Dwellers of the New World Chapter Sixteen ( Pt 1 ) The Awakening

In the darkness of space, the atmosphere became filled with an electric storm that raged over Obsidian. It was obvious from its size, that the cloud had been building in the sky and raining down on the planet, it was becoming menacing, ready to explode into a billion particles.

Down in the underground cities, the corridors and buildings were silent, nothing stirred not even the birds and butterflies, that lay still as if dead in their glass cases. The dwellers of Obsidian were not aware of time or reality, as they slept in a dream like limbo state that had lasted for many, many days and nights. People had collapsed where they'd been standing or working.

Nurses and doctors at the hospital, who were in the middle of looking after patients had fallen, some nurses lay across patients, they'd been in the middle of giving tablets or injections to. Doctors performing operations had tried to accelerate the process of work, realising they were loosing their hold on being able to stay awake, but hadn't succeeded in time to finish the job. It was likely that for some patients under anaesthetic, that they wouldn't wake up.

Huge crystals located at the edge of the lakes were dulled, their colour had lost lustre. The atmosphere above was one of total termination, if not for the wormhole that suddenly shot out of the darkness, it was like no other that had been seen before, around the base a burning fire raged as hot as the sun, sending flames into the murkiness of infinite space, yet in the centre it was as cool as an early spring day on earth. With its appearance, the rain cloud began drifting off, as quickly as it came, disappearing across the sky, leaving a fine trail of mist in its wake.

It didn't take long for the sky to clear and return to normal, when an object shot out of the wormhole, coming to hang in the air, hovering high above Obsidian like a glistening jewel. One of the crystal ships had returned, Inside were twelve cosmonauts, all cheering at the fact they'd found a way home, without any help from ground control. They'd been on an expedition to planet Zeolite 1, which the people of Obsidian had named, due to its volcanic rocks, that released natural water, they'd been studying the rocks and brought some back for analysis, to investigate closer as to whether they could live on the planet.

But with all the rejoicing, the Captain was unsure if they should leave the ship, it was annoying not knowing what was going on back home, they'd never lost contact with ground control before and couldn't understand the problem. Captain Owen stood in front of his crew not feeling quite as jubilant as the others.

“What's up Captain? Why the gloomy face?” Questioned Annie one of the ship's Scientists. “We're home now aren't we? Surely that should be a load of your mind?”

The captain's senses, left him apprehensive. “I'm not sure, but I've a hunch that all's not well. My gut feeling tells me we should land, but remain in the ship till we manage to make contact with base.” He made his way over to one of the many observation windows, as Annie followed his lead. “Look at the crystals appearance!” he said, “I've never seen them looking so drab, it's as if they've lost their lustre.”

Annie agreed, and without knowledge of the dangers on their planet, she knew the Captain was right to stay on board. The woman had great respect and was fond of him, always finding comfort in his company, knowing he would make the right decisions concerning their safety. “There's plenty of food tablets to last us quite a few days; hopefully things will return to normal soon.” She uttered gazing at the machine that held the tablets.

“Yes Annie...we can only hope.” Captain Owen gave her an affectionate smile, he too was attracted to her, though he'd never let her know, it just wouldn't be professional; it was her beautiful blue eyes and pure complexion that drew him to her, the trust he had in the woman gave an added bonus to his feelings. Owen needed to have trust in a working partner, that any duty they undertook would be carried out professionally and with confidence, Annie fitted all the criteria, so he hoped she would be travelling on many more long explorations that would follow. There were many doubts in his mind about women in general, though there was always that usual physical attraction, but his job was important to him, one day he hoped to be the first to discover another world, where they could send more of the Chosen Ones and begin life anew all over again.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Sixteen ( Pt 2 ) Let There Be Life | ABCtales