O2

The World Around Us

Quincy's POV

  We had been so discouraged. No one even wanted to think of the humiliation we would face back on the surface; we would have just drowned, right there, if there had been no spark of hope to turn our fears in the other direction, toward the sun. 

  The tunnel Krys and I travelled through was incredibly strange. It was lined with sequins arranged like the scales on a fish, and the entire tube was unbelievably smooth as I fell through it. It was like going on a Slip n' Slide, except with a lot more water. 

  Suddenly, the tunnel practically spat us out, and we were sent flying down into a heap of ocean sand. I struggled to my feet and glanced up to see where we had come from. For a moment, I thought I saw the sky, and my heart lifted just a little, and I remembered the good times I used to have with my friends as a young child.

~&~

  "I'll race you to the tree, Naaz. Whoever gets there the fastest gets to pick a pear of their choosing."

  "What's the point of all this, Quincy?"

  "It's fun! Just look at that tree. The one by the stream! Doesn't that look like it would be fun to climb, and pick fruit from all day?"

  "Yeah! But why are we racing? You know you are the best runner here, Quincy. I could never beat you in a race."

  "Come on, don't tell yourself that! I know you may not have a lot of confidence, but believe in yourself, and you'll do fine!"

  "If you say so."

  "On your mark,"

  "Wai--"

 "Get set,"

 "Slow down!"

"Go!"

~&~

  But it wasn't the sky; the sky was never that blue. Instead, it was an infinite blanket of water hanging above us, forming ripples as if we were looking at the liquid from the surface down. The opening from which we entered shrunk until invisible, as if it had never been there. I could see all of my colleagues, and they had wonder on their faces. Some of us glanced around at each other, trying to register if this was all some sort of illusion, one just like the hologram. Nobody dared to move around, because anything and everything could happen.

   Mr. Qiao was the first to remove his helmet. He gasped a little as he was fully exposed to his surroundings, and then something miraculous happened; he calmed down. At peace, I realized that he was not truly a bad man, but simply a man with flaws. A living, breathing human, just like the rest of us...

    But how could he breathe now? The ominous mist in the area appeared to be some sort of toxic gas that could kill the average human in a matter of seconds. Even our narcissistic chemist was having regrets about entering this foreign zone. M glared at him through the glass of her helmet, as if commanding him to analyze the chemical properties of the fog. He reached for a compartment he had installed in the arm of his suit, opened the lid, and removed a tiny device. It seemed simple, when in reality it was likely much more complicated than the technology they used back in 2015.

   He waved the tool like a fairy’s wand through the substance until he heard a high-pitched beep. Its screen was glowing brightly, lighting up his face as if he were a kid telling a ghost story. His eyes gleamed as if he were about to cry, but instead of weeping silently, he opened his mouth.

   “This is breathable oxygen,” he whispered. “It’s so pure...” he trailed off as his voice was drowned out by celebratory screaming and laughter. One by one, we all pressed a control in our suits that freed us from the tight, wearable prison. Andy was the last to remove his suit, but rather than taking it off eagerly, he cautiously stepped out. He still wore fear on his face.