The first time Spider left the safety of the scientists' labs and artificial atmosphere into the unknowns of Pandora and it's hostile environment, Spider was under the acute observation and supervision of Norm and the others, who had made sure he didn't do anything too crazy, like try to climb the various large trees and other such plants, that all of the Na'vi did like they were the step stools in the kitchen, or run off into the woods and stumble into some animal's path and most importantly…
They made sure that Spider left the breathing mask on his face, didn't mess with it, and made sure the seal stayed in place.
They did the same thing the second… and third time that Spider left the compound as well.
After that, if Spider was honest, he became very annoyed and put out by all the babysitting. He figured he knew all the procedures for leaving the building by now, he had watched the scientists do it often enough. He also knew where not to go in the forest, where all the dangerous animals and wildlife wouldn't hesitate to eat him, as the others explained it.
So, while the adults were in one of the labs, they had left him in the kitchen to play on one of the tablets, Spider decided today was the day he would sneak out. Go check out Pandora without someone looking over his shoulder.
Sneaking to the front door was easy enough, he was still short, his head didn't even reach the bottom of the glass windows on the inner doors.
Once he reached the door leading to the outer world, he grabbed one of the breathing masks they left on a set of hooks right next to the door. He had to work to reach up and grab it, they didn't exactly leave them at kid height, and then settled it onto his face.
It felt a little different this time compared to last, but he paid it no mind. He clicked on the button on the side of the mask that activated the seal, and felt the rush of air that brought the mask closer to his face.
The mask still felt a little off. But the seal was activated, so that must mean everything was working right?
He then made quick work of the front doors. He knew the drill, he wouldn't mess this part up. Open the inner front door, walk into the small hatchway, close the inner front door, then open the outer front door and go outside. It was important he followed this process, otherwise all the air that made up and the atmosphere safe for humans would rush out, and it would take hours for the machines and filters to restore it to that state.
Although after a few minutes, Spider started to notice that the air in the mask just felt… different. No matter how deep a breath he took, he felt like the air he was breathing wasn't enough. His chest felt like it was getting tighter by the second. It didn't help that with each breath he took, it felt like air was breezing through one of the sides of his mask.
Oh great… Now his head was starting to hurt, he felt… what was it called?... lightheaded?
He shook his head, trying to get rid of the feeling. It had no effect. He turned around, back towards the building. He figured he had enough of an adventure today, sneaking out and all. If went inside now, maybe he could put everything back in its place, recover and make it seem like nothing happened before Norm or somebody found him.
He obviously forgot some step in coming outside. Next time he went out with the adults he would watch everything they did precisely, make sure he knew everything for the next time he tried to sneak out.
Although when he got back to the door, his steps really started getting weird, and his head was ringing, and what was happening to his vision now?
He brought his hand up to the button on the side of the door, trying to press it to open it up. But he can't. He sees his hand right next to it, but he just can't press it.
The next thing he knew, the spots that had appeared in his vision were growing, and he felt more dizzy than he ever remembered before. And then… everything went black.
Xx⭐xXx⭐xXx⭐xX
A loud beeping started to ring throughout the lab compound, interrupting the scientists' meeting. "What's that?" Norm asked as his head jerked up from where he had been bent over a computer monitor.
"That sounds like one of the door alarms," someone said. "Is anyone outside right now?"
"No,"Norm said, shaking his head. Everyone was in here. Then his mind flashed to the boy they left in the other room. He quickly ran the short distance down the hall, not seeing the boy. "Where's Spider?" he yelled out.
"Spider?" someone asked. "He was playing on his tablet."
"Well he's not now," Norm threw back. "What door is the alarm coming from?"
"The front."
Norm quickly ran over to the front door and looked through the hatchway. The inner door was closed, while the outer door had been opened. He looked through the small window in the doorway, and there, lying on the ground over the threshold he saw the collapsed body of Spider.
"Oh fuck," Norm cursed, opening the door and quickly dragging the boy inside.
"What happened?" Max asked as he watched Norm quickly drag the boy inside. "Is that Spider? What was he doing out there?"
"How should I know?" Norm asked, flustered as he tried to figure out what was wrong with the boy. He ripped the mask off the boy's face. It came off far too easily. Something must have been wrong with the seal.
"Does anyone know how long he's been out there?" Norm asked the group.
"Probably since the alarm first went off," YYY mumbled.
"Shit," Norm cursed. "He probably has air poisoning. Bring over that oxygen." he yelled out. Max quickly brought over an oxygen tank. He pressed the mask to the boy's face. Upon being presented with air he could breath, the boy quickly gasped our, air rushing into his lungs.
After a couple minutes, the boy's breathing evened out, and he slowly came back to consciousness.
"Mmm… Norm?" Spider asked as he blinked his eyes open and saw Norm's face.
"Spider," Norm said, then leaned away from him.
"What happened?" Spider asked as he sat up from where he was lying on the floor.
"What happened?" Norm asked. "We should be asking you that! We found you outside! What were you doing out there?!"
The memories came quickly flooding back into Spider's mind. He groaned. Oh, shit. He was going to be in deep trouble now. They would never let him out of their sight.