Chapter Text
“As your captain, I hereby announce that White is dead.”
Red’s voice echoed from the cafeteria. Well, no shit that nepobaby was dead, alright, Lime thought with a roll of their eyes.
Lime had to stick to the vents until they got a hold of another weapon. Purple probably dumped their stake in space already… Lime huffed at the thought.
And so, Lime hid. They watched and listened from the vents.
Especially Green. Even though Lime was tempted to ambush them when they were alone, they were weaponless, and they knew a vampire was nothing to be messed with.
Lime thought it would be better to catch them in the hunt instead, but so far the farmer had done nothing out of the ordinary.
The engineer peered through the vent to narrow their eyes at the intern, who was sitting in cafeteria, listening excitedly as Red bragged about what being a captain was like.
Then, Green glanced around as if sensing they were being watched, before their eyes fell on the vent Lime was in. The intern raised a hand in confused, yet friendly greeting, and Lime flinched before crawling deeper into the vent, away from sight.
It was obvious now, Green was threatening them! Maybe they wanted Lime to be their next meal, and were waiting for them to come out!
Lime felt their breathing pick up as they sped their pace through the vents, getting as far as they could from the cafeteria.
They didn’t stop until they reached their safe place, which was a slightly larger corner of the vent where they slept. Lime had a room like every other crewmate, but they would prefer the vents over that anytime.
The engineer curled up, but sleep was distant as paranoia ate away at them. Vampires couldn’t vent, of course! Lime tried to reassure themselves, before they paused. What if the vampire has squish bone syndrome too?!
Lime spent hours awake, jumping at every slight sound of the ventilation or the crew above.
-
“So we’re going to do nothing about this?! A crew member just died, Red!”
The outraged voice of Purple jolted Blue from their guilt. The doctor let their hands trail down their face as they stumbled to stand up, peering from medbay to the cafeteria.
Purple was advancing towards Red, scowling indignantly. Red took a few steps away from the angry security, “Purp- Purps, I’m no snake catcher! I’m a captain!”
The captain’s response only made Purple more aggravated and their eye twitched, “There is no snake! That couldn’t have been a mere snake!” They snapped back, throwing their hands up.
“W-well- actually, Blue said it was a snake!” Red stammered, glancing around for anyone to defend them before spotting Blue. “Doc! There ya are! Tell Purple I’m right!”
“Indeed, I told Red White’s death may have been caused by a snake. Please, do not displace your anger as I take all the accountability.” Blue’s calm words seemed to pacify Purple, but they still looked unconvinced as they turned their frown to Blue’s direction. Red took the chance to sidestep away from the angry crewmate.
“I… suppose it could be right if Blue says so.” Purple muttered reluctantly, brows furrowing in doubt.
Even though Blue thought they should lie, say it was certain White was killed by a snake, maybe even make up some venomous species. Nobody would question them, yet Blue’s mouth felt dry suddenly.
“So, how did a snake get abroad?” Cyan piped in. It seems after all Blue wouldn’t exactly need to lie. They could just go along with the assumptions.
“I don’t remember any of you losers having a pet snake.” Black shrugged.
“Fun reminder, it’s illegal to bring any kind of pet aboard!” Orange interjected with a smile.
Blue sighed and bowed their head, pretending to be troubled, “I’m unsure, I’ll have to keep examining the body for any possible factors. I’ll do my utmost to not let the crew down.” The doctor nodded with determination. The crew blushed, and Blue heard a few words about noble and courageous the doctor was as they walked back to medbay.
If only they knew…
-
It was past midnight when Blue got out of medbay to return to their room. Not that time mattered in space, but it was still routine to turn off lights and sleep during night hours.
Blue was no stranger to sleeping in medbay, but they didn’t feel like getting back pain for days because of their laziness.
White’s corpse had been carried away by Green after Blue supposedly did all the research they could. It was fortunate, because Blue didn’t think they could handle seeing it any longer.
As Blue was about to step into upper engine, towards the crew rooms, they heard a noise from cafeteria. The sound of a vent.
Lime?
Blue paused. Nobody had seen Lime for a couple of days, not since they allegedly spewed some nonsense while threatening Green with a weapon. Blue knew Lime was… not the best mentally, with the constant paranoia that seemed to cling to them and the way they always hid from medical checkups, but they didn’t remember it being this bad ever.
And so, with a twinge of worry, Blue turned towards the cafeteria instead.
-
Lime should have been smart enough to hoard food when they could in case of an emergency like this.
Then they wouldn’t be forced to leave their shelter because of something as unnecessary as hunger.
The engineer crawled out of the cafeteria vent and headed towards the kitchen. Their stomach rumbled. When was the last time Lime ate? Since they went into hiding, yes, but how long ago was that? The days had blurred together the longer Lime spent in the darkness of the vents.
Whatever, it wasn’t important anyways. Lime grumbled as they walked into the kitchen and made a beeline for the fridge.
Pulling it open, they squinted at the food. Pizza crusts, onions, sticks of butter, tomatoes, eggs…
Lime’s eyes fell on a block of cheese. Bingo! They snatched it, tearing open the wrapper and taking a bite. As Lime was about to leave the kitchen, cheese block in hand, they came face to face with a taller figure.
Lime jumped back with a raspy gasp, almost dropping the stolen good. Green must have found them! But Lime wasn’t going down without a fight, that bloodsucker would learn Lime was no easy prey-
“Lime?”
The voice made Lime freeze in their rush of adrenaline, and they finally turned their glare to the other crewmate. That wasn’t Green.
Lime scowled, “What’s wron’ with ya, doc?! Ya spooked me half to death!” They grumbled, pushing past the doctor, who stepped aside with no fuss.
“I- I apologize, Lime. I suppose you frightened me likewise.” Blue said truthfully, stammering a bit due to surprise. None of the crew spoke to them this way. It wasn’t an unwelcome change, somehow.
Lime didn’t answer, only making their way quickly back towards the vent.
Blue, realizing the engineer was just going to vent away again, rushed forward, hands signaling for them to wait. “Oh! Wait, Lime, the entire crew has been concerned about your disappearance. I’m sure they would appreciate if you clarified what the cause of it is.”
Lime paused half way into the vent, turning to look at the doctor slowly. Blue’s brows furrowed when they saw how sleep deprived Lime looked, and the way their hands shook faintly. The engineer almost looked like they were going to listen, before their expression formed into one of outrage.
“Cause…? Cause?! Ya know damn well what the cause is! I told ‘em and they turned a blind eye! Called me nuts!” Lime gestured jerkily in anger, “I’m tellin’ ya, there’s a bloodsucker loose in this cursed ship! And it’s out for my throat!” Lime almost growled, fists clenched and teeth grinding.
Blue’s eyes widened in shock. Lime knew… out of all the crewmates, the doctor had expected Purple to come closest to the truth. But Lime? Blue couldn’t help but tense slightly, but they composed themselves easily. They knelt down next to the vent.
“Now, I’ll be the first to acknowledge the crew has misjudged you greatly. I’m sorry, Lime.”
That made Lime pause in surprise, before waving a hand dismissively. “Whatever, big dog, ya weren’t there.”
“I understand it’s difficult to rely on anyone in this treacherous world. You’ve been wronged numerous times, but I vow you won’t be deceived by me.” Blue took a hold of the engineer’s hand as they spoke, their gaze captivating the engineer, “Will you trust me?”
A soft pink bloomed across the engineer’s face, before they snapped out of it and sputtered, “Fine!” They snapped, waving away Blue’s hand and covering their face.
Blue gave them a moment before Lime uncovered their face, now looking bewildered, “What did I jus’ agree to?”
Blue felt a bit of amusement creeping into their expression, but they didn’t laugh and held out a hand. “What would you think of coming to medbay with me, Lime? There, you can tell me more about what’s been upsetting you.”
Lime narrowed their eyes at the offered hand, before huffing and taking it with their own. “If ya insist, doc. But I swear if ya cut me open or something I’m hauntin’ ya ta your grave!”
Blue chuckled, helping Lime out of the vent, “I suppose that would be a rational reaction.”
-
As Lime went ahead of them, Blue grimaced at the scent of their own hand.
Garlic…