The World of the Freezing Morrow

Chapter 2: The Voice of Reason

Peace like none before flooded his entire body. It seemed almost as if he were floating in a warm bath, his entire being feeling electrified, rejuvenated and burning with energy. He could smell the scent of rose petals, just like the ones Jessie planted near their house. Their odor seemed almost hypnotizing. The breeze carried a child's giggle and he smiled, bending on one knee as a little boy came rushing into his embrace. He raised it high in the air, laughing, the soft gleam of the sun stroking their smiling faces. His eyes were brimming with immeasurable happiness, his heart pounding wildly.

" You'll be with us now, daddy?" the kid uttered, its melodic, sweet voice ringing like a song in his ears. John pulled little Tony towards him, his fingers going through the boy's curly hair. His son. His most beloved boy. " Yes. Tony. I'll be with you from now on...". His lips ended on its forehead.

A metallic clash of something heavy made him open his eyes in shock. It seemed as if a rain of metal suddenly poured down close by, every hit roaring like a gunfire.

For a moment, everything seemed so blurry, so vague; his eyes having a hard time focusing on the things before him. Fear, like a parasite swarmed his whole body as he tried to inhale, realizing that it was too hard; as if his lungs were struggling to accumulate the oxygen. He noticed the raised hair on his skin and it took him a few seconds to realize that wherever he was, it was as cold as the freezing waters of Antarctica.

" He... hello..." John tried to shout, but a single breath made him cough, his irritated lungs stinging him like a wall of stings. He blinked once, then twice, trying to chase away the blurry veil clouding his sight. But, what stood behind this veil, was the true mystery.

An almost ellipsoidal glass as large as his body was a few inches of him. Its sides were made of dark metallic plates having numerous stripes of emanating, blue light. Gently squeezing his arm, his fingers met a soft surface, possibly leather by the touch of it, which seemed to stretch from his head, all the way to the feet. There were two tubes coming in the bedding from the sides, which probably transmitted some substances by air. But, what was this... machine? He had never seen anything like it. And through the glass, the only thing he was seeing... was utter darkness. 

He had no idea where he was. Or how did he get there. The temperature in the pod was slowly raised to a warmer level, making him feel more comfortable. He felt his strength faintly returning to his limbs.

" Hello!!". John tried raising his hand to knock on the glass, but the space seemed too small to even barely move. " Hello! Anyone there!!?".

Suddenly, a huge round entrance was opened before his eyes, swallowed in the metal, and the pod was raised. It did not take him long to realize that he was under the floor a minute before. But, who controlled the mechanism? How did this strange sleeping pod unlock and was raised to the surface? And most importantly... What the hell was that place?.

He came to a conclusion that it must be some kind of a medical facility. Otherwise, it would not make much sense why a man with a condition such as his was placed there. It must be.

" Jessie!!" he cried out at the top of his lungs.

Only silence greeted his words. He tried to raise his head and sweep around, but the glass seemed to be only a few inches of his nose. God, I feel so sleepy. It was felt almost as if his strength was hanging on its hind legs. He could barely move without straining, like a heavy lead had covered his entire body.

John took a deep breath, relaxing his muscles for a moment. Then he pushed! He pushed the hatch with all of his strength. A faint hum, like a jet of steam suddenly blown out of a pipe filled the room as the hatch was raised upwards. Cold air, piercing like frozen pikes, instantly blasted his body. He clenched his fists trying to move, but every bit of himself opposed his thoughts; his head aching, red eyes stinging and muscles shaking intensely.