It had only been a matter of time until things would escalate. And when they finally did, all of them were as prepared as they were exhausted by the energy they had to put into the matter.

The day commenced relatively peacefully. Hongjoong sat in the kitchen with a migraine and tried to concentrate on his logs. From time to time, crew members dropped in and out to get some snacks or drinks. Their soulless expressions gave nothing away about the emotional turmoil behind them. Each time somebody new strode in, Hongjoong made a brief note behind their names on his list on what time it was. The list was painfully short. But no matter how hopelessly he wanted for Mingi, San, or Yeosang to appear, they never did. They were lost forever in the wide expanse of space.

Trouble snuck up on them, and of course, it originated from Wooyoung's poorly mended heart.

When Hongjoong heard the first roar outside, he buried his face in his hands. His reddened eyes throbbed with fatigue and desperation for all this to just end already. He had given up, had no more expectations that they would get out of this alive. If only that damned alien made up its mind already and killed them fairly instead of dragging things out so cruelly.

Still, Hongjoong stood from his place with frosty features. He left his tablet where it was to march out of the door and down the corridor with his lips set in a grim line. The source of today's turbulence came from the bridge. Wooyoung's agitated voice screamed the loudest, unperturbed by Jongho who tried to yell over him.

Yunho emerged from his room at the same time as Hongjoong passed his door. Quiet, he strode alongside the stony-faced captain. Hongjoong's shoes squeaked when they rounded the corner to the bridge and the door slid open to expose themselves to the full onslaught of volume.

This time, Hongjoong saw red. He didn't spare a second to listen to Wooyoung's accusations and insults. He merely stepped in to drag the man off Jongho who tried hard to defend himself without hurting the Systems Engineer on purpose. The second Wooyoung tumbled back from his brother, Hongjoong slapped him across the face.

For a moment, Wooyoung gulped down his words in tense silence. Then he launched himself at Hongjoong.

Hongjoong stumbled back under the weight of his fury. He dimly noticed Jongho catching him before he could fall down the stairs and crack his head open. Before Wooyoung could deck Hongjoong in the nose, Yunho already dragged him off. Wooyoung struggled fruitlessly through the grip Yunho had on his wrists, not breaking free.

"Throw him out of the goddamn ship! It's him! I'm telling you it's him!" Wide with mania, Wooyoung's eyes flickered over Hongjoong as if trying to enchant him in his indignation. When Hongjoong shook his head icily, the man tried to stomp on Yunho's foot to break free.

"That's enough, Wooyoung. I gave you many warnings, and this is it. You sabotage this crew. We're going to lock you up."

The disbelieving laugh that fell from Wooyoung's lips twisted Hongjoong's heart in his chest.

"You're going to get me killed, huh? Fine, finally. You get what you want. You might be his brother but he will kill you, too, once nobody else is left. Heed my words. And make sure you throw me out in the same damn area you ejected San into!"

Through his spits and curses, Yunho dragged him off. They had exactly one cell they could lock from the outside to keep Wooyoung from messing with the systems. Usually, it would be used for possible alien intruders or rogue crew members such as Wooyoung which was why it was equipped with cameras. Once the man had calmed down, they would bring him back out.

Once Yunho had dragged Wooyoung off, Hongjoong remained alone with Jongho. Self-conscious about his appearance, Jongho dusted his uniform off. His meek eyes barely met Hongjoong's.

"Sorry, for causing trouble again... He's just too much for me."

Sighing, Hongjoong glanced at his watch to make a note of when this encounter had happened.

"It's fine. Let him cool off. He went through quite some trauma, like any of us, he just deals with it differently." Hongjoong delivered a weak pat to his shoulder. His eyes searched the empty area and the galaxy outside the windows that he had once adored so much. Its shine seemed dulled now.

"Have you seen Seonghwa?"

Normally all of them would come running at any noise, but nothing of the man was in sight. When Jongho also looked around cluelessly, Hongjoong's heart dropped into his stomach.

He took off faster than Jongho could call him back. He raced down the hallway and past the kitchen at a breakneck speed that nearly had him slip and crash into a corner. Hongjoong's sight blurred in his panic, expecting the worst as he skittered to a halt in front of their shared cabin. When he hit the button to open the door, the entrance had never freed so slowly.

Hongjoong stormed in with flickering eyes, trying to find a body on the floor. When instead, a person stood up from the bed opposite of him with a worried expression, Hongjoong nearly fainted from relief.

"Hongjoong? Is something the matter? Don't tell me-" Before Seonghwa could clasp his hand over his mouth in terror, Hongjoong already waved him off. Heaving, he leaned into the doorframe to regain his bearings. He blinked his eyes harshly to rid them of the scare.

"It's fine. All fine. I thought you were..."

"Oh. No, I'm also fine," Seonghwa said quietly. For a moment, they shared relieved silence. Only then, Seonghwa came over to wrap Hongjoong into his arms gently. Nauseous, Hongjoong leaned against his shoulder. His earlier migraine that he had forgotten about returned to him twice as painful.

Seonghwa shushed him and held him close to share his warmth until Hongjoong felt better. Once he could form words again, he parted from Seonghwa's chest to look at him.

"Wooyoung and Jongho fought again. We locked Wooyoung up for now so he can cool off. When you make your rounds to check on people, you'll need to search him at the cells. If we need him for the systems, we'll escort him out and back in."

Seonghwa nodded without having to inquiry.

"Got it. Actually, since it's only a few of us now, I wanted to suggest we keep closer together. To have an eye on each other but also to offer protection. Maybe we can set up camp on the bridge, there's a lot of space."

When Hongjoong gifted him a tired smile, Seonghwa's lips also rose.

"That's a good idea. I'll tell Yunho once we see him again. In that case, shall I assemble everyone so we can search the med bay? San's documents might hold the last evidence we need."

Seonghwa nodded. He pressed a kiss to Hongjoong's forehead that conveyed all his brittle hope placed on their captain. Hongjoong had to tiptoe to return the gesture, but Seonghwa bowed his head to help.

While Seonghwa set out to collect Yunho, Hongjoong fetched Jongho and his tablet. The four of them met in the med bay and divided the shelves one each to turn them upside down. Anything was helpful. A book on alien organisms, research that might demonstrate how the creature had infiltrated them and possibly took possession of one of the crew members without them knowing, or even just San's personal records that would hint at somebody's check-ups being weird. Even a blood sample analysis might get them on the right path, so they turned over every page to search for the barest minimum of a hint.

As the hours moved past the clock and Hongjoong shifted through the thousandth page to see grits and numbers blur before his eyes, he gradually lost all focus. He was nearly done, just searching the last shelf while behind him. The heavy sighs of his crew indicated no good news either.

Yunho finished first, and he set his pile down with a beat groan. When Hongjoong glanced over his shoulder, the man rubbed his neck and went to sit down on San's rolling chair.

"It's in vain. If there was anything, the alien might have removed it after it cornered San," Yunho sighed. Grim, Hongjoong continued in his numb flicking. Next to him, Seonghwa gathered his pile to move it back to its place, too. Blank surrender reflected in his grit jaw.

"We really are doomed... Doomed to sit here and wait for death," Hongjoong murmured back. When Yunho buried his face in his hands, all of them fell in uncomfortable silence.

Nothing brought hope. The few weapons they had on the ship were no match against a creature strong enough to throw Yeosang over beams and crack bones. The next planet was still nine days away from them. Judging by the killing pace, only one or two of them might make it out, and the possibility that the alien would let them go was slim.

"Seonghwa suggested earlier to build a camp at the bridge so we all can keep our eyes on each other. Shall we do that?"

"Wouldn't a camp put us at the risk of all getting killed at once? This creature seems powerful."

"We could set up a guard," Hongjoong offered. While Yunho nodded along, Jongho looked apprehensive.

"We have no doors to lock ourselves behind. If we can't be sure that it isn't Wooyoung, then I would honestly rather not be closer to the alien than necessary. I'm sorry for having to distrust the two of you." With loyal puppy eyes, he looked between Hongjoong and Seonghwa. With a sigh, Hongjoong waved it off.

"Fine by me, then let's not camp. If we stay up watching each other, we'll go mad soon, anyway."

Hongjoong didn't know what the best approach was. Any they had taken so far had proved to be inaccurate. Disheartened, he glared at the ground. He was furious at himself for being unable to help, for losing so many people in such gruesome ways. The images of their wide-open eyes would haunt him into his nightmares forever.

"But we could log our doors. So that once the person leaves to go anywhere, we get time stamps. It might not work out well since some of us have night duties but maybe we gather the right information coincidentally. We can double-check to make sure we don't accuse anybody wrongly," Yunho proposed instead. It would work only for the manual opening and locking mechanisms, but it was the best bet they had.

To that, they all nodded gravely. They would need Wooyoung to cooperate to set up the program, but Hongjoong hoped he wouldn't meddle with such crucial data. Since so many of their valuable crew members were gone, their Systems Engineer held a precious key over all of their lives in his hand. Hongjoong would have to make sure that the man wouldn't inconvenience Jongho and Seonghwa over it.

"I'll try to talk to Wooyoung about it, he might listen to me. Everybody else, go in a group to do your tasks. Let's all see each other again before we go to bed." Yunho rose from his seat and took his tablet with him as he left. With a last optimistic smile at everyone, the tall man slipped out of the door.

With him gone, the three others fell into thick silence.

Seonghwa brought order to San's documents, stacking them neatly and as the Medical Officer would have liked. Slumped down on a stretcher, Jongho just stared at his hands.

"I hope we make it out of here. All three of us. It's so selfish, but... I would rather the other two have to die than any of you." Hongjoong's voice burned around the words. They hurt his morals, his care for his entire crew. But he had long since failed at protecting either of those. The only thing he could do now was to pray selfishly that neither his brother nor his lover died.

Seonghwa reached over to hold his hand. His eyes swam with empathy.

All of them were scared for each other.

"Maybe... Maybe if we hurry. The alien hasn't attacked for years before that and never appeared in any public records. If we reach the next planet, it might find a victim there and make it work. Then we never even have to know. Never have to know which one of us brought this misery over the others," Jongho whispered into his knees.

Hongjoong nodded weakly. They left the room together to visit each of their working stations one by one. When they met Yunho again on the bridge, he introduced his success with Wooyoung to them with a bright smile.

As they all retreated into their rooms, Hongjoong hoped.