The Lonely Whelk by Ariele Sieling

Author:Ariele Sieling
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: scifi, humor, science fiction, space travel

Hazel was nervous. Pilgrim, Holland’s friend who had just woken up, was trying to sit up and having trouble doing so. In addition, there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of other bodies lying in these coffins. Bodies... coffins... spaceship... this day was not turning into a very good bedtime story.

“Wait, wait,” Hazel said, holding out her hands towards Pilgrim. “Don’t you need help?” The monkey was curled around her neck, repeating her words in a robotic tone.

“No, no,” Pilgrim replied cheerfully. “It just feels good to be awake! I mean, you have no idea. I have been asleep for a long, long time and I am just... I can’t even explain how much I want to be awake right now. You should focus on waking up the others and I’ll help as soon as I can.”

Walking to the next coffin, Hazel tried to read the plaque, but the jewels in her ears apparently couldn’t read. A brief thought crossed her mind – hadn’t she been able to read the sign outside her shop for a minute? She brushed the thought away.

“Who is this?”

“That’s MacDougal. Don’t start there, start with Sammy. She’s our nurse, and she’ll be able to help us walk faster.”

Hazel walked over to the coffin Pilgrim had pointed out and began to turn the wheel. She followed the steps Holland had shown her, and a moment later, the woman in the coffin was blinking drowsily and murmuring, “Who are you?”

“Sammy!” Pilgrim greeted her happily.

Sammy blinked a few more times and looked around. A slow smile spread across her face, starting with her lips and working up her cheeks and into her eyes. It was like a sunrise. “It is amazing to be awake,” she said, clearing her throat a few times.

Pilgrim explained who Hazel was, and then the two of them began to discuss things completely unrelated to Hazel. It was all techno-gibberish – light years and rotary motors and some kind of beam. Then Sammy the Nurse began to show Pilgrim a few stretches, designed to help his disused muscles strengthen after their long sleep.

Meanwhile, Hazel opened coffin after coffin. Every person was different. Some immediately sat up straight – those were the scariest. They claimed to have been awake for a while. Others were like cranky teenagers, still in the throes of sleep and rather unwilling to be woken up. Others were drooling, and still others talked in their sleep or whispered nonsensical words as Hazel moved by. But soon the room was abuzz with chatter, and most of the crew knew as much about her as they needed to – Holland had assigned her to help, and she was doing as she was told.

After a while, Sammy got out of her coffin and began to assist the others. She showed them stretches, and encouraged them to drink water. Soon after her, Pilgrim followed, although he was still a bit wobbly on his feet. Hazel watched as person after person woke up and stretched; it was like a roomful of zombies, although they didn’t seem particularly interested in her brains.

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