14 THE DEEP SLEEP
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The plan was well underway, and nearly all of the surviving crew had already entered stasis. One by one, each survivor stepped in and took a deep breath before getting swept away to make room for the next empty pod. Douglas was sitting beside Alexis, who hadn't moved since he arrived. As everyone prepared and moved forward, she was stuck inside her mind, replaying her last moments with David over and over.
On the other side of the room, Jennifer and Salazar could be heard finalizing the preparations. Alexis looked up and watched as they worked.
"We have two hours,” Jennifer said as she prepped the next person in line. “More than enough time."
"Good." Salazar turned to see Alexis watching them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Alexis noticed Douglas with his head resting against the wall, staring at her. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and he seemed to be having trouble breathing. She looked down and saw that one of his hands was guarding a blood-soaked portion of his shirt.
Not quite good enough, she thought somberly.
Douglas nodded, as if to tell her that everything was going to be okay.
"Hand me the tablet,” Salazar said, stretching her hand out to Jennifer. “I’ll get it done."
Reaching for her belt, Jennifer realized that the tablet was no longer in her possession. She stopped what she was doing and began frantically searching for it. "I don't… It's not here." She grew even more frantic. "I had it."
She stopped and tried to think of when she last remembered having it, and then it struck her. She remembered falling on the stairway. "It must have come loose on the stairs."
Salazar sighed and attempted to calm her. "It's okay." She grabbed Jennifer's shoulders. "Show me what I need to do."
"What? No," Jennifer said, raising her voice as she backed away. "Whoever stays and sets the controls won’t be able to get in."
"It has to be done."
"I'll do it! It's my fault. I can’t let you—"
"Stop!" Salazar demanded, but she was interrupted before she could finish.
"Ma'am?" One of the officers was standing beside them. "It appears they’re all in Mechanical."
"Are you sure?" She moved over to the computer console. "No one is left in Agriculture?"
"Not that we can see."
"Then do it."
Alexis watched as the man worked the computer controls. She knew this meant it was time to finally deal with the terrorists. The officer turned back around.
"The door is sealed," he said.
A few moments later, the door next to Alexis began to shake as a clear divider slid down on the other side. Salazar walked over to the door as Alexis stood to look through the window.
"How long is this supposed to take?" Alexis asked, speaking her first words since the fight with Palmer.
"Should happen any second," Levi answered, and as he finished, the entire deck started to shake as the mechanical deck separated from the rest of the ship, moving exponentially faster as it traveled farther away.
"Come on. Let’s get you into stasis," said Salazar. She reached out and guided Alexis by the arm. She looked over to see Douglas still sitting on the floor. "You too. Let's go."
Douglas pulled himself off the floor and walked silently beside Alexis as the five of them made their way across the open bay.
"Don't argue with me," Salazar scolded Jennifer as she ushered her into the clean room. "Thank you for everything you've done."
Levi followed behind, and Alexis watched as he entered his pod and was whisked away.
"You're up," Salazar told her.
Alexis stepped into the clean room. As the door behind her closed, she was blasted from below by a large gust of air and antimicrobials. The door in front of her opened and she stepped in through the membrane of her pod, which immediately sealed behind her. The pod filled with fluid as the container moved up and over to make room for the next.
She could still see Douglas and Salazar from her position. They appeared to be arguing, but only for a moment. Then Salazar took him to the controls, flipped a few switches, and entered the clean room.
Douglas looked up toward Alexis, who was now completely immersed in the high pressure fluid. The more she tried to react to what she was seeing, the harder it became to move. She watched helplessly as Douglas smiled and pressed a button on the console.
As the chemicals in the pod began to do their job, she felt herself slipping away. In her last few moments of consciousness she looked away to find the ghostly image of David sitting beside her, flashing his goofy grin. She smiled at him one last time as the pod forced her into slumber.
The end of L'Dopterra 1: Homecoming -- Coming Soon, L'Dopterra 2: Titan Fall