The Old World

Arrival

The lights blinked behind Parker's eyes even as he unconsciously held them shut. He could hear the blaring sirens which penetrated his ears as he slowly regained his consciousness. He opened his eyes to what seemed to be his own death. From outside his sleeping pod he could see the faint silhouette of one of the crewmembers. The glass of his pod was ice cold and foggy, although he couldn't feel anything, he knew he had to get out before he froze. He tried lifting his arms, which was a true burden on his weakened self. Slowly, he raised his right hand to the glass and knocked. Even the simple action was enough to wind him.

Captain Anderson approached and unlocked his pod. The glass shot open and a hiss of air escaped. Parker gasped, taking in a large breath. He fell to the ground and coughed up the artificial oxygen and the chemicals that were still within him.

Behind the sirens and the shouts of Captain Anderson and the crewmembers, Parker could hear and recognize the sound of steam hissing and breaking through valves.

In a state of confusion and disarray, Parker coughed and mostly mumbled as he tried shouting out, "What am I hearing? What's going on?"

Soon Parker was grabbed by his crewmate Eric and shoved forward on his feet. "Parker! We've crashed! Parker! Can you hear me!?" Eric continued shouting, even right against Parker's face, nose to nose, Parker was dazed. Eric slapped Parker, awakening him slightly.

"Where are we?" Parker asked.

"The ocean! Get everyone on their feet! Me and Captain are running to the deck to make sure everything is alright!" And Eric left as soon as he was finished, leaving Parker among the pods of all his crewmates.

Parker rushed to the controls and opened the pods. All at once, the pods shot open, and the crewmembers fell to their knees or bellies, coughing and barfing. "Everyone alright?" Parker shouted out, limping to the crewmembers. He quickly noticed that two of the members were lying dead, one with aged features; grey hair, thin and light skin, and almost all skin and bone. He couldn't recognize them then, but he had a feeling it was John, the youngest of the group. The other dead body was Serah. She wasn't aged like John, but she was surely dead.

"Everyone up," Parker commanded, more calmly now with the weight of death on his mind. "We've crash landed."

Evan rose to his feet before the rest, his legs and arms shaking.

"Everyone up," Parker repeated. "Get yourselves in order, John and Serah are dead."

Suddenly, the main bright lights went out. Quickly, the emergency lights ticked on, shining a dark red glow across the ship. The sirens slowly died down as well after, further revealing the hissing of the steam that had caught Parker's attention before. Parker accessed his interface and connected with Eric and Captain Anderson, who were at the control center. "What's going on? Where are we?" Parker asked.

"This isn't good," Eric replied. "We're taking water. Get everyone a supply pack and get to the water rovers ASAP."

Parker hesitated. "Where are we?"

Eric spoke to Captain Anderson first, then directed back to Parker, "God knows... But the air outside is good. Similar to earth, there is no need for breathing systems."

Guess we found what we were looking for... well, the AI did at least, Parker thought.

Parker's mind raced. He tried as fast as he could to access the supply chamber with his interface but it was much slower than he thought. The crewmates climbed to their feet. Eric spoke quickly through it. "Parker!" He shouted. "Me and Captain are locked in. We're taking water, there was a breach! Everyone get out while you can! Me and Captain are looking for a way out now. Godspeed."