..::Across the Universe::.. [ Raiden & Ironic ]

Ironic

πΏπ‘œπ“ˆπ“‰ π“Œπ’Ύπ“‰π’½π’Ύπ“ƒ π“‚π“Ž π‘œπ“Œπ“ƒ 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹
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Apr 15, 2014
Earth.

A beautiful and mysterious planet swirling in the galaxy called the Milky Way. Slowly the planet danced to the Sun's gravity, it's radiant rays casting down on the different mixtures of green and blue, enriching the life that inhabited it. For thousands of years, the Earth and Sun had a wonderful relationship together, until unfortunately something very wrong was happening to the Earth's beloved twinkling star. The hydrogen fusion in its core that was once alive has finally stopped, causing the Sun to undergo severe changes and become a red giant.

For years, the Sun continued to grow without end, the once calm and lively Earth now changing into a hot and dry one. The beautiful blue and clear ocean's were now dried up and containing little to no water. Livestock and other sources of meat quickly died off, and the plants and tree's gradually died without water and due to the outstanding heat.

In utter desperation and before the planet had gotten too bad, researchers, scientists, engineers, and many more science professions gathered together to create a spaceship named Godspeed. One that could travel for hundreds of years to get to a recently found inhabitable planet called Centauri-Earth. The planet was very similar to Earth, containing the essential needs for life and re-population, but... there was a catch to it. Dangerous new species lived amongst the lands, species that weren't truly identified, but were known to be very dangerous. Therefore, instead of selecting random passengers to board the ship, they had chosen the best fitted. Biologist, Chemists, Military, Engineers, Scientists, Astronauts, Microbiologists, and many more to help control the planet.

It would take approximately 300 years to get to Centauri-Earth, therefore making it impossible for the people who were needed the most to live on the planet wouldn't live long enough to set foot on the new soil. That was when scientists discovered a preservation called cryogenically freezing. This process allows one to be frozen without causing the damage of it. Of course, tubes and monitors would have to travel down the esophagus to ensure no harm, but other than that, the method was proven to hold promising results.

Passengers of up to 2,000 people would stay aboard the ship, carrying on generation after generation and leader after leader. They guided the ship to its desired course. Godspeed held three different levels. The Feeder Level contains a medical center, farm, town for the citizens to live in, greenhouse, recorded/library hall, and the basement/stock room where Amy and the others would be stored at. Also, their source of the Sun was a giant solar lamp, giving off the same warmth and enrichment the sun would. The Shipper Level contained the research labs and engine room. Last but not least was the Keeper Level, having Elder and Eldest Quarters, learning center, and the 'Great Room' where the Eldest (leader of the ship) would gather the passengers for meetings and updates.

This is when our character, Amy, comes into play. Amy's father is apart of the military, specializing in war equipment, while her mother specializes in biology. At first, no one but the desired people were allowed to tag along, but fortunately Amy was given permission to travel aboard the final chapter in the history of Earth as they knew it.



Year : 2053

The color of the sky glowed a mysterious shade of red and orange, flames seeming to pierce the once known and beloved blue skies. Amy's life would soon change forever. The friends that she use to know and the relatives she once held dear into her heart would only be nothing more than just a memory. Today, she had to say goodbye, knowing that she would never face them again, at least alive.

Sighing softly on the bumpy car ride towards the space station, Amy placed her palm on her cheek. Peering out of the window she watched as the endless desert whizzed past her that was once green and full of grass and other life. "What a shame..." She thought to herself, shaking her head in disgust. Her long ginger hair laid against her shoulders and back, her bright green eyes continuing to scan the outside of the window.

Amy's father, Randy, watched in the review mirror at his daughter's unsettling facial expressions. He wished that he could take the pain away, restore Earth back to its natural state, but no matter how hard he wished he knew that nothing was capable of restoring Earth. The only option left was what they were doing now.

"Everything will be okay sweetie..." Saundra, Amy's mother, spoke softly to her daughter, feeling the unsettling air pass by her in her passenger seat. Amy always admired her parents, knowing well that they wouldn't do anything that would harm her, but she couldn't help but bite the side of her cheek, anticipating the outcome of this all.

Who gets frozen for 300 years just to be thawed back out and live on a new planet? This was completely crazy, something you read in a book or watched in a movie! Unfortunately, this was now the reality she had to face along with many others. At least she and her parents were fortunate enough to be spared with their lives, other's having to be left on Earth to suffer until the bitter end of the planet.

"Yeah..." murmuring softly, she sunk into her seat and nestled in closer to her folded arms, trying to shut herself out from the world like a typical 20 year old would do. It was still hard for her to understand why fate had to play out this way, but what was done was done.

Seeming like forever, the trio finally arrived to their destination. Parking their car in an open parking space, they gathered their luggage, containing clothes, pictures of the old Earth that they once knew and loved along with family members and friends. Anything that was deemed valuable in their eyes was carried along their journey with them. Amy couldn't help but feast her eyes on the new area, Godspeed right alongside the space station.

"Damn! Would you look at that beauty!" Randy marveled as he gazed upon his new gigantic home. "Truly and utterly amazing..."

Walking silently down the halls, they all were directed inside the storage unit of the ship, being the last group of people to be cryo frozen. With each step, Amy's heart pounded strongly inside of her thoracic cavity. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't turn back, and the was the scary part of it. The seconds seemed to be hours, time slowing down. Sucking in a deep breath of air, she released it, calming her down slightly.

Three glass boxes laid on the floor, tubes and machines sitting alongside of them, all ready to hook up into each individual. Gulping at the frog that formed in her throat, she swallowed hard, facing her reality now.

"Mom, Dad..." She muttered, twiddling her fingers together. "I love you guys no matter what."

"We love you too." Saundra replied, giving Amy a plump kiss on her forehead, Randy soon after kissing her head too.

"Indeed." Randy responded, giving Amy a firm rub on the back.

The man that was administering the freezing procedure entered, his yellow gloves fitting nicely on his hand, his dark brown eyes meeting theirs. "Good evening. Ready to jump into the future?" Attempting the break the ice and calm some nerves, it didn't seem to do much. Chuckling in an embarrassed manner, he cleared his throat and began to talk again. "Who wants to go first? I know this will be awkward for you all but I need you to undress yourself. This is necessary."

Amy felt rather uncomfortable, shuffling on her feet and waiting for someone else to call first dibs, and luckily, Randy raised his hand, nodded his head in agreement. "I'll go first..." All of them began to undress, wrapping their hands over their private area's, feeling embarrassed and shy, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Alright Randy. Your number will be 45. Saundra, 46, and Amy, 47." The man pointed above the rows of fridges, their slots being open and waiting for the boxes to enter in, locking them up for 300 years in a deep sleep. "Please lay on your back on the box, please." Complying to his request, Randy sighed softly, stepping inside of the glass box and laying flat on his back. His body began to shake, Amy not knowing if it's nerves or the coldness of it. "I'm going to place this gel in your eyes. It's going to glue them shut, but it's for the purpose of not ruining your vision." And with that, he took his eyes and applied a generous amount of the substance to each, his eyes now being shut completely. Grabbing the tubes that looked similar to the ones found in a ventilator, the man positioned himself and cleared his throat. "These are tubes with wires in them. They help us know your organs vital signs, and allows us to make sure you're okay. Your heart will stop and your lungs will stop, but you will still be alive. You will be asleep, dreaming." And with that, he shoved the tubes inside of her father, Amy cringing as Randy coughed and choked as he was forced to swallow them down.

The man stood up to grab a hose, placing it in the glass box. "For the final step, I will now fill the box with the cryo fluid. I won't see you again, unfortunately, but I do pray that your travel will be safe and prosperous." Flicking on the machine, it began to fill Randy's tank, instantly becoming a solid. The process took around a minute to fill the entire box, and as soon as he was finished, he slid him in fridge number 45, closing the door and sealing it shut.

"Who's next?"

Amy's mother walked forward, doing the same as Randy and eventually being locked into her frozen chamber until it was time to thaw.

And now it was Amy's turn.

She was petrified. She wanted to make a break for it, run away and hide. Her parent's were locked away now, and here she was, standing nude in front of a stranger. "I promise it will be quick. Don't worry." His voice was soft and reassuring, and somehow she felt comforted and safe. Nodding softly, she laid her back on the hard glass, goosebumps forming on her skin. It was so fucking cold!

"... It's really c-c-cold..." Nervously Amy stuttered out, wanting to cover herself but was forced to lay her hands flat against the surface. "I hope this 300 years will go by fast." The man didn't reply, instead he took the eye gel and opened up her green apple eyes, smearing the gel on. It was cold and clumpy, her eye forced to be sealed. It was terrifying to know that she wasn't able to open her eyes. Feeling a panic attack wanting to burst out of her, she bit her tongue, forcing herself to settle down.

Pitch darkness was all she could see besides the faint light of the lights on the ceiling. She wanted her mom and dad. She wanted them to stroke her sunfire hair and tell her it was okay. But it was too late now.

"Open wide and swallow these tubes as if you were eating them." Opening her mouth for her, he began to insert the tubes. It scraped her esophagus, coughing and wanting to cough them up. "Swallow!" He demanded, and she quickly obeyed, clenching her hands to fight back the pain and burning sensation her throat felt down to her stomach.

Everything was uncomfortable. Her heart raced, she wanted to breathe, but found herself feeling okay even without her lungs moving their natural rhythm.

Without warning her chamber was filled with the liquid, making her jump slightly from the sting of it. It was the coldest thing she ever experienced, but as it continued to fill out, she seemed to feel more calmer and relaxed. Her mind was switching on and off consciousness, slowly slipping off into a dream state.

The last thing she remembers was hearing the steaming sound of pressure as the fridge door closed.

........

"I am as silent as death.

Do this: Go to your bedroom. Your nice, safe, warm bedroom that is not a glass coffin behind a morgue door. Lie down on your bed not made of ice. Stick your fingers in your ears. Do you hear that? The pulse of life from your heart, the slow in-and-out from your lungs? Even when you are silent, even when you block out all noise, your body is still a cacophony of life.

Mine is not...

It is the silence that drives me mad. The silence that drives the nightmares to me.

Because... what if I am dead?”


....

β€œDreams are like that: they go in and out of memories and scenes, but they're never real. They're never real, and I hate them because they aren't.”


....


β€œMore than the sound of my own beating heart, I miss the sound of a ticking clock. Time passes. It must pass....”
 
The Elder stirs in his bed, his hand rising and pressing against his forehead. God, a throbbing headache. He sits up slowly, careful not to bang his head against the metal ceiling of the bunkroom, and slowly slips down, landing in a crouch to soften the eight-foot drop. Regardless of status, space is space, and not even the Eldest gets his own quarters. The metal is freezing cold on his feet, but he hardly notices anymore, moving to the small row of lockers and pulling out the day's jumpsuit. It zips up fairly handily, and he steps out of the bunkroom a moment later. No-one else is due to be up for an hour, but he likes the solitude he can get early on the clock.

He stretches as he walks down the corridor, rolling his shoulders and getting used to the chill air as he moves through the hallways, humming lowly beneath his breath. His brown hair ruffles occasionally as the air recycling pushes by his head, making him blink every now and then when a gust hits his face, obscuring dark brown eyes. His skin is tanned from working beneath the UV lamps for the crops, faint scars from work accidents crisscrossing his forearms.

He's the second oldest of those aboard the ship, with the majority of the workers being around the same age, and the eldest just a few years his senior. His eyes wander as he walks... only to fix upon a small electrical panel, rust encroaching on one corner. Frowning, he moves to it, and inspects the metal, studying it and pulling a multitool from his belt, starting to fix up the busted wiring, and putting in a maintenance order to the main system. A few more moments, and the panel is mostly remedied, making maintenance's job easier... but a door beside him whines, pushing upward and revealing a stairwell downward.

Odd. There's not supposed to be any lower decks accessible from up here... He pauses, biting his lip for several moments. They're not supposed to wander or explore. It's too damn dangerous to wander outside this level... but no-one will know... and he's careful.

His mind decided, he slips into the passage and begins descending the stairs, flicking on a small light on his uniform to lit the unilluminated steps. Sterile, clean... but not in a "maintenance comes daily" manner. More that no-one's been here in a long time...

He finally reaches the bottom, and the automatic doors pull open for him, exposing a large, open room, full of dozens, no, hundreds, if not thousands of upright, semiopaque glass tubes, humanoid forms barely visible through the material.

"What... is this?" he wonders aloud, wandering down the rows and brushing his fingers against the glass. Many of the people, if people they are, are taller than any of the younger boys, and even taller than him, at least by several inches. He has to lean up on the very tips of his toes to brush the glass with his fingers, and he frowns, studying the forms inside. Men, older than the eldest, even. Women, even. He'd thought that was a myth, actually...

And then, at last, he comes across a smaller form, only his size, even a little smaller. He can't get the glass to defrost enough with his hands, as he swipes at it, and instead, he looks at the panel, studying it intently... trying to figure out what and how to see what's inside, better...

And his foot slips on a cable as he bends down, bringing his face directly into contact with one of the larger buttons, and sending him crashing to the floor with a yelp, rubbing his head and groaning.

A low, soothing voice, unlike the system comm, rings out into his ears from above. "Beginning defrosting process of cryogenic pod. Please stand back from the pod..."
 
It's a strange sort of sleep, this. Never really waking up, but becoming aware of consciousness inside a too-still body. The dreams weave in and out of memories. The only thing keeping Amy from the nightmares that want to engulf her is the thought and hope that there couldn't possibly be a hundred more years before she wakes up.

Sometimes it feels as if a thousand years have passed on by, but sometimes it feels as if she was only sleeping for a few moments. It's like a state of half-sleep, half-awake, and then as she realized it, she slips back into slumber. It felt as if there was something wrong, as if she shouldn't be so aware of all this...

Earth. She holds on her thoughts of Earth. It doesn't matter that she had a life on Earth and that she loved Earth. Her friends and family have gotten old and died by now, and all she did during that time was lay in a frozen sleep.

"I must be dead... And this is my greatest fear: After 301 years, when they pull my glass coffin from the morgue, and they let my body thaw like chicken meat on the kitchen counter, I will be just like I am now. I will spend all of eternity trapped inside of my dead body. There is nothing beyond this. I will be locked within myself forever....

And I want to scream. I want to throw open my eyes and wake up and not be alone with myself anymore. But I can't.

I can't."


What if only a year went by? What if they haven't even left already? These were her greatest fears.

The soft breeze, pushing against my face. The pitter-patter of rain against my roof as I sit quietly in my bedroom. The sun gazing down on me as I run against the-

"What was that?"

-sandy shores of the nearby lake hugging against the land I set foot on. Oh, how those bright stars twinkled down at me on a humid summer's night. I close my eyes and breathe in the air, so soft and crisp, the cold sensation tingly against my airways.

"Did I move?"

The dream fades, the sensation of summer-breeze disappears. Darkness. Nightmares tickles her mind.

"Something's happening."

....

"No no no! Nothing's happening! Nothing ever happens. It's the nightmares again, that same nightmare. They will unfreeze me, and I will be like now, and they'll throw me back in. Or the ship will crash, and I'll be stuck here, forever, never unfrozen. Or maybe this nightmare is where-"

Thump.

"-where they forget to unfreeze me at all, the ship lands and everyone's so excited they just leave me behind and-"

Something is happening.

"I think I hear something. I can't hear anything. It's all in my mind. It's not real."

Click.

"No. I did not hear a click. A click did not vibrate through ice. That did not happen. This is just a nightmare. It's as simple as that. Just calm down and think of something. Try to think of the memories. Memories always kill the nightmares."

"I feel something. I feel something. Warmth in my stomach. And I hear... the hum of the electricity. It's coming from the tubes down my throat...

My body... It's slipping. Just a friction of a millimeter, but it slips.

... The ice is melting!

Oh, God."


Thump.

".. M-m-my heart!"

Thump-thump.

Water leaks into her left eyes lash-line. She twitches involuntarily. The yellow crust that had sealed her eyes shut for who knows how long cracks, and for the first time since she was frozen, she moves.

"OhGodohGodohGodohGod."

Pain.

Cold so cold it burns, but not with a burning that cauterizes, no, a burning that razed, decimates. Searing, pulling, freezing, rippling, bleeding, breaking pain.

Her stomach muscles seize, but she cannot vomit empty. Her eyes see only blobs. Some bright, some not. No focus at all. Mucus slips down her nosrils, down the bck of her throat. She chokes. Coughs. Gags. Water sloshes in her ear, mumbling down the sounds of a male voice around her.

"I'm drowning in my own frozen grave. And no one is here to save me."
 
The pod door's stuck. It jerks back and forth a few inches, enough that it could, should work itself free... but it doesn't. He swears, and scrambles to his feet. Of all the fucking luck... he can't leave her like this, writhing, struggling. There's an abort button for the wakeup process, but, the pod probably has to be completely sealed...

His fingers catch in the edge of the door, and he pulls, as hard as he can, forcing the pod open until the motors take over, pulling it the rest of the way open for him. He hesitates, for just a moment, and then he grasps at her again, hands catching her shoulders. "It's alright! It's gonna be alright, just, just stay still!" he hisses, one hand coming to cup her jaw now, before his other takes grasp of the tubes that snake down into her throat. "Fuck... okay, one, two... three." he says, and then starts pulling, gritting his teeth as he pulls, bit by bit, feeling her throat, her body resist... and then they finally release.

He tosses the hoses aside, and his hands slip as he tries to catch her, the wetness of the cryo fluid making it hard to even keep his hands to support her, and he works his arms up, catching her under her shoulders, and holding her up, gently lifting the naked girl out of the box, and then easing her to the floor. He holds her up with one hand, and pulls at the plugs that hold her nose shut, letting her breathe from there as well. His thumb brushes at the yellow sealant on her eyes, and he peels it away. The left eye first, then the right, and then he leans back, looking nervously down at the girl.

"Hey, it's alright. You're gonna be alright, I swear. The tubes are out, the sealant and the noseplugs are out. You're free, I promise." he murmurs, offering a faint smile to her and trying not to panic. The last thing she needs is for her first acquaintence to be panicked and afraid.
 
A gentle hand cupped her shoulder, another one going for the tubes in her mouth. She didn't understand or know what was happening to her, yet she allowed her lips to part easily. This person is doing something. She clenched her teeth and shook her head, her stiff neck not used to moving anymore, her head rolling around a bit.

A face peers into hers. Dark olive skin, milk-chocolate eyes with flecks of cinnamon narrow at the ends, almost almond shaped. It was a handsome face, one she wanted to trust. Her head ached terribly, not use to keeping focus on an object for so long. A gentle hand cupped her jaw, it was reassuring, caring almost. "Yun... Thu... Phree..." She found that she could not understand him, the cryo liquid still slushing around in her eardrums. Suddenly, he ripped the cords right out of her. The muscles in her throat tensed up, trying to deny the harsh scraping that persisted, trying to keep the tubes from hurting her anymore. Without a few tugs and pulls, the tubes were now out of her. Damn, it hurt so bad! Why did it have to hurt like this?!

Finally, he lifted her up, setting her on the floor that was warmer than her body. She tried to cough, to comfort the itch and pain in her throat, but doing so only caused her more pain to ripple throughout her small body. The plug was removed, the crusty-like gel that stuck to her eyes was pulled away, her vision slowly being restored back to normal. It felt so good to use her lungs again after feeling as if she would never get the chance to. The air was different than Earth, smelling recycled and not-so-fresh. Air was air, and she was thankful nonetheless.

His voice was more clear, the water leaving her ears and allowing her to hear.

"Momma... Dad...?" Whimpering in a raspy unused voice, she assumed it was time to be unfrozen, her parents being nearby to make sure she was okay. Her voice cracks from disuse, and she coughs.
 
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he breathes out, his arm supporting her back and holding her up instead of cupping her face now. "I'm so sorry. No-one else is thawed out. It's... It's just you. I came down here to investigate, but, well, the pod started opening, and... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." he says quietly, gently moving her so she can rest her back against the smooth lower section of the console. "It's going to be okay, alright? I'll figure something out. At the least... god, at the least, Eldest will have to know how to fix this." he mutters, forcing the panic back down inside himself. He can't let her see how terrified he is, not when she's got to have something to hold on to. But... damnit, no, this isn't the time for questions.

"I'm going to pick you up, okay? One of the infirmary wards is nearby, so I'll take you there." he says gently, stooping and sliding his arms beneath her, ignoring the slick wetness of the cryo-fluid. His right arm wraps around her shoulders, and the left goes under her thighs. He stands, carefully and evenly holding her, and offers a small smile, the worry showing through just slightly. "You'll be alright, I promise."
 
It hit her like a ton of bricks. She was... alone? How could this be? "It's just m-me?" She whispered out, repeating the cold truth. This burned worse than the freezing cold cyro liquid that still coated her body. There has to be something wrong, why was she thawed out before anyone else? Did this man want her out for some odd reason? She wanted to trust him, so desperately. Clenching her teeth, she nodded her frozen head, her muscles aching from disuse after all those years, but how long has time passed?

"Are we at the p-planet now?" Foolish of her to ask, she noticed that she was still on the ship, remember how it was set up when she and her parents were given a tour of it all. It was so hard to breathe and swallow down this truth. It was worse than the nightmares that invaded her vulnerable mind. She was alone with people she did not know, and her parents couldn't be there to protect her... Tears filled up in her glossy eyes, burning from the emotions that coursed her small body.

Amy was swaying in his arms as he walked, her body still nude and soaked. His warmth made her shiver, slowly increasing her own body temperature. It was nice, but it burned at the same time. "I hope I will be alright... What year is it?" Goosebumps coated her pale skin, her eyes drifting and looking at the difference in skin color and texture from his skin to hers. He was so dark, like the creamy mocha's she use to drink back on Earth at a local coffee shop.
 
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