I can’t remember the last time I slept. I don’t even know how many days it’s been since we entered the void between galaxies. There are things out there, in the darkness. Things that scrape against the hull and whisper in my dreams. Is it the great enemy? Taunting us with hope of escape? Or is it something else?

-Log Fragment 196

_______________________

It was cold. It was so cold it made her chest hurt and made snowflakes gather on her eyelashes. Maggie wrapped her arms around herself, teeth chattering as she looked over a vast desert of snow and ice. The wind howled across the expanse like a lonely wolf.

A gust of wind whipped snow up around her, blinding her for a moment. She gasped and flinched against the cold that cut straight through her thin clothes. When it cleared, a small child stood before her, deep brown skin a stark contrast to glowing silver eyes and hair.

“They’re coming.” The child whispered, her voice cutting through the howling wind.

Maggie stumbled back away from the child, eyes wide. It didn’t help that the kid was floating.

Silver eyes tracked her movement, although the child didn’t move any closer. Instead she whispered, “Behind you!”

Maggie felt a sudden wave of moist heat against her back. She froze, too afraid to look as she caught the sound of panting like a giant dog. And then it growled.

She sat bolt upright in the hospital bed, covered in a cold sweat and breathing as if she had just run a race. “What the hell....”

Maggie looked around the simple room, almost exactly like the room she had been meeting with Doctor Tomas in. She could feel the slightly sticky feeling of sensors attached to her, and a screen on the wall looked like it was keeping track of her vitals.

Suddenly Robin was there, projecting from the datapad on the counter nearby. He leaned over her, face creased with concern. “Maggie, are you alright? How do you feel?”

She looked up at him, shoulders sagging as relief flooded through her. “I’m fine, I think? What- what happened?” She could remember being in the exam room with the doctor, and an awful pain in her chest.

He had said he couldn’t remove the Key.

She wouldn’t be able to go home.

Maggie closed her eyes, tears fighting their way to the surface.

“You passed out. Doctor Tomas said you might have had a minor heart attack.” Robin sat down on the edge of the bed, his ghostly form not even making a dent in the covers. But she could still feel his hand when he touched hers.

“A heart attack, figures.” Maggie let out a bitter little laugh and let herself drop back down onto the bed, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. “Probably something else to blame on this stupid Key. Is anything good ever going to come out of it?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I think this is something good. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been able to touch someone? I know it may be selfish of me, but I can at least touch you, and that’s a miracle to me.” Robin said softly, running his fingers along the back of her hand.

Guilt twisted in her gut as she looked up at Robin. He had a point, it had to be really hard to see people, talk with them, and never be able to touch them. She couldn’t imagine how lonely it must be. But now he had at least one person he could touch and hug if he wanted to. She turned her hand over and gave his a light squeeze. “I’m sorry Robin, you’re right. It’s just-”

She looked around, waving her other hand at the screen on the wall, and through it to the station beyond. “It’s just that all this is a lot. I want to go home.” Her voice broke, and she closed her eyes tightly as her shoulders started to shake and tears continued to roll down her face.

Robin pulled her against his chest in a cool hug and rested his head against hers. “I know Maggie, I know. I’ll still try to get you home. Theseus will help, I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you.” Maggie let out a small sob, hiding her face against his chest. Then she laughed, just a touch of hysteria slipping out. “I can still see through you.”

Robin laughed and pulled back to look at her fully. “That’s what you think of?”

“Well, yeah.” She wiped at her face, a hiccup escaping around the laughter. “And you glow, it’s weird.”

“You have no idea. But I’m glad you’re feeling better. Want me to let the doctor know you’re up?”

“I’ll see if I can find him.” She sat back up, and swung her legs off the bed. Her bare feet looked oddly pale in the artificial lighting, her legs bare and smooth. She stared down at them, wondering when the last time she had actually shaved was. She hadn’t had to shave since she got to the station. Another weird thing to add to the growing pile of weird that was her life now.

“Be careful, you should be resting.” Robin held a hand out to her, frowning as she stood up. He moved closer, watching her as if she could fall at any moment. It was sweet, but a bit silly. Maggie offered him a smile.

“I’m fine, see?” She wiped at her eyes again, banishing the last of the tears. She really wanted to just curl into a ball and cry still, but that wouldn’t help anything. And it would just give her a headache. There was hope in Robin and Theseus still, maybe she would still be able to get home. But would she be recognizable when she got there? Maggie paused to look at her hands and the delicate lines of scarring that remained on her right hand. The burn had faded completely now, the gouges that had been filled with crystal completely healed, leaving the faintest shimmer in her skin.

“Alright, just be careful, alright?” Robin didn’t sound very convinced, still watching her as if she may fall at any moment.

“I will.” She paused at the door, staring at it as voices filtered in from outside. It seemed she may not have to go far to find Doctor Tomas anyways, but who was he talking to?

“-more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Flame, she’s just a girl. She didn’t ask for any of this.”

Maggie stiffened, her face growing pale. Flame. That was the angry woman that had greeted them when they came onto the station. The one that had mentioned killing her.

“Maggie, are you alright?” Robin moved closer to her, his form flickering as he got further from the datapad.

“Shhhh.” She put a finger to her lips, listening to the voices on the other side of the door.

“I know that.” Flame snapped. “That’s why we need to kill her, it’s more merciful than using her as a weapon.”

Maggie felt the color drain from her face, eyes widening as she stared at the door.

“Why can’t you just let her live in peace?” A touch of impatience had entered Tomas’s voice, clear even through the door.

“We don’t get to live in peace. She doesn’t get to live in peace, consider it the price for stealing the Key. Handle it Doctor, or I will.”

Maggie backed away from the door, bumping into Robin. He put his hands on her shoulders to help steady her. “It’s alright Maggie.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?” Maggie whispered, and spun to look up at him. “Did you hear them?”

“I heard parts of it.” Robin said grimly. He looked to the door, and whispered softly to her. “Stay calm. I’ll send a message to my brother.”

“She wants to kill me!” Maggie whispered back, reaching a hand up to her throat.

“Shhh!” Robin looked towards the door as it slid open and Doctor Tomas stepped inside.