It had been weeks since Jim sent out that message. Or maybe it was only a few days ago. He didn't know. It had felt like weeks anyway.

Panic slowly faded away, but it was quickly replaced with dread. No one was coming for him. No one was going to miraculously send a message to him telling him how to get back to sleep or at least tell him where the manuals for the hibernation pods were. A sliver of hope trickled into his heart, if he did manage to find some manuals for the ship... He could put his engineering degree to use and figure it out from there. Hopefully.

As quickly as that tiny bit of hope came, it was soon smashed to pieces and those pieces were ground into dust.

Why would it matter? With his luck, he'd probably end up dead. Somehow the pod would eject itself from the ship and into space and he'd wake up again... Only to die within seconds. The universe was cruel like that.

Jim sighed as he sat at the bar, watching the android named Arthur wipe the same glass over and over again.

"Why do you do that?" Jim asked annoyed. He felt a bit guilty for the way he said it, since it wasn't Arthur's fault that he was trapped for the rest of his life alone in space.

"Do what?"

The response went on to annoy the blond even more. "Wipe that glass. There's no one here!"

Arthur laughed. "I was programmed to. If a human just saw me standing here doing nothing, they'd be unnerved. So, when no one is here to order and there is no actual dirty dishes... I do this."

Jim couldn't help but crack a little smile at that. He wasn't even sure why. But he was glad that it happened.

"There's a smile." Said Arthur, smiling himself. "You've been so glum ever since you came back from the observatory deck."

Jim rolled his eyes in response. "Well, I am stuck on a ship all on my own for the rest of my life."

"I'm here with you."

"No offense Arthur, but a robot isn't quite the same as a human. Your programming is really advanced, but..."

Arthur nodded, "I understand. But may I offer you some bartenderly advice, Jim?"

Jim blinked. "Uh, sure."

"Instead of focusing on the negative, why don't you try to make the best of your situation?"

The blond froze. Make the best of his situation?! He was trapped on a metal can taking it's sweet time to a planet he might not ever see himself! What was there to make the best of? He had a crappy room...Wait.There was no one awake on the ship. There were thousands of empty rooms not being used... Oh, he knew where to start now.

"Thanks, Arthur."

"Anytime."

Jim made his way to the captain's door again, grabbing a few of the tools he knew he'd need before heading back to the ship's dorms. Instead of heading to the crappy little closet he had, he went to the exclusive passenger's wing. He cracked open a door and got to work programming the door to read his bracelet to let him in. Whenever the actual owner of the room woke up, Jim was sure that they could easily reprogram the door. Whatever.

The room was luxurious. It was colored porcelain with smooth white plastics and couches on the bottom floor, gold and silver with the walls decorated in cubes and hexagon shaped lights on the wall closest to the white spiraling staircase that lead to the bedroom. The floors were a smooth stainless obsidian tile. It was warm and inviting. The bathroom was also huge and had both a shower that a soccer team could fit inside and a Jacuzzi bathtub that could take up half of the room he was originally assigned. Jim dashed up the stairs and took in the sight of the bedroom; it was just a simple room with one large white floating bed with fluorescent lights surrounding it and a button that would slide out a glass closet. Surrounding the room were walls that were actually huge screens.

"Show me Denver, Colorado." He said, and instantly the screens surrounding the bed changed to a slideshow of his hometown. His heart ached at the sight, but it was comforting all the same.

Jim went on to enjoy other things on the ship, like the gym, Olympic sized swimming pool, the various foreign restaurants where he could get whatever he wanted instead of just the basic menu that taunted him every day in the cafeteria, the arcade's dance game and the movie theater that seemed to have everything.

This was the life!

Or so it seemed.

Everything had seemed so shiny and new at first. Food tasted better then, Hell, he even tried stuff that he wouldn't have dreamed of eating back on earth. But soon, he tried everything. It was just new! The games were fun but he soon mastered everything and had the top hundred scores. Where was there to go from the very top? The cheers and lights in the basketball court that would light up every time he scored seemed dull and too quiet, or deafening loud and annoying at times, now. The movie theater that seemed to have everything made? Well, it also had a lot of crap too and it seemed like there was just too much of that. The pool was nice, it was serene and still... Just like the ship he was trapped on alone.

The dread that Arthur shooed away those few months ago was back, and it swallowed Jim whole. Everything seemed so grey, dull and morose... Or too bright and loud yet so hollow. The ship was huge and Jim had explored every inch of it, well the parts that he had access to anyway. The thought of breaking into places came to him from time to time, but what was the point? It'd just be another empty space. A ship this big needed people on it. Living, awake people. It was just a cruel reminder to Jim that he was alone.

And because he was alone, Jim didn't bother to groom himself anymore. His dirty blonde hair became exactly that. It was long and fell flat against his head due to all the grease and dirt that built up. His beard grew and grew, it now resembled the hipster that spat in his drink that would serve him coffee back in Denver. But at least that guy groomed his unruly beard. Jim didn't even bother to change most of the time. He felt content in his filthy stained shirts. As content as a depressed hollow man could feel anyway. Sometimes he didn't even bother to put pants on. Who would yell at him? Exactly. No one.

Arthur tried to give him hope, making Jim temporarily forget that the android wasn't... an android. It never worked, but Jim couldn't blame the bot for trying.

Jim wandered along the empty halls. The empty, never ending halls.

He kept going until he reached a door he wasn't sure he had come across before. Then again, all doors look the same after a while. He swiped his bracelet and it slid open, revealing a room with two spacesuits. He walked towards one, noticing how human like it was. It had two arms and two legs, unlike the single wheel that Arthur had. The only thing it didn't have was a face.

Jim leaned against the suit before wrapping his arms around it in a tight hug.

He wept when he realized that it wouldn't hug him back.

Once he calmed down, he slipped into the suit and headed out the door.

"Hello James!" a familiar voice called out. Jim blinked as the face of the hologram that appeared when he woke up showed up in his helmet. "Would you like to take a walk outside?" The hologram asked.

He blinked again. Dumbly, he nodded and the hologram started explaining how the mechanics worked. If he pushed a button on the suit, the magnets in his boots would turn off and he would float, but he'd stay connected to the ship thanks to a tether that would automatically reattach itself or replace itself if he reached certain areas of the ship.

"Turn this knob and pull the lever to open the airlock, enjoy your walk!"

Jim opened the airlock and stood at the door outside, taking in the sight before he worked up the courage to finally step outside.

He remembered the time his family drove to Anaheim when he was a kid and they were going through Nevada, or was it Utah? The desert was dark at night, one of the rare places that didn't seem to be covered in buildings. His dad stopped in the middle of the night, woke him and his mother up and they got out of the car. The sky was alive it seemed. It was awe inspiring. There wasn't any light pollution for miles and miles to cloud up the sky. The sky wasn't black-ish blue like Jim was used to, it was so many colors. There were billions and billions of stars and he swore he could see galaxies. He remembered feeling scared back then. He was going to fall into the sky and drown in the stars.

That night in Utah had nothing on this very moment on the outside of the Avalon. The sight was that night sky times a thousand. Tears stung at his eyes at the sight. Slowly, Jim began to walk along the surface before deciding it was time to float. He hit the button and soon he began to drift into the nothing of space. Well, as far as the tether would allow him.

He felt weightless. He felt like nothing.

Probably because he was nothing.

The nothing around him just proved how small and worthless he was.

He had enough.

He went back inside the ship, the hologram greeting him once again as the tether unhooked itself from the back of his suit. The words went in one ear and out the other. The silence that surrounded him outside still rang inside his ears like church bells. He was nothing. There was nothing here. Nothing was worth living for.

Jim might as well become one with nothing. He turned towards the knob for the airlock and turned it. The door opened and he stood at the very edge of it. He had seconds to decide if he wanted to do this before the tether would automatically reconnect itself.

Do it.

There is nothing for you.

Do it.

What are you waiting for?

Do it.

No one would miss you.

Do it.

He shut the door and collapsed on the ground, weeping once again.

Useless coward.

Weeks passed since that event. It had apparently been almost a year since he had woken up, the only reason why Jim knew this was because Arthur told him.

Jim had finally found the manuals for the ship in the expansive storage space. The ones on the hibernation pod had kept his attention the most for obvious reasons. He read it back to back numerous times, reading it while he ate, reading it when he was with Arthur, reading it when he was alone in his room. He could probably recite it from memory if he wanted.

Once he felt confident enough that he could do it, Jim was inside the hibernation wing again and fiddling with the controls on his old pod. Hopefully, he would be back to sleep and awake with the rest of the crew this time. He was really starting to hate that word, hope. Since it never seemed to work out for him.

Just like it didn't now!

He was trapped inside the pod for several minutes. His breath fogged up the glass, reminding him that he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He felt light headed as he slammed on the glass, desperately trying to get the pod to open or the more unlikely option, break it so he could get out. Eventually, the doors slid open and the pod went upright. Jim coughed as he tried to take in as much air as he could.

He definitely wasn't going to try that again anytime soon!

Angrily, he got out of the pod and got out, every closed pod reminding him of his failure. On his way out of the room, something caught his eye. In the group of pods next to his, he noticed a woman with pale moonbeams for skin and light hair surrounding her peaceful, sleeping face like a white gold halo.

Jim's heart throbbed. He walked to the pod, his hands shaking as it rested on the cool glass that shielded the woman from the horrors he was facing. He kind of envied her. She was asleep, like he should've been. He snorted, rolling his eyes as he tried to decide if he hated this woman for daring not be trapped like he was or if she was pretty and he would've liked her if she was awake.

Christ. Would you listen to yourself? You're God awful, Jim.

He couldn't believe what he was thinking. This woman did nothing wrong! Why was he thinking like this! He was complete scum!

The man shot an apologetic look at the woman, only noticing how much prettier she was up close now. That made him feel worse. He looked at the name plate on the side.

Aurora Lane. Journalist. Age 26.

"Aurora..."

If a buddy of his told him that he was naming his kid Aurora, Jim would've laughed in his face. Well, maybe not. But he would've asked "Are you sure?". But now, that name sounded like the most beautiful thing in existence. Just like the woman who bore it.

He thought about her all the time, like he was a love sick puppy. He talked about the pretty woman he saw in the hibernation wing to Arthur, who looked pleased to see his only customer so happy. Or he would've been, if robots had actual emotions. One day, Jim decided to look her up on the ship computer. She was not only a journalist, she wrote many stories. Stories that spoke to him. He watched her video profile numerous times when he was taking breaks from her books. She was so funny and so kind.

His heart ached as he realized that this woman would never give him the time of day even if she was awake. He was reminded of the girl that he liked in middle school.

"Not even if you were the last boy on earth!"

Jim shook the thought out of his head. He was 33, not 12 anymore. He shouldn't be thinking like this. Wanting to take his mind off of Aurora and that girl, Jim looked up other passenger's's profiles. Or at least, looked at the names and laughed at them all. The ones that stuck out among the 5000 names listed anyway.

"There's someone named Galaxy Pepper. Finally, there's someone the universe hates more than me." He laughed.

Jim's days felt a little brighter ever since he discovered Aurora. Butterflies fluttered in his chest and he felt warm all over at the thought of her.

Too bad she's in there and you're out here, wasting away.

He closed his eyes. Here was life, reminding him of his awful fate once again. It was like the universe didn't want him to be happy, even just for a minute.

It'd be a shame if something woke her up.

Jim's eyes snapped open and he shot out of bed.

No! No way! He couldn't!

He tried to go throughout his days without thinking about it. He went back to reading the hibernation pod manuals to try to learn what he did wrong that time... Only to keep coming back to the pages explaining how to manually wake someone up. He would slam the book shut and throw it across the room. He found himself watching Disney movies, movies that his grandparent's grandparents watched back in the day. One that he liked watching was Sleeping Beauty, where the princess was a pretty blonde named Aurora...

"OH FUCK OFF!" He said to himself, getting up and out of the theater when he realized what he was doing.

Thoughts kept creeping in his mind and nagging him like his mother did when she wanted him to clean his room or to do his homework when he was a kid. Only this time it was worse. But those thoughts just kept screaming louder and louder.

"Arthur, I need advice." He finally asked, two months after he first started getting these thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Say you were stuck on an island all by yourself. But you could wish someone there with you so you wouldn't be so alone. Would you do it? Even if you knew that it'd be trapping that person there with you forever?"

Arthur stood there. "...This isn't really a robot question, Jim."

"Okay... So you know how I found the most beautiful, perfect, funny woman ever right?"

"Miss Aurora, yes."

"Well... If I woke her up... Would that be the wrong thing to do?"

Arthur shook his head. "What do you think?"

Jim sighed. "It's... wrong. Forget I asked."

Two days later, Jim was back at the bar talking about this situation again. "But let's say that the ship malfunctioned and it just kills everyone in the pods. It'd be bad if I didn't rescue her right? Like, she'd be dead..."

"I don't know, Jim. What do you think?"

A week later, Jim was back with another dilemma. And the next week. And the week after that. And after that.

Two months later, Jim was inside the bathroom with scissors in hand. "You're just going to cut your hair and beard. There's nothing fishy about that." He said the same thing as he showered and put on a fancy cologne that he stole from a shop. He said the same thing when he was in the hibernation wing, just to check for other people waking up by mistake. Nothing else.

He sat beside Aurora's pod, his tool box in hand. Just in case. He opened up the panel on the side. Just in case. He slid open a drawer full of wiring just to make sure everything was functioning and like the page of the manual he had open just in case. Just in case...

Suddenly, the lights and power shut down. It was dead silent. Jim heard his heart pounding and blood rushing to his face. He could hear a pin drop. Then the lights were back on and the sounds of all the machines beeping and turning back on and running were back. He looked at Aurora's panel and saw her heart rate looked and sounded normal. He looked at her neighbour's, it looked ok too. He looked behind him. Theirs was ok too.

Then he heard rapid beeping and a THCK THCK THCK! From across the room.

Him ran towards the sound to check it out. The pods surrounding the one freaking out looked okay. Then he looked at the one pod.

There was a woman twitching inside. Her skin was turning blue and frost started appearing on the inside of the glass. Her pod was malfunctioning. In the worst possible way. She was going to die by freezing to death.

Without thinking, Jim ran back to Aurora and grabbed his tool box and ran back to the malfunctioning pod. He cracked open her panel and tried to manually restart the machine. He swapped certain wires and panels, hoping that'd do something. The machine turned off. Then clicked back on. It hissed as it, and the person inside, 'came back to life.'

The pod suddenly moved upright and the various needles and plugs attached to the woman removed themselves.

"Oh God."

He woke her up. By mistake.

"Hello, Miss Pepper." Said the familiar voice of the hologram as the doors to the pod slid open.

Jim nearly snapped his neck as he looked at the panel on the side.

Galaxy Pepper. Age 29. Doctor.

It looked like he was stuck with the only other person the universe hated more than him.