Mission Day 3
DATE: Some time in the year 12119
TIME: Unknown
For a moment I thought it had all been a dream. I imagined myself waking up in my bed in at the Vandenberg Air Force Base preparing to go on an exciting journey with my crew. I slowly opened my eyes heavy with sleep and my heart sunk- it was real after all. It is the year 12119. 10,000 years have passed since I left Earth, my crew was gone, and I am stuck inside what is practically a closet and no one can tell me what happened.
My eyes began to tear up as I pulled the blanket that was wrapped around me even tighter and began to sob. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and instantly jerked away. Startled I sat up with my back to the wall and my eyes met those pale blue eyes. His hand slowly reached towards me and I held my breath as he gently wiped away a tear with his slender fingers. Realizing he had seen me cry I quickly turned my head in embarrassment and backed away.
It seems he was equally as embarrassed as he looked away and scratched the back of his head. I saw him wince a little as he began to rub his neck. He must have been sleeping in the chair ever since I blacked out. He caught me watching him and made a weak smile. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small device no bigger than a golf ball. He placed it on the desk and pressed the top when suddenly a light appeared projecting the time. According to this clock it was 07:43. He pointed to the clock and then himself. He then held one finger up, closed his hand into a fist, and then held seven finger up. 1-7. 17:00. He would be back at 17:00. He looked at me to see if I understood and I nodded. It appears Arabic numerals are still around 10,000 years later.
When he left I noticed that tray of food and drink he left for me and wondered what I would do in this small room for the next 10 hours.
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It turns out that I did not need something to entertain myself with for long. A couple hours into my wait I started feeling foggy and woozy. The back of my throat felt scratchy and my skin began to tingle like it always does when a fever is starting. It is just my luck that I would get sick now. I laid down on my cot and bundled myself up before falling into a deep sleep.
Several hours later I woke myself up with a wet deep cough and could hear the phlegm crackling. It set me off on a series of coughs the next one louder than the last. I heard the door fling open and saw spider man rush in. He must have heard me coughing because he quickly put the tray he was holding down and put his hand to my head. His eyes widened and he quickly pulled out a tool from his pocket and pressed it to my head. He looked at the device and face was filled with worry. He showed me the device and I looked at it hazily: 39.2 C. This isn't good.
He took the blanket off of me which made me shiver. He grabbed a small towel from the adjoining bathroom and rinsed it with cold water before sitting next to me and wiping down my skin. I was too lethargic to protest and laid there with my eyes closed. My clothes were damp with sweat and the cool cloth slowly brought my temperature down. When it was low enough I could feel him unbuttoning my top. My eyes flew open and I inhaled sharply which just set off a new rough of coughs.
He put me on my side and rubbed my back until I was done coughing. It had exhausted me so much I didn't even fight as he peeled off my clothes. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him pulling new clothes from a bag. I watched him as he put on my pants and he did not look flustered or embarrassed like I thought he would. He looked calm and professional. Maybe he works in medicine? Feeling safe I closed my eyes again as he finished dressing me and I fell back asleep.
The next several hours were rough. My fever kept rising and I kept hacking up phlegm. My throat was so sore swallowing became difficult. I was stuck in a feverish sleep and recall only glimpses of spider man worriedly looking over me. I felt him pick me up and place me in a chair. I saw flashes of light from a brightly lit corridor, felt us passing through sliding doors, and heard a far away murmur of other voices before I finally succumbed to the fever and slept.
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A rhythmic beeping woke me and when I opened my eyes I quickly realized I was in a new room. The beeping was a heart monitor and next to it was an IV that was slowly flowing into the vein in my arm. The room was sparse and sterile. On one wall was a large window where I could see into an empty small control room. And right next to me in a chair was spider man. When he noticed I was awake he reached into his pocket and handed me an earpiece of some sort.
I hesitantly put it in but didn't hear anything. I looked at him questioningly and for the first time heard him speak. At first I couldn't understand what he was saying, but a second later in my earpiece I could understand him: "Hello? Is it working?"