At last, Sonia shared her sister’s warm smile. “That’s more like it, sis!” Alison remarked, “Now, come on. Let’s figure out what’s happening to you, hey? What’s with the sudden hallucination of me? And maybe we can figure out what Nadia wanted while we’re at it too. Us sisters, we can work out anything together. You up for it?” She put her hand out, implying Sonia needed to shake it.
“Yes… Yes!” As Sonia reached her hand out to shake her sister’s, she squinted and winced in pain. After rubbing her eyes for several seconds, she opened them again – Alison was gone. “No… No! Please, no!” She kicked the window. “Come back Alison! Please! I don’t care if you’re just in my head! I love you and I need you! Please!” Again, she kicked the window, this time with force.
As she looked outside onto the black emptiness of space, a realisation came to her. “That’s it…” She knew the cause of the hallucination now, “Space dementia…”
Roger and Kristina had been tied to their beds with zip-ties. “Why do you even have these?” Roger asked Wells – who was guarding the room. “No idea where they came from. For one reason or another, Amanda had them. But she’s drifting somewhere out there right now,” he gestured to the window, “So I highly doubt she’s gonna need them any time soon.”
Kristina laughed heavily, “You see! That’s what I’m talking about! Dark jokes! Why should we be taking this situation seriously? We’re all gonna die! Let’s celebrate!” She cheered extremely loudly, as Roger joined in with her.
From behind Wells, Sonia entered the medical bay. “Sonia? Are you alright?” He noticed she appeared to be saddened, misty-eyed, and rather sweaty too. “Wells, step outside with me for a minute…” She pulled him out of the room.
“What’s going on?” He enquired. “Remember all those times I warned you about getting space dementia up here? Well… I hope you heaved my warnings.” He looked at her, mystified. “Look, just now, I was literally hallucinating my sister. Alison was right next to me… It felt so real, it was as though she was actually there! These hallucinations… Up here, the only logical cause has to be space dementia. I’m suffering from it. I don’t know where it’s come from, I’m guessing someone didn’t pressurize the air lock properly at one point or another. Anyone could be affected by it…”
Wells nodded, believing her. “What? You believe me? You always disbelieved my space dementia theory though?” She was bewildered. “Roger and Kristina… Just go and talk to them. Tell me if that is a symptom of space dementia…” Wells stepped away from the door, allowing Sonia to enter the medical bay again.
“Roger? Kris?” She smiled at them, “How are you guys doing?” She didn’t know what to say, so began with general small talk. “Sonia… I like that name. I’ve never really thought about it until now! It kind of sounds like the name of a flower!” Roger’s comment put a perplexed look on Sonia’s face. “Alright… What about you then, Kristina? What do you think of my name?” She began to laugh, “I think… It sounds like the name of a board game! She laughed even harder, prompting for Roger to join in. He laughed so much he began hitting the ground.
Sonia backed away out of the medical bay slowly.
“Space dementia?” Wells asked her again. “I don’t believe it… It has to be… My god, what if that happens to me?” She turned to face him.
“What if happens to me? Or Rosie?” Wells added. “If that happens to all of us, we’ve got zero hope, of surviving. At all. Is there any kind of…? I don’t know, a cure?” He was completely on board with her now.
“Not really, but there is a treatment for it. A basic treatment: oxygen… That’s all we need. If we can pump enough oxygen into them, they should recover. The only downside is; it would require a lot of it. We’d have to direct it all into the medical bay. Everyone outside would likely pass out, and it would do a lot of damage to the respiration cycle we have on board this station. It’s possible some of the plants and bonsai trees could die from it… Let alone some of us.” She threw her hands over her head. “There’s really only one thing we can do for them… They’re radical, Wells. I need you to understand that.” She put her hands on his arms, he knew what she was about to tell him.
“I get it, Sonia. Kristina nearly opened the air lock to kill all of us. Byron got to her just in time. They’re a threat, and we can’t waste resources trying to save them. You’re about to suggest that we give them what they want, and throw them outside?”
Remorsefully, Sonia nodded. “We don’t have a choice Wells… I’m sorry…” He partially believed that Sonia’s space dementia was affecting her brain as well, as she would never willingly suggest killing two members of the crew unnecessarily.
“Tell you something, this is pretty delicious. For preserved meat anyway!” Byron and Nadia returned to the table to finish the roast chicken. “I know right! For our last meal, it was pretty good as well…” She had brought him back on to the point of their inevitable deaths.
“Look, Nadia,” he leant over the table to her. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier; about the escape pod. I’m considering returning to Earth…” Her eyes widened at his proposition, “You really mean that?” He nodded in confirmation.
“Think about it, Nadia. We can die in one of three places. Here, on board the Gemini; Out there, in space; or down there, on Earth. Which would you prefer?” He held his hands up, waiting for an answer.
“Well… Earth, obviously.” Nadia responded. Byron’s face lit up, “Excellent. Then come with me, Nadia. Just the two of us, I’ll take you back to Earth. Two is easier than Eight. We wouldn’t even all survive if eight of us went back to Earth – not enough seats or resources! Look, help me back the berries and peppers which are hanging on those plants, and we’ll descend to Earth. We can find more food like this! More meat reserves. There’s probably a little farm down there run by a post-apocalyptic farmer with several cows, or pigs, or lambs.” He put the vision into Nadia’s mind, convincing her to join him.
“Alright…” She smiled back at him, “Let’s go home…”
Chapter 9: Weightless
“If we’re talking the best games, then it had to be Chess. Definitely, always Chess!” Wells and Rosie walked through the corridor, discussing their favourite board games with each other.
“Chess? Really?” She smiled at him, “I always preferred to turn the board over and play draughts!” He raised his eyebrows at her, “Ohhhh… So you’re a draughty kind of gal then?” He immediately regretted his corny remark, though Rosie found him sweet still.
The bittersweet moment was interrupted as Rosie’s attention was redirected to something outside – shock and awe filled her face. “Wells… Look!” She pointed to the window. As Wells turned around, he noticed an astronaut wandering outside, bound to the station by a tether. The astronaut spun around, revealing Sonia was inside the suit.
“Sonia!” Wells ran at the window, throwing his hands against. Sonia waved back at him with a huge smile on her face. “What’s she doing out there?” Rosie looked terrified.
From behind, Sonia pulled out a pair of scissors. She placed them over her tether. “It’s her space dementia… It’s going to get her killed! Quick Rosie! With me!” The two ran to the air lock as fast as they could…
“Some Christmas this has turned out to be,” Roger remarked to Kristina, still tied up inside the medical bay. “Still, could’ve been worse…” He added. “I can think of one way it could’ve been better,” Kristina joined in with him, “If we’d have just been allowed to fly out into space! Crikey, I’m literally envying Seth right now. Lucky bastard got to die. Yet here we are, forced to stay alive!” She was literally complaining about being alive.
“Nah, the best way it could’ve improved: Is if we were back on Earth. I’ve never missed America as much as I do now…”
Outside, Sonia continued to float around. The scissors were weak, making it difficult for her to cut away at her tether. “Having trouble there, sis?” She looked acros
s, noticing her sister standing at the window on board the space station. “Let me join you,” the hallucination of Alison simply stepped through the window and out into space, floating towards Sonia.
“It’s so quiet, it’s so peaceful. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Alison looked down at the Earth, but Sonia was fixated on her. “Wait…” Turning around, she noticed she had the scissors over the tether, “What am I doing?” She threw the scissors away, as they began drifting off.
“Now that was a very silly thing to do, sis. You are bound to this… prison forever more now! You could’ve floated freely with me for the rest of your life!” Sonia was starting to come to her senses, remembering that the hallucination of her sister was just the embodiment of the space dementia in her mind.
“No!” She dived and rapidly clawed her way back to the air lock – as though she was swimming in the air. As she returned to the air lock, she banged on the door, noticing Wells and Rosie at the control panel. In a hurry, they opened the door to allow her in. Once she was safely inside, the door closed again, as Wells pressed the green button to pressurize the chamber.
Nadia and Byron had packed and loaded everything they needed on to the escape pod. “See? It’s not even that tight in here!” Byron reassured her about their transportation. “Yeah I mean, if anything, it’s actually kind of snug… I’m sure I could do well in here. Question is, how long’s it gonna take us to return to Earth?” Nadia examined the pod.
“Well theoretically, it should take us about ten minutes or so. By the time we actually get within Earth’s atmosphere though, we should fall a lot quicker. You ready?” He took Nadia’s hands, as she breathed in deeply and nodded. “Right then, strap in!” Byron turned to the controls.
Sonia piled everyone in to the medical bay. “Right, no one leaves this room, understand? We don’t know who is and who isn’t affected by the space dementia yet. It’s likely all of us, but we’re all affected in different ways.” She explained.
“The hell are you talking about?” Roger asked astoundingly, “Space dementia? You’re kidding me right? People wanting to die equals a mental space disorder? I think not, Sonia. Look, just throw me out the air lock already. Please!” He motioned to his zip-ties.
“I’m sorry Roger, but I don’t know if that’s really you talking… Same rules apply for all of you. No one lets those two free. Understand?” Wells and Rosie nodded.
“Right. I’m going to divert all oxygen to the vents in here.” As she went to leave the room, Wells called her back, “Wait, but then… How will you breathe? Sonia?” She sighed at him, “I won’t…”
Kristina laughed, “Damn, girl! You’re worse than us!” This comment prompted Roger to join with the laughter. Rosie began laughing slightly as well, “Rosie?” Wells noticed this.
“What? What’s wrong Wells? Afraid to die?” He leant back, crawling away from her. “She’s been affected by it…” He turned back to face Sonia, “Do it. Save them.” He understood that Sonia would be giving up her life, but knew it would be for a good reason. She nodded at him, “Look after them…” He in turn nodded back at her in confirmation.
“Rear thrusters, check.” Byron prepared to disembark. “Tracking system, check.” He flicked several switches. “I’m kind of nervous,” Nadia fiddled with her hands. “Hey, you’re gonna be alright. I’ll get us back to Earth. You know I will,” Byron reassured her. He turned back to the controls, but before he fiddled with any other switches, he stopped momentarily. He then leant back against his seat.
“Byron? What’s wrong?” Nadia saw him relaxing. “I’ve got a better idea…” He said slowly, unstrapping himself from his seat. “Come with me,” he unbuckled Nadia, and grabbed her, forcing her out of the escape pod. “Byron? What are you doing?” She tried resisting his grip, but he was being too firm on her. “You’re hurting me!” He continued dragging her back on to the space station.
“Sonia!” Using her free hand, Nadia activated her earpiece. “Help me! Byron’s gone mad!” Before she could give any more details, he grabbed her ear piece and threw it beneath his feet, stamping on it.
“Don’t be frightened, N’. We’re going for a walk! A walk… in space.” He cruelly smiled at her, as her face flooded with terror.
Sonia arrived at the Green Room. Though she wasn’t too confident that she knew what she was doing, she kept doing it anyway. There was a panel on the wall which she used to close off certain vents and direct the air flow. “Easy does it, easy does it. And… There!” She pressed one final switch, as the ventilation made a deep rumbling sound. “Sonia!” She heard Nadia’s voice in her earpiece, “Help me! Byron’s gone mad!” The earpiece then dramatically cut out, as though it had been crushed. “Nadia? Nadia!” Sonia called back several times. She cursed under her breath, before running off to try and find her.
“It’s working…” Wells noted upon feeling a large blast of oxygen entering through the vent. “Why does she care so much?” Roger asked. “Why doesn’t Sonia just let us die already? It’s inevitable at this point…”
Wells spoke out against him once again, “Even before the apocalypse, it was inevitable that we would die. Not just us, everyone. Everyone dies eventually, genius. The apocalypse changes only one thing: The amount of people left who are still able to die. But that doesn’t mean you can’t at least try to live. Some people may want to live for as long as possible – People like me. People like you, at least once your space dementia is gone.”
Everyone else in the med bay laughed – Roger, Kristina, Bertie, Rosie – They had all been affected by the space dementia. “Sonia will fix you. She’ll make all of you better again. Then, it’ll be up to us on how we survive. We stay here, or we return to Earth.” He had no doubt that Sonia’s plan was working.
“I feel… weird?” Rosie remarked. “That’s ok babe,” Wells rushed over to her, holding her in his arms. “My head… Wells… My head… What’s happening?” She was torn between her true self and her infected mind. “Come back to me baby, come on. You can do this.” He held her tightly.
“Don’t listen to him, Rosie!” Kristina shouted out. “Remember, we’re all gonna die anyway! Join us in our pact!” Wells covered Rosie’s ears, “You’re ok… you’re going to be fine…”
She was struggling to keep her eyes open. “Go to sleep… Rest your eyes. When again you awake, you’ll be fine.” He gently rested her head against the floor as she fell asleep. He then kissed her on the forehead, before turning back to the others.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Roger looked at Wells in awe. “She could’ve died peacefully! You’ve just booked your girlfriend in for a far worse… a far… worse…” Roger became drowsy and started yawning, he then too fell asleep. Looking at Bertie and Kristina, Wells noticed they had fallen under as well – He assumed this was the space dementia’s effects wearing off, and that their bodies were ‘restarting’.
Wells had forgotten about one important person however, “Sonia…”
Chapter 10: Hard Times
Sonia rushed around, desperately searching for Byron and Nadia. “Byron! If you can hear me, just let her go. She’s done nothing to you, and I know you wouldn’t do anything to her. Just think about it, this isn’t you! It’s the space dementia! The oxygen levels as well…” Sonia looked at one of the monitors which displayed a warning. “We only have a few more minutes… I feel numb already! I can get you to the med bay… I can’t open it, I can’t risk the others, but I can get you ready… Sure, I’ll be… I’ll be dead… But I trust Wells… And Rosie… They’ll help you,” Already she found the need to take lengthier breaths than normal.
“An interesting proposition,” Byron snuck up from behind with Nadia in his arms, a knife against her. “But I decline! You see… I want us to die, remember? So how about, you just let us get what we want… die with us, Sonia. There’s nothing left for you on Earth. No sister to return to. No nephew. No boyfriend. There’s no one. It’s just us now…” Byron’s eyes became dr
oopy, as Sonia began to lose the feeling in her legs.
“You said it yourself… No oxygen… Time to… To die…” Byron needed to draw lengthier breaths as well.
But then, Sonia was struck with an idea – she saw her spacesuit was in front of the air lock still. She didn’t have the energy to smile or make a quirky remark. She crawled over to it as quickly as she could, holding her breath, and only inhaling during short intervals.
With some difficulty, she slipped into the suit, attaching the helmet to it. She activated her oxygen tank, as she breathed heavily and quickly. She slowed down her breathing rate again to conserve the little oxygen left in the tank – after all, she had used up most of it on her spacewalk.
Across the room from her, she noticed Nadia fading away, struggling to remain awake. “I’m sorry…” Sonia called out to her, her breath fogging up her helmet. She leant back against the wall, resting her eyes.
An hour later, everyone in the med bay was awake again. It had taken them a while to come to their senses. Wells on the other hand did not appear to have been taken by the space dementia, therefore remained awake the entire time. His impulse was to check on Sonia – and eventually he found her outside the air lock.
“Sonia! Sonia! Professor Jones? Are you awake?” Wells shook her energetically, as she slowly opened her eyes. “W-Wells…” She could just about make his face out above the cloud of fog on the visor of her helmet. “Let’s get that thing off of you!” He removed her helmet, as Sonia rapidly inhaled the oxygen. “You… You solved the problem?” She was impressed that Wells had opened up all the vents again. “No, not me…”
Human Nature (Book 2): Human Nature II Page 5