The Door

The Ark. 6 Months before reaching the ground

Thelonious Jaha looked on as the 99 innocent children marched into the class that would teach them how to survive on Earth.

That was if they didn't all die the moment the dropship doors opened. At least that would be a better death than slowly dying of radiation.

"I killed my best friend because I was scared of what would happen if he leaked the news that the ark is dying, and now I'm sending 99 children to their deaths because they are a waste of oxygen," Jaha said to himself and the lady standing next to him.

Abby looked at Jaha who had the same poker face he always had despite the emotion in his voice.

"We don't have a choice. We need to know if the ground is survivable." Abby said but she also felt all kinds of different emotions as her very own daughter would also be one of the 99 sent to the ground.

"And if it's not? Then what?" Jaha asked while looking at Abby.

Abby thought about what it would mean for everyone on the ark if the ground truly wasn't survivable. It would mean a slow death as they slowly ran out of oxygen to breathe.

"It's 2148. That means we can open that door." Abby said with some hope in her mind.

"Yes, but that could be our doom. We don't know what is in there." Jaha said while remembering the door that hadn't been opened since the creation of the space station.

The door wouldn't open to anyone other than the acting chancellor and it couldn't be opened until the year 2148. All past acting Chancellors had attempted to open it, but none ever could.

"Yes, but it could also be our only hope. We need this Thelonious." Abby said while looking at the kids who weren't taking the class seriously as they didn't understand the severity of their situation.

The innocence on their face was heartbreaking as they watched Pike start a fire not knowing they were about to be sent to the ground so that the ark could have another month of oxygen.

Jaha stood silent a moment before speaking.

"Summon the council. I'm opening that door tomorrow." Jaha said before walking away to clear his mind.

Abby watched as Jaha walked away before looking at the children who were laughing and playing around as Pike tried to teach them how to survive on a planet, they hadn't touched in a hundred years.

"This might be our last hope," Abby whispered before spending the rest of her day getting the council ready to open the door that hadn't been opened in who even knows how long.

The next day all members of the council stood in the council chambers and looked at Jaha who was standing before a black door with no handle and only an electronic pad next to it.

"Marcus, do we have a team on standby?" Jaha looked to one of his closest friends and someone he knew took the survival of the ark just as seriously as him.

"Locked and loaded and waiting on standby." Marcus nodded before looking to his right.

"But what is she doing here?" Marcus said in distaste at seeing Diana Sydney a woman he despised for acting like she was anything other than a power-hungry leech.

"As a past acting Chancellor, I decided to do her a favor of being her since she asked," Jaha said while looking at the rest of the council members before speaking.

"I don't know what's behind this door, but I do know that we are running out of options. The Ark is dying, and the oxygen levels are decreasing by the day. If the ground isn't survivable then the only hope, we have of surviving might be behind this door."

Jaha turned around and tapped the electronic pad next to the door.

The pad soon glowed before red lasers shot into Jaha's eye and scanned it for a second before a voice sounded out.

"Access Granted." 

Swoosh

The black metal door unlocked with a metal click before sliding open on its own causing Jaha to look behind him at the others and nodding.

"Let's go."

Jaha slowly opened the door all the way before stepping into a black metal hall that only led one way.

Jaha led the way as the others slowly followed behind him while looking at the paintings that covered the walls.

Paintings of things they couldn't understand.

Paintings of a woman sitting on a throne. A picture of an enormous tower. A picture of a man wearing a skull mask with tattoos covering his muscular body.

"What are these?" someone whispered in awe.

"Up there! Light!" Someone pointed as the hall came to an end and they walked into a massive metal room with a single glowing pod in the middle.

The single pod glowed blue and the only thing that could be seen inside was ice.

Swoosh!

"Cryo Sleep Warming initiated." A robotic voice sounded out in the room making everyone flinch and look around.

Click

A click sounded out and Jaha saw two more doors in the metal room open before watching as two six-foot mat black droids walked out with some kind of weapons in their hands.

"What are those!" Someone screamed in fright at two powerful-looking droids.

Jaha gulped nervously as the two drones marched over to the pod before standing still.

"Warming Complete!" The electronic voice sounded out again.

Swoosh