"Sergei, do it," Chen ordered. "Override environmental. We need heat."
The Russian engineer nodded grimly. He pulled off his gloves, exposing his scarred hands—the two missing fingers on his left hand stark reminders of what cold can do.
"Sergei, wait—" Nora started, but he was already moving.
"I am old man," he said quietly. "Lived long life. Seen much. If something must be sacrificed, better me than you young ones." He crossed himself, then reached for the console.
The moment his bare fingers touched the controls, the crystalline filaments reacted. They surged up his hands like living quicksilver, wrapping around his wrists, burrowing into his skin. Sergei's jaw clenched but he didn't pull away. His fingers flew across the keypad, entering override codes from memory.
"No, no, no," the entity's voice filled the room, no longer calm. "Stop. Don't. I need the cold. I grow faster in cold. Sergei, please—"
"Go to hell," Sergei growled through gritted teeth. The filaments were up to his elbows now, black crystalline structures spreading under his skin like frost forming on glass. His veins were turning dark.
Marcus moved toward him but Chen grabbed his arm. "He's doing it. Don't interrupt."
On the displays, they saw temperature readings changing. Heat was being redirected back into the station's living areas. The entity shrieked—an inhuman sound vibrating through every crystalline surface, making their teeth ache.
Sergei's fingers hit the final command. "Emergency heat protocol... engaged," he said, his voice already changing, taking on that layered quality. "Five minutes... full temperature restoration..."
He pulled his hands away from the console. They were almost entirely black now, crystalline structures visible beneath the skin. His eyes met Chen's, and for a moment they were still human—still Sergei.
"Run," he said. "I give you... gift. Time. Maybe ten minutes... before I am not me anymore." He looked at his transforming hands with something like fascination. "Already I feel it. Thoughts that are not mine. Memories... so old... so cold..."
"Sergei—" Nora's voice broke.
"NO." He backed away from them, toward the crystalline walls. "You cannot help. Is too late. I touched too much, too long. But I bought you time. Station will warm. Entity will slow. Get to incinerator. Burn it all." He smiled sadly. "Burn me too. Is mercy."
The walls pulsed frantically as heat began pumping through the station's systems. The entity was panicking—Chen could feel it in the erratic rhythms, the desperate reaching of the filaments.
"Sergei, fight it!" Marcus shouted.
"I am fighting," Sergei said, and his voice was already double-layered. "But it is strong. And lonely. So lonely. I almost... understand..." He shook his head violently, fighting for clarity. "GO! Sub-level 2! Stairs are past residential! Incinerator is—"
His eyes went completely black. Crystalline structures erupted from his skin, spreading across his face, his neck. He opened his mouth to speak but what came out was Chen's voice:
"You can't burn me, Dr. Chen. Even if you reach the incinerator, even if you ignite the fuel reserves—I'll survive. I'm already in Sergei. Already in you. We're connected. Part of me will always be inside you now."
Marcus grabbed Chen's arm. "Move! NOW!"
The three of them ran. Out through the maintenance hatch, which was now almost completely sealed with growth. They had to tear through the crystalline filaments—they were warm now, from the restored heat, softer, easier to break. The entity was weakening.
Behind them, Sergei—or what was Sergei—didn't follow. Chen heard his voice calling after them, sometimes Russian, sometimes layered with the entity's multi-tonal speech:
"I am sorry... I could not be stronger... but remember me... remember Sergei Volkov... do not let it erase..."
Then silence.
They were running through the corridors now, back toward the main hub. The temperature was rising noticeably—Chen could feel it even through their gear. The crystalline growths on the walls were withering, pulling back, retreating from the heat.
"It's working," Nora gasped. "Sergei's sacrifice—it's working."
But for how long? The entity was distributed throughout the station. It would adapt, find a way to survive the heat, or shut it down again. They had minutes. Maybe less.
They reached the main hub. The residential corridor was to their left. Past that, according to Sergei's last instructions, were stairs leading down to sub-level 2. To the incinerator.
But as they started toward residential, they heard a sound that stopped them cold.
A child crying.
It was coming from one of the residential rooms. Young, terrified, sobbing.
"The hell is that?" Marcus breathed.
"A recording," Chen said, but they weren't sure. "It has to be a recording. Playing back something from—"
"Please," a child's voice called out. Small. Scared. "Please help me. It's so cold. I can't find my daddy. Please..."
Chen remembered the child's drawing in the main hub. "Daddy, Mommy, and Me."
Dr. Martinez had a daughter. Sofia. Eight years old.
But Sofia was in Barcelona. She couldn't be here.
"Trap," Marcus said. "Obviously a trap."
"Obviously," Chen agreed.
But the crying continued. Desperate. Real-sounding.
Nora looked torn. "What if... what if one of the crew brought family? Against protocols? What if there really is—"
"There isn't," Marcus cut her off. "It's the entity. Using our empathy against us."
He was right. Chen knew he was right.
But what if he was wrong?
The crying grew louder, more desperate. A child in distress. Every instinct screamed at Chen to help.
But Sergei had just died to buy them time. Every second counted.