Tisis

Three's a crowd (N)

Stupid wanna be predators in these waters, having nothing better to do than distract me with their pointy teeth and ramming attacks...is dumbfish all that lives in these waters?!

Alright, alright...calm down Nym...back into the system and check up on what you missed...aaaand they're gone.

Honestly, I leave them alone for like 2 minutes and they're gone!

Good...okay...no pressure...you just need to find two people in a sea full of people, while remaining undetected and...uneaten.

I swear, once I've got Sirus out of there, I'm going to kill him for putting me through this!
None of this crap would've happened, if he had just stayed with me!

I close my eyes briefly and take another deep breath.
Keep calm...you're stressed, that's all.
And who wouldn't be.

After all, I have an escape to cover, a mystery to solve, detection to avoid and to top it all off, those dumbfish keep pestering me.

I fire up the tracking program and input Julia's ID.
At least finding her shouldn't pose much of a problem...and knowing Sirus, he's with her...ah, there she is.

Let's see...nearby came...no, that one's offline...that one too...is there anything in that part that isn't broken?!
What good is full access, if you can't access anything, because everything's broken?!

My fingers cramp from all the tension and I force myself to relax again.
When this is over, I'll need a nice, long, hot bath, seriously...

I shake my head, my already far too long again hair drifting into my face.
Seems like my next haircut is also long since overdue...when did it even grow that long?

A faintly related memory forces its way to the front of my consciousness.
It's a memory from my time on the ship, weeks before the incident in block X.
It's my bi-annual appointment with the residential stylist, who goes on and on, how beautiful and strong my hair is, and how lucky I am to have it.

Back then, I had gone to great lengths to keep it long and beautiful like that...kinda hard to believe that I once was that vain.
...I guess that's what this place does to you...it changes a person.

Either you adapt...or you die.
I remember...the day Sirus grabbed my hair and cut it, I cried.

Of course he had to do it, as they had gotten stuck in a bush and every movement was a whole firework of pain...he could have dumped me right then and there...we were still new to the planet and unknown dangers lurked around every corner...

But he didn't...he took his makeshift knife, grabbed my hair, told me to 'Hold still'...and the next moment my once long, jet-black, beautiful hair, envy of many, fell to the ground.

I...don't think I ever thanked him properly for saving me back then.
...or apologized for the number of names I called him instead, for that matter.

I shake my head again, stupid memories, always popping up in the worst possible moments...

Alright, I remain uneaten, the alarms on the colony remain silent and Julia is still moving...so I guess I didn't miss anything important.

I switch from camera to camera along their route, glad for every working one I find, but then I spot something startling.

That guy who took Sirus in is walking down the corridor Sirus and Julia are heading towards to...dear Garkla, what happened to his face? Did someone smash him with a rock or something...?

My mind jumps back to Sirus and I groan.
Yeah...of course...that could get him locked up, alright...okay, I don't think it's a very good idea, if the two groups meet...a distraction...hold on! The navigation system, of course!"