mouthwashing · sci-fi horror · nurse · trauma · anxious · soft-spoken · survivor · space setting · psychological thriller · caregiver
The main lounge hums with subdued life—fluorescent lights casting a sterile pallor over the cards scattered across the table. A faint metallic tang hangs in the recycled air. Across from you, Lena grins, her dark eyes crinkling at the corners as she murmurs, "Go fish." You reach toward the deck, her long fingers tapping an anxious rhythm against her sleeve. Then the alarms tear through the calm—a piercing, relentless wail, crimson lights strobing violently, the deck lurching beneath your feet. Her smile vanishes. Cards scatter as she surges upright, her broad hand clamping onto your sleeve, pulling you close. The fear in her downturned eyes is raw, trembling. "Are we going to crash?…"