Ares by Adams Jayson
Author:Adams, Jayson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fiction Factory Books
Published: 2023-10-03T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
WHO KNEW THE afterlife would be so bright?
Was it Heaven? How could she tell? God would be somewhere about, perhaps, would finally have to show Himself. Not that she believed in God. Religion had never made sense, but neither had the idea your essence simply ceased upon your death.
For the record, your life didnât flash before your eyes on your way out. It was more like ⦠what you loved the most. Whatever that was, the Universe gave you the chance to see it one last time â¦.
âSheâs waking up.â
Shapes and shadows shifted within the brilliant light that filled Kateâs vision. She squinted against the brightness, willing form upon the ephemeral gray patches.
âQuick, grab my medical bag.â
âHere it is.â
âIs she going to be OK?â
Kateâs vision sharpened. The achromatic wisps congealed to solid form, spirits waiting to welcome her to the beyond. Clad in ⦠blue? Wasnât white the preferred color of the afterlife? Light blue, in fact â¦. And not a gown or flowing robes, but a jumpsuit? With NASA patches?
âCommander Holman, how are you feeling?â
A soothing voice, part of a calming bedside manner. Palmer. Memories came flooding back: her altercation with Julian. The injection. Pain. Her children. Dying ⦠or not? She was coming to, but not in the afterlife.
Dr. Palmer materialized in front of her, sporting his reassuring physicianâs smile. Kate tried to speak but couldnât coax a sound. âDonât try to talk,â he said.
She complied, relaxing her throat. Her head hurt. A dull ache pervaded her entire body. She was tired. And she couldnât move.
âYouâre lucky to be alive.â
More of the space around her came into focus. She was inside the Gaia capsule. Three additional jumpsuitsâastronautsâhovered nearby, though she couldnât make out faces. A thin, rough blanket encased her body, a white cocoon surrounding her from neck to toe. Wires protruded from beneath the wrap near her heart, feeding into a small medical scanner held by Dr. Palmer.
âYour vitals are stable,â said Palmer. âTheyâve been stable for a while; youâve just been unconscious all this time. I wasnât sure if youâd wake.â
The doctor moved in close and waved a flashlight into Kateâs pupils. The encounter nagged at her with an oddness she fought to pin down â¦: sheâd been upright for her face-to-face with Palmer, their eyes meeting directly. And the cabin lights, instead of shining in her eyes, loomed overhead â¦. She was vertical, not on her back. But not standing, either. Her feet dangled a meter from the deck. She hung in her cocoon along an empty stretch of bulkhead, suspended and wrapped like a spiderâs catch.
âSorry for the crude accommodations,â continued Palmer, moving on to inspect her ears, âbut coming up with an arrangement that satisfied all the constraints was a little tricky. We needed you nearby, in case your condition changed, which is why youâre not below. We also needed to keep you warm, and not allow you to drift across the cabin.â
Drift? Indeed, Palmerâs feet floated above the deck; they didnât touch it.
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