Vanguard: Awakening

Awakening: Chapter Three

BRRING. BRRING. BRRING.
ERROR IN CRYOGENIC FREEZING PROCESS, PLEASE STANDBY FOR MEDICAL PERSONNEL TO ARRIVE.

FWSSSSH

'What?' Cedric could barely hear in his stupor, but he was positive he was hearing an alarm. His body and eyelids felt indescribably heavy, attempts to move were fruitless.

"Hier, hier! Der human ist hier."

'Was that... german?' Cedric was locked in his own mind, the mental haze and aching pains from being frozen so long kept his mind confused, or at least as much as it could be in his dreary state.

"Oh..."

He felt a rap on the glass, like the palm of a small hand hitting it with slightly more force than was intended.

"Ze human. Herin ist schön. Fir nünt beliv mine eyer"

Whether it be the confusion of mental haze, or simply his misunderstanding of language - the words Cedric heard sounded like an amalgamation of English and German, yet neither. Figuring he was hallucinating, Cedric remained silent and motionless. Well, it wasn't like he could move anyways. He felt surprisingly comfortable now, warm even. Stuck in a semi-tired state, and wishing to doze of. Yet his survival instincts wouldn't let him. He wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep and enjoy the warmth of his current state.

"Lök, herr human."

"Was ist das? Oh. Nü waī."

"We hast der klept, les purte nit."

"Zurück! Hostleüng und purte, ist vãlu!"

He took a deep breath, struggling with comprehending his situation. Clearly, something wasn't right. He could more clearly hear the alarms now, and warning of a cryopod malfunction immediately began to send him into a panic. He could breathe but - was he about to die? What happened? Where's the nurse he talked to a month ago? He could barely open his crusted eyelids, and what he observed sent him into shock. Several furry, short humanoids appeared to be fiddling with the controls of the pod. Was he dreaming? He swore a dream made sense, but the fact he was feeling grounded into reality made him question the conclusion. It felt real, TOO real to be a rather wild lucid dream - he was familiar with lucid dreaming, as they were often one of the greatest sources of stress relief to him after a hard work day.

Now it seems, he's staring at creatures straight out of fantasy. From what he could see, the figure closest to him appeared to be some sort of humanoid dog - sporting trails of white/black fur, similar to an Australian Shephard mixed with at least two other breeds that you'd see at a typical animal shelter. The other figures appeared to be rats, with another appearing to be a... Honey badger? They all walked on two legs, and sported paws with opposable thumbs. He began to shake violently in his pod, attempting to scream and force himself from the confines of the pod. The dog was wearing some sort of lab coat, with the others sporting more tactical equipment.

"Zurück! Zurück! Velantz ze following!"

The rats were clearly on edge. The dog figure seemed to be attempting to call him down, rubbing the door of the pod and speaking in their strange language - but in softer tones. Ironically, as one would speak to a frightened pet.

"Sterud bekt!"

Upon closer inspection, the dog woman appeared to hold a female figure, while the others appeared to be masculine. Upon barking a command, the other furry humanoids took some paces back. It sounded very similar to 'Stand back!' In English. Maybe what they were speaking was indeed a mix of languages? But those kinds of deviations take a culture years to develop, not a month.