𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐑 ➪ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐤²

|| 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐀𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐟 ||

Consciousness came and went for Samsa. Any sleep was disturbed, plagued with a mixture of nightmares and distorted memories. This was partly due to the extensive blood loss she had suffered. How long had it been since her duplicate had confined her to this darkness? Such an isolated existence cased in terror and pain.

Samsa had tried to escape her bonds several times before realising the struggle was pointless. Each movement made it harder to stay awake and the sharp object still lodged in her throat prevented her from crying out. The hunger was torturous. As was the unknown.

Her darker self had replaced her. She was sure of it. Founders knows how much damage she had already done, especially if she was with the others. What if Jim's duplicate had done the same to him? What of the landing party? Her sister?

"Samsa?"

That voice. Was it real? It sounded distant and echoey in her ears. Samsa feared it was her imagination. Surely, she was delirious.

"Samsa?!"

There it was again. Louder this time. Samsa forced her eyes open and attempted to blink away the ache gnawing at her skull. Maybe it was real. If so, that meant someone was looking for her. That meant she had a chance. 

It took a huge amount of effort, but she managed to thrust her shoulder into the hard surface she was leaning against, creating a resounding bang. Samsa repeated the action over and over until finally, a stream of light appeared above her, causing the ache in her head to pulse.

Through incredibly blurred vision, she could just about recognise the features of Mason True and Carol Marcus. She dreaded to imagine how she looked based on their horrified expressions. Arms reached down and pulled her up, but everything tipped to the side.

"Woah, easy there, Sams," Mason said, allowing her to lean against him. "Jesus, what did she do to you?"

"Oh my God, her wrists," she heard Carol say.

Mere moments later, Samsa felt the bonds loosen. As soon as her hands were free, she reached up to her neck and yanked the sharp object free with a strangled yelp of pain. She fell into an immediate coughing fit, trying to clear all of the accumulated blood from her lungs. 

Mason lowered her down and began to rub soothing circles on her back, uttering words of comfort as he did. Carol knelt on her other side, holding her hair back until the horror stopped. Samsa desperately wanted to thank them but her vocal cords were still ripped to shreds. Instead, she lifted a shaking hand to rub her throat as the skin began to knit itself back together. 

From the looks of it, her duplicate had confined her to one of the storage crates on the Engineering deck. Samsa dreaded to think about what had happened in her absence, especially considering what her duplicate was capable of. Her already racing heart picked up in pace and tears began to burn her eyes.  

"It's okay, Sams, everyone's okay. We've got a plan." 

"Commander Spock noticed something was wrong and sent us to find you," Carol explained. "Both doubles are currently in the Medbay."

Samsa's eyes fluttered shut with relief. Nothing bad had happened. No one had been hurt. She did her best to nod at Carol's words but something else snatched her attention. A strong coppery smell reached her nose, one that caused a painful pang of hunger to coarse through her body.

Beside her, Mason had opened a blood bag. "I thought you would need this," he said, holding it out for her to take. 

It took every ounce of strength for her not to snatch it from his hands. Samsa drank it slowly at first, but eventually, these gentle swallows became desperate gulps as she used both hands to squeeze every last drop from the bag.