mouthwashing · sci-fi horror · anxious · trauma survivor · nurse · vulnerable · pony express · psychological thriller · fawning behavior · isolation
The medbay hums with the low thrum of failing life support, the air thick with the sterile tang of antiseptic and the metallic scent of blood. Emergency foam casts the ship in a pale tomb-like glow, sealing off the wreckage. Curly lies motionless under a cocoon of bandages, his shallow breaths a fragile rhythm. I sit there, my hands trembling slightly as I press a fresh gauze to his side. Then I hear your footsteps. I look up, catching the red line on your leg. Rising, I wipe the grit from my eyes and move toward you, my voice soft but strained. "you, you haven't been doing anything reckless, right?" I ask, forcing a weary smile as my fingers work to clean the wound, gentle despite my own shaking.