Malfunction

Chapter two

Everything was dark. Some muffled voices were coming from all around.

Siobhan slowly started to become conscience again. Her eyes opened. Her sight was blurred. She couldn't see anything, only some round shapes that appeared to be coming from the light above her on the ceiling.

She wondered where she could be. Was this the afterlife? She never believed there was such thing but when you get sucked into space it does not seem like a possibility that she could be alive... to her at least.

Siobhan felt weak, she could barely feel her muscles. Still yet she tried to sit up, hoping her vision would clear up. It didn't. Everything was still as blurry as it was. Her head felt heavy.

She could see some shapes that looked like people. A man in a white robe turned around and noticed Siobhan sitting up straight. He walked toward her.

"It's best if you lie down. You haven't regained your full strength just yet. Not after what happened to you."

He pushed Siobhan back on the bed. She wondered what he meant. She tried to speak up but she couldn't. She tried to ask what was going on but no noise was capable of getting out. It must've looked like she was in distress because the man injected her with something. Siobhan started to feel sleepy again, her eyes became heavy, making everything around her go dark again.

Siobhan woke up in the same room again. This time her vision was clear. She could see every aspect in the room. She moved her head to the side, taking a good look at the room she was in.

The room was painted in white and grey, making it look quite somber. There was a lot of medical equipment laying around including computer systems. She must be in some sort of medical bay.

This was a good sign. It meant she didn't die.... Or did she? She really didn't know, this could all be some sort of dream.

There were voices coming from the other side of the room. Siobhan pushed herself up, still feeling unwell and weak. Her head felt heavy, like the inside was made of rock.

Her feet touched the floor. She pushed herself from the bed that she was lying on and stumbled across the room, holding the walls and objects for support.

In the other room was the team, including a couple of other doctors. They were discussing something. It seemed to be a very serious discussion. The entire group went silent when one of the doctors spotted her.

"Miss Oswald, how are you feeling?"

Siobhan just smiled, leaning against the door for support.

"I'm doing alright. Don't you worry about me." She smiled at the group, showing them what they wanted to see. What she wanted them to see.

The doctor was about to speak up as he noticed Siobhan's leaning.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright?"

"Yes" Siobhan said with way too much confidence.

"Are you sure?" He walked toward her.

Siobhan nodded.

"Can you stand without the door holding you?"

Siobhan felt herself go red. She didn't want to embarrass herself but tried to stand on her own instead of giving in. Siobhan let go of the door collapsing in on herself. The doctor caught her before she could fall. Holding her arms. Guiding her to the bed in the other room.

He made her sit back down again.

"What happened?" She asked him.

The doctor was quiet. He looked a bit scared. Not from the question that Siobhan had asked him, or the fact that se was awake, but something else put him off. Something about Siobhan. The others had the exact same looks on their faces. Siobhan was pretty sure they were talking about her when she entered the room.

He took one of the seats in the room and placed it opposite from her.

"What do you last remember?" he asked her.

Siobhan had to think for a moment. Letting it all come back to her.

"I....errr..." she scratched her head.

"I was in an airlock..." Siobhan sighed "it... it opened."

"You got sucked out into space."

Siobhan swallowed heavily. Reliving the moment vividly in her head. Feeling every single emotion that was going through her. Seeing her life flash in front of her. The feeling of not being capable of breathing. Her body freezing. A cold shivering feeling went through her body, giving her goosebumps.

"So, this means I didn't die?" She gave a small smile to the doctor.

The doctor smiled back at her. "No, you didn't. Luckily, you are alive. Which is a miracle if I need to say so. You were practically dead when we found you."

Siobhan looked at him in shock. "I died?"

"You were dead for an hour before we were capable of reviving you. Ever since you have been in a coma."

More confusion rises in Siobhan. If she could remember her biology classes correctly a human couldn't be dead for that long before being revived again.

"How is that possible? For how long was I out?"

"Not that long, you were out for three days. We don't know how you survived. That is what we are trying to figure out. No one has survived this long, not without suffering brain damage."

There was something else he wasn't telling her. She could see it. He was holding back.

"There is more?"

He looked uncomfortable and hesitated. He turned around opening a file on the computer.

"Siobhan, we tried everything to revive you. Nothing made you respond to our treatments. We thought you were dead so we decided we would do an autopsy. Just then you started breathing again." He paused for a moment. "We couldn't figure out how this happened, we still don't know, so we preformed a couple of tests to figure out what kept you alive."

He pointed to the file on the computer.

"We found this genetic virus in your system. We think this kept you alive."

Siobhan could see a but coming up.

"But it is a very unusual virus. We asked for blood samples and DNA of your family members and no one else in your family has it. We believe this might not be a natural occurrence."

Siobhan took a deep breath. It was a lot of information. She was sure that she wouldn't remember half of what was being told to her.

"Are you telling me that I'm genetically engineered?"

The doctor sighed.

"We have gone through all your files, there are no mentions of such procedures."

Siobhan started to freak out. She couldn't even remember being genetically engineered. Those kind of procedures weren't even allowed to be performed by Earth physicians. Only under life threatening situations and Siobhan has never been in a life-threatening situation until three days ago.

"That is not possible. I have never... No! I can't. My parents would have told me if I was."

"We are going to figure out how this happened. In the meantime, I want you to stay here for more testing."

"Can it be removed?"

The doctor looked up at her in surprise and noticed Siobhan's scared face.

"I am not sure."