There was one other person up days before Jim Preston woke up on the Starship Avalon.
Due to a malfunction that happened right as the ship went through the meteor field, but I was still waking up from hibernation before that happened. As I was being awakened by the hologram, everything stalled for a moment. A loud crash ripped through the ship, but then the systems worked properly again. I wasn't really paying any attention to it, as I was groggy from having been asleep for who knows how long. My systems were still rebooting. So whatever that crash was, it was nothing to worry about. Or so I thought. I woke and that was when I realized no one else was awake. At first that didn't worry me.
Slowly I discovered I was the only one awake.
At first the three days I spent alone on an entire ship seemed perfect for an introvert like myself. That was until I discovered I'd be alone for the rest of my life, with no one to talk to about anything. We were still 90 years from Homestead 2. That realization felt like the whole world was dropped on my shoulders. I'd never be able to talk to anyone again. I felt hollow.
Looking out the window of the ship, and watching the rest of the Avalon spin around it, I wondered how doomed my future was. What was I going to do all by myself on this ship for 90-something years? That and I was purely just a passenger on board to help populate Homestead 2. I dreamed about seeing that planet. Now my hopes were crushed. I'd never reach it.
I was studying the other Hibernation pods in the dark of the Hibernation room, studying the other passengers. No other pods had malfunctions. Why was mine the first to go off? Would others be next? Was that even possible? I tried going back to sleep, but nothing worked. My Hibernation pod was the last one.
Then, I heard another hibernation pod open up and the hologram guide the passenger through the waking process, something I had been through a few days ago. My heart leapt out of my chest, but I stayed in the shadows.
Finding out through the Hologram, I learned that the passenger was Jim Preston, a mechanic. Maybe I wasn't going to be the only one awake, and I let out a quiet sigh. Maybe the others were just a little… late, that was all.
But 7 days after Jim woke, and I stayed hidden as he tried to look for others, it was clear no one else was waking up.
For about a month of secrecy, I gave up. My days of solitude were over. I needed to talk to someone – about anything. I was starting to talk to myself. I had already explored all of the ship. While not exploring, I read, drew, swam in the pools. So I went down to the bar one night and Jim walked in and nearly jumped out of his shoes.
"W-what?" he asked, "You're awake too?"
I turned around and said, "Hi. Yeah, I've been awake… longer than you have, actually. I was there when you woke up."
"What do you mean? How is this possible? You're telling me that you woke me up?"
"No, no way. My hibernation pod malfunctioned a few days before yours did. I didn't want to… well, I thought being by myself for a while would do me some good. But 90 years? For an introvert that's way too much time. I need some kind of human interaction or I'll start to feel cold. I mean, I feel cold right now."
Jim sat down at the bar and got a drink.
"And you didn't want to tell me. I've been alone for an entire month. Or, well… thinking I've been alone for an entire month."
"Well so have I, kind of." I pointed out.
He glared at me.
"I'm sorry. I still can't believe you woke up first. Do you know why you woke up before me?"
"No." I said, shaking my head.
"Tell me what you mean about feeling cold."
I was worried he wouldn't understand. I scratched my head before I tried to explain myself.
"In the simplest of terms, I'm lonely. I… I wanted to go to Homestead 2. But now, I have no one, and no home."
He nodded.
"I feel the same way." he said.
He stared at me, and I stared at him softly, half paying attention to my drink.
"What?" I asked.
"N-nothing. Still trying to wrap my head around this. Maybe we should give each other some space."
I laughed. "Come on. Let's go do something together on this ship. I haven't done anything besides swimming because I didn't want you to find out I was here."
"Wait, there's a pool?"
We went to the pool.
After that, we played various games, all the games that were available. We had dinner at a luxurious restaurant. It was a very enjoyable evening.
At the end of it, my head was swimming with thoughts and I needed some time to sort them all out.
I stayed away from Jim for a few days.
Until we met up at the bar again on the fourth day, purely on accident. But it made me happy to see Jim. I invited him to sit down next to me.
"Hey. I had fun last time. Is something wrong?"
"No. I just needed some time to myself. It's nothing personal. It's been so long since I've been with someone."
"Well it looks like we have 90 years to ourselves."
"Yeah…"
We sat in the viewing deck and talked long hours about anything and everything. Eventually we were sitting next to each other so close we were touching, and watching the stars pass by.
"It's so nice to talk and to be with someone again." Jim said.
I nodded. Nice was an understatement.
"I don't want to feel alone anymore." I said.
We were looking at each other instead of the stars.
Jim said, "Neither do I."
The End