text: 12 September 2019 on Instant Story, Just Add Prompt, Amalgam Universe, Survivor Guilt, Humans Are Fragile
  The human had seen his entire ship destroyed. It had been a sneak attack, an ambush. He fought for hours, it felt like months to him, but in the end, the pirates had overwhelmed them by sheer numbers. The only reason he survived was because one of his crewmates had done a "hail mary" maneuver and jettisoned an engine that had gone critical. The pirates were so badly damaged from that explosion that they were no longer able to go after what they'd come for. He had managed to get into an escape pod which, after being picked up by a havenworlder's transport, got him to a spaceport. But now he was alone, everyone he cared for was gone, and every part of him wanted to join them. How do havenworlders help a man who has given up on life itself? How do they react, when they find him unconscious after a botched attempt at suicide? -- BrighidRaven
  There was one survivor. A Human whose nameplate declared them as Jenkins. They didn't say a word when the Anisoptae found them. They hadn't said a word for weeks. The Anisoptae tried their best to provide intermediate therapy, but Human Jenkins remained unresponsive.
  Human Jenkins didn't want to talk at all. They did not respond to physical contact. They did not wish to get involved in any kind of activity that the Anisoptae attempted. Human Jenkins just... sat there. Staring. Not at anything at all, it was more like they were staring across space and time at something they found disturbing. They went through life like an automated machine.
  Though they hurried to reach a Human medical expert, they could not get there fast enough. Something was bound to break, and it was the Human Jenkins. Deathworlders only seem invulnerable by comparison to the more fragile Havenworlders. They do have their vulnerabilities, some of them were inside their own heads.
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  Indie writer seeks audience with an audience. Paying customers welcome. [pronouns: ze/hir] Daily free stories happen because it is an excellent counter to Writers' Block.