Chapter Text
Simon didn’t know which way was up or down. He was drifting deep beneath the surface of the blood ocean blanketing the surface of AT-5. This place had taken his one wish from him; He had just wanted to live, and the sparse universe he knew intended to keep even that from him.
The last thing he remembered was the piercing screech of the mutated monster as the massive blood infused roots impaled it, exploding from the Eden seed he wore on his wrist. The only remaining piece of his past had saved him from the jaws of this creature. The rapid growth had thrust him deeper into the abyss and his lungs burned as he struggled to hold the last of the air inside them.
This was the end of the line, but he would be damned if he left this world without a fight. He wanted so deeply to live; he needed to survive.
Suddenly, all he could hear was his own racing heartbeat. Even the constant thrum of the ocean had quieted. The world around him vibrated with a violent energy and behind his eyes a bright light flashed before plunging him into a world of darkness, and of silence.
***
Sirens blared loudly on the expedition ship’s bridge spurring the Eridians into a frenzied cacophony of lilting notes. A blip had appeared on their sensors, only a few hundred feet in front of them. The display of their radar vibrated and fuzzed with the electro-magnetic intensity of the anomalous blip. Light surrounded their ship in a burst and just as it had begun, the blaring sirens stopped.
A rhythmic beep took the place of the persistent siren, indicating something floating where the anomaly had first appeared. The Eridians hurriedly retrieved the object held in the warbling pocket of space, glimmering with the energy of the flash of light centered on this location. The object seemed to be in some sort of stasis within this tear in space. As the Eridians worked to fish the object from this anomalous pocket of energy, they quickly renewed their urgency.
The object was a human.
***
Dr. Ryland Grace took a sip of his freshly made coffee, the cozy warmth permeating his bones. He was forever thankful for the coffee plant that had survived during the Hail Mary’s time in space. He sat in his sun room, surrounded by the drafts of his class syllabus for the young Eridians entrusted to his teachings. He sighed, setting his cup on the table in front of him and looked out at the ocean covered in fog; another perfect day.
It was nice to relax like this after his morning jog, a habit he picked up to keep his ever-aging body in shape. He reached out to grab his cup once more when he heard BANG BANG BANG on his front door. He scrambled to keep his cup from tipping over and placed it gently back on the table.
What was Rocky doing here so early?
“I’ll be right there!” Ryland shouted towards the door even though he knew Rocky would hear him approach. He threw on his cardigan and some slippers before reaching out to the door BANG BANG B- and opened it mid-knock.
“Grace! Why so slow, question? Answer door quicker.”
“I got here as quick as I could Rock; why are you pounding on my door?”
“Found human! Very injured. Need Armando, statement.”
Ryland froze in the doorway; a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Another human? How? …Did something happen back home?
“Grace move. Rocky help human.”
Grace looked up just in time to see the oblong box Rocky had behind him as the Eridian pushed past him, pulling it along. Dumbfounded, Ryland followed Rocky to the med bay.
This isn’t possible.
Rocky quickly situated the box next to Armando’s medical bed and opened the top, a hissing sound coming from the depressurization of the box. The smell of copper hit him first, quickly permeating the room. Ryland stared at what clearly was a human man that was missing an arm and drenched in blood. A human; something he never thought he’d see again.
“Grace help. Move human to bed.”
Ryland shook his head and rushed forward, tearing off the cardigan to free his arms. He grasped onto one side of the man and slid his arm under the remaining armpit, lifting the man's body onto the medical bed and doing his best not to further injure him.
When they had him on the bed, Armando got to work, mainly focusing on the missing arm. It looked as if it had been torn off by some creature; the jagged edges meaty and oozing more blood. The man’s black hair was matted to his face and Ryland could only tell he was alive when the machines the med bot hooked up began to register a faint heartbeat.
Ryland took a step backwards, “Where did you find him?” He looked over to see Rocky fussing over what the bot was doing.
“Space anomaly. Strange light. Human floating in space. How possible, question?”
“In space? He should be dead.”
“Rocky agree. Armando fix Grace new human friend, yes? question.”
Ryland watched the machine work on stitching various wounds, but couldn’t see the source for this much blood besides the arm. “I don’t know yet. This is a lot of blood.”
Ryland grabbed a nearby bowl and went to the water fill station in the room. He took one of the hand towels stacked nearby and set the bowl of water next to the stranger’s head. Ryland began to wet the hand towel and wipe off the excess blood while Armando worked on fixing the stranger. He glanced up to see Rocky pacing restlessly next to the bed, checking the man’s vitals every few seconds. The stranger somehow seemed stable for now and Armando was meticulously wrapping the missing arm with gauze.
Cleaning off the man’s face revealed a canvas of scars on worn and handsome features adorned with an unkempt beard. Despite the evidence of a hard life, the man looked peaceful laying there. Only the rapid movement of his eyes beneath his eyelids indicated the turmoil below the surface.
“What happened to you…?” Ryland murmured softly to himself.
He worked methodically on cleaning the rest of the blood off of the man wherever he wasn't covered by clothing and went looking for some clean clothes for when he woke up. Ryland beckoned Rocky to follow and let Armando work.
“Why leave? question. What if human wake up?”
“I don’t think he will wake up for a while. That kind of injury…it takes a toll on the body.”
Ryland searched for clothes that would fit the bulkier man and grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants that were a little baggy on him along with a black T-shirt that had a periodic table and the phrase “I wear this periodically”. He took the opportunity to change out of the shirt that had been smeared with blood into a spare clean one.
“Don't worry Rock, I'll watch over him until he wakes up.”
Rocky seemed to relax marginally. “Good. Rocky want human to live. Grace not only human anymore.”
Ryland’s heart squeezed in his chest. He would have another human around again. He had long ago given up that possibility, but now he couldn't tell if he was more elated or terrified at the prospect.
“Grace watch new human. Rocky must go investigate anomaly data.”
“What do we know about it so far?”
“Sudden bright light then gone. Only remnant carrying human remained. This why need investigate. Grace okay, question?”
Ryland nodded, placing the clothes on a table near the man now that they had returned to the room. Armando had just finished wrapping the severed limb and the stranger continued to breathe softly, lost in a deep sleep. He couldn't imagine what would happen when the man woke up, or what mental state he would be in.
“I'm good Rock. Keep me posted on the anomaly.”
“Be back soon!” Rocky ran off as Ryland pulled a seat up next to the bed waiting for the stranger to wake up.
***
“We are salvation.” the creature bellowed as it chased the SM-13 down. Simon could feel his heartbeat in his ears and the air around him was almost blistering. Hot blood dripped and leaked from every crevice and he knew he only had moments before the creature would either capture its prey in its many-toothed jaw, or the sub would implode. Neither was a very tantalizing prospect.
Simon maneuvered the submarine to face the monstrosity racing towards him and he put the engines to max power, intending to ram the creature. He yelled a final cry hoping his blind aim was true.
The submarine impacted.
Simon's eyes flew open, a stabbing pain causing him to shut them again as the light pierced his eyes. He squeezed his eyes open and shut until the room around came into focus and he breathed rapidly. Everything ached, but he was warm and laying on a reasonably comfortable surface. The air was cool on his face and he could hear the sounds of a low rhythmic beeping matched by the sound of light breathing.
Was there someone else there with him?
He snapped his head towards the sound of the breathing and at his side was a man sleeping soundly in the chair next to the bed. His head was lolled back on the seat cushion and his glasses hung on his ear by one arm. His hair was a messy dirty-blonde and fluffed in all directions. Simon tensed but the man remained asleep.
He looked down at himself and could see that the blood had been cleaned off of him except for his shredded clothes. It looked like something had cut the clothes to access the cuts and wounds covering his torso from the altercation with the mutated monster. They were neatly bandaged, matching the remaining shoulder part of his arm that had been torn off in the chaos of the final moments in the SM-13.
Simon rushed to sit up, grunting with the strain of the muscle ache. He held his hand up to his pounding head when the man finally rustled awake.
“Oh! You're up,” the man said, quickly rousing himself from the remnants of sleep. He leaned forward to seemingly help Simon sit up further.
“Don't touch me.” Simon growled out as he flinched away. He winced at the sharp pain the quick movement caused.
The man backed away with his hands up in surrender. “I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now.”
Safe?
Simon scoffed, “Nowhere is safe.” He looked around for anything he could use in self defense, but he only saw a freestanding robotic arm. He began to tug the monitoring wires off of him and swung his legs off the table sucking in a breath at the sharp pain.
“Wait, wait!” The man said quickly, “You’re going to rip your stitches and you’ve lost a lot of blood already.”
“It’s not all mine…”, Simon breathed out after the wave of pain had subsided. He sat still again, the rhythmic beeping halted now that the wires were no longer attached to him.
The man looked a bit wary and adjusted his glasses back to their proper position on his face.
“Are you with the Consolidation?” Simon bit out the question.
“I'm not sure who you're talking about, so…no?” The man reached out to the nearby bundle of clothes and held it out towards Simon. When Simon didn’t reach out to take the clothes the man hesitantly set it back down on the table nearby.
“What’s your name,” he asked gently.
You send us up here and you don’t even know our names?
The memory popped into his head like a lightning bolt and his hand clenched tightly, his nails biting into his hand. The smell of blood fills his nose and heat suffocates him until he looks up at the man in front of him again. The sincerity in his eyes pulls Simon back to the present.
“Simon…my name is Simon.”
The man smiles gratefully, “I’m glad we found you Simon.”
A warmth rushed to his chest watching the man’s eyes light up and he quickly looked away, feeling a lump form in his throat. “We?” Simon looked around, clearing his throat and not seeing anyone else.
“Well, it was actually Rocky and the other Eridians. I’m the only human if that’s what you were wondering.”
“Where are we?” Simon looked back at the man.
The man ran a hand through his hair, sending it into further chaos. “That is a very long story.” He took a breath as Simon sat expectantly, “I ended up on this planet after being sent on the expedition to investigate the Petrova line at Tau Ceti. Rocky, who you’ll probably meet soon, lives here and his species calls it Erid. I should probably warn you that he looks like a spider made of rocks.” The man huffed an uncertain chuckle.
He cleared his throat and hurriedly followed up before Simon had a chance to respond, “But we can talk about all of that some more later. My name is Ryland by the way. Most people just call, or called, me by my last name Grace, but I go by either.”
He stood up and made his way to the door, “I’ll let you get changed. There’s also a shower back there if you want to clean up more,” he pointed to a door behind Simon, “I’ll have some food ready for you when you are ready.”
Ryland quickly made his way out, quietly shutting the door behind him. Simon looked over at the clothes on the table and grabbed it hesitantly. The fabric was softer than any he had felt in a long time and had a fresh smell to it. He sniffed himself and grimaced as the overwhelming stench of copper filled his nose.
Petrova line? What group was this man with?
Simon set the clothes down on the bed next to him and he carefully got up, making sure not to move too quickly. He shuffled around the room, looking at the sparsely decorated interior. All that was in here was the bed, a small table, a chair, and a counter along the wall; and of course the robotic arm which he eyed suspiciously.
He walked into the bathroom, doing a double take at his reflection. He reached up to where his left arm used to be and shuddered at the ghost of his own touch. The memory of his arm being separated from his body made him wince as the echoes of ripping flesh entered his mind. He pulled the tattered remains of his shirt off revealing the stitched and bandaged areas on all parts of his torso. Dried blood had crusted across his chest creating a tapestry of rippling cracks. He twisted his body around to inspect the stitches on his back and sucked in a breath from the stabbing pain of the movement as it pulled on the freshly stitched wounds.
Simon finished undressing, tossing his clothes into a pile in the corner of the room and walked over to the shower. It was an immaculate tiled area with a glass enclosure; far nicer than the showers on Eden. He opened the door and turned the handle half expecting nothing to come out. Instead, clear water sprayed from the ceiling like a small pocket of rain.
“Holy shit.” Simon’s eyes widened in awe as he held his hand out into the gentle spray of water. It was somewhat cold at first, but soon it was warm to touch. Simon fully stepped under the water and closed his eyes, letting the rivulets stream down his face.
The water below him became muddied with the blood and grime that had still been caked to his body beneath his clothes. He watched as it swirled down the drain and disappeared, taking the evidence of the nightmarish world he had somehow escaped from with it. He tested the bottles with pumps on the wall and the soap that came out smelled similar to the clothes Ryland had given him. He began to wash away the coppery smell.
After what felt like a lifetime, he turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the shelf nearby, drying himself off. Simon mourned having to leave behind the warmth of the shower. He went back to the room he had first woken up in and picked up the clothes he had set down on the bed. Savoring the soft feel of the fabric he pulled on the clothes. He stumbled slightly at first, getting used to the lack of having two arms. The clothes fit somewhat snug, but otherwise suited him perfectly.
The smell of food had wafted into the room, coaxing Simon to leave and face the new world he had woken up in.
***
How does he not know about the Petrova line?
Ryland stirred some of the taumoeba scrambled eggs and bacon in the pan. He made a few extra portions for Simon since it looked like he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in a long time.
The door to the medical room opened and Ryland looked up at Simon who was freshly showered and wearing the outfit he had given him. Simon’s hair was still wet, but all of the blood and grime had been wiped away. The shirt fit tightly around Simon’s chest and the grey sweatpants rode low on his waist, showing the beginnings of taut muscles below.
Ryland’s eyes caught Simon watching him and his face warmed, eyes quickly darting back down to the food he was preparing. Ryland cleared his throat.
“I’ll take care of your old clothes, although they’ll probably need to be incinerated.” Ryland motioned over to the couch with the spatula in his hand, “Feel free to get comfortable. Breakfast is almost ready.”
Simon looked around, eyes filled with wary curiosity. “Is this all yours?”
Ryland nodded, “Rocky and Adrian made everything for me. It’s all created from a material called Xenonite, though on earth it is definitely not a solid.” Ryland grabbed two plates and began to scrape the eggs and bacon onto both. He made sure to load one plate up with a significantly larger portion.
“You keep talking about Earth as if it's still around.” Simon grunted, walking around the room towards Ryland.
“It is,” Ryland titled his head to the side, “we sent the solution back to Earth. The sun isn’t fading anymore.”
“Fading?” Simon stopped abruptly. “It is gone, Ryland. Everything is fucking gone. The planets, the stars, they all disappeared.”
Ryland shook his head, “Rocky told me the sun was cured in our solar system and that was less than a year ago.”
Simon walked briskly towards where Ryland stood, leaving very little space between them. “Everything vanished 21 years ago.” He paused and slightly tilted his head, “Do you not know about the Quiet Rapture?”
“The Quiet Rapture?” Ryland scoffed, “You aren’t some religious zealot are you?”
Simon slammed his hand down on the counter next to them causing Ryland to flinch. “Filament Station wasn’t my fault!”
He sighed in frustration and dragged his hand down his face, backing up a fraction and taking a deep breath.” You probably don’t know about Filament Station either.”
Ryland shook his head and Simon explained, “The Quiet Rapture happened in 357 EIC; I guess 2349 in Earth’s calendar. All the stars and habitable planets just disappeared. Only the space stations and some moons remain.”
“2349? That’s not possible. It’s 2067 on Earth. Even with time dilation that wouldn’t be plausible.” Ryland stepped away from the plates and began to pace. “That’s almost 300 years in the future. And you’re saying there are colonies on places other than Earth?” He looked back at Simon.
Simon stared at him like he had grown two heads. “Yeah, I was born on Eden, the space station on Mars’ moon.”
None of this should be possible.
Ryland thought for a moment, “Rocky said he grabbed you from straight out of space,” Simon frowned, “some sort of light anomaly held you in stasis.”
Simon’s eyes filled with dread and his hand closed into a tight fist. “Did you say ‘light’?”
Ryland rambled on, not seeing the panic growing on Simon’s face. “I need to talk to Rocky and see if he's gathered any data from the anomaly.” Ryland quickly walked to the front door and grabbed a jacket hanging from the wall. He looked back at Simon, “Feel free to eat mine too if you're still hungry,” he pointed to the plates he had left behind, ”I'll be back.” He walked out of the door and the door closed behind him.
Simon stood alone in this strange house, on a stranger planet and felt like his understanding of the world was crumbling around him.