Chapter 2: Stasis Broken

I could feel my scattered consciousness converging into a single thread of thoughts. My senses were beginning to become my own again.

Fragments of memories lingered, conversations about the lurkers, something about... the descent? I wasn't a part of these conversations, it feels like I was barely present for them. Like I was eavesdropping from the other side of a door.

'I must have been unconscious... How long was I out?'

I was beginning to feel my surroundings again. I felt... cold. It was the type of cold that came with emptiness, like laying on the floor in the middle of a road. Except there was no breeze.

'No breeze. I guess I'm not outside then.'

I could feel my surroundings and practically hear the emptiness around me, 'where the hell am I?'

I tried to squeeze my hand, contracting my muscles, I needed to try and get up. My brain was sending the signals, but my fingers were flinching at best.

My eyelids felt like they were stuck, closed for so long, they were crusted and sealed over. But I pushed on. It took a few minutes, but eventually my eyes began to flicker open, light filling my sight as they opened wider with each attempt.

My vision was blurry but I had a faint sense of what was in front of me. I was on my back, my head resting in the soft embrace of a cushion. The ceiling was blindingly white, the entire surface bright, paining my eyes.

'Daylight lamps? where the hell am I?'

I shifted my eyes as far as my field of view would allow. Scanning the room, it seemed my instincts were fairly on point. It looked empty, a vacant space contained by grained grey walls, the feint buzz of electricity the only source of sound.

Considering the last thing I remembered was getting hurled by space wreckage on the side of a highway, an abundance of questions filled my mind.

I tried to call out, hoping that someone, anyone could hear me and help. I think it was the questions I had driving my need for human contact, or maybe reassurance that I wasn't alone, I couldn't tell.

My throat felt like velcro that wouldn't unhinge from itself, but I pushed. Squeezing my diaphragm as best I could, I strained what little air I held in my lungs out into my vocal chords "heeghu."

'I can do better than that'

Again, I strained, this time harder, I could feel my vocal chords engaging "he- heyyugh! heyy!"

There was a pause. I waited, my ears at attention, prepared to pick up on any trace of activity. Just when I wasn't sure if anyone was coming, I heard the distant clonking of door hinges and the rattles as they settled back into place. With each door that opened, the tapping of footsteps resonated louder as whoever approached rushed in my direction.

I couldn't see the door, it wasn't in my field of view, but I heard it open. There wasn't any hint of there being more than one person. Presumably they stopped in the doorway because, annoyingly, I still couldn't see them.

I could hear the raspy breaths of someone behind me, the clothing they wore shuffling and scuffing as they shifted around. A soft, female, voice spoke "Hey, sleepy boy, you awake?" She had a foreign accent, possibly Scandinavian.

"yuuh" my voice pinched and muffled.

The mystery woman moved into view, her blonde hair tucked behind her ears dangling above my face. Her sharp cheekbones were defined by the shadow cast from the brightness of the room.

She gasped slightly "scheisse!"

German then. Close guess.

Straightening her back, she reached across her worn green jacket for the radio hooked on her breast pocket. Switching to English, she clicked the button and spoke into the mic "Get the commander down here now. He's awake."

She slipped out of view again, stepping through the door out the room.

It was short lived but at least there were people here. 'She said commander, right?' The term alone made me think I might be on a military base.

'Why would I be on a military base?'

A minute or so passed as I mulled over what might be about to happen.

Once again, I heard the clunking of doors, but this time there were more footsteps, more voices cascading through the hallways.

Returning to the room, I heard the German woman "I don't know when he woke up but his eyes are open and he spoke"

Another spoke, someone different this time, "Forman, zap him."

'wait, I know that voice, is that...'

I knew the voice but I couldn't quite place it. It was woman, her voice hardened and stressed.

I poised myself to talk but before I could, a man stepped into view. He wore the same green jacket as the German woman from before. He was older though, about ten years, maybe in his forties, grey specks scattered among his short dark hair. The grey was much more prominent in his unkempt and bristly beard.

"Are you sure, commander?" he said, searching for reassurance.

She must have nodded out of view, because he just turned back to me and stepped toward the side of whatever I was lying on.

Reluctantly lifting his hands to waist height, he pursed them together, as if preparing for CPR. He gulped down a sharp breath, containing it, firmly closing his mouth.

At this point I was a little worried they didn't actually belive I was awake. I wasn't sure what this Forman feller was doing, but I really hoped it wasn't actually CPR, because that would hurt, like a lot.

'What the hell is this guy doing? What did that woman mean by zap?'

My eyes widened as, to my disbelief, something that looked like lightning began crackling and fizzing below the man's palm. He raised his hands slightly, as if recoiling and preparing to press. Releasing his breath, he dropped his hands to my chest, pushing firmly against my sternum.

Like Zues himself piercing my chest with his lightning rod, volts of electricity surged into body, coursing through every fibre of my being. My limbs lurched, convulsing and contoring uncontrollably. My back arched pressing into the air and immediately slammed back into place, as the stiffening sensation stopped.

"GOD DAMMIT MAN, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!"

As I lay there, recovering from the shock, panting from the instantaneous stress forced upon me, bewilderment took hold of me. I think that was me that just shouted.

Verifying my suspicions, I rolled my jaw, flexed my limbs and wiggled my toes. I raised my hands to my face, bending my fingers and turning my palms, inspecting my movement.

Pressing down on the surface I was laying on, I lent up, the empty room in front of me coming into view. There was nothing besides the bed I was atop of.

Rubbing the soreness away from my skull, I turned to him still panting "I couldn't... move... what did... you do to me?"

There was a hint of surprise on his face, almost giving away his suspicions that the little electric shock show he just pulled, could have failed.

He didn't say anything, I could see he didn't want to be the first to talk to me. Rather than answering me, he turned his head, looking over my shoulder and nudged my attention behind me.

I looked over my shoulder, turning to inspect, when what I saw made me flinch in surprise.

"Abi, is that you?" I stuttered, my tone betraying my feelings. I was sure it was her, it looked like her, but she looked older. Her auburn hair had hints of grey around the temple and her skin was aged, the creases of her cheeks more defined as the corners her mouth lifted into a weary smile.

I stood up, staggering as I lent on the bed for support. I wanted to rush over to her, I wanted to take her tightly into my arms and embrace her. But as I started to move she raised a hand, halting my approach, the feint smile on her face flickering "Peran, you should get back into bed, you need some rest." she said, her voice soft and measured. "I'll explain everything in due time, but for now, we'll get you some food and the doctor will be in shortly to run a check up, okay."

"But Abi, what the hell is going on, how long was I asleep for? Who are these guys? and where the hell are we?"

Before I got a response, her radio blared, apparently she was needed in zone 2, ASAP. Replying to the call, she ordered the German woman, referring to her as Jana, to grab the doctor and stay with me. I wanted to protest, I even tried to convince her to stay, but she fled through the door. I got the feeling she was scared to talk to me.

I stumbled after her, but my legs were still stiff. By the time I'd made it to the corridor, it was empty, only the rattling doors and buzz of flys left to fill the void.

'Well that was an entirely un-useful conversation. Seriously, what the fuck?!'

I was mad, I wanted to go after them but my legs did actually hurt a little and the bed rest was actually quite appealing. So, I took a breath, calmed myself and resolved to return to bed. I was still mad as hell though.

As a meandered back to bed, anger spiked within me instinctively and as I closed the door, I didn't just close it, I slammed it. I slammed the shit out of it. But as my palm left the surface of the door and I launched it back toward its frame, I felt a force throw me forward as a deafening crunch pierced my ears. I jumped to the ground and covered my head as an explosion rung through the room, scaring the living daylights out of me.

I scurried along the floor, my painful limbs moving better than they should, it was probably the adrenaline. Behind the bed, I expected some sort of follow up, but all I could hear was the sound of crumbling brick and popping wood.

I poked my head up. Staring at what used to be the door, my eyes widened as realisation took hold. The wall the frame used to be in had cracked and crumbled away, the remnants of the frame splintered, spike into the corridor wall. Bits and pieces of plasterboard were scattered around, still rolling along the floor. The door, or what was left of it, was smouldering, the broken edges charred black, it was swinging steadily on its hinges.

Things literally couldn't get any stranger. Whatever exploded didn't cause much damaged and I was certain there was no one else around, so where did that explosion come from?

I got to my feet to investigate, but before I could walk over, a voice called from out in the corridor, "Hey, urm, it's Dr. Simons, I'm coming in!"

An elderly gentlemen appeared, the debris on the floor crunching below his feet, he tiptoed around the larger chunks of brick and wood.

Walking in, he glanced back at the rubble pursing his lips and whistling in admiration. He turned back to me, opening a folder and sifting through some paper. Looking up from his paper, fixing his gaze on me, he spoke "So then Peran, it seems you're already acquainted with you power. Let's chat."