Chapter 6: Where the Hell am I?

I vaguely became somewhat aware. I did not actually wake up like a normal person wakes in the morning— it was like I was slowly remembering waking up over a process that seemed to take days or even weeks. Vaguely, like an unending dream, awareness of sensations and memories grew. I was blind as I was paralyzed and could not open my eyes.

The images I thought I saw must have been memories. It felt like I was not breathing. I would feel pins and needles all over my body ... sometimes in my feet, then in my hands, my legs and arms, my back ... everywhere. I was confused, frightened and in pain. After a massive attack of chest pain, I became aware of my beating heart and shortly after I was able to gasp and inhale a breath.

What the hell was happening to me? Was I dying! Had I been in an accident? Was I buried alive? I labored to breathe and became aware of the tube down my throat only as it was quickly withdrawn. This caused more gasping and I struggled to cough. I began to hear noises—mechanical noises and gurgles. My arms and legs still refused to move but slowly I began to be able to open my eyes.

My first view was blurry and unclear. There was a dim glow coming from above. I could shift my eyeballs enough to see that I was laying in container or box of some sort. I could see a blurry tangle of hoses, wires, probes, and other confusing instruments covering me, all around. Where the hell was I?! I tried to turn my head but couldn’t. Was I in a hospital? I could not remember. I started to panic and felt my heart start to beat harder and faster. As my vision cleared, I could see the glow above was writing on a screen of some sort. I concentrated on this writing and was able to read the words...

Greetings, John Abrams.

As my eyes reached the last word of ... my name??? John! Yes, that was my name ... another line of text appeared.

1. Remain calm.

I tried to speak but could not quite open my mouth. My thoughts were foggy, and I recalled the nightmares I had been dreaming ... earthquakes, destruction and everyone dying. Had it been real? I laid there remembering, and I was able to sort out the various visons and sensations I had been feeling for days and finally remembered that the nightmare was indeed real. I recalled where I was. I was under my neighbor’s house in some type of bunker, stuck in a box-shaped medical coffin of some sort. My neighbor ... Picket! Picket was his name ... was an Alien! I remembered more. My heart began to race again. The writing above me started flashing, causing me to focus on the screen again. New lines appeared, each appearing at about ten second intervals, giving me time to read and understand each line.

I stopped reading ... sedative! I struggled and managed to croak out... “nnnnNOOO!” The screen then blanked and the text was replaced.

Ouch! That did not sound pleasant. I lay there trying to clear my head and recover more of my memories when my thoughts began to slow and my eyelids closed. “The sedative must be taking effect” was my last thought.

This time I awoke in a more normal manner. I opened my eyes and was able to tilt my head and look around. The screen above me was blank and most of the tubes, wires and other devices were gone. There was a brighter white glow coming from behind my head, lighting the inside of the box ... or medical crèche as I recalled the name from the message earlier.

Something felt odd ... different. I could move my hands and arms. Everything seemed to work. There was no pain, not even a dull ache. At my age, waking with pain and aches were normal so this was a pleasant surprise. I stretched my arms and legs, rolled my head and neck, and enjoyed the feeling.

“Hello! Anyone here? Agent?” I called out. There was no reply but the light behind me went out. Now in darkness, I began to panic and was about to reach up and try and push the lid of the crèche away when there was a “pop” sounding like a sealed container opening and the lid began to swing upward groaning as it did. As the lid rose, I felt an inrush of air. COLD air. A very dim glow entered the crèche from the room beyond as the lid continued opening.

Once it finished, I sat up and quickly noticed that instead of Picket’s large brightly lit amazing sublevel, it appeared I was in a small inflated bubble of pale plastic. This curving bubble or cocoon was just tall enough to stand in and extended past the medical crèche about a meter on all sides. It appeared to be sealed to the floor at its base by a bead of glue or adhesive. The cocoon was very dimly lit by small lights on the outside of the crèche which illuminated the floor and the bubble with a weak glow.

I looked over the edge of the crèche and noticed there were a few large cables or hoses that exited the crèche near one end and led to the bubble wall, where they disappeared. Last, I noticed that even though the crèche itself was level, the floor was not. It was sloped noticeably towards one edge of the bubble. Had I been moved? Was I in a different place? a different crèche?

I sat in the crèche for a moment, puzzled, and thought.

“Hello? Agent? Are you there?” I asked.

No reply. I decided that I should probably get out of the crèche. My breath was visible in the chill and I wrapped my arms around my bare chest for warmth and noticed something shocking. My chest felt different, so I studied myself. My legs looked much leaner and stronger than I had remembered. It was hard to tell in the dim light, so I felt them with my hands. Lean and hard muscle, smooth too ... No body hair! Wait, I looked closer and I did have body hair, but it was very short and light, almost a peach fuzz of an adolescent.

My beer belly was gone! Lower, my bare cock looked different, larger maybe, but I quickly realized it was just because it was not buried in fat and hair. I gave my old pal a feel also marveling at the smooth textures of the area. I inspected the orbs below my cock and they also felt normal, just bare, and maybe a bit less saggy.

I flexed my arms and felt my smooth muscular forearms and shoulders. Was I the same person or in a new body? I felt my face. It was baby smooth except for the very light fuzz. Moving up, I noticed I was bald! If I’d had to guess, I’d say my hair had just started growing a few days ago and since there was no stubble, it must have been the first ever growth.

I continued feeling my face and head. Was this my head? It felt similar, though much leaner and angular. I considered my body and tried to remember what it had been like back when I was a young man and in great shape. I couldn’t tell if it was the same body or not, but it appeared to be healthy and strong. Was I younger somehow or still old and just in great shape? I needed to find a mirror and a brighter light.

I moved to climb out of the crèche and found it was so much easier to climb out and over the side with this lean body. No more lumbering; I felt GREAT! Once outside and standing on the sloped floor, I discovered it was colder than the air.

“Hello!” I shouted. I heard a muffled echo but no answer. I stood silent and just listened for a moment, but the cocoon remained as quiet as a tomb. Hell, I guess it was a tomb if I was still located in Picket’s sublevel. The only sound was my breathing and a faint hum coming from the crèche. I listened for a bit longer and thought that, off in the distance, I could hear an occasional drip of water.

I reached out and felt the closest wall of the cocoon. It felt like a plastic film stretched tight, but thicker, maybe spongy. It gave slightly as I prodded it and I wondered if I had the strength to break or tear through. My fingernails were a bit long and looked up to the task. I was weighing trying just that or climbing back into the warmth of the crèche when something caught my eye.

In the dim light, I noticed four crude looking supports below the crèche. The supports looked like heavy extruded plastic with a rough texture and were attached to the floor with something resembling epoxy putty. The extrusions cradled the crèche, holding it up in a level position about a foot above the sloping floor. Wedged under the crèche and against a support, I noticed what appeared to be a parcel of some sort. It was the size of a small duffle bag and was covered in what looked like shrink wrapped plastic. In it, I could see what looked like clothing.

Bending, I retrieved the bundle. It was also stuck to the support with a small wad of putty but a sharp tug tore it free. Grabbing each end, I pulled, stretching the wrapping quite a bit before it tore open. It had been vacuum-packed and inflated quite a bit when punctured. Inside was, like I suspected, mostly clothing. I bent down to be closer to the dim light emitted from the crèche and inspected the garments.

There was a black pair of silky, stretchy briefs ... sort of a cross between boxers and the tighty-whities I had normally worn. I next noticed a pair of socks, also dark and of a stretchy, silky material, though much thicker than the briefs. The soles were covered with a rubbery material for traction and protection. I quickly put the socks on to separate my feet from the cold floor and was happy to find they fit well and felt warm. I followed by donning the briefs. I admit it, I spend a moment admiring and groping my package in its new, snug home.

Next in the bag, I found larger garments. These included a pair of pants which were a dirty white color and appeared to be made with a much heavier, canvas like material, although much softer. I noticed they had plenty of pockets, including a larger pair of thigh pockets. The knees also appeared to be padded and I recalled seeing construction workers wearing pants that had looked similar. The openings at the bottom of the legs appeared to be elastic and I hoped they would not fit too tightly on my ankles. I tried them on and found they also fit well.

The last two garments in the bag was a jacket and an undershirt. I set the jacket aside on the crèche for a moment and inspected the shirt. It was a tee shirt type outfit with long sleeves and was a dark gray in color. The material was thinner and stretchy but seemed durable enough. It had pockets on both breasts, and I noticed the waist, neck and wrist holes were elastic and tightly fitting like the pants had been. I pulled on the shirt and found it fit very well. The chill started to leave me.

I now inspected the jacket. The jacket was hooded with the same dirty white color as the pants and it looked and felt slick and water resistant. It was lined with a soft material and appeared to be lightly insulated. There were pockets on both the inside and outside. I noticed the hood also had face flaps which could wrap around the wearers head leaving just their eyes exposed. I felt items inside the jacket’s larger pockets, but the pockets were sealed, and I could not see a fastener or zipper. I ignored the pocket contents for a moment and continued to inspect the jacket noting that it appeared familiar to jackets I had seen in stores.

When I looked, I could not find any tags or labels or any writing on either the inside or the outside. I put it on and pulled the front opening closed and again did not find a zipper. The edges of the front were slightly stiffer than the fabric and, on a hunch, I aligned the bottoms together as if there had been a zipper. The bottoms pulled together under my fingers and when I moved my finger up, the seam sealed itself under my fingertip. I tugged and the seam had no give and appeared as strong as a zipper. Reversing the process with my finger unsealed the seam. Neat!

I saw the same stiff material on the jacket’s elastic bottom edge and sure enough, when I held the edge against the waist of my pants, the two sealed themselves together under the pressure of my fingers. I left them joined for the moment. I suspected the pant leg bottoms could be sealed to the socks in the same fashion but decided to test that later.

I now went back to the sealed pockets and found they opened the same manner by using moving finger pressure. Inside the left pocket I found a pair of gloves. They were the same color as the jacket and pants and reminded me of synthetic work gloves. They were thin but had padded armored knuckles and the inside had a rubbery coating on the gripping surfaces. I tried one on and found it fit well. Sure enough, the glove sealed to the jacket arms under finger pressure at the wrist seam. Very cool! I took off the glove and replaced them both in the left jacket pocket, sealing them inside.

Opening the other pocket revealed a pair of goggles. They appeared to be fairly rugged and reminded me of an old pair of welder’s goggles with a wide elastic strap. I noted that the wide strap would cover my ears when worn which was interesting. There were also detents on the goggle sides suggesting controls of some sort, but it was too dim in the cocoon to see much detail. I returned the goggles to the jacket pocket for later study.

Now dressed and much warmer, I returned to inspecting the remaining contents of the bundle. As I sifted through the remaining items, I did not find boots or shoes which surprised me. I first removed a rolled-up scroll of some plastic like material with visible printing on its surface. It was too dim to read easily so I ignored that for the moment and looked at the next item.

It was my cordless flashlight ... or wait! No, it wasn’t. It looked like my trusty yellow tool company branded flashlight but when I inspected it closer, I saw many differences. There were no logos, labels or instructions printed on the shell. Also, it was much lighter and probably a bit smaller. It felt different somehow, probably still plastic though more solid and rugged. I noticed no removable batteries and found the shell was sealed. There were no bolts, screws, or join seams anywhere on the flashlight exterior. There were a few detents and connection ports however, and I looked at these closer.

I noticed the in place of the old protruding rubber covered activation switch, this flashlight had detents where the switch would have been. I pressed the area of the first detent and the flashlight lit and a small green display band appeared above the detents. This must be a gauge indicating the power level, like the bar display on my old tools. This display had almost two dozen divisions though, as opposed to my old tool’s simple three bar display. I could see that this display was almost fully lit with only one division dark, which I took to mean that it was nearly fully charged. Next to the power level display was another lit symbol in the shape of a half circle. I could not guess what this was for.