Abyss

3

The glass slid back. I took my first breath in what felt like ages. I sat up, and my leg started cramping up. That is the problem with hibernation in these tubes. You get bad cramps all over your body.

I tried to get out of the pod, but my leg refused to move. I tried again, but a sharp, stabbing pain went through my legs.

"Ow!" I yelled.

I looked over to Oliver's pod. The glass still hadn't opened yet. The people who got the ship probably programmed it wrong. He couldn't help me get out. Great.

I tried again. I still got the pain.

"Ow!" I yelled again.

I attempted to move again. No luck. I thought, who programmed these? It should have woken Oliver and me at the same time.

I gave it another shot. My leg moved a couple of centimeters before the pain was too great. I wished that they programmed it so we awoke slowly, which minimizes the pain.

After what seemed like a million attempts, I managed to get my legs out of the pod. I sat on the edge of the pod, hoping that Oliver's glass would open, but it stayed firmly shut. Unfortunately, if I tried to pry the glass open, it would most likely kill him.

I stood up. I looked at how long I was in hibernation for? Three months according to the meter. We must be really far out.

I walked over the reflective floor to the navigation system and controls. Everything in that part was running smoothly. I strolled over to the window. The Juno Nebula went by. I looked like the eye of a monster staring at us. Scary, yet beautiful. From far away, like most things, you could enjoy its beauty without knowing about the hideous things that were going on inside.

I stared at it until it was so far away I couldn't see it. That was the one thing that I liked about this program. Being able to see beautiful things without all the terrible things.

I turned around to see if Oliver had woken up yet. His glass was still firmly shut. I sighed. I went over to the window facing the front to see if I could see the spacecraft we were heading to. I couldn't see it yet.

A planet passed by. It was green with one big purple spot. I had no idea what caused these colors. Maybe the green was caused by dense jungles. I had no idea what caused the purple. I had no idea what the planet was. It soon receded into the distance.

When I was younger, all I wanted to do was explore space. Not be in the Nebula Program, but actually see and discover things, not prepare for war.

I traveled over back to Oliver's pod. I looked at his peaceful face. Before I knew it, the glass opened. His eyes slowly opened. Thank goodness he came up slowly.

"Wha?" he said.

He couldn't form full sentences. It would wear off soon.

"Don't worry, Oliver. Just try to stand up," I said.

Sweat beaded on his face. Nothing moved.

"It's OK. Let me help you,"

I grabbed his legs and brought him to a sitting position, with his legs dangling over the side of the pod.

"Can you tell me your name?" I asked. I had to make sure that he didn't suffer from brain damage because he was in the pod longer.

"Oliver," he said.

"Good. Who am I?"

"Isabella,"

"Great,"

"Isabella, I can remember everything. You don't need to test me," he said.