EvO (Darverius, House of DaR #16)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

QWIN

My mind seems to be in a fog, a fuzziness that fills my thoughts with nothing but strange sounds and smells. A ticking noise has me turning my head and I have to blink a few times in order to make out the girl waving at me behind what appears to be a large piece of glass.

“ Hi , I’m Ember … Don’t freak out. You are safe.”

Safe , that word echoes through my thoughts, why would she need to tell me that? My body is sluggish and I try to stretch out only to instantly feel exhausted. I frown when I see the ceiling moving and what appears to be arms retracting back up into the tiles above me. “ Where am I ?”

“ You are on the Destroyer ; do you remember anything about your last couple of days on Earth ?”

What an odd question. Last days on Earth , wait a minute … something isn’t right. Ughh , why does everything seem so fuzzy? What the hell is a Destroyer ? … “ What is a Destroyer ? Who are you? And where am I again?” My voice gets stronger the more I talk, but I still sound like a chain smoker.

“ Maybe it would be best if you rested a little longer. The things I have to tell you won’t be easy to hear.”

“ My body is so sore that I already feel like I’ve been resting forever.” The moment I try to sit up, I have to bite back the scream that wants to leave my throat as an arm comes out of the ceiling, pushing a pillow behind my back. Automatically , I start to say thank you, but they’re gone before I can get the words out. Now that I am up and can see what’s around me … clearer. I wish I would have stayed lying down.

“ Ember , right?”

“ Yes .”

“ Do you think you could start from the beginning? I seem to be having a hard time focusing.” Something or someone walks behind the girl and I see her turn and smile at who or whatever that is, but my eyes must really be messed up because they look yellow. Maybe it’s simply the lighting in that other room. I can tell they are talking, but I can’t understand most of it until I hear the word … Pod .

Then it’s like my memory is suddenly flooded with all the details of my last moments on Earth . When Scientist Shipman came into the office ordering all of us to the pods. At first, I assumed I was in trouble by the way he was acting. I was racking my mind, trying to remember if I had neglected to secure an item or mistaken the belongings of one of the incoming occupants.

I definitely didn’t understand what the hell was going on when he pushed me inside and started strapping me in. Startled by his actions, it took me a moment before I began fighting him in earnest. Especially when he initiated the program that inserted the ports in my arms, but it was his words that stopped me in the end.

“ Qwin , if you want to live, stop fighting me, and help me secure your cryo tube.”

“ What are you doing? I am not supposed to be the one in here. Let me go, I have to go home; someone has to feed my cat and I need to call my mom.”

“ Qwin , the pod’s owners are not going to make it, and there is no reason we should waste the hard work all of us have been doing to save humanity because of their tardiness. I wish you Godspeed and pray that you actually find life out there among the stars.”

Before I could say another word, he hit a button sealing me inside. The moment the door slammed closed. I started fighting against the restraints that were tightening even more as the pod began shaking around me. I had just freed my hand when I was abruptly pinned back against the headrest. Flashes in the skyline are suddenly all I can see. I can’t help but remember the scream that left my lips as the pressure intensified all around me. Gasping for breath, spots had started forming in front of my eyes. Just as I thought I would pass out. I found myself free-floating above the Earth . The sight is amazing and terrifying all at the same time.

Just before I noticed the outside window had started to freeze over, my body began shivering uncontrollably. Overwhelmed , I didn’t immediately notice that the interior tube was now flooding with a pale pink substance. When the cold substance reaches my stomach, I look down and panic as the goo keeps getting closer and closer to my face. It was only inches away from my neck when a helmet of some sort unexpectedly dropped down sealing itself securely around my face. Cool air instantly started circulating around my face and I can remember taking deep breaths, trying to make myself calm down. All the while, in the back of my mind. I kept saying that this was all a mistake and that they would send someone after me as soon as they realized it. The pod rolls again this time when I glance out. I can see other pods all around me.

Before I can comprehend what that even means, an intense heat wave rushes through the pod, clearing the frozen viewer on the outside. I watch in horror as a huge black mass appears on the surface of Earth swiftly swallowing it below me. One minute it was there, the next just gone, simply erased. A huge shock wave hits the pod, and it twirls end over end right before a mist surrounds my face and everything goes dark.

A huge sob leaves my throat and I curl up in a ball, pulling the thin blankets up under my chin. I can hear the girl trying to talk to me on the other side of the glass, but I just can’t right now. I know the very fact that I am here means nothing else is. What a horrible nightmare, I really wish I would wake up from. My mind replays observing the Earth disappear over and over. I watched everything and everyone I’d ever loved. All my dreams and hopes are destroyed in the blink of an eye.

I know I should be grateful, instead … Why me? Why did I survive when so many others didn’t? Did my mom suffer? Did she even know everything had turned for the worse? If she did, was she fighting her way to me in the end? I hope she was sitting peacefully on the porch drinking her morning coffee. Was Emmy curled up in her chair waiting for me to come home so that she could have her snack? Were we being lied to the entire time? So many questions, things I’ll never know, nor get to ask.

I could kick myself in the ass for staying at work when I could have spent those last days with mom and my friends. This wasn’t supposed to be the end. We knew things were going to change, but this was not the first-time humanity had to learn to live another way.

There were supposed to still be weeks before the storms hit. Every day, I watched on the news as they shuttled people to safe underground locations. That’s why I stayed on at the facility as long as I did preparing the pods. Because they told me it would guarantee me and mom a spot in the local bunker. They also said that we were not allowed pets, but I was going to find a way to sneak Emmy in. There was no way I was leaving her to fend for herself.

The girl’s voice finally breaks through my thoughts and I turn on my side, wiping my tears on the blanket. I have to clear my throat a few times before I can get any words out. “ How did you find me? Were there any other survivors?”

“ Captain EvO and his crew have been actively hunting for survivors ever since Miya and I were located in this region. The good news is that we’ve managed to rescue you and several others, but you are the first one to awaken.”

“ Where did you come from then?”

“ Oh , my story is much different from yours. Hopefully , we will become the best of friends and I’ll have plenty of time to tell you all about my ViN and our crazy love story. I am just so happy to see another human. I could jump up and down.”

“ That’s an odd thing to say. What do you mean by another human?”

“ Out of all the words I said, those would be the ones you heard first. I know, you know, the theory that we were not alone in the universe. Surprise ! It is true, and we are not at the top of the food chain, either. Our race is somewhat primitive compared to the many races out here.

“ Luckily , most of us got rescued by the good guys. The sad part is, it’s the same with them as it is with humans, not all of them are trustworthy either. To be honest, we are actually quite plain, almost dull in color, compared to most of the others. I wish I had the ability to take the shock you are going to experience when you are introduced to the ones responsible for your rescue. Nevertheless , as Kira says, sometimes it’s simply easier to rip the band aid off quickly.”

“ Was this Kira also rescued?”

“ Ohhhh , let me tell you, was she ever, but that’s another long story for another day. I can tell you’re struggling with the news I’ve already dumped on you. Right now, you need to try and rest so that your mind will be clear for all the excitement to come. I know resting is hard to do in a strange environment, but you need to recover from your trip into the stars. Your body has been through a lot and it will take some time before you’re up and running again. Your mind needs to be clear in order to absorb the whole harrowing tale of how we become the aliens.”

“ It’s that bad huh?”

“ No , it’s just different, being told there is something out there, then seeing it for yourself … isn’t always easy to deal with. Our lives have changed three-sixty.”

“ Did it all really come true, or were they lying to us about Earth ?”

Ember drags one of the chairs over towards the glass and sits down. I watch helplessly as she wipes a tear from her face. “ The majority of the pods launched didn’t even make it off the ground. You may not think so right now, but you were one of the lucky ones. When I asked the same questions, you are now. I was told that the storm that destroyed everything we ever knew … was called a planet killer. Apparently , there are some recordings of Earth’s last moments taken by a supercomputer called ANDI . They sent them to me and I have sat down to watch it several times, but I can’t seem to hit the play button. If the Pod had not knocked you out, you would have probably seen it all firsthand.

“ In my mind, I reckon that if I don’t see it. I’ll always have just a slight bit of hope that things were not as dire as we were told, but if it’s all true. Then yes, they were not lying. The Earth imploded just like they said it was going to. All the effort they took to move people into the bunkers was simply a way for them to stop the panic and give people hope. The pods were designed at the last minute so that the elite would have a chance to escape. Except , they never would have been prepared for what was to come, I sure wasn’t.”

“ Wait , a minute, I recognize you now. You were that big shot heiress that was all over the social media platforms. Originally : You were supposed to be sent out to space with your parents. You just kept going on and on about your trip like it was an everyday occurrence.”

“ Yep , that was me. I was so foolish and spoiled, all I did was joke about what was to come. I didn’t take any of it seriously. However , I am not the same girl today as I was then. How did you end up in the Pod ?”

“ I was one of the personnel helping to prepare the pods for each individual person. It was my job to see that the pods were stocked with your preferred items. You had quite the list, if I remember correctly. The space travel research area was my first job after college. One of my tasks was to prepare a standardized list of provisions and personal items for each pod and its occupants. We were trying to make the transition easier, if they managed to make it somewhere else safe. But how do you successfully plan for something so unknown?

“ Honestly , it was just a job to me. I never truly believed anything was going to happen. I just thought it was a scare tactic they were using to get more money for research. When the storms across seas started and we could tell it was going to get worse than we thought. I went to my supervisor with my concerns, because of my mom’s health fading due to her age. I was worried they would turn us away, but he convinced me to stay. He said my position at the facility would enable me to get her into a bunker without any issues as long as I stayed until the end.

“ I don’t think anyone I worked with believed how serious things really were. Half of them didn’t even complete the task of stocking the pods. Unlike some of the others, who were just temps and didn’t care. I needed my job; my family was depending on me to see this through.”

“ Yeah , I know firsthand about the pods not being stocked. I was found in one that had absolutely nothing in it. If my mate hadn’t found me. I would have perished quickly.”

“ Your what?” I see the girl look away, then hear some faint clicking noises behind her. “ What is that sound? Are you talking to someone other than me?”

“ Sorry , I didn’t mean to be rude. I was speaking to LeX . He is staying away from the glass right now. Although , I don’t know why. He is probably the least scary of them all, even if he is slightly more colorful. He wasn’t sure if you had a translator inserted before you left Earth .”

“ I don’t believe I got anything like that. All I am hearing is clicking noises. You still haven’t answered my question about that mate statement.”

“ Ohhh , yeah … lots and lots of stories to tell, and unfortunately all of them are long ones. We are compatible with others … if you catch my meaning and you know how as a little girl. We were told of soul mates and knights in shining armor. Well … they’re sorta real, they just come in different colors, shapes, and accessories. Their senses are slightly more than ours also, so they seem to know things about us that we are not always comfortable with.”

“ Accessories ? Smells ?”

“ I don’t know how to explain this, … Here I was hoping that simply seeing another human would make all this easier on you, but I believe I am fumbling this up.” She turns away from me, once again talking to someone behind her. “ LeX is making me cut this short because he says your vitals are all over the place and that you need to rest. I promise I’ll come back as soon as you wake up. He also wants to know if it’s alright if he gives you a translator so that you can understand him and the others.”

“ They can do that?”

“ Oh , yeah, I would highly recommend that, it’s a wonderful invention. Take it from me. There is nothing more humiliating than realizing that they have been able to understand you the entire time, you rambled on like an idiot.”

Before I can say anything else, movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and just as I am turning my head. A mist hits my face and I feel my eyes start to close, but not before I see a purple image step out of the darkness.