Gallons of fluid rushed out of the containment tube, and mixed with the dust and ash on the floor of the tunnel, creating a black, tarry mixture. With a wet thud, the body inside the tube fell out, into the mix on the floor. Reflexes taking over, the young man began to gag and heave, pushing fluid from his lungs.
Once his airway was clear, he lay in the black slurry, taking slow, shallow breaths. His eyes darted around, but all he could see was a girl squatting beside him with a flashlight in one hand and a sturdy-looking metal pipe in the other.
"God damn it, look at the mess you made!" The voice said.
"Yeah? Well, the button didn't work, so..." Nil replied.
"There's more than one button! And I told you not to smash the tube open!"
"And I said I wasn't making any promises. Besides, what's wrong with a little smashing?"
"What's wrong with smashing?!" The voice said, incredulous, "What if he fell onto his head and died?! What then, huh?"
"Um..." Nil prodded the young man with the pipe, "I guess... We can say that we had fun doing it? Breaking the tube, I mean."
"And how, exactly, would we get pa-"
"Shh! Shush, hold on!" Nil quieted the voice, "I think he's coming around."
The young man steadied his breath. Raising his head slightly, he managed to get one raspy word out.
"W-who...?"
Nil looked down at the young man.
"Hello! Hey, there!" She greeted him.
The young man shakily sat up. Groggy, he swiveled his head around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Nil waved a hand in front of his face.
"Hey! Earth to tube dude!"
"Guh?" The young man blurted, still trying to regain control of his faculties.
"Oh good, you're awake! Kind of." She said, "By the way, where are your clothes?"
"Bluh?" The man replied, wiping the fluid from his face, "Clothes?"
"Yeah. Why are you naked?"
"He's naked?" The voice returned.
"Yep." Nil responded.
"Why is he naked?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out!"
As Nil and the incorporeal voice continued to bicker, the young man looked down at himself. He was, indeed, nude. As he shook the tube fluid from his arms, he began to understand the situation he was in.
"...Why am I naked?" He asked.
Nil looked at him, visibly confused.
She pointed to the now-shattered tube, "Did they put you in there naked?"
"No...?"
"Well," Nil stated, matter-of-factly, "That's not normal."
She shrugged off her backpack, and began rummaging around.
"I have some clothes you can borrow, but..." She looked back at the young man, "...I don't think anything's going to fit."
After a few minutes – minutes that felt like hours to the man – Nil produced a spare coat, and a pair of boots.
She told him, "They won't fit you well, but it'll be enough to get you out of here."
The young man stared at the clothes he was just handed.
"...No pants?" He asked.
"I told you," She said, "They won't fit. I stained a really good jacket earlier, and I'm not ruining a pair of pants too."
The young man looked up at Nil.
"Did everyone else leave already?" He asked.
She looked at him, inquisitive, "Everyone else? Leave?"
"Yeah," The man explained, pointing to the other tubes lining the tunnel, "All the other people. They should've been in the other tubes."
"I didn't see anyone else."
The man squinted at her.
"Aren't you with SavCo?"
"SavCo? Uh, kind of?" Nil began patting herself down, searching for something in her pockets, "I'm not with them, I'm just – What did that guy call it?"
She produced a piece of paper from her breast pocket.
"Ahh... Here! 'Contractor'." She scanned over the document, "And it says here you are... Sam?"
"U-uh," The young man stammered. "Yeah, that's me. Sam. Sam Martin."
"Perfect!" Nil turned the paper to Sam.
Pointing to the fine print, she explained, "It says here that you're 'qualified for a partial reimbursement on your SavCo® Nu-Day™ Life Suspension and Restoration services' due to... Uh..."
She turned the paper back towards herself.
She read slowly, "'Breach of contract on behalf of the service provider.'"
Nil lowered the paper.
"I'll be honest. I have no clue what any of that means."
YOU ARE READING
Fool's Beginning, Fool's End (At The End, Everything is Okay: The 0th Story)
MaceraSam Martin has spent a lot of time in an underground stasis chamber. After a few millennia, he is awoken by a strange girl who tells him that he is eligible for a refund on his Life Preservation service. Freshly awakened -- and thoroughly confused...
