Chapter 1
Three years! Three years I've been in this stupid tank! Not the the three months i was promised! My father lied to me, my own father! I thought it would be peaceful in here, like a coma or something, nothing but dreaming. I was wrong, it was some sort of limbo between consciousness and comatose. I couldn't see anything but i could hear. I couldn't move but I could feel. Twice a day I am given electroshock therapy to keep my muscles strong, my body is racked with pain with every jolt. The only reason I know it's been three years, it feels like an eternity, is because my father is in the room talking with a technician and he mentioned it. The technician seemed to be arguing on my behalf.
"Sir, you promised him no more than three months, it's been twelve times that amount of time." The technician reasoned "Doesn't he deserve a chance to have a life?"
"He is my son and i decide what is best for him!" My father yelled "Not you!"
"Sir we haven't made headway on a cure in over five months!" The technician matched my father's volume. "When are you going to realize you can't keep your promise to him."
"I'm not arguing this! I am your superior and you do as I say!" He retorted "No exceptions!" There was a beep, the familiar sound of my father's pager. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in the R and D wing." My father's footsteps echoed off the walls as he stormed out, the sound of a door closing soon followed.
"I'll be damned if i let this go on for any longer." The technician muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. There were a few beeps and a hiss of hydraulics, then a few more beeps and another hiss. I felt my feet hit the floor of the tank and I felt just barely caught myself when the rest of my body succumbed to gravity. Stars danced in the darkness of my vision. I felt the pinch of a needle in my arm and my vision and strength returned at a quicker pace. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust, it didn't help the technician shining a penlight in my eyes. "Zeke, can you hear me?"
I took my first real breath in three years to answer him, but there was still fluid in my lungs. I hacked and coughed until the fluid evacuated my lungs by way of my throat. The technician gave me a few hardy slaps on the back to help clear my lungs. "Yeah I hear you." I managed after a few more moments of hacking.
"Good." He said "Now we have to hurry, no doubt your father has already been alerted on the status of your stasis tank." As if on cue there was a loud banging on the metal door. "Here put these on!" He tossed me a bundle of clothes. I slipped on the cargo pants, t-shirt, socks, shoes and jacket. The technician tossed me a backpack after I was dressed. "Come on follow me." He ordered as I slipped on the bag. He led me to a panel in the wall and he slid it open. Behind it was a small corridor with wiring running the whole length. The technician led me through the winding service hallway until he reached a hatch. He spun the wheel and with a loud groan of protest it opened. The door became a shaft of sunlight as my eyes tried to readjust. "Listen to me." The technician started "Take this compass." He handed me a compass "Go exactly east from the complex. Do not stop until you find a large mansion. There are people there who will help you. It should be about a three day trip on foot. Now go!"
"Wait." I began "Who are you?"
"My name is Rick." He answered "And I'm just a technician who wants to help you. Listen the next couple of days will be rough, probably painful. The stasis tank slowed your condition, but now it will most likely progress faster than normal."
"Wait this has happened before?" I asked
"You'll learn more at the mansion!" He said starting back down the tunnel "Now go!"
And so I ran, ran until I couldn't anymore. I went east like I was told. When night came I didn't stop. I knew I had to put as much distance between me and the complex as possible. It wasn't until the dawn of the next day that I finally told my body to stop and rest. I leaned up against a large tree trunk and shut my eyes. I fell asleep and unlike in the stasis tank, I actually dreamed.