Reptilian

Chapter 5: Time Capsule

He placed her under the soft, blue, warm blanket, making sure to turn off her lamp. Then, he crawled in beside her, his arms wrapping around her frozen self. "Goodnight," he whispered, his warm breath brushing the back of her neck.

Her eyes creaked open, blinded by the unbearable light. A frame of white encased her in some sort of box, her arms squeezed by her sides in unexpected discomfort. With hair disoriented around her neck, she struggled to breath.

A kind hand rested on her shoulder, a reassuring voice whispering, "It's okay. Take your time." She never let her gaze shift from the small creature in front of her. Her hands wrapped around a chrome syringe, its needle ready to pierce the leathery scales of a lizard. "You won't hurt its feelings, honey. It's an animal," he said, his voice turning into the bitter tone of impatience.

She couldn't tell what was happening. Was she dead? Was she in a terrifying mirage that kept battering at her senses? No, this was real; this was real and she was in a real struggle. Her hands pushed against the plastic door that held her tight in the case. Her teeth bit down on themselves, sweat coating her face in a slimy mask. Her throat sore and arms weak, she let go of the door. To no avail, she slumped up against the leather back of the capsule.

"Ah, see! You could handle it after all," he said enthusiastically while running his hand through her brown hair. His hazel eyes met with blue ones, but they both silenced the world around them. He looked back at the lizard, picking up the small creature and cradling it in his hand. "That was all it took to revolutionize the way we see these guys."

"N-no, this isn't fair," she panicked. Her arms pressed up violently against the door, threatening to beat them. "No!" Her breathing increased gradually as she stared blindly at the obstacle in front of her. Finally, she managed to hit the release button, and the door swung up in one swift motion.

He removed his hand from her cheek, wishing her a safe travel in the empty world of the unknown. Although, he was going with her. The problem was that they would not meet again for another hundred years. She stepped into the capsule after she kissed him one last time. As the plastic door slowly encased her, she said, "I'll miss you, Jackson."

"Not fair." She stumbled onto the hard, white floor with a painful thump. Her legs searched for suitable ground as her hands tried to find redemption upon unstable environments. Her mind had shredded all memory of standing at the moment, leaving her with nothing but a fragment of life. Her inhuman movements proved her weak and unworthy for normal flexibility. Her light blue shirt and white sweatpants were now stained with orange spots from the natural clay on the ground.

But that could not have been right. She was inside.

As she came to her knees, she grew dumbfounded. The entire shuttle- not including the other capsules- was painted in a natural environment. It was buried in a flurry of grass, the roots and vines crawling up through the vents and earning a place in the isolated prison. The worst part?

The shuttle never made it. It was destined for a landing, a place in the universe where they would continue to thrive- but they never made it. "They lied, they killed us," she whispered to herself, stabilizing herself on the medical table. She looked around, scanning the other capsules. Even though she dreaded the sight of it, she stared at them. She trekked over to one of them, unlatching the one next to her's. But, she peeked back over at the one she was in, reading as the name 'Alyssa' was inscribed on the door. Her reserved capsule held her name proudly as it was painted in an eerie green.

Even with the distraction of the mysterious plants, she still put her hands on the person's capsule. As she carefully pulled the lever to open it up, a body came crashing down from inside. She faintly screamed and jumped back as the disoriented lump of dust and bones hit the ground harshly. How long had the shuttle been here? Alyssa wondered. Her eyes flickered back to the jungle-like area. How could the shuttle that was supposed to land on another planet be infected with Earth? Alyssa tried not to panic as she looked at the timer that glowed a faint green above the exit.

It had been 1,000,000 years since she entered the capsule.

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