No one does not feel the fear of losing as they watch the news. Norman hugged his wife as Donald barking continuously outside their house.
“Why we can’t reach everyone?” the woman asked and interchangeably glanced at the door and the television.
“Mom! Dad!” They heard their two boys called, giving them a taste of relief a little.
“Don’t watch it!” Ronald turned off the TV. “Have you already called Eunice? Where are they?!”
“Don’t tell us she is not answering your call,” Roel pled.
Their parents shook their heads. As their father dialed their sister’s number and the operator’s voice aired, saying that the owner of the phone is out of reach, they all went outside and checked on their pet that has suddenly sounded threatened.
“What is that, Norman?”
“I don’t know. Don’t look at it.” He buried her face on his chest. “The night has always dark, that is. And there are times that there are no stars to look at above,” he reasoned out and rubbed her back comfortingly.
When he turned to the two young men, who are looking at them as well, his teats fall as he shook his head; telling them not to fright their mom even more.
The two hugged each other tightly and closed their eyes to not see how darkness will kiss the land. Norman then pulled them and wrapped around his arms, Donald at the middle, sharing the warmth.
—
Rum gazed at the far place, slowly losing in front their eyes. He drank another shot of wine to calm down himself and sat down. Watch everything vanished from the land.
“No. That is already enough.” He stopped Jean from giving him another glass.
“Don’t you want to be asleep when you die?”
“Nope.”
“I see. I should accompany you then.”
His breathing became hard as she saw the city where Eunice’s family is living get lost in just a couple of minutes.
“We are next,” he muttered and took a deep breath as he turned to the way where the Island Dreen is situated. “Did the doctor send us a notice already?”
“He did.”
“Okay. At least he has fulfilled Eunice’s last request.”
—
It is already passed the time limit, and yet, Sofia is still not showing any signs of consciousness. Dean put down the manual left by Captain Eve and went to his patient’s side.
“Sofia. Sofia. Sofi—”
She slowly opened her eyes and roamed it around, until they meet his. The young lady then sat down and continued wandering her vision on the sight she has woken up to.
“I am—”
“Sofia. You are Sofia Zimmerman.”
Dean was amazed that they can really move freely, just because of that chunk of the Asteroid AE-010E Eunice placed in the core of the spaceship. And with the complete guide she left, there is no doubt that they can stay there until their deaths.
“What is this place? Where am I?”
Instead of answering her, he showed her what their universe looks like and how it looks like after what happened.
“We are somewhere inside the void.”
“Void?”
“Yes. The thing in the outer space that believed to be a place where life and time doesn’t exist.”
“Then why are we existing?”
“That is for you to know, Sofia.”
She looked at the control system of the spaceship, wondering how those things works. The girl then glimpsed at the doctor and gave him a questioning look.
“Where are the others?”
He smiled and put on her badge. That query caught him off guard. He never expected that that would be one of the first questions she will ask as she wakes up.
“I once met this man named Henry. He said, on Earth, where we all came from, time has given birth to the person where your life was originated,” he started and took his medicine.
His body system reacting to the new environment outside—that is just a proof that they are no more near on their planet, or it has already been crushed by the black hole, he guessed
“But here, the person where you were come from, is the one who gave birth to time,” he ended and checked on her vitals.
“That is why we are living?”
“That is why we are living.”
“What is that thing that you have to intake?”
His eyes shifted to the unlabeled bottle on his table. The doctor shrugged his shoulders and listened to her heartbeat next.
“Should I have some of it, too?”
“No, no. You are perfectly fine. You will never be needing them.”
“What are those in the bin?” She pointed at the crumpled tissues, in which he had spit the bloods he coughed.
“Those are litters. Don’t touch it.” He turned around to cover his mouth in fear that she might see his situation.
“By the way, tomorrow I will be teaching some things that you have to know. Have some rest for now—oh we have food, you must eat well, so you will have enough strength to get out of the black hole.”
“Where are we going?”
He rubbed his hands to warm himself. Despite wanting to raise the spaceship’s inside temperature, he just preferred no to, for the child’s body system has to be used to in Earth’s environment condition.
“Well, we don’t know if there are still some people out there. But I am hoping that there are, so you will have another company to get along with.”
He glanced at the holographic figure Program Anne, who is standing behind her. Sure, the programs will not let her feel alone, and will guide her to the extent of what they can. But still, having a human companion is a different kind of crowd.
“Why would I wait for another day, if no one can do that for me any more tomorrow?”
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and he runs out of words. He took a few steps backwards and find something to hold on to.
“Why not condition yourself? You are not looking good. How do you feel?” She went to him and assisted him to sit down.
He sighed and laughed. “Okay. This is planet Freed.” He showed on the photo on his tab.
“There are people here who can help you. That is, if it is still existing. The thing is, I don’t have enough basis to claim that my hypothesis is right. But in case that it is, in every thirty years, these black holes that contain the same asteroids as Asteroid AE-0101E…” he paused and gave her the files about the asteroid. “If so, then in every thirty years, it throws out its contains. Darling, if that is what will happen, make sure to get free from here. Okay?”
He hemmed when he received no response from Sofia. He leaned his back against hers and stared at the monitors—still, the surroundings of the spaceship are dark and infinite.
“Sofia, listen carefully to me—to Doctor Dean. Condition yourself every other hour. You need it. Did you see my suitcase on my table? Everything in it, keep it. Start from the scratch if you have to.”
Dean chuckled as she complained, the same way Eunice does whenever she doesn’t want to do what she is told to do.
“Doctor, I will receive a signal once the spaceship’s radar senses these people, right?”
“Yes, you will.” He gasped and breathes slowly to normalize his breathing.
“What if I don’t?”
“Dean? Doctor?”
The man fell on the floor and the alarm he is holding rang. She picked it up and went to the conditioning bed, and do what was shown on the screen.
Dean crawled once she gets inside his capsule and closed her eyes.
“Remember everything on your own, Sofia.” He touched the cover in spite his hands with his blood. “Live,” he whispered.
The system then started inputting details in the child’s mind—programs of everyone that would guide her through survival.
Chronologically, everything played in the patient’s head the things that she isn’t even supposed to know. Yet, she has to perceive in able for her to get back to life and conquer the odds—thirty years later.
‘CONDITIONING COMPLETE. MEMORY INSTALLED.’