Night is a mysterious time. Under its veil, things happen that are hidden from prying eyes. It’s a time of secrets and mysteries. A time of wonders. For some, it shines with beautiful colors, lighting the way to their most cherished dreams with bright stars. For others, it turns into a curse, a darkness that destroys lives. Night is definitely the perfect time to get into trouble or to learn something you were never meant to know.

I was woken up by the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway. Someone was slowly sneaking toward the cockpit, clearly trying to hide their presence. My pulse instantly quickened from the feeling of danger.

Who’s there? What are they doing here? Why are they heading to the cockpit? Do they want to harm us? Are they working for our enemies? Or what if... they want to kill us?

Lowering my head to wake Neight, I was surprised to find that he wasn't there.

Why isn’t he asleep? I thought irritably. In his condition, he should be resting, not wandering around the ship in the middle of the night.

At least I was no longer afraid that someone had snuck onto the ship. Still, the situation seemed strange to me.

He clearly tried not to wake me up. What secrets is he hiding?

For a while, I hesitated, wondering if I should get up and see what Neight was up to. On one hand, I felt so lazy; it seemed like if I just closed my eyes, sleep would embrace me immediately. But on the other hand, curiosity was eating me alive. And what if I could learn something important?

I’ll just take a quick peek, I concluded as I climbed down. Besides, he might need my help.

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To avoid drawing attention, I tried to sneak as quietly as possible. I was barefoot, which was uncomfortable due to the cold metal floor, but it was effective for stealth. Besides, after that storm when I had to rush around in nothing but a nightgown, this was nothing.

Eventually, after descending the staircase, I reached the door leading to the cockpit, but I wasn’t in a hurry to enter.

There’s no way to go in unnoticed here...

Debating what to do next and whether this whole venture was even worth it, I pressed my ear against the door, hoping to catch any sounds from the other side. Silence. Even if something was going on inside, it was unlikely I’d be able to hear it.

What was I even expecting?

Pulling back from the door, I began weighing the pros and cons. Maybe he just went to check the sensors himself or to run some new diagnostics? Knowing Neight and his obsession with control and tasks, I could expect that from him. Maybe it was bothering him so much that he simply couldn’t sleep? It wouldn’t be surprising.

But what if there’s more to his night escapade? What if right now, behind this door, he’s using one of the control panel devices to communicate with someone? Someone potentially dangerous... Could he be carrying out orders for someone else, as a secret experimental supersoldier? If I acted carelessly, it could end badly for me.

However, he's made it clear more than once that I’m useful to him for something. And right now, he’s in a vulnerable position... No, I don’t think he’ll harm me. At least, I hope not...

Gathering my thoughts and preparing to hear Neight's objections, I placed my hand on the control panel to open the door. A short beep followed, signaling a successful scan and access granted. The door slid open.

The first thing that struck me was the darkness. Only small green and red lights on the devices were glowing, and the only somewhat decent source of light came from a dim monitor on the control panel in the center, partially obscured by the back of the main chair. It was obvious who was sitting there.

Neight didn’t turn toward me, didn’t say a word, didn’t make any sign. He didn’t react at all, as if he hadn’t noticed me. Or maybe he really didn’t? I stood there in the doorway, confused, but decided to get his attention anyway.

"Hey," I said hesitantly, almost whispering, "what are you doing here?"

There was no response. The only sound was the rapid clicking of keys, echoing across the room. The silence from Neight made me feel increasingly uneasy.

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Maybe he didn’t hear me?

"Neight, I-I woke up and noticed you weren’t in the cabin..." I said, a bit louder this time, slowly approaching him. "Don’t get the wrong idea. I just started worrying and decided to check. After all, you know... you're not exactly in the best shape right now..."

By this point, I had come close enough to hear him muttering something quickly under his breath:

"69 66 20 28 43 6F 6D 6D 61 6E 64 54 79 70 65..."

Hearing him rattling off random numbers and letters made a chill run down my spine.

What the hell does that mean?!

"44 65 73 74 72 6F 79 48 75 6D 61 6E 69 74 79..."

"Hey, Neight..."

I got right up to him and saw his face, illuminated by the cold, dim light of the screen, completely devoid of any emotion. His lifeless gaze seemed to be staring into nothingness. It was like he wasn’t seeing or hearing anything in front of him, entirely consumed by his task. His left hand was rapidly typing out what he was muttering, as if hypnotized.

"72 65 74 75 72 6E 20 66 61 6C 73 65..."

"Hey! What are you doing?!" I shouted, now genuinely scared, but there was still no response.

Waving my hands right in front of his face, I realized it was useless. Panic started to overtake me as a tremor ran through my body.

What’s happening?! What should I do?! Should I shake him to snap him out of it? But he’s injured, and I might hurt him... What if he’s entering some kind of detonation code and is about to blow the ship to hell?! No, I have to do something!

"Neight, snap out of it!" I screamed in a panic and slapped him hard, the sound echoing through the cockpit.

Neight, who had been mindlessly typing, finally stopped. His gaze cleared, and he looked at me, bewildered, as if not fully understanding what had just happened.

"Evie? What are you doing here?" he asked in a frightened voice, rubbing his cheek where the slap had landed.

"I should be the one asking you that! What the hell are you doing here, and what was that just now?!"

As I shouted those words in a burst of emotion, my lips trembled treacherously. I still hadn’t calmed down, and I was shaking all over from the fear I had just experienced. Meanwhile, Neight seemed to have fully come to his senses. Frowning and closing his eyes, he let out a long sigh, as if pondering how to answer me. But I was running out of patience.

"Fine, I suppose there’s no other choice," he began reluctantly, with a tone that made it seem like I was somehow to blame for this entire situation. "You see, there is certain data in my memory that might be useful for... hmm... intercepting control of some devices. And for a while now, I've been trying to transfer it to an external storage while I still have the chance. That’s all."

What the... Intercept? What devices? This is getting real intense...

"And you couldn’t have given me some kind of warning? Maybe something like, 'Hey, Evie, I’m working on something super important right now, but while I do it, I might look like a zombified maniac. Don’t freak out, it's fine...' I almost dropped dead back there! Do you even realize how it looked from my side?!"

"I’m sorry..." he said apologetically, turning his gaze away. "It wasn’t my plan for you to find out about this."

"Oh, wow, great plan! I suppose there’s more you're not planning to tell me? Could you kindly list everything I shouldn’t do to avoid breaking your plans and stumbling upon something else equally 'unimportant' in your opinion?"

"I just didn’t want to overload you with information that’s not useful to you..." Neight muttered, pulling a dissatisfied face, but I wasn’t interested in listening any longer.

"Fantastic... So now you’re the one deciding what people should or shouldn’t know."

"Yes, because I have more expertise and I’m responsible for our lives."

He said those words so sharply and firmly, clearly trying to put me in my place. His arrogance filled me with anger and resentment. Of course, he was right that he understood the situation better than I did and had more survival skills, but did he really think so little of me?

"So you don’t trust me at all? You think I’m not worthy?"

"That’s not what I meant..."

His voice softened slightly, but I couldn’t stop.

"Useless..."

"Evie, you’re overreacting. I don’t think that way at all."

"A fool you can deceive! Someone who, in your opinion, wouldn’t notice you sneaking out in the middle of the night..."

"Evie, please... I don’t think you're stupid. It’s just that usually, you’re a deep sleeper, and I..."

"What do you mean 'usually'?!"

I completely lost control of my emotions. I raised my hand to slap him again, but I stopped at the last second when I saw him flinch and brace himself to take the hit without resistance. I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks.

"You... Go to hell!" I spat through gritted teeth and stormed out of the control room.

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I sobbed into my pillow, completely alone in the cabin. Neight still hadn’t returned, which was honestly for the best. I didn’t want to see or hear him. I was incredibly mad at him, but I was also mad at myself.

I guess I really am a fool...

But it wasn’t just today’s incident that was tormenting me. I kept thinking about my parents and those days in the bunker when I would secretly sneak out of my room at night.

I was just like him... Thinking I was so clever... And they knew... They definitely knew about my secret escapades, but they just played along, humoring my teenage foolishness... How naive I was! Mom... Dad... I miss you so much...

At some point, exhausted by my emotions, I stared blankly at the wall, unable to think anymore. Only the sound of the light rain tapping on the ship’s hull broke the silence.

That night, Neight never returned to the cabin.