Dead Yonder
Chapter 1 - Waking Up
Everything was just…dark, quiet, and empty. I don't know why, though. It's also freezing cold, enough so that my limbs instantly stuck to the pitch black surfaces surrounding me. I haven't the slightest idea where I am or why, but somethin' in the back of my mind kept tellin' me ta high-tail it outta here.
My main problem is I can't move a muscle. But I can hear something, and it sounded slow and calm; the cold walls around me made the noises really muffled and hard to understand, but it sounds like…voices…two voices, in fact, and they were having a conversation. I hear tiny footsteps come closer, seemingly right outside…wherever I am…until they suddenly stopped. I go stiff and avert all my attention to my hearing.
"He still there?" one voice said.
"Yeah, he's still here," another voice replied.
The first voice snorted, "Heh. Does he still have that stupid-ass smile on his face?"
"Seriously? The guy nearly dies in a freak accident, and you're mocking him?"
"What? Someone's gotta be able ta lighten the mood around here, and I don't see you volunteering."
"That's because I've given up, just like everyone else."
"Then why do you even come to work?"
"Because that's what the Big Man ordered. Now c'mon, we gotta finish our patrol before Peepers wonders where we are."
"Man, I hate that squirrel-voiced nerd. Remember how pissed he was the last time we finished out patrol late?"
"Ugh, don't remind me. His lectures seem like they drag on for hours."
"Exactly! I'm tellin' ya, if I was commander, I'd happily shove a laser gun up his ass and shoot 'm inta the sun!"
"Just shut up, and let's go already."
The conversation ended after that, and the footsteps eventually fade away. I wonder who those two were talking about, and what this "Peepers" did to make them so mad as to swear and threaten him with such a vulgar plan.
Back to my original plan, though. Find a way to escape. I try to fidget and squirm within my tight prison, but nothing works. Suddenly, I heard another pair of footsteps, but these were much lighter and quicker than the previous two. The owner of the running footsteps was also breathing heavily when he stopped right outside, like the others before. Why were so many people stopping by me, and who are they? Maybe they can shed some light on why I'm here.
The air abruptly raised temperatures until my icy confines began to melt at an alarming rate, but the good news is, I can finally see something other than darkness. The light grew so bright, that I was blinded in seconds while I was submerged in a cold liquid. I try to swim to keep my head above the surface, but my limbs are too heavy and stiff from being frozen for Grop knows how long.
I take a deep breath in and sink, but then the liquid starts draining and I fall along with it onto an even harder surface. I still can't open my eyes because of the all-around brightness, and my breaths are weak and withered. I try to lift myself up, but my arms shake violently and I collapse back down flat on my stomach.
"Hey! Hey, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Someone was trying to talk to me, I know it, and I fought my exhaustion to answer him. But every time I try to speak, my words come out as single syllables mixed with shudders.
"Try to calm down. I'm going to help you."
"H…h-help…me?"
"Yes, to get you out of this place, but we need to hurry. It won't be long until they finish shifting the guards for the next patrol."
This information made the gears in my head really start to turn, so much so that I finally opened my eyes, albeit slowly, and blink rapidly to adjust my vision to the light. I lift my head slowly, and I see a short and stout silhouette kneeling in front of me. He stretched a small, gloved hand out to one of my own, and gently grabbed it to help me up. Despite his small stature, he managed to pull me onto my feet with ease. But my knees still feel really nimble, and they tremble as I try to stay up.
"You're gonna have to move, we don't much time," the stranger told me firmly, as he looped one of my arms over his shoulders for me to lean on him. We start walking with a fast pace down a long metal corridor, and I realize just how dimly lit this place is the longer I focus on it. The light sources are pale and incandescent, and most of them buzzed and flickered.
"W…where…?" I tried to finish my sentence, but the stranger cut me off.
"We're in the lower levels of a cryo-prison. They keep all of the galaxy's remaining criminals here—even though there aren't many left."
I want to ask him who "they" is and what he meant about that last part, but we stop next to a keypad and he typed a certain code in frantically. A hole in the wall that wasn't there before suddenly opened, and it seems to lead into a deep, dark hall.
"C'mon, hurry!" the stranger whisper-shouted, and I hobbled next to him as he dragged me deeper into the darkness. The door closed behind us soon after, and we're quickly enveloped in a void of pitch black. There's a few seconds of silence before I hear something scratch a rough surface, and then there's light. The stranger is now holding a tiny stick with an even tinier flame on its end in his fingers, casting a soft orange glow on his face…at least, I think it's his face; the entirety of his head is nothing but a giant eyeball with a light red iris, which dilated when he started examining me closely.
"Does anything feel broken?" he asked me while walking all around me.
"U-Uh…no…" I answer.
"That's good. You probably feel a little shaken and stiff, right?"
I nod.
"That's expected. You may not believe this, but you've been frozen in that chamber for five years."
My eyes shot wide, "F-Five…years?"
"Yes, and the only reason I broke you out now is because Sylvia's gone! You're the only one who can find her!"
I tilt my head and furrow my brow, "Who's Sylvia?"
How do I start out the new year? Why, with a Wander over Yonder fanfic, of course! Hope you enjoyed chapter one!
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!