Jay's POV

I gently lifted a round, golden pancake with my spatula and slid it onto a large plate, then flipped another, and  cascaded more batter onto the empty space. The heavy, sweet aroma slid through my nostrils and I exhaled satisfactorily. Cooking was something I really liked, but my turn in the kitchen came and went, just like that. It gave me some time to myself for once, because we all slept, ate, and hung out together, and though I was...somewhat of an extrovert, it did get tiring socializing 24/7.

The last pancake joined its twin on the last plate, and I called for everyone to come join me.

No answer.

I felt a a tiny, terrifying monster of disturbance in my head. I tensed up, balled up my fists, and threw them up to my head, mind screaming, heart pounding, feeling worthless, powerless, like it was all my fault, like they were all captured, or even destroyed, and it was all me, I couldn't do anything about it, I screamed, I panted, I cried. I knew this was no demon, no mind control, this was all me, all getting worked up. They had probably just gone out without me, on a mission that hadn't required a small, nimble individual such as myself. But during breakfast? This was definitely suspicious.

Tired of standing around and panicking, I left the kitchen and looked, well...everywhere. The sleeping quarters were barren, the control room was empty, the bathroom was vacant, and the brig was unoccupied. It was official; I was alone. Not knowing what else to do, I fell back into the corner of the brig, hugged my knees, lay my head in my arms, and just sat there, crying.

Twitch. Twitch.

It's probably just a glitch in the controls upstairs, I thought, but it sounded like it was coming from right next to me.

Twitch, twitch, twitch.

I looked to the left. There to keep me company was the broken, malfunctioning body of Hanna Julien.