A/N Hey guys, welcome to New Dawn and this is my first Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts story, though my character Aiden is from the time before the great mutant outbreak and he's cryogenically frozen during the outbreak until he wakes up 200 years later and is forced to survive in a hostile and hellish environment where he becomes a hardened survivor after a year and three months of witnessing so much.
Basically, this story will have a dark and realistic edge to it with a mature setting so things are going to be harsh, unforgiving, and nothing but hell for Aiden as he's forced to survive in a world that he no longer recognizes but I will be adding firearms and explosives to the story to add to the harshness of the new world Aiden found himself in since it wouldn't be a mature post-apocalyptic setting without guns and explosives right?
So, some of the early chapters will follow not only the chaos of the great mutant outbreak at the beginning, but the entire year and three months that Aiden goes through until the events of the show begin so hope you enjoy and without further ado, let's get started.
The ruined city of Las Vistas came into view, buildings old and crumbling as everything was overgrown with trees sprouting from skyscrapers while vegetation overtook everything and other places were flooded with large bodies of water.
Vehicles ranging from cars to semi-trucks were rusted-out husks of their former selves as some highways that hadn't collapsed and led out of the city were packed with vehicles to show that people had tried to flee the city while there was an eerie silence with the occasional noises from unknown creatures as the streets and alleys were devoid of human life.
Pretty soon, the faint sound of an engine echoed through the streets as a Mustang GT Shelby drove around with me keeping an eye out as I drove through the streets while my two hellhound companions were with me with Misha sitting in the passenger seat and Andrew resting in the backseat.
My hellhound companions were a quadruped canine-like species of mute with slender-built bodies that were about the size of humans while they had broad blunt snouts with canine-like teeth that are capable of ripping out the throats of prey as their gray bodies were covered in thin coats of fur.
I went to move my rifle on my lap as I kept my eyes and ears open and heard a slight whimpering sound coming from Misha, causing me to look at her and she gave me this look that I understood before I went to push the button that'll open the window until she stuck her head out.
I drove us through an intersection where crow mutes scattered and the car kept going down the street until I saw that the street ahead was blocked by decayed military vehicles, making me turn onto the street to the left and continued driving while also going onto a sidewalk to go around a bunch of decayed cars that looked like they had collided into each other a long time ago when I turned the car back onto the street, then Misha started looking alert and Andrew sat up while appearing the same as it caught my attention.
"What do you see?" I asked just before a herd of Cervus mutes suddenly came running out onto the street before us, making me swerve to avoid hitting any of them as the car spun out of control and I gritted my teeth while I struggled to regain control of the mustang by slamming my foot on the brakes and turning the wheel to get traction.
Thankfully, the car came to a stop before I shifted gears and hit the gas, causing the tires to screech until the car shot off after the cervi as they had the appearance of a quadruped species with long legs, brown fur, large ears, and long pointy antlers while they were about three meters larger than an average human.
I continued to drive after the cervi as they went into a park and I chased them, staying focused and alert as I held a hard look in my eyes that were covered by my sunglasses while the car sped through the park, and I made sure not to crash into any benches or trash bins when the car shot out of the park while the engine roared and echoed throughout the neighborhood I was now in as I got back onto the streets.
I stayed behind the cervi while quickly turning into a street on the left, speeding up while shifting gears as I opened my window and picked up my rifle before resting the barrel out the open window as I aimed at one of the cervi to shoot it, only the Cervus and other members of its herd had ducked into an underground tunnel before I could pull the trigger.
"Damn," I grunted irritably as I brought the rifle back into the car and kept driving to the other side of the tunnel where cervi came running out of.
I continued driving after the herd and turned left while the car passed rusted police cars until I was forced to swerve to a stop to avoid colliding into an old police barricade that was blocking what used to be a traffic jam, and I looked out the open window as the herd continued to run from the car.
I got out of the car and took my rifle with me, which was a colt law enforcement model 6920 carbine that's outfitted with a Trijicon ACOG optic, RIS handguard, ERGO rail covers, grip, and PentagonLight tactical light as I clicked my tongue to signal Misha and Andrew to follow me while I let Misha go first and then I lowered the driver seat so that Andrew could get out.
I moved through the barricade and passed rusted out cars while I kept my rifle low, but was still ready to snap it up just in case as me and my companions kept moving on foot until we soon arrived at an open area surrounded by ruined buildings and moved through a bunch of long grass until I caught movement in the distance.
I kneeled down and held out my hand to stop Misha and Andrew from going further, and they complied as I raised my rifle to look through the scope when I spotted a Cervus that had been separated from its herd, only it moved around an old kiosk and out of view before I could fire and I lowered my rifle with a scowl while slowly standing up.
I started making my way to the kiosk and broke out into a little jog as Misha and Andrew were right behind me until we soon made it to the kiosk, then I cautiously moved past it until I pressed myself against the ruined building and went to peer around the corner to see the Cervus walking around before I knelt down and used a rusted out car as cover so that the mute wouldn't see me.
I also made sure it wouldn't hear me as I moved as quietly as I could until I peered around the car and saw the Cervus grazing, allowing me to shoot as I stood up and moved out of cover while raising my rifle to line up the shot.
Suddenly, before I could shoot, a large Deathstalker came scurrying out of nowhere and stabbed the Cervus with its stinger, making the mutated deer let out a noise of pain as it was about to flee while I quickly aimed at the scorpion mute with Misha and Andrew growling at it, but I didn't shoot and tried to remain calm since Deathstalkers hunt their prey by tracking them through heartbeat and the last thing I needed was to have one of those dangerous predators after me.
I could see the Cervus wobbling as the venom worked fast before it collapsed, quickly falling unconscious and I kept my rifle trained at the Deathstalker as it went over to the Cervus before using one of its claws to grab it by the hind leg and soon dragged the Cervus away to wherever its nest was until I slowly lowered my rifle and relaxed slightly.
"Let's go, Misha, Andrew," I said quietly before I clicked my tongue to signal them as I started to make my way back to the car and the two hellhounds followed me after that.
(200 years earlier)
"Aiden, you're going to be late for school!" my mother called out as I was brushing my teeth and finishing up as my reflection showed a 16-year-old boy with short black hair and green eyes until I spat the toothpaste into the sink and rinsed my toothbrush off.
"I'm almost done!" I replied loudly once I turned the sink off and left my toothbrush to dry when I exited the bathroom and headed to the kitchen where my mother was waiting.
"There you are, you better grab a quick breakfast and go before you miss your bus," Mom told me as I entered the kitchen and hurried to grab a breakfast bar from the cupboard.
"I know, so where's dad?" I asked while I went to turn on the TV to watch the news.
"Your father went to work early, so he'll pick you up once school is over," Mom replied as I started to watch TV.
I saw the news talking about how zoologists were baffled by the bizarre change in animal behavior where one person who was being interviewed spoke about how a coyote somehow opened a window to get inside his house while rats in a research facility had managed to get out of their cages, then more information was shown about people being found dead in their homes while all the doors and windows were locked as large flocks of different birds were seen sitting on rooftops, even predatory ones.
"Mom, can coyotes open windows?" I asked in confusion, then my mother stared at me weirdly.
"I'm sorry?" Mom questioned before I gestured at the TV.
"The news is talking about how animals are behaving strangely and one guy said that a coyote somehow opened a window to get into his house," I said until my mother shook her head and went to turn the TV off.
"You really need to stop watching the news since not everything they say should be taken seriously, now go get ready for school and I'll see you when you get home," Mom said before I went to get my backpack and got ready for school.
Pretty soon, I heard the bus pull up and I left the house after saying goodbye to my mother, then I got on the school bus and took a seat before the bus started driving away from my house as other teenagers were chatting, listening to music on their smartphones, or simply watching the scenery as I pretty much did the third one.
I saw houses passing by with flocks of different birds on one roof, which was pretty strange and I thought about how that news report talked about it so it unnerved me slightly, but I decided that it was probably nothing and that my mother was right as the bus eventually arrived at school.
I got off the bus with everyone else and headed to the front doors, just as I saw my friend Lucas and he waved at me once he spotted me until we approached each other and started walking to class together.
"Hey man, did you see what's on the news?" Lucas asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, it sounds strange but we shouldn't believe everything they say," I pointed out before Lucas nodded.
"True, so I'm having a party over at Jake's tonight and do you want to come? All the other guys will be there and I know Stacy will," Lucas offered with a smirk before I let out an exasperated groan.
"Luke, really?" I grumbled as I stared at him unamusingly.
"What? Everyone knows you got the hots for her so this will be a great way for you to get to talk to her," Lucas said with his hands up defensively.
"Look, it's not that easy because whenever I try to talk to her, I just clam up and start acting like an idiot so there's no damn way she'll want to go out with me," I admitted nervously before Lucas put a hand on my shoulder.
"Okay, you need more confidence in yourself or she's going to start seeing you as a wimp," Lucas said and I sent him a dry look as we entered the school.
"Gee, thanks for being so supportive," I stated sarcastically before Lucas rolled his eyes.
"Look, just try to talk to her once you're at the party because you never know," Lucas reasoned as I sighed.
"Sorry man, even if I wanted to go, my parents have me on a curfew so I can't exactly go or I'll be in deep shit with them," I refused reluctantly.
"Seriously? Dude, that sucks so I'm sorry about that since you'll be missing out," Lucas told me sympathetically as we started arriving at our classroom.
"Yeah, it sucks, but what can you do? Anyway, we'll talk about this later," I said as we went inside the classroom and went to take our seats.
The morning seemed to drag on as the math teacher droned on about equations and math was my worst subject so I was forced to bear with it until it was lunchtime and the bell rang, prompting me and everyone to leave the classroom as we went to the cafeteria until Lucas and I soon got our meals and sat down at a table before we started eating.
"I'm just saying, you need more confidence or you're never gonna get a girl, not to mention that Stacy is a nice girl so I think you two would hit it off," Lucas said, bringing up our earlier conversation before I sighed.
"You know me, I just get too nervous when I try to talk to her so I don't know how I'll be able to speak to her without looking like an idiot," I said with a look of uncertainty.
"Leave it to me because once I'm done with you, you'll be the most confident guy in class," Lucas stated when I chuckled.
"Oh hell no, last time I agreed to one of your stupid ideas, it got me grounded and I'm sure your parents ripped you a new one once you got home, but not before our parents had us replace that window," I said dryly before Lucas pouted.
"Well, how the hell was I supposed to know that it was going to escalate like that? I didn't mean to break that window in the first place," Lucas complained before I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Hey, we're just lucky our parents were able to convince the owner of that house not to call the police on us because I don't think I would've survived juvie," I pointed out and Lucas didn't argue.
"You know what, that's a very good point and I thought we agreed to never speak about that again," Lucas said.
"It's not my fault that you came up with another one of your stupid ideas and I had to remind you as to why I'm never agreeing to whatever you come up with again," I stated and that shut Lucas up before we continued eating our lunch.
After that, lunchtime was over and we dumped our empty trays before heading to our next class before I groaned slightly when I saw that history was next, which I hated since the teacher was kinda an asshole and he made the lessons so boring so I assumed that even he was bored as I took my seat and had to listen to the teacher ramble about the second world war and I was already bored.
But, during the middle of the teacher's lecture, I heard a few faint pops and screams coming from what appeared to be outside and I looked at the window to see what it was, only I didn't spot anything unusual until someone cleared their throat and I turned my head to see that the teacher was looking at me with an unamused expression.
"Mr. Kennith, do you find something more fascinating than what I have to say?" the teacher questioned as everyone went to look at me, making my face go red with embarrassment as I looked down sheepishly.
"No sir," I muttered as a few people snickered.
"In that case, try to at least pretend you're paying attention," the teacher said until he went back to speaking about the war while I felt mortified that I had been the center of attention in a bad way, so I decided to pay attention so that I don't get called out again.
A short time later, those sounds occurred again but they were louder this time and more frequent as the other members of my class started to notice and mutter to each other while they began to look out the windows and I did too, seeing cars speeding past the school and people running while they looked scared as those popping sounds got loud enough to catch most of everyone's attention while the teacher started to look irritated.
"Okay, if you all aren't going to pay attention, then maybe you should find a class that'll be more interesting then," the teacher snapped as one student by the name of Chris went to look at him.
"Mr. Jameson, something's happening outside," Chris pointed out, prompting the teacher to walk over while he muttered under his breath until he looked out the window and started appearing confused.
"What the hell is going on out there?" the teacher wondered just before we saw police cars speeding past with their sirens and lights on, then there was a loud crash that got everyone to let out startled noises before one of the police cars came flying down the street and went bouncing across the pavement until it rolled to a stop, where it was upside down with the officers either unconscious or dead inside as people let out shouts of alarm and I stood from my seat.
At that moment, something massive came falling down until it crashed through the window, sending the teacher and several other students flying across the room as the thing looked like the head of a giant pigeon with two beaks, then chaos erupted as people screamed in terror while the giant pigeon squawked and snatched two people up with its beaks and ducked its head out as people started running to the door in a blind panic while nothing but terror flooded my system.
The other students pushed and shoved their way through the now open doorway while I was now running as well with Lucas getting separated in the frightened crowd as other people fled their classrooms and looked just as terrified as we were, then we all burst outside and I could see buildings that had smoke coming from them as a helicopter was spinning out of control with what appeared to be a human-sized dragonfly gripping the windshield as the helicopter crashed and went up in a ball of flames.
Cars were crashing into each other, police officers and SWAT teams were shooting at the mutated animals or running for their lives, and regular civilians were fleeing while it was nothing but chaos as I also saw a plane crashing into a building and causing a large explosion while I was running from the school and felt completely scared shitless just before I saw my dad's car screech to a stop and he unrolled the window to poke his head out.
"Aiden, get in!" Dad shouted while his face was pale and his expression was nothing but fear and panic as I rushed over to the car and quickly got into the passenger seat until dad slammed his foot on the gas and the car sped away from the school.
"Dad, what the fuck is going on?!" I exclaimed as dad swerved past a couple of cars that had crashed into one another.
"I don't know, but we're going home to get your mother and then we're heading to the emergency underground shelter," Dad gasped out while he looked scared out of his mind.
"Dad, some giant pigeon with two beaks crashed right through my classroom window and took two of my classmates so I don't know what the hell is going on," I whimpered stressfully.
"Same here, I was at work when a giant corgi with multiple legs nearly brought down my workplace, which is why we'll be safe once we make it inside the underground shelter," Dad told me as he slammed on the brakes to prevent us from crashing into a car that got in front of us and he honked at the driver.
Dad quickly drove around the car and sped through the shopping district as one person was trying to flee on a moped with a humanoid skunk holding onto the back while a humanoid frog left a clothing store with a black suit in its hands as it studied the outfit with what appeared to be curiosity in its huge eyes.
Dad kept driving as I gazed out the window with shock and disbelief as I saw humanoid cats surrounding a couple of people who had only baseball bats for protection while there was a pack of humanoid wolves attacking and ripping apart a single person with blood and gore spilling out onto the street as his screams of agony and terror made me tear up while I almost broke out crying from the horrors I was witnessing, then I witnessed a massive bunny with multiple legs and ears as it bounded around while destroying buildings until I couldn't take it anymore and started sobbing.
"Aiden? Aiden, listen to me, I need you to be strong right now because we have to get your mother and get to safety, okay?" Dad told me while sounding worried.
"D-Dad, I don't want to die...please don't let them kill me," I begged while tears ran down my cheeks and I kept sobbing as dad turned to look at me for a second.
"Aiden, I won't let those things kill you and I won't abandon you or your mother either," Dad vowed as he regained his focus on the street and swerved to avoid hitting some kind of bug creature that was walking in the middle of the street lethargically from the heat beating it down.
Pretty soon, we left the shopping district and arrived in our neighborhood that was located in the suburbs as I saw people throwing their luggage into their cars but a few were running out of their homes as more humanoid cats and dogs of all things chased them outside until we quickly pulled up to our house and got out.
"Okay, only grab the essentials because we need to get to the underground shelter quickly," Dad instructed before we hurried over to the front door and went inside when mom saw us and ran over to pull us into a hug.
"Thank god you two are okay, but what is happening out there?" Mom questioned frantically, then we heard the sound of glass shattering from our neighbor's house and dad shook his head.
"Not now, we need to pack what we can and head to the emergency shelter," Dad stated and hurried out of the living room.
"You heard your father, start packing what you can," Mom told me before she went after dad, then I ran to my room and went inside.
I went to my closet to take out my suitcase, then I zipped it open before proceeding to stuff clothes and other essentials while I was wondering if all of this was a nightmare and that I'll wake up soon, just as I was finished and zipped up my suitcase before quickly leaving my room while meeting up with my parents.
Suddenly, something crashed through our living room window and mom screamed as I saw that it was a humanoid male coyote while it stood up on its back paws and growled at us, getting a good look to see that its upper body structure was proportioned like a human's while having humanoid paws, but its lower half was fully canine as its legs were in a digitigrade shape and its back paws were still canine.
The worst part was his eyes, which held a kind of human intelligence in them as he seemed to study us to formulate a strategy so that he can take down all three of us, and while the coyote looked majestic in a way, I was still scared out of my mind as dad moved me and mom behind him to protect us while he raised a baseball bat.
"Stay back, you hear me?! I'll use this!" Dad warned with a tone of fear in his voice as he raised the bat, causing the mutated coyote to look at the bat before he stopped growling and tilted his head.
"Use...that?" the coyote spoke, his words slurring and awkward since he wasn't used to using his muzzle for human speech, then mom gasped and my eyes bugged out while dad froze from what we heard.
"Oh my god," I said breathlessly, in complete shock and a little astonished by what I was witnessing as dad slowly got us to back up to the front door while the coyote watched us with a mostly curious look in his eyes.
The coyote slowly raised his humanoid paw and held it out to us, making me do the same tentatively before dad forced my hand down and quickly shook his head at me as he made me and mom leave, but not before I stared at the coyote as the front door was about to close and the male canine started looking sad in a way until the door slammed shut.
We hurried over to the car and put our luggage in the trunk before getting into the car as I stared at one of the windows of the house, seeing the coyote staring at me as he placed his humanoid paw on the glass and I didn't know if it was me or not, but I could've sworn that he was holding an expression of longing as the car drove away and I no longer saw the mutated canine after that.
We kept driving through the suburbs as I saw giant beavers with multiple limps smashing buildings apart and using their tails to make a dam out of the buildings while I was mostly silent and thought about the encounter with the coyote, not knowing what to do anymore since all hell had broken loose and nobody should have to go through all of this but I was still in shock from the fact that a coyote actually talked like a person.
Even so, I noticed that we were heading into the downtown area as there were a few buildings that had collapsed with god knows the amount of dust in the air as I saw that we were approaching a traffic jam with cars honking at each other or people getting out and taking their luggage with them as dad looked back at me.
(Play Scan Her Again by James Newton Howard)
"Okay, we're going on foot from here," Dad told me before we got out of the car, heading to the trunk to get our luggage before we continued forward while I could see military transport helicopters flying above us.
We moved through the rows of cars as I could see other people doing the same thing, passing by them as we urgently headed to our destination when we soon arrived at a massive open steel door that had a barbwire fence in front of it while I spotted military personnel armed with rifles and dark green humvees with soldiers manning the turrets up top as a massive crowd was shouting and pushing against each other to get inside.
The soldiers were trying to keep order but even I could tell that a few were scared if the looks in their eyes told me anything, though they were attempting to keep people calm as they were letting people past them one at a time so that they could hurry inside until my parents and I were next and we stepped up to a soldier that was holding a clipboard.
"Please, we need to get inside," Dad begged as the soldier looked at us.
"Okay, names?" the soldier asked while she was focused on us.
"Um, James Kenneth and this is my wife Mary and our son, Aiden," Dad replied before the soldier started looking through the clipboard and she sighed as she returned her attention to us.
"Okay, your son is eligible for entry but because there's no more room, I'm afraid that you and your wife can't go with him so I'm sorry," the soldier said sympathetically and that stunned me for a few moments until outrage started to set in.
"You can't be fucking serious, we almost died out there and you're saying that my parents can't come with me?! What the hell is wrong with you people?!" I shouted lividly as I went to take a threatening step towards her when a large black soldier held his hand up in a gesture for me to back up.
"Sir, you need to calm down, right now," the male soldier warned and I glared at him with a look of contempt, then my mother placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Aiden, please," Mom told me, making me look at her and dad as my eyes welled up and I was about to start crying.
"This can't be happening," I said distressfully before dad went and hugged me.
"Aiden, listen to me, we'll be just fine since there are plenty of emergency shelters we could go to so please don't worry about us," Dad reassured before tears started running down my cheeks.
"It's not fair, you promised," I whimpered in anguish.
"I know it's not fair, but you'll be safe in there and that's all your mother and I want for you, so please don't worry about us because we'll be just fine," Dad told me gently when mom went gestured for us to pray and I closed my eyes before bowing my head slightly.
"Dear Lord, please look after our son and keep him strong through the struggles ahead...lord, just please keep him safe for us, amen," Mom prayed until she was done and I opened my eyes before looking at my parents.
"I love you both so much," I said with my voice cracking until we all went into a hug.
"We know, and we love you too," Dad told me before he and my mother let me go and looked at me with solemn smiles.
Suddenly, military jets flew right above us and the middle of two bridges exploded nearby, causing everyone around us to scream in horror as the rest of the bridges completely collapsed from the supports breaking apart while I was in shock at the sight until my parents frantically gestured for me to go and that prompted me to run to the entrance until I was at the other side when the door started to close.
I watched my parents holding each other while they stared at me, and that was the last I saw of them as the door slid shut before I just gazed at the closed wall of steel as the knowledge of now being alone hit me hard and I broke out crying while other people who made it inside were muttering to each other, sobbing, or praying for those who were now trapped outside.
Once I managed to regain my composure, I turned around to see crowds of people who were standing around and not doing anything as most of them look scared when a man in a military uniform walked up until he was in front of all of us.
"Listen up, I know you all are feeling scared right now, but I assure you that this place is completely safe and the mutants won't be able to get in here so follow me in a calm and orderly fashion," the soldier instructed before he started going down a hallway with the rest of us following him.
"Aiden?" a familiar voice called out before I looked and was shocked to see that it was Lucas.
"Lucas, oh my god!" I exclaimed before I hurried over to him and we laughed in pure relief.
"Dude, I'm so glad that you're okay because when I lost you in the crowd, I thought that was it for you," Lucas told me as I nodded.
"Same here, I thought one of those things got you after we got separated," I agreed when Lucas started appearing confused.
"Aiden, where are your parents?" Lucas inquired and looked taken aback when I started appearing bitter.
"Apparently, there wasn't enough room in here so they couldn't come with me and are still out in that nightmare, but what about your parents?" I questioned and Lucas began showing an expression of grief.
"Yeah, um...one of those things got them so...they didn't make it," Lucas whimpered as he teared up while I was shocked to hear that.
"Oh christ...I'm so sorry, man," I said sympathetically as Lucas sniffled before I patted his shoulder to show that I was there for him.
We continued walking down the clean and sterile hallway, taking a few turns down a few more hallways and passing several doors while using a stairway to go down a few floors until we arrived in a massive room that had what appeared to be large coffin-sized chambers that are big enough to hold a single person while people were muttering and expressing confusion as the soldier cleared his throat to get our attention.
"Everyone, I want to thank you for your patience so I believe it's time to explain what the purpose is for those chambers," the soldier told us and I raised my hand.
"What are those things? Decontamination pods?" I asked loudly and the soldier looked at me.
"Not exactly, the reason why you're all here is that the world above is going through a serious crisis so I'm not going to sugarcoat it, the human race is in danger of complete extinction because of those mutants.
One of our technicians have been monitoring other radio frequencies and, well, Las Vistas is not the only city that is under siege right now because what we've learned is that it's not just the city or the country that is under attack, but the entire world," the soldier explained, causing people to gasp and mutter in disbelief while I was horrified that this was happening everywhere.
"Wait a second, you're telling us that this is happening everywhere?!" someone shouted before the soldier started looking grim.
"Yes, those creatures are actually members of the entire animal kingdom but they've somehow mutated into the monsters you've seen today, and there's no point in asking me how that's possible because the cause is still unknown for now.
Still, they won't be able to get in here because the door at the entrance and the entire shelter is designed to withstand a nuclear missile blast so you all are perfectly safe here, but let's get back to what these pods are.
The other shelters have their own purposes but this one is special because you see, all of you are selected for a very special task but you won't be able to accomplish it right now, so these pods will put you all in stasis until the time comes where it's mostly safe outside and you'll be able to carry out your mission of rebuilding civilization," the soldier told us before Lucas raised his hand.
"Excuse me, when you say stasis, what do you mean by that?" Lucas questioned in confusion.
"I'm glad you asked, these pods are equipped with the latest cryo technology, something we have been developing for the past few years now so what's going to happen is that you all will be cryogenically frozen and the computers will have a specific date marked so once that day arrives, the computers will automatically activate the standard procedures to awaken you from stasis," the soldier explained before everyone started staring at each other in bewilderment.
"Hey, isn't that a little dangerous? I mean, you're talking about freezing us to sub-zero temperatures so wouldn't that kill us?" somebody in the crowd asked, and that had people muttering nervously before the solder raised his hands to placate us.
"I assure you, scientists have tested the effects of cryostasis several times already so none of you will be in any danger of dying or anything like that, and even though there might be side effects that are mostly minor, they're temporary so you all should be fine once you wake up from cryostasis," the soldier reassured us.
"So, what do we do now?" someone asked.
"It's quite simple, just step into the cryo pods and don't worry about your luggage because we'll take care of it," the soldier instructed, prompting us to leave our luggage on the floor as we hesitantly approached the cryo pods and Lucas looked at me.
"I don't know about this, man," Lucas admitted with a look of uncertainty.
"Me too, but he's been truthful so far and those things won't be able to get in here, so we should be fine," I said as we went in front of the open cryo pods and stopped to send each other one last look.
"Well, see you on the other side," Lucas told me before he got in his pod and I sighed.
"Yeah...you too," I muttered as I went climbing into my pod and saw what appeared to be an oxygen mask of some kind that was connected to a tube.
"I'm sure you all noticed the masks that are in the pods, so what those will do is supply oxygen to you while you're in cryostasis so simply place the mask on your face and we'll do the rest," the soldier told all of us as everyone else had gotten into their own pods.
"Well, time for a whole new life," I mumbled as I went to take the mask.
I slipped the mask onto my face and made sure the straps were secure to my head so that it wouldn't fall off as the people I could see were doing the same thing in their own pods, then the soldier gave us a thumbs up before he signaled to somebody that was out of view and the doors on our pods slid shut.
Pretty soon, I could feel the pod I was in starting to get cold fast and my breathing picked up slightly but I started getting tired with my eyes beginning to close and before I knew it, I couldn't fight it anymore and my eyes closed until I knew nothing after that.
(200 years later)
I stirred after being unconscious for an unknown amount of time, slowly opening my eyes as I felt the inside of the pod thawing before the door opened with a hiss, then I realized that I could barely breathe and weakly reached for the oxygen mask to desperately get it off.
I managed to get the mask off, then took in huge gulps of air while coughing harshly and soon fell out of the pod before landing on my hands and knees, shivering and trying to recover from the effects of cryostasis as I felt weak and was barely able to stand while also being disoriented.
I looked up and not only noticed that it was dark, but all the other pods were open so I assumed that I was the last one to awake from cryostasis but why isn't anyone coming to check up on me? It was at that moment that I had noticed how quiet it was, almost a dead silence and I managed to stand up as the effects of the cryostasis were starting to wear off.
As I looked around, I had the feeling that something was wrong since there was no one around and it was too quiet, unnerving me as I held my arms and felt uneasy before I looked around and didn't see Lucas in his pod either.
"Hello?! Can anybody hear me?!" I called out meekly, only there was no response and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as I started getting more than wary at this point.
Seeing as how I won't be able to find anyone by just staying here, I proceeded to head to the door and went to open it but it wouldn't budge and I was confused, then I pushed against it and soon found myself ramming my shoulder against the door a few times until it flew open with several chairs being knocked down with a loud clattering sound.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered as I stepped out into the hallway and I paused when I took in everything around me.
Instead of the clean and sterile walls I had just seen, they were now worn down and covered with rust while vines were everywhere as my eyes widened at the sight, knowing full well that something like this would take years to occur so it made me wonder just how long I had been cryogenically frozen and why everyone seemed to be missing all of a sudden until I noticed something on the walls and floor.
I got a good look and I was shocked to see deep claw marks on the walls and floor, bullet holes riddling the walls and shell casings scattered all over the ground as I was stunned by it since it looked like people were shooting at whatever made those claw marks and it made me uneasy.
"My god...what the hell happened here?" I muttered quietly, feeling unsettled by what I was seeing since it was clear that something very bad happened while I was in cryostasis so I needed to get the hell out of here quickly before I come across whatever made those claw marks.
With that in mind, I started wandering down the decrepit hallway a little quickly but cautiously since I had to be careful now as I continued down the hall and made it to the stairway, which had seen better days as I began my way up the stairs.
After going up a few floors, I had made it to the hallway the led to the entrance and started going down the dark corridor while I was slowly looking around for any signs of life until I spotted what appeared to be the doors the led to the cafeteria, only I was confused when the handles were chained up and the words 'Don't Open' were spray-painted on with black paint.
"What the hell?" I wondered as I took a few steps closer when I froze at the sounds of quiet growling coming from the other side of the doors.
The doors shook slightly with the chains rattling as something appeared to be pushing up against the doors while I trembled, then the doors started banging as loud snarling erupted on the other side before I let out a frightened yelp and quickly ran to where the entrance was as fear flooded my mind and my flight or fight instinct had kicked in.
I ran as fast as I could as I made it to the entrance, where the large steel door was open and the burst of sunlight made me shield my eyes with one arm as I ran outside before I came to a stop and waited for my eyes to adjust until I lowered my arm and gasped in disbelief when I saw that the city I grew up in was now nothing but ruins as most buildings in the distance were completely collapsed or covered with vegetation and vines.
"Holy shit..." I trailed off in disbelief as I stared at the ruins of my home, not knowing what to do while I heard strange noises in the distance and loud screeching nearby as I gulped and began walking so that I could find someone who might help me.
A/N Well guys, Aiden is now outside and it's going to be a hard road for him until the events of the show begin, and I know you have questions about the hellhounds and the cervi so let me explain that they are non-canon mutes that Nitro Zeus and I had come up with but there is a third non-canon one that'll make its appearance later so I hope that helps.
So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.