The captain ordered his soldiers to stand guard near where the falling object would land. As the capsule neared the ground, a ball of fire engulfed it.
Flashing red lights and an automated voice brought Katrina to consciousness for the first time in 50,000 years.
Impact in 5 seconds, the voice sounded.
"Mommy?" Katrina thought.
Impact in 4 seconds.
"Was yesterday really a dream?"
Impact in 3 seconds.
" Or was it yesterday?"
Impact in 2 seconds.
" Has it really been 50,000 years like you said?"
Impact in 1 second.
Prepare for impact.
Katrina braced for impact.
The capsule collided with the ground, setting a deafening bang, and a dust cloud for miles around. It lodged itself ten feet into the ground with only a small dent on its exterior shell.
The hatch began to open.
" Ready the guns!" The captain ordered his soldiers.
Every soldier surrounding the mysterious capsule was on alert. An unidentified falling object was already sketchy enough, but what was even stranger was that almost nobody used technology anymore. The knowledge of technology had died out with the scientists, and almost the whole world population during the Haze, or what people now called the Apocalypse. Instead of technology, people now resorted to magic, and many hadn't ever heard of technology. Even less had ever seen technology.
The hatch was completely open now. The soldiers were all so attentive that they could discern even the smallest of soundwaves, and could act quickly if the situation did turn out to be dire.
Everyone and everything was absolutely silent. The field was washed with silence for a few minutes more. Finally, the tension was broken by one of the soldiers.
" Sir. Nothing seems like it's coming out of there. Can I check the object just in case, Sir?"
" Yes." The captain replied, " Please do."
Again, the field was silent, except for the "click clack" sound of the soldier's boots as she slowly stalked to the capsule, gun loaded, ready to shoot at any time. She anxiously peered down through the space created by the open capsule door. A look of shock spread across her face.
It was just --- a little girl.
" Sir." The soldier reported. "There's a little girl in there."
The expressions of the soldiers across the field spanned from relieved to shocked, and the emotions in between.
" You two!" The captain pointed to the two soldiers standing right to him. " Go check her vital signs! Check her pulse and her breathing rate!"
" Sir, yes sir!" They responded.
They rushed over to the capsule and checked the girl's pulse and breathing rate.
Her pulse and breathing were nonexistent. Perhaps she was long dead, but wouldn't her body decay?
" Is she alive?" The first soldier asked the second.
The girl's eyes fluttered open to reveal a set of stone black orbs. Her mouth opened as she responded for them.
" Yes," she replied with a stone cold voice. " I am alive."
YOU ARE READING
The Century After
Science Fiction#104 in Science Fiction as of 5/8/17 It had taken a millennium to snuff the last flames of the Apocalypse out. It had been a thousand years since any human being had known peace. Only the lucky survived, mainly only researchers who worked at the No...
