Into the Unknown

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. And maybe I would still believe that, had my own scream not been the one heard throughout all the sectors.

You would have screamed too, had you endured what I had.

Let me go back and start at the beginning...

CHAPTER ONE

I was born during the time we still lived on earth, when we had real food like mac n cheese, corn bread dressing, milkshakes, steaks and pizza! Not the artificial stuff we have to eat now, here in space. I mean sure we are grateful our hosts have been hospitable in trying to make us comfortable, but what I wouldn't do for the taste of some real meat!

And real sex!

There is nothing like two hot sweaty bodies intertwined with one another, so entangled you don't know where one person ends and the other begins!

Hot throbbing parts sliding into moist hot throbbing places!

Unfortunately sex played a part in our downfall.

Little known fact: most women do not achieve the big 'O' when they have sex, they may reach one, once or twice in their entire lives unless they seek help for this.

So someone, I heard he was a retired doctor, had come up with a pill. A pill that not only heightened a woman's orgasm, but allowed for her to reach her peak at least 6 or 7 times during the same encounter!

And while it really was an amazing invention, as with anything this good to be true, it came with side affects. Once the drug had you in its grasp, you couldn't let go. It made you so horny you wanted to hump anything walking!

Soon the pill was made available world wide and the world became one big orgy!

Now, couple that with a sexually transmitted super virus....

....the MG6 Virus damn near wiped the human race out of existence.

The first few thousand cases didn't seem to be so bad. Some lesions and major weight loss due to not being able to keep anything down, but it mutated and soon hundreds of thousands begin having more severe issues.

The loss of bone structure, I mean peoples faces were sinking into their mouths and eye sockets! Hair loss, fingernails and toenails fell off. Their skin looked like melted plastic. And you knew when the end was near as the smell was horrendous from the puss oozing from the ever deepening lesions.

And try as we might no one could find the cause or the origin of the MG6, there never seemed to be a patient zero, multiple people had symptoms around the world, none having been in contact with the other.

As the world tried to cope with the disposal of massive amounts of bodies each day, we turned to fire, and the virus, unbothered by the heat became airborn. It was quickly becoming a lost cause and the earths population dwindled down by the hundreds of thousands daily.

Things looked pretty grim for us, and then they came.

Well the truth is they didn't really come, they were already here living among us.

They looked no different then you or I, but they were not plagued with the virus.

I still recall the presidents announcement that we had aliens among us. He introduced them as a species of Aggregate. He said they had come up with a plan to help us.

Their planets were light years away and earth was one planet of many that they disbursed upon to live and study.

You would think there would have been panic or pandemonium to find out aliens had been living right here with us all these years, to find out we had been eating, drinking, working and partying with beings not from this planet.

But the virus had taken its toll, and people were tired and sick. Those not sick were worn out trying to care for sick loved ones, while at the same time trying to stay vigilant against the virus and trying to maintain some means of living.

And they indeed had a plan to save humankind. A plan that had been in the workings, right under our noses.

Those who were not sick were asked to register each week for free assistance, for things like food, medication, clothes, house hold items, you know the necessities.

And we would do a pick up once a month, at our designated locations.

What we were not told, was this was a way to keep up with those of us who were healthy. So when there were literally 10 to 20,000 healthy humans left earth wide, our new friends decided to put their plan in motion.

They were taking us with them, back to their planets.

We didn't have a choice.

We left out on our designated day to pick up rations and never returned.

There would be countless sick mothers, children, fathers, aunts, uncles....you get the idea...who would never know what happened to their caregivers.

On the morning of my scheduled pick up, I walked into the warehouse as usual, half smiled under my mask and nodded at the few familiar faces, it had dwindled down since last month,

"Hi Zuri."

I hesitated as I started loading my things into the basket I was given, the man had never been so familiar with me before, I didn't even think he could talk. He normally nodded a hello marked my name off his device and stared straight ahead.

"Hi....Sam?" it came out as a question, I had to lean in some to read his name tag.

"How is your cousin and her husband?" He asked without any real concern as he watched me load the basket.

I was an only child, I had lost my mother and father years before, and the virus had wiped out my relatives just like everyone else. My cousin and her husband were all that were left of my family and I had become the person seeing over them.

"As well as can be expected I guess. I mean there is no cure so they are not going to get better, only worse so...."

Sam cut me off, "And you, how do you feel?"

I looked at him, he was looking intently at me. I had not noticed how tall the man was. Unusually tall. I looked past him, all of the workers in the warehouse were men, very tall and solemn looking. I had never paid attention before, but they were all almost identical.

I looked back up at Sam, "I feel fine. I..."

He interrupted me again, "Why don't you come with me, we have some new things we need to distribute to everyone."

Without being given a chance to protest, Sam placed a rather large hand on my back and gave a firm push, I saw everyone else being guided the same. We were herded through a large opening into a room not as big as the first.

The room was empty, we all came to this realization at the same time. And as an air of panic rose among everyone, I opened my mouth in protest but all that came out was a loud deep gasp.

There was a flash of something bright and everything became blurry! It seemed like Sam had gotten taller, then I realized I had fallen to the floor. I reached out my hand, not really expecting him to take it, and then nothing.

When I woke up it was cold and I felt like I was laying on a concrete slab. I couldn't open my eyes, I tried to reach for my face but my arms wouldn't work! Trying to scream I found my mouth to be dry and very hard to move. I could hear something move close to me.

"Don't try to move Zuri, I assure you, you are fine." A soft floaty voice drifted past my ear.

I heard the sound of buttons being pushed, in an instant the air around me warmed and the concrete slab I was laying on begin to cradle me like one of those gigantic fuzzy bean bags.

I could feel a slightly cool sensation enter my right arm, at the same time my mouth was no longer dry and the lightheadedness I was feeling begin to go away.

"Zuri, my name is Inara 3. You have been in stasis. Your body will continue to adjust as you wake. But do not try to move or talk. You may even fall back to sleep, this is expected until your body fully returns to normal"

In stasis! What the hell is going on?! I wanted to yell this out but I couldn't make my lips form the words.

******

I fully woke inside a small round room. Lifting my arm, I realized I was able to move with no problem. I immediately stood from the bed. Looking in a mirror that was hung on one of the walls, I saw I only had on a white tee shirt and white boy shorts.

I frowned as I reached up to touch my head. No more were there long dark coils of soft hair, my hand was greeted by the prickly fuzz that was left after receiving a buzz cut.

I glanced around, the room was like stainless steel. No window only a bed in the center of the room, the mirror and a small round appliance hanging from the high ceiling opposite the mirror.

"What the fuck is going on..." I mostly whispered to myself. The room answered,

"Allow me to fill you all in on what is going on." The floaty voice was once again in my ear.

Startled I jumped but realized it was coming from the thing hanging from the ceiling.

The alien looked a lot like a human but its face was distorted and extremely pale, it was difficult to tell whether it was male or female in our sense of the definition.

"I am Inara 10, and you are on Ishtkar Sector 7. As all of you are aware, your species was nearing its untimely end. You were all that were left, and in order for your kind to have a chance at survival we have brought you here... to help you."

Inara 10 attempted a smile, it was scary, like a slow crack spreading across a dry white wall.

"We will allow you time to get acclimated to your new surroundings and if you have questions, as we know you do, you will have the opportunity to ask your guides soon. Please do not be afraid, this is for the best we assure you."

I sat down on the bed feeling dizzy again, this time from the confusion in my head.

Inara 10 continued, "We know your lodgings are not what you are accustomed to, but soon you will learn to live as we do...simple. You will be provided with entertainment and stimulating activities, but you will do them as One or....." she paused looking for another word, "....collectively".

I stared in disbelief at the monitor.

"You have noticed by now that your normal clothing have been removed, it is because we had to place you in Stasis in order for your bodies to survive the 10 light years of travel it took for us to arrive."

I closed my eyes, if I recall from science class, for every light year in space its one year on earth, jeezus!

"You have also noticed that your hair may be different from before. Please be comforted by the fact that now you all are uniform in this way. You were all fed intravenously for the trip, but I know you crave mouth eating. Please take note of the 3 buttons beside the headboard of your beds..."

I quickly turned to look, as I had not seen any buttons, but they were there...

"One of those buttons will open a closet in which you will find your wardrobe, another will open the door for your private use, and the last reveals a window in order for you to see our beautiful planet.... Ishtkar."

She attempted to say the last bit with some excitement but the voice was so light and flowy it did not succeed.

I immediately pushed the 3rd one, I had to take a look, I was in disbelief that this was really happening and not just a bad dream!

The covering over the window whooshed away like it had never been there, I was expecting some light or some darkness or something to come through the window, nothing.

I slowly walked over, a little afraid of what I might see. Were we floating on some space station in the middle of space surrounded by stars and vast darkness?

It was a warm low light that enabled me to see other round housing scattered about, the one closest to me must have had a window on another side, because I did not see anyone, and surely whoever was in there needed to see to believe just as I did!

I looked down and there were actual sidewalks, clean and perfect. Each little round house sat on stilts over its own circle of piercing emerald green water. We were like fish in a fishbowl only the water was beneath us.

As I looked up expecting the darkness of space, I was surprised to see a dome and beyond that was the pitch blackness of space and huge stars...or were those other planets like this one? The Inara 10 said we were in Sector 7, so there had to be a 1 through 6 right? And were there more after 7?

I looked further into the distance past the fishbowl houses, there appeared to be fields of things growing. Was that their food? Was it food for us?

Inara 10 begin to speak again, it was as if she knew everyone had run to glance out the windows,

"You will have plenty of time to explore and learn your new surroundings. So, if you will, please now take this opportunity to use your private time and get dressed. Afterwards your doors will be opened and you will find your guide waiting for you at the end of your bridge."

I pressed the second button, quietly a part of the wall slid away and revealed a bathroom. It was very simple with just a shower, a sink and toilet, but beautifully tiled with the same emerald green color as the water underneath us. I ran my fingers along the cool tile.

I turned the shower on and to my surprise the water ran downward.

"If we are really in space, how is this possible? How is any of this possible?"

I took off my t-shirt and shorts and cautiously stepped under the running water.

There was a yellow sponge looking thing attached to a long handle, I picked it up and looked for soap. I noticed as the sponge came in contact with the water it lathered up.

Done with my shower I looked around for a towel, seeing none I stepped out onto the cool tile and immediately as both feet touched down there was a huge whoosh of air from every direction! I was dry!

I went back to the bed, I pressed the first button, another opening in the wall. This one had 10 of what looked to be the exact same outfit. A dark grey one piece long sleeve jumper, and a small drawer with more white t-shirts and shorts.

"These are going to be too big." I observed as I grabbed one from the hook it hang on. I sat down and eased the jumper on, once I had fully zipped it up, it compressed against my body. Not to tight so that I felt smothered but just enough to give a perfect fit.

"I should have known."

I looked for shoes and saw the dark grey slippers. They looked to be to small but again, as I slid them on, they conformed to my feet.

I looked around for the door, but with the exception of the closet and the bathroom there were no more openings, and no grooves or lines that indicated an opening.

"Ok so what do I do now?" I looked for another button to press. There was none.

I heard a chime come from overhead, I looked up at the tv thing that Inara 10 had spoken from earlier. There was no face, but instead it was lit up.

"Yes? Is someone there?" I asked

"Hello Zuri,"

It sounded like Sam,

"If you are prepared I will be your guide."

"Yes I am prepared, but...but how do I open the door to get out?"

As I spoke there was another quiet 'whoosh' and the same warm low light that came from my window, beckoned me to come out.

I was eager and curious, so without hesitation I found myself standing on a small bridge that went from my front door to the pristine sidewalk on the other side of the water beneath me.

My first breathe was short and unsure, but the air was clean and crisp.

I looked around and saw others emerging from their fish bowl housing. I did not recognize any of them, but we all looked uniform with our low shaved hair and dark grey jumpers.

This was scary, but as nervous as I was, curiosity moved my feet.

At the end of the small bridge I saw the unusually tall man waiting for me, I almost smiled.

With earth 10 light years behind me and an uncertain future in front of me I took a deep breathe and started towards my guide.