Jade Ryder Series- ShadowStorm

Restless Sleep

Ending a war should have been a happy triumph, instead, it was quiet. The details were handled mostly by my older sister, the current Master of Military, and her council. My only task was to be there as my sister made a verbal agreement, then leave everything else to the officials. Which was good, considering I was only a few weeks away from dying. On the verge of death, and unable to do anything else, I went to a newly discovered planet and me and my team decided that since my situation couldn't be much worse, we tested out some alien equipment to try and save my life. But I died anyway...

At least for a while.

CHAPTER ONE

"Matthew!" Opal yelled. She grasped the counter, her fingers turning white as she gripped the edge. Matthew Selene stared at his wife. An empty pit had taken place where his eyes should be. He was already dead. "Matthew!"

The bang echoed through the lab. My scream was lost in the sound. I dove deeper into the cabinet, tears streaming down my face.

"Ma... Matthew." Opal whispered. A final shot seared itself into my mind.

Bang! I jumped, my eyes flying open but I could barely see anyway. A murky green haze filled my vision. My lungs spasmed, gasping for air as if I hadn't breathed fresh air for months. Where am I? My heart leapt to my throat. Panic tightened my throat. After a second, logic took over.

Alright, take a minute. I told myself sternly. Look around; what are you in? I threw my arms out, feeling the glass tube that surrounded me. A picture filled my mind; hundreds of glass coffins, lying side by side on the ground. But that wasn't what was happening. For one thing, I was upright, and I couldn't see any other glass tubes outside of my own. Well... I couldn't see much of anything through the murky green that clouded my vision but I decided not to focus on that. I had to get out, no matter where I was. And before I ran out of breath.

Now how do I get out? I asked. Talking to myself kept the fear away. I pushed off the tube floor and felt along the top, searching for a latch or button. Nothing. Now what? Oh, come on. You've been in worse situations. Break the glass.

I had no idea if the transparent material was glass or even breakable, but I was running out of air, and my panic was rising again. Gradually, more of my senses were returning too, which wasn't helping either. Alarms rang outside of the container and only served to increase my anxiety. I braced myself on one side and threw my fist into the wall. Pain fired up my arm when my hand connected with the transparent material and a few bubbles escaped my lips. I gritted my teeth and twisted, using my elbow instead. I tightened my throat, forcing it close so I wouldn't accidently gasp in pain and lose what little air I had left. I hit the glass again. And again. Each blow sent fire up my shoulder but nothing appeared in the glass. Just when I was going to give up, I gave the wall a final punch. A plexpar thin line appeared, barely visible through the murky green liquid, but it was there. With renewed strength, I hit the same spot. Another hit widened the crack.

My lungs jerked in my chest. I closed my throat, fighting down the wave of panic and the urge to take a gulp, knowing that I wouldn't be breathing air but the green sludge instead. I hit the glass again, ignoring the pain that shot through my body and the certainty that I had broken something. The glass splintered. Spiderweb cracks spread all around me. I hit it once more, pushing off the glass behind my back and throwing everything I had into the blow. The tube shattered. My momentum sent me flying to the ground in a pool of glass and slime.

I gasped, coughing and sputtering as air flooded my lungs. It felt like my body hadn't breathed in ages. Shadows crept into my vision, slowly as if they were trying to catch me off guard. I tried to push myself up but the shadows attacked before I could move and swallowed my mind. Then I passed out.