Notes: Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm sorry this took so long but I
wanted to make it good. Please review with suggestions!!
Chapter 3
She awoke from the familiar cold feeling. She was still in the tube. But something was wrong.it was shaking and dark.lights flashing.and then everything crashed and she blacked out.
When she woke up again, she was lying on her side. After a moment of confusion, it struck her. Why wasn't the tube upright? The tube was supposed to be open when she was awake. The tube wasn't even OPEN! Shit, something must have happened.WHY did humans decide that space travel was a good idea? and of all times to get claustrophobic. She started pounding on the tube and screaming.fuck her oxygen, she needed someone to let her out. She was going to die in here! Her heart pounded and she felt like she would never get out this time. A small voice inside her kept whispering "you'd get to see them again".but she had to keep on, even though she had nothing to live for. That's how it worked. After what seemed like hours, she saw through the dusty front of the tube a woman with long hair, trying to pry it open. As she finally did the door popped open and Alex rolled out, coughing. The woman put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Name's Shazza, you okay?"
Alex whirled her head around with wild eyes. "Don't touch me!" She ripped out of the woman's tentative grasp and struggled to stand up, but there was debris everywhere. She settled for a crouch where she had fallen out, as Shazza backed away. Alex was anything but calm, her heart pounding with how close she might have come to another unplanned stay in a cryotube. Looking around warily, she saw that the ship had been torn apart! An intense light came from the gaping hole where the rows of cryotubes had stood. As she straightened, she met the woman's eyes with her own green ones. "Sorry about that." Alex forced herself to breathe deeply and calm down. The tough girl she was supposed to be wouldn't lose it over being stuck in a cryotube. Alexandra would have. She brushed her clothes off, there was dust everywhere "Alex. Thanks." She took another calming deep breath. "What the fuck happened?"
The woman moved on to the next tube. "I don't know, but here we are, crash landed on some rock. Got to try to get the others out." She lit up a blowtorch that a large dark-skinned man gave her and started in on the tube. They got it open and a thin boy fell out. "So, I guess something went wrong?" he said. No shit.
Then they heard a man's scream from up near the flight deck. "Get it outta me!" The group that had formed rushed towards it, and as Alex slowly walked over she saw a blonde woman in a pilot's uniform bending over another man who had a spike straight through his chest, near the heart. She went to pull it out and he screamed again, "Don't you touch it! Don't you touch that handle Fry!". Shocked, Shazza put in, "It's too close to his heart!" The blonde looked around, striken, and shouted "There's some anesthophine in the medlock in the back of the cabin!" But the back of the cabin had been totally blown away. "Not anymore there's not" muttered a thin man with glasses. All of them were silent. Alex looked around at them all. The man was going to die.
"Get out of here. Everyone. Get out of here." the blonde said. Alex turned and walked away, somehow knowing what the woman, "Fry", was going to do. The others slowly backed away as well. There was no way he could have lived through anything they could do for him. That woman made a hard choice.but it's not like there was another option. Everyone dies. It's just a matter of time. That's why you don't care about people, because they leave. With that thought, Alex walked over to her cryotube where her items were stashed in her personal locker. Unlocking the case with her thumbprint, she gazed at the contents. The familiar pieces gave her some comfort. They were all she had for her security. However, she decided to find out the lay of the land before getting them all out, so she popped two knifes into her boots and one in her arm sheath for throwing if she had to. It never hurt to be extra cautious, that she had learned the hard way. Alex sighed, and made her way over to the hole in the side of the ship. The sword would come later.
Ugh. Alex was temporarily blinded by the intense sunlight as she exited the pitiful remnants of the ship. All of her past twelve months had been spent on a planet where the sun came out infrequently, sort of like Alaska in the wintertime. Huh, she thought, squinting, bet nobody here even remembers Alaska. Alaska.but that was part of the life she left behind. And now she just felt the sun beating down on her. Well.at least she'd get a bit of a tan on her pasty white skin. Too little sun exposure on the last planet, as she went out only when it was dark. Unfortunately, the only things she had to wear were black. Black jumpsuit and vest, even black boots. That made it a little harder to think about something positive. The desolate landscape was nothing but sand and rock. Was there nothing alive on this planet?
A few other passengers stumbled out onto the sand, and some of the few survivors had already tried climbing up to stand on top of the ship. Alex shrugged and picked her way up. Must be low oxygen or something in this atmosphere, she thought, as she was huffing and puffing as if she'd just finished an hour of sparring with Diane. Diane. Don't think about her. No friends. No one. That way it doesn't hurt. As she reached the top of the ship, she gasped. "Holy Mother," she gaped as she saw the wreckage from the once-enormous Hunter-Grazner stretched out over a few miles. Black smoke rose from the twisted metal. Damn, was she lucky to have survived. As she was staring at it, Fry came up behind her. As she looked out over the wreckage herself, Shazza's companion Zeke blurted out what all of them were thinking. "What the bloody 'ell happened?!"
Fry explained what it might have been, a rogue comet or a meteor shower. Alex remembered how she looked for Halley's comet with her father when she was very, very young. It didn't pain her any more. She was stone. All of the rest thanked fry for saving their lives, and Alex muttered a "Yeah, thanks." Yet Alex noticed Fry's face had an odd look of bewilderment or self-loathing on it. Alex shrugged to herself and put out her hand. "Alex," she said. But Fry still looked surprised by something.did they shake hands here? After a second, though, she took it weakly, and answered, "Carolyn Fry."
The others followed suit and introduced themselves to her. The big blonde guy stepped forward and said, "Name's Johns. I think you should all know about the prisoner I was transporting. His name is Riddick."
Chapter 3
She awoke from the familiar cold feeling. She was still in the tube. But something was wrong.it was shaking and dark.lights flashing.and then everything crashed and she blacked out.
When she woke up again, she was lying on her side. After a moment of confusion, it struck her. Why wasn't the tube upright? The tube was supposed to be open when she was awake. The tube wasn't even OPEN! Shit, something must have happened.WHY did humans decide that space travel was a good idea? and of all times to get claustrophobic. She started pounding on the tube and screaming.fuck her oxygen, she needed someone to let her out. She was going to die in here! Her heart pounded and she felt like she would never get out this time. A small voice inside her kept whispering "you'd get to see them again".but she had to keep on, even though she had nothing to live for. That's how it worked. After what seemed like hours, she saw through the dusty front of the tube a woman with long hair, trying to pry it open. As she finally did the door popped open and Alex rolled out, coughing. The woman put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Name's Shazza, you okay?"
Alex whirled her head around with wild eyes. "Don't touch me!" She ripped out of the woman's tentative grasp and struggled to stand up, but there was debris everywhere. She settled for a crouch where she had fallen out, as Shazza backed away. Alex was anything but calm, her heart pounding with how close she might have come to another unplanned stay in a cryotube. Looking around warily, she saw that the ship had been torn apart! An intense light came from the gaping hole where the rows of cryotubes had stood. As she straightened, she met the woman's eyes with her own green ones. "Sorry about that." Alex forced herself to breathe deeply and calm down. The tough girl she was supposed to be wouldn't lose it over being stuck in a cryotube. Alexandra would have. She brushed her clothes off, there was dust everywhere "Alex. Thanks." She took another calming deep breath. "What the fuck happened?"
The woman moved on to the next tube. "I don't know, but here we are, crash landed on some rock. Got to try to get the others out." She lit up a blowtorch that a large dark-skinned man gave her and started in on the tube. They got it open and a thin boy fell out. "So, I guess something went wrong?" he said. No shit.
Then they heard a man's scream from up near the flight deck. "Get it outta me!" The group that had formed rushed towards it, and as Alex slowly walked over she saw a blonde woman in a pilot's uniform bending over another man who had a spike straight through his chest, near the heart. She went to pull it out and he screamed again, "Don't you touch it! Don't you touch that handle Fry!". Shocked, Shazza put in, "It's too close to his heart!" The blonde looked around, striken, and shouted "There's some anesthophine in the medlock in the back of the cabin!" But the back of the cabin had been totally blown away. "Not anymore there's not" muttered a thin man with glasses. All of them were silent. Alex looked around at them all. The man was going to die.
"Get out of here. Everyone. Get out of here." the blonde said. Alex turned and walked away, somehow knowing what the woman, "Fry", was going to do. The others slowly backed away as well. There was no way he could have lived through anything they could do for him. That woman made a hard choice.but it's not like there was another option. Everyone dies. It's just a matter of time. That's why you don't care about people, because they leave. With that thought, Alex walked over to her cryotube where her items were stashed in her personal locker. Unlocking the case with her thumbprint, she gazed at the contents. The familiar pieces gave her some comfort. They were all she had for her security. However, she decided to find out the lay of the land before getting them all out, so she popped two knifes into her boots and one in her arm sheath for throwing if she had to. It never hurt to be extra cautious, that she had learned the hard way. Alex sighed, and made her way over to the hole in the side of the ship. The sword would come later.
Ugh. Alex was temporarily blinded by the intense sunlight as she exited the pitiful remnants of the ship. All of her past twelve months had been spent on a planet where the sun came out infrequently, sort of like Alaska in the wintertime. Huh, she thought, squinting, bet nobody here even remembers Alaska. Alaska.but that was part of the life she left behind. And now she just felt the sun beating down on her. Well.at least she'd get a bit of a tan on her pasty white skin. Too little sun exposure on the last planet, as she went out only when it was dark. Unfortunately, the only things she had to wear were black. Black jumpsuit and vest, even black boots. That made it a little harder to think about something positive. The desolate landscape was nothing but sand and rock. Was there nothing alive on this planet?
A few other passengers stumbled out onto the sand, and some of the few survivors had already tried climbing up to stand on top of the ship. Alex shrugged and picked her way up. Must be low oxygen or something in this atmosphere, she thought, as she was huffing and puffing as if she'd just finished an hour of sparring with Diane. Diane. Don't think about her. No friends. No one. That way it doesn't hurt. As she reached the top of the ship, she gasped. "Holy Mother," she gaped as she saw the wreckage from the once-enormous Hunter-Grazner stretched out over a few miles. Black smoke rose from the twisted metal. Damn, was she lucky to have survived. As she was staring at it, Fry came up behind her. As she looked out over the wreckage herself, Shazza's companion Zeke blurted out what all of them were thinking. "What the bloody 'ell happened?!"
Fry explained what it might have been, a rogue comet or a meteor shower. Alex remembered how she looked for Halley's comet with her father when she was very, very young. It didn't pain her any more. She was stone. All of the rest thanked fry for saving their lives, and Alex muttered a "Yeah, thanks." Yet Alex noticed Fry's face had an odd look of bewilderment or self-loathing on it. Alex shrugged to herself and put out her hand. "Alex," she said. But Fry still looked surprised by something.did they shake hands here? After a second, though, she took it weakly, and answered, "Carolyn Fry."
The others followed suit and introduced themselves to her. The big blonde guy stepped forward and said, "Name's Johns. I think you should all know about the prisoner I was transporting. His name is Riddick."