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Tuesday - September 21

There isn't a quick reply. Then Ted says, "We have a couple of more things to do Madame President, and then we'll be ready."

"Should I suit up?"

"No, ma'am, please stay where you are. It's safer," Ted warns the president. She nods her head in acknowledgement and waits for Ted and Monica to start the process.

As the president glances back and forth from the lab to the clock, she becomes startled when Ted says, "We're ready, Madame President."

The president releases a deep sigh, and then says, "Begin."

Ted and Monica begin the process to unfreeze the person who lies within the cryogenic chamber. The timer displays twenty-nine minutes, twelve seconds. Ted and Monica stand patiently over the chamber as they both keep vigil over the monitors, watching for any sign of trouble that would cause the process to be halted.

President Mansoor patiently stands in front of the window and watches every second tick away. No sound emits from inside the lab or the anteroom. All three of them stand in silence, hoping that the unfreezing of the tenant in the chamber will be successful. Remaining time is twenty-six minutes, thirty-four seconds.

Monica checks a monitor to see how their vitals are. She glances at a piece of paper on a clipboard hanging next to the monitor, removes a pen from her pocket, and quickly makes a check mark. She replaces the pen back into her pocket as she walks back to stand next to Ted in silence. The remaining time is now twenty-one minutes, eight seconds.

The clock in the anteroom doesn't make any ticking sound. The silence of waiting for life to return is apprehensively annoying. It's like waiting for a woman to give birth. How can thirty minutes of time be so long? Remaining time is seventeen minutes, twenty-seven seconds.

The president closes her eyes as a pleasant thought enters her mind. She's standing in a field of wildflowers, all kinds of wildflowers, waving their colorful beauty in the cool breeze. Admiring their splendor, she begins to walk among them, slightly touching them, assuring them that she means them no harm. Carefully, she observes each step she takes so as not to trample upon the tiniest wildflower enjoying the Sun. She looks up into the sky, stares at the Sun, and embraces its warm brilliancy as its rays beam down upon her beautiful olive skin. She closes her eyes and then...

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

President Mansoor opens her eyes and finds Monica and Ted scrambling around. She pushes the talk button on the intercom and asks, "What is it? What's happening?" She releases the button and continues to watch Ted and Monica pressing buttons, trying to make sense of the monitor's readings. With her hands pressed hard against the lab window, President Mansoor silently begins to pray. In an instant, the alarm stops, and so do Ted and Monica. Ted turns around and looks at the president. His right arm begins to rise, and to everyone's astonishment, including Ted's, he puts his thumb up signaling that everything is okay. The president breaks a small smile and nods her head in relief.

While Ted and Monica continue to check the monitors, they're interrupted when they both hear a clicking sound. Simultaneously, they both lock their eyes onto the chamber and watch anxiously as the chamber top begins to open. President Mansoor watches white vapors being expelled into the atmosphere, as Ted and Monica step back and wait for the vapor to diminish.

"Huh," says Ted.

Monica looks at Ted and smiles.

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The crunching of the snow under the car tires is much smoother now. We must be outside the city limits. Where in the hell are they taking me? I wish I could feel something; move something; do something! I wonder how long it's been. Where could we possibly be going? There isn't a blessed thing outside the city limits. Everything was shut down back in the 2030s. Damn! That's it! They've been outside the city limits all this time! Ingenious! But, who are they? We're slowing down. Now we've stopped. They're going to shoot me and leave me out here to rot.