The Long Thaw

At first, Collin's body felt rigid, as if he was suddenly thrust through by a frozen rapier. Gentle sunrays that once penetrated the darkness of the water gradually dissipated from his sight, and as the glacial water enveloped him, he plummeted deeper, helplessly, ensnared by its gelid embrace.

"How strange," Collin thought, "I cant feel my arms and legs anymore." The last thing he remembered was the fierce, blast of Arctic Winds propelling gentle snowflakes from the mountain peaks opposite Lake Atticus twirling like a maelstrom as the Winter storm blew across the Lake. He could see imprints of heavy Winter boot soles, frantically racing across the layer of solidifying ice on top of the lake, before the darkness completely overwhelmed him.

Collin could hear his name being called repeatedly from a distance asking him to wake up, but he felt as though he couldn't. He could see flashes of light, and feel tranquil warmth surrounding his body. He could hear the persistent beeping in the background, but thought to himself, that it was his hearing-aid devices in need of new batteries. Collin had to use them in both ears since he was a baby, due to a birth defect that couldn't be surgically corrected. He attempted to reach for his ears, but felt his arms were restrained, then he could hear a voice say "Notify Doctor Thatcher immediately!, Unit TLTP is awake!"

Collin could hear a man's voice, asking him to open his eyes, he languidly opened his eyes, as a bright light infiltrated his right, then left eye. "Son if you can hear me, wiggle your fingers," said the voice, Collin responded by slowly wiggling his fingers, and attempted to speak, but could only manage a raspy whisper. "Don't worry Son," the Doctor reassured him, " Your vocal cords were severely damaged, but your voice will be back to normal soon. "My name is Doctor Jem Thatcher, but you can call me Doc Thatch". You are in the Recovery Lab of my Facility, inside a Thermal Chamber, you are successfully recovering from whole-body hypothermia, which caused trauma to all of your major organs and extremities, but when you've fully regained your strength, I will explain everything and answer any questions you want to ask," then he smiled warmly, and left the room.

Collin wasn't sure how much time passed, he opened his eyes when he felt he was being moved, but no one was physically transporting him out of the room. "Welcome Collin!", beamed Doc Thatch, "Hope I didn't alarm you by summoning your bed, "It works by remote control, like flying a Drone". Doc Thatch delightfully chuckled and then began his discourse. "You are now in my Observation Theater, as you can see the walls are equipped with huge screens to allow you to view our conversation and record your reactions. Doc Thatch maneuvered the Thermal Chamber into an upright position, so Collin could have a better view of the Lab. "I'm sending in my assistant now, Son, to fully restore your vocal cords, its called the FINCH Unit.

The FINCH Unit effortlessly glided into the room through a sliding glass door, "Greetings Collin TLTP" it said in a robotic tone, "I am here to assist you". It extended one of its fingers, and Collin felt a warm sensation permeating his neck, after the Unit was done, Doc Thatch asked Collin to speak if he could hear him. "Yes Doc, I can hear you," Collin answered. "I can hear you clearly, how is that possible?" "Ah!, replied Doc Thatch, your hearing was the first thing that we repaired when you were brought to us, "This is Astoria!, a Dimension between Worlds, and you are in The Institute of Research and Technological Advancement or IORTA, for short"! "I am the sole Facilitator here, along with my Robot helpers which were created by Me". "I gather research by deploying EPs' or Exploration Pods into other Worlds and Dimensions. One of my Hydro-Pods that was sent to explore Lake Atticus in your World, detected your presence in the water and brought you here, which in turn, saved your life."

"Why does the FINCH Unit refer to me as TLTP" Collin asked?" "Oh that's because it took eight years to "thaw your body" while my Nanobots repaired it, we referred to you as "The Long Thaw Project" until we discovered your name and family history. "If you notice the screen to your right, you will see everything as I explain it". Images flashed across the TV monitors as Doc Thatch recounted Collins rescue and surgery. Collin could see A.I. Units injecting the Nanobots into his Thermal Chamber while he was in a coma.

"You should know, Collin" said Doc Thatch, "Time is accelerated in this dimension, and your body will continue to age rapidly, unless you leave. "My Nanobots were able to slow down the aging process by stopping time, at specific intervals, but not without consequences to our Dimension. Those clever little atoms also gave you a few upgrades, "Upgrades!" Collin interjected, "Yes Son, you are now invulnerable to cold temperatures, and you can freeze anything by a simple touch, including time, meaning you can stop time for roughly eight minutes, by my calculations, but I will caution you to be very careful with all of the above". "My only regret, is that we don't have enough time to train you how to control your new abilities, that's something you will have to figure out on your own".

Doc Thatch signaled the FINCH Unit to release Collin from his bed and hand him a suit of clothes to put on. "My research indicated that your Mother and Brother are still alive and reside at the same address. They reported you missing since that fateful day at the Lake, and of course, your body was never found". They may not recognize you, Collin because so much time has passed. I'm not good with goodbyes Son, so the FINCH Unit will escort you to the hydro-pod launching dock, the pod will return you to the Lake in your dimension, there's currently a Snow Storm due to the Winter Season, but you will be fine.

"Will I ever see you again Doc Thatch?" Collin asked. The Robots' chest slid open, and Collin heard Doc Thatch say "Take this Son". Collin retrieved a glowing translucent pen, "Just push and point, whenever you need me Collin, but keep it in a safe place where no one will discover it, the technology of that apparatus is quite advanced and may cause great injury in the wrong hands." "I understand Doc" Collin responded, "And thank you and your Magnificent Robots for everything.

Collin entered the hydro-pod, and in a flash of light he was propelled into the darkness of the void that surrounded the magnificent Asteroid, and noted why Doc Thatch called his dimension, Astoria. Only a few moments passed by, and Collin could hear a crackling noise beneath him. He looked at the monitor and saw that he was back home. He carefully exited the craft, which began to sink, then he touched the surface of the Lake to stop the ice from breaking further, and sealed the hole by freezing it, as it sank into the water.

Collin trampled through the deep, settled snow to his house, he could hear his Mothers' voice instructing his brother to hurry or they would be late. "Some things never change," he thought to himself as he excitedly advanced toward the vehicle. He approached the passenger side of the car, tapped on the window and removed his hood, his Mother rolled the window down, and was speechless when she saw him. She stared deeply into his eyes, mesmerized by his presence, and slowly reached to touch his face. "Collin, is it really you?" she whispered, he replied with tears in his eyes, "Yes Mom, it's Me".