(Defunct)Restless - A

AN: Heyo! I'm super excited to bring this to you guys. This is the first chapter of that other story I mentioned a while back. It's been in the planning stages for a while, and I've got a lot cooked up for it. I haven't decided on a title quite yet, but I'm thinking of Waltz, Reverie, or Vigil.

The upload schedule for this will be chaotic at best. I'm still focusing on Outrun, but I do really want to start writing this story sooner rather than later.

This story is still in its beta stage, and I've rewritten the first three chapters a ton, but I'm feeling good about the direction this is leaning. I would greatly appreciate any feedback.

I want this one to lean more on combat than Outrun does, though if I had to say the main genre I'm going for it would be either Mystery or Adventure.

Ah, it will be progression too. Just like Outrun, this story is planned to be a long one with a weak to strong protagonist.

This doesn't have a backlog at all yet, so chapters will be kinda slow coming out.

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A burst of warm air hit me in the face, drawing me from the infinite darkness. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt too heavy. My entire body ached with cold, every single vein throbbing with frozen agony. Even my heart felt like it was trying to push ice through my veins rather than blood.

It hurt. It hurt so freakin’ bad. Why did it hurt so bad? Was I hurt? What’s going on? Why won’t my body move? Why won’t my eyes open?!

My chest ached. The entirety of my body felt tight like it was stretched too far and rubber banded back, shattering every bit of my muscles. Everything, everything felt so, so very cold.

A few moments passed of cold-infused pain. Then I managed to crack open my eyes. Nothing but frosty white filled my vision, causing my panic to grow as I fruitlessly attempted to move my body around.

The white of my vision slowly faded as warm steam continued to pour down onto me, revealing a glass panel looking out into a hallway. I was trapped in a metal box of sorts, and the panel looking out was frozen over.

What the heck is happening? Where am I? Why is it so very cold?

My brain, feeling as though it was sludge, slowly started to move back into motion as more and more steam poured into the box, driving off the cold that raged through my small body. I shivered, my arm smacking into the wall just below a panel. Pain filled me as my barely unfrozen arm throbbed as if I shattered it.

My hand involuntarily squeezed, gripping onto something furry. I managed to twist my neck down, feeling my skin crack as I stared at a small stuffed animal gripped tightly in my hands. Its fur looked as though it had once been soft, but now it was white with ice. The animal brought a bit of comfort to my confused mind. It was almost as if it was a soft assurance that everything would be okay.

Comfort that was immediately stripped away as I tried to move. My limbs sluggishly responded, but there was no room. I squirmed and twisted, my body barely twitching, as the walls pressed in. They closed on me from every direction as the constant flow of steam suffocated me-

I had to breathe, had to escape into fresh air. My lungs ached, straining for oxygen as the steam filled my lungs. I desperately pushed and scratched at the door, trying to force it open to no avail-

My struggles strengthened as the walls drew tighter to my body. Eventually, my struggles slowed down as my mind started to grow hazy. I could feel the steam choking my lungs, eating away at me with its wicked warmth.

I saw a shape move through the window. In a final plea for help, I dropped the animal and pounded my small fists on the door, desperate for anyone to see me. 

Let me out! Please, oh let me out! Someone-

As if answering my pleas, the shape came back to the front of the fogged-out window. The metal of the door creaked violently, the metal screeching as a hand pressed through it like butter. A burst of air pushed off the steam momentarily, allowing a single breath. My struggles intensified in one final push, though I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to get away or get out.

”—— —  —-——-!” A person's voice called, her voice barely making it over the hissing of steam and crunching metal. I couldn’t make out what exactly she was saying, but that didn‘t really matter.

My fist pounded harder on the door. Please! I’ll be good. I’ll be good! Just let me out!

”—-—— —!!” A man shouted, his voice thundering through the gap in the door. I flinched back, slamming my head into the back of the prison.

The entire front panel popped off as someone grunted outside of the metal cage. I couldn’t even see who my savior was as my vision blurred and darkened. Air, blessed air, found its way through the jets of steam coursing over my body.

I tried to move, but everything felt sluggish and painful. My efforts weren’t for nothing as I tumbled out of the metal coffin, falling towards the metal grate floor. My arms and legs moved slowly- too slow to offer any protection. My eyes closed tightly-

A strong, warm arm wrapped around my chest, holding me up. I blinked, catching sight of my savior. My coughs and hacks as I tried to get the steam out of me blurred my vision. Tears sprung to my eyes, but I could still make out some of the details.

My savior was a giant of a man with almost glowing blue eyes. He wore a thick set of armor that pulsed with a soft blue light. The interlocking panels of his armor covered his entire chest and legs but left his massive arms exposed to the air. A helmet with a clear mask covered his face.

I shivered as the man’s intense blue eyes glared down at me, shifting my gaze down the dark hallway I had fallen out into. The only lights came from the slight glow of the pod and the flashlights attached to my savior’s helmets. There were two of them, one on either side of me.

What's going on? Who are these people? Are they here to help me? But what‘s with the weird clothes? Or am I the one in weird clothes? Wait, am I even wearing clothes? I looked down, finding myself in a gray jumpsuit to my relief.

Pods sat all along the walls the exact same as the one I came from. All of them were open though. The metal had twisted and pulled as if some hulking beast tore them apart. Down the hall were three bobbing flashes of lights slowly headed towards us.

A woman stood off to the side, covered from head to toe in some kind of silver armor. Past the woman was a black tarp hastily thrown over a massive mound. It didn’t cover it entirely though. Twisted limbs were exposed from underneath the tarp, each cloaked in some kind of dark purple liquid-

Staring at the limbs caused my chest to hurt worse as my lungs failed to get enough oxygen. It became harder and harder to work my lungs as I made out the blurry shapes poorly hidden. Dread spread through my veins like-

”———- — -.” The woman called hesitantly as she kneeled in front of me, blocking my view. She spoke a language I couldn’t understand, but her voice sounded soothing. “—- —- ——-.“ She tried again, this language sounding different from the last.

“Hey, can you understand me?” She finally locked onto my language with a confused tone.

Yes! What’s going on? What’s under that t-tarp? Where even am I? Who am I? Who are you? Where are we?

I tried to speak, but only a barely audible grumble came from my chest. My tongue felt too frozen to weave words. Frustrated, and still barely able to breathe as my whole body felt like it was destroying itself, I sluggishly nodded-

“Good! Look at me?” I shifted his gaze up to her. She smiled as if to transfer over her calmness, her face barely visible below her silver helmet. The smile looked too tight. “Now breathe with me. In, two, three, four. Hold it.” She made a funny face as if she were struggling. “Out, two, three, four. Pause. Again, two, three, four.”

I tried to follow along as the weird woman went through it again, still held in the man’s warm arms. I slowly breathed, taking a steady flow of oxygen as I felt my body calm down. I still felt so cold, but not nearly as tight and painful-

”Good! You’re doing good, kid. One more time!” The woman cheered me on, shooting her hand up exaggeratedly.

I breathed in with her as three more people armed with some kind of gun stepped into view. They wore armor similar to the first two people, but theirs was far more uniform. They moved, creating a blockade of dull gray armor behind the woman.

W-what are they doing? What is even going on- no, stay calm. Just do what the nice lady says. She’ll help me, right? She and the man already pulled me out of the metal coffin. From that suffocation-

I breathed out, restarting the process without any prompting from the woman as she kept up her cheerful smile. The shaking in my limbs faded, though I was still a shivering mess of cold aches and confusion.

The woman stood up, glancing over her shoulder at the three soldiers. “—- ——- —- —-. —— ————— —— ——.”

They said something back, but it was overridden in my ears as the man holding me up grumbled in a low timber. “—— —- —— — ——.”

The woman nodded and dropped herself lower in front of me again. She reached into the pod, pulling out the half-frozen stuffed animal I dropped. “Is this your fox?”

Is that what this is? Why can’t I remember? I stared at the animal in confusion and slowly nodded. The woman handed it to me, which I took as I once more felt its soft comfort. It was a bit wet, but that was only a momentary distraction.

“It’s so cute!” She smiled at me. “My name is Morgan. Do you remember yours?”

I squinted at her, trying to remember my full name. Nothing came. I shook my head, repeating the breathing technique like she wanted me to do even as my chest once more started to tighten. Why couldn’t I remember my own name?

The man holding me up and Morgan started to speak to each other in that weird language again. They tried to keep it low, but I could hear the heat in the man’s voice as their conversation continued on.

Morgan sighed and called over her shoulder to the group of three standing behind her. “—- ——- — ————-?”

The one in the middle split off and approached us. The person slung their rifle under their shoulder, the strap catching it before it could fall too far. Then they pulled a large black box off of their back. It had a symbol of a cross done in a slightly lighter gray on the front of it. They sifted through the box for a moment before picking out a package and passing it to Morgan.

Morgan took the package and opened it. A small white pill fell out onto her hand. She offered it to me with her smile back in place. It looked more strained than the last one. “Can you swallow this? It’s medicine to help you.”

I hesitantly took the pill and looked at it. I glanced up at the lady, her smile still stretched. What is it? W-will it hurt me? But they pulled me out of that airless box… and Morgan has been nice… Surely it must be some kind of medicine then? Maybe to help with my chest?

I struggled for a moment before putting the pill in my mouth. I had some trouble swallowing it, my entire mouth still feeling sluggish and my tongue thick, but managed to get it down-

”Good! Alright, kid. We’re going to get you out of here, okay? There’s nothing to worry about.” Morgan said. 

I tried to focus on her words, but my head was having a hard time focusing on much of anything. I felt foggy, so foggy I hardly even noticed my vision turning black.

– – – – –

Morgan sighed as she watched the little boy go limp, the fox still somehow clutched in his hands. She stood, placing her hands on her hips. “You happy now, Atlas?”

”Yes. Yes, I am.” Her compatriot said as he hoisted the boy up and over his shoulder. The jostling motion caused the boy’s grip to finally slip as the fox finally started to fall. 

Why can’t he ever just be considerate for once? Not every civ needs to be knocked out for him to do his job every single time. What an annoying Fractus. Not that mine is much better... As if the little guy wasn’t going to be traumatized enough by the time this is over...

Before the animal could go too far, Morgan absentmindedly twisted her hand, controlling the air to cushion the stuffed animal and lift it back up for her. The fox twirled in the air as she snatched it and slid it into her backpack. The kid calmed down with it in his hand. And it was a bit of a sad image to see the stuffed animal abandoned on the desolate voidship. Reminded her of a time when she was far younger.

Morgan called out into the team's comms. “Command, we’ve got the survivor. What’s the situation?”

The commlink of her helmet crackled to life. “Shadows - tzzzzzz - retreat! - tzzzzzzzz - small window. - tzzzzzzzzzzzzzz - -ollapsing relativity. -tzzz- Umbral Distortion!”

Morgan moved and pulled off a small hockey puck-sized object from one of the pouches on her back. She tapped on the middle of it, pressing in a button, and then pushed it onto the kid’s forehead. Immediately, the hockey puck expanded into a mask that covered his face.

She got Atlas's frown as the big man looked down the hallway. “Alright, let’s move, people!” He called out to the three Vanguard behind them.

Morgan glanced back, a frown crossing her lips as she looked at the mountain of corpses behind them. The tarp had been her idea, but she just realized it hadn’t actually covered everything. The twisted limbs ever so slightly hanging out from under the tarp were the stuff of nightmares. Or maybe of Nightmares?

Poor guy. I hope he didn’t see that. It definitely would’ve haunted me way back when…