24 days until Mars arrival

Where are you going now? Beaky said. Their psionic link extended throughout the ship, making communication easy.

I'm feeling very strange, Arachna said. Not good. She was huddled in the corner of an overhead air duct, not entirely sure where on the ship she was.

I come to help you, Beaky said.

No, Arachna said. I am safe.

She rubbed together her legs and twitched her spinneret. What was this strange, uncomfortable sensation coming over her? She was just so...well, itchy.

She was covered in a million, invisibly tiny pricks. The unbearable feeling began at her knobby, defective forelimbs but it extended throughout her entire body. What the horde was going on?

She scratched.

And scratched.

And scratched.

Using all her legs, she twisted and contorted her body into unthinkable positions so that she could scratch every inch of herself. But the itches kept coming.

Had she contracted some sort of strange disease? Perhaps it came from the Medica. The Yumens had all sorts of strange ways of torturing and killing each other. Maybe there was something in the air? That would explain why all of the medics had masks on.

If it was a disease or some sort of airborne irritant, it was incredibly uncomfortable. Horde, she'd prefer to be riddled full of Yumen bullets than to go through this. At least then she'd know what was going on.

A layer of yellowish peel came right off her left forelimb. The hard exoskeleton that encrusted the bulbous limb had become flaky—as if the chitinous material was becoming dry and desiccated.

This disease, if it was a disease, was a true horror.

Is everything all right? Beaky said psionically. I sense panic.

Horde, her emotions were coming across their link now.

I'm—I'm all right... Arachna felt a spike of panic course through her veins. No, I'm not. Not all right at all. Horde, she was hidden in the dark corner of an air shaft in the middle of black space on a ship full of an enemy race. How she had contracted a disease, if this was a disease?

I will find you, Beaky said. Leaving the compactor now. What is happening? Are you hurt?

I do not know, Arachna said. Maybe sick.

Beaky paused. She'd expected a swift reply but nothing came. Not hurt? What is wrong?

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Arachna braced herself. Itchy. Very, very itchy. She'd managed to twist her two hindmost legs to scratch the top of her carapace while she rubbed the bottom with two others. With her beak, she gnawed at her forelimbs.

Itchy? Beaky asked.

Yes, Arachna said. So very itchy. It hurts.

You are not sick, Arachna, Beaky said. His psionic voice seemed calm and reassuring. This is normal.

Well, I do not feel normal, Arachna said. I want to jump into an ice bath. I want to tear off my entire exoskeleton. Ahhhh!

Stay calm, Beaky said.

Calm? Arachna said. You are telling me to stay calm? My entire body feels like it's on fire and you want me to stay calm? Horde, I'm so itchy it burns.

She needed a way to cool herself down. The sensation wasn't truly burning, she knew, but that didn't stop her urge. Where could she find something cold?

The freezers in the kitchen? They were cold, by Yumen standards anyway. If she raced over fast enough, maybe she could jump inside a cold refrigerator and cool herself off. Yes, that might just work.

Arachna crawled forward. Where was that kitchen?

Every step was painful. The piercing, itching sensations racked every millimeter of her exoskeleton. She ran, not bothering to hide the tiny thumps of each step like she normally did. This was an emergency. Horde, she'd rather die than put up with this.

Arachna, Beaky said. I know it hurts but try to stay calm. I know what is happening to you.

There it was. The kitchen was not far off. She'd recognize the smell from miles away. Thankfully, the Yumens were mostly asleep on board the Eschaton and the room was empty.

Bursting out of the vent, she jumped down onto the kitchen floor. The food didn't distract her. She only had one goal in mind.

The freezer.

Scampering ahead she approached the cold-making box. With her beak, she managed to wedge it open before jumping inside.

Horde, it was cold inside this thing. She tucked herself into a corner and hid beneath mounds of to-be-eaten Yumen food. It actually smelled quite good even in subzero temperatures.

I sense coldness, Beaky said. Be careful. Your body will go into hibernation.

Hibernation? Arachna didn't think about that possibility. Horde, she'd only wanted to find some way to relieve the itching. And the freezer was relieving her itching.

Her entire body cooled down. Her burning desire to scratch herself slowly dissipated. Only in her frontal forelimbs where the prickling was most intense did it remain. She continued to gnaw at her front limbs. The defective bulbs peeled away like a fruit from a tree. There were so many layers. Maybe there would be a positive outcome from all this scratching if she found out that her legs were actually normal underneath all that peeling.

Where are you? Beaky said.

In the kitchen, inside a freezer, Arachna said. Much better in here.

There wasn't much air inside the freezer but Krath could survive for a long time without air. Horde, Krath could survive in the black of space using only the light of the sun to fuel their photochondria. A freezer was not an insurmountable obstacle. Of course, there was no light inside it so without air her body would have to go into hibernation as Beaky pointed out.

You should come out soon, Beaky said.

He was likely right. Arachna knew he was right, but she was not eager to face the itching anymore. It had been so incredibly intense. And she was already beginning to feel a little bit drowsy.

Please, Beaky said.

Arachna climbed up above a pile of food-stuffed boxes. With her beak, she pushed on the door of the freezer.

Nothing.

The door wouldn't budge.

She thrust all her weight into the door, pushing with every ounce of strength. It was locked shut. Horde, had she just trapped herself inside a Yumen freezer? Her situation just went from bad to worse.

Backing up to the rear of the freezer, she sprung her body forward, leaping with all her strength, plunging herself at the door. The freezer rocked ever-so-slightly. But it wouldn't open.

It was locked shut.

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