeteria.