Page 2 of Orange Sky
“But the femalezzz -”
“- No, we need to abandon them!”, the first man cut in. He seemed to be the leader of the two.
I heard a scuffle, some glasses breaking and a movement that felt like an earthquake. The shaking is enough to want me to vomit the pizza I ate last night. I was too busy packing and panicking to even cook my own meal.
I realized I am strapped to the bed because even if I felt the swaying movement, I did not fall off the bed. In fact, I can feel sensations from the tip of my toes all the way to my head that has suddenly become itchy. My lower limbs felt like a pavement for a marching army of ants travelling up my arms and legs.
Then suddenly, I heard a whirring sound and all other sounds died out. I was trying hard not to ventilate. I am sure my heart rate is way off the charts. I cannot afford to lose consciousness at this point. My first aid training kicked in and the first rule is,Do not Panic!
I tried to breathe in and out as much as I could. And for the first time in more than a decade, I prayed earnestly. It took me a while to accept if this is my fate, then so be it. I prayed for forgiveness and my death to be less painful as I felt my bed swayed and bumped into things. Other things fell on me that I can’t see.
There should be life after death, right? I was waiting for my life to flash before me. They said it’s a sure sign that you are near death. However, all I felt is blank. No sounds but all around me are motion. My bed is moving. Sliding left and right. Up and down. It felt like when I’m on a Grizzly River Run at Disneyland.
What is going on?
After what felt like hours but surely only minutes had passed, I can now open my eyes and wished I had not opened them. All around me are walls and whatever capsulized container I am in, I am sliding further and further down.
Who knew I was claustrophobic.
I suddenly found it hard to breathe.
Then my vision cleared and I saw I got ejected from a - a spaceship?
A gigantic Klingon spaceship, except, it looked more massive and ominous than in the movies or video games.
I felt the exact moment gravity left. It felt like my stomach went out of my body.
Maybe all of this is a dream. It should be. I was still going down or away from the spaceship. It looked like one of the ships I played in a videogame during my teenage years. The Sarcophagus Dreadnought Carrier.
Could I had been to Disneyland and this is just a 3D simulation game? But Star Trek is not a Disney franchise. Or maybe it is in Japan?
BOOM.
A huge explosion rocked the spaceship. Chunks of it got separated. I felt the intensity all the way to my bones. The explosion further threw me away from it. Just pushed me away rather than throwing whatever I was in. It’s like I’m in a spinning cup. No debris went my way which is good. Because if this is real and I am in space, then if this transparent glass covering whatever bed I’m in will shatter, surely all the oxygen will be sucked out. Including my body.
From afar, I saw a smaller ship moving away. And it looked like it was collecting smaller life pods like mine into its main hull. They, whoever they are, are using ultra-light beams to get the life pods. They disappear when the pods reach the outer rim of the smaller ship. I realized I am fully awake now. Who wouldn’t be? Or I’m in a nightmare and my body is stashed somewhere in a hospital?
I looked around. There are no other life pods near my area! At this point, I am starting to hyperventilate. I can now move my arms but I cannot unhook the straps to my body. There is even a strap across my forehead. Try as I might, I cannot see or feel any buttons that will release me. Or something to attract the attention of that smaller ship. I refuse to die! There must be a way to live.
My vision is getting blurry because I’m panicking. Am I losing oxygen now or just losing my shit?
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths.
My vision is getting blurry at this point. I am concentrating on breathing. There must be life after death right? I saw from a distance the main ship, or what’s left of it, blew up. Debris flew from all directions. There seem to be two more large ships on the horizon. Can they see me? They are getting farther and farther away. Why am I speeding away from those ships?
Too late I realized that my life pod had been sucked by a nearby planet’s gravity. My life pod changed direction and is pointed towards the planet. My last vision as I lost consciousness is that the planet is not Earth! It has a beautiful blue ring surrounding it and two moons on opposite sides. Who knows how many moons but as far as I can see, it looks like there are 2 moons.
Two. Moons.
I let that thought sink in. Before I took in the color of the planet.
Orange.
I heard someone rasping and realized it was me. Finally, for the first time in my life, I am having a full-blown panic attack. Or is the pod losing oxygen? The planet looked larger and larger. I was falling down too fast. My last vision is the edge of my lifepod catching fire again. Flames burst out all around.
???
The air smelled like burned cooking. All around me, looking at my bedroom, everything is burning. I’m sitting on her bed, there are flames all around me. But how come I’m not suffocating? I see flames all around me. Yet, things are not burning.
