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Episode III:  A Blast from the Past

Zella opened her eyes.  It took a moment for things to come into focus.  Her thoughts came slowly like molasses, but her last memory came on strong.  Other than a foggy haze of grogginess and blurred vision, she felt okay.  After blinking her eyes a few times, the film that had built up cleared away and she got a clear image of the pod in which she laid.  Above her head was a small circular window that was fogged up, and just below it were a few buttons.  The first one was green and was labeled, 'Open Cryopod'.  She was anxious to see her husband, Gregg, who should be in the cryopod next to hers, and so the green button was pressed.

    There was a slight hum and the pod door began to slowly open sliding apart from the middle.  The stale, musty air quickly filled her nostrils, causing her to become concerned.  The air should've smelled fresh and clean.  The light inside the pod was bright enough that there was no noticeable difference when the light from the room entered.  She rubbed her eyes and yawned while she waited for the door to open.  Zella stretched her legs, then flexed her feet and ankles.  Everything felt strong.  The door had opened enough for her to sit up.  She gasped and put a hand to her mouth, eyes widening.  Nearly every corner and niche in the room was covered in cobwebs.  Only the emergency lights were working, and they were dimmed by the thick layers of cobwebs.  Her eyes slowly turned their focus onto her husband’s pod.  Her widened eyes began to well up with tears.

     Gregg's pod door was slightly ajar and the skeletal remains of his grasping hand could be seen holding onto the upper part of the door, no doubt trying to pry it open more to get out.  Sobbing overcame her, and the tears flowed heavily.  "Please no!"  She then slapped herself to make sure it wasn't a nightmare, and then her sobbing worsened as nothing changed.  She leaned an arm along the door frame and cried into her forearm.  Snot began to drip from her nose, and saliva overwhelmed her mouth.  She let out a long, audible sob that nearly didn't retrieve a breath.  She inhaled hard, choking on some spit.  She leaned over the side coughing violently.  It forced her to lurch with every bit of effort, and each fit made it harder to take in a breath.  She felt as though she was going to asphyxiate and vomit at the same time until the tickle in her throat subsided enough for her to breathe, only this time she controlled it better.  Her bottom lip quivered as she finished inhaling, then continued to sob, although not quite so strongly.

     Zella couldn't understand what could've gone wrong.  The cryopods were equipped with nanites capable of repairing it.  Along with several failsafes, her husband should be alive and well.  She should be hugging and kissing him by now.  This brought up the memory of the last time that happened.

     "Gregg, honey, are you sure this is the best option?"

     Gregg looked up from the cryopod monitor without lifting his head.  Zella was tracing the contours of the other pod with her fingers.  "You know as well as I do, this campaign of humanity is coming to an end.  The tensions between the coalitions is beyond palpable.  You can't open your mouth without chewing on it.  This is our only option."

     Zella stopped to peer into the window of the pod.  She then leaned her elbows on it resting her head in her hands and looked at him with a crease in her brow.  "I'm just afraid, I suppose.  What if something goes wrong?"

     Gregg rested his hands on the pod, "Look, babe, I spared no expense on these cryopods.  They are top-of-the-line, guaranteed not to fail.  I even bought separate power supplies as a backup, just in case.  I mean, there's always mutual homicide," he said with a serious, but sarcastic tone.

     She stuck her tongue out at him, even though she wanted to laugh.  "That's not funny."

     Gregg giggled, "I know, babe.  Listen, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.  We have a seed and gene bank, as well as several types of cryogenically frozen livestock, and we even have two incubators.  We don't need anything else, except for each other."

     She flashed him a weak smirk and she turned to look at the rest of the small room.

     He soon realized she was going to need more than words to ease her worries.  He walked around the other pod putting himself directly in front of her.  She avoided his gaze, pretending to be interested in the plain features of the room.  She went to turn around, but he grabbed her arm with one hand, then turned her head toward him with the other.  "Look at me, babe."  She finally looked into his eyes with a childish look, tears beginning to well in her bottom eyelids.  "If I had any doubts--"

     She thrust herself upon him, putting her arms around him, "I know... I'm just so scared."

     Gregg put his arms around her and held her tight.  He could feel her tears getting his shoulder wet.  "We can get through anything together."  His eyes began to tear up.  "I love you so much.  And believe it or not, I'm scared, too."  They hugged each other a bit tighter, then he gave her a kiss on her forehead.  "How about we go get some lunch, and then we can bring the rest of our stuff down."

     She looked up at him, still with tears in her eyes, "That sounds good, as long as you're cooking," she said putting a finger into his chest.

     "Grilled cheese it is, then," he said as they walked out laughing together.

     Zella had made it out of the bunker hatch first.  As she stood up on the grass in their backyard, she saw a strange cloud above the peaks to the east.  Gregg didn't notice it and was on his way into the house, "C'mon, hon.  You don't want to miss out on this gourmet lunch."  He didn't look back at her right away, but as he reached for the doorknob, he noticed she didn't laugh.  Gregg turned to look at her, and then he saw it.  That familiar mushroom cap of a cloud slowly rising above the mountains.  His jaw gaped open just a bit.  He had secretly hoped that humanity had evolved past this madness.  Yet, there it was.  The end all, be all.  A quote he remembered from school when they learned about World War II haunted his mind:  "I am become death."

     The thought shook him out of his paralysis, and his feet began to move without thinking.  He scared Zella when he touched her.  "Time to go, babe."

     Zella let a sob slip out as she crouched to descend the ladder.  They rushed into the cryopod room and Gregg closed the door.  They both put on their one-piece cryosuits, and Gregg began to prepare Zella's pod.

     Zella felt delirious with a whirlwind of thoughts running through her mind, and she wasn't able to concentrate on a single one of them.  She couldn't even concentrate on the matters at hand.  She felt like fainting until Gregg grabbed a hold of her arms.

     "You can do this, babe.  We have to do this."

     His words snapped her out of her delirium and she immediately hugged him hard with tears streaming, "I love you, Gregg."

     "I love you, too, honey."  He released his hug and held her by the arms once more, looking into her teary eyes, "Yours is ready.  It's time."

     Zella nodded her head, and he helped her get into the pod, giving her a kiss before going to prepare his pod.  She didn't lay down right away and watched him.  His face grew concerned as he looked at the monitor and pressed a few buttons.  He rushed over to the head of the pod and crouched out of view.  "What's wrong, honey?"

     "Don't worry about it."  There was a brief pause before he popped back up and went back to the monitor.  "There, now it's online."  He was referring to the backup power supply, but he was lying.  It hadn't come online, and he didn't know why, but didn't want to worry her.  That was when they heard a large explosion.  "Time to lay down, babe.  Press 'Initiate Sequence', and once the door closes, it will begin.  I love you, Zella.  See you 100 years in the future," he finished with a smirk.

      "I love you," she said, but there was no smile to be had, and she reluctantly laid down and pressed the button.  The shockwave hit and rumbled everything as the door  to her pod came to a close.  The last thing she remembered was a hissing sound.

     Zella peered over at Gregg's lifeless pod.  The tears still poured down her face, "Why did you lie to me, Gregg?"  She sniffled hard and wiped her nose with a sleeve.  She used the other sleeve to wipe her eyes and let out a whimpering sigh.  She rested her head onto her arm and sniffled again.  She then heard a faint noise that sounded like footsteps in the hallway.  Her head popped up and she turned to look at the door just as the footsteps stopped.  Then she heard a voice, but it sounded like a child's voice.

     "I'm telling you, Gresh, I heard a noise and it must have come from this room, now open the door."

     Zella jumped as she heard a loud thud of metal on metal and soon the door began to creak.  The tinny voice spoke Inglish, which was promising.  Still, she ducked down, eyes peering just over the edge.  There was another loud thud, then the creaking resumed, but louder this time, and with a burst of effort the door slid open a few inches.  Zella ducked down fully out of sight this time.

     "Is there anything in there?" Jaiko asked Gresh.

     Gresh could see Jaiko with his other eye and nodded his head.

     "Well, come on, what are you waiting for?"

     Zella could hear a very breathy sigh before the door creaked again.  She could tell it was opening.  Her nerves got the best of her, "I have a gun!  Identify yourself!"

     Gresh and Jaiko peered into the dimly lit room with wide eyes, surprised to hear a voice with no one to show for it.  They looked at each other in confusion before Jaiko responded, "Uhh... my name is Jaiko, and my mute friend here is Gresh.  Who are you?"

     Zella wasn't sure what to do.  For all she knew, they could be from a coalition that wants her dead.  "What coalition are you from?"

     Jaiko and Gresh looked at each other in confusion once more.  "Umm, I'm not sure what that is, but we're from District 4.  We don't mean you any harm, ma'am."

     Zella hoped it wasn't a trick, but she had never heard of District 4.  She slowly sat up, but what she saw caused her to faint.

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