Chapter Text
Your first thoughts while waking up were foggy and difficult to understand, but became clearer as you recognized where you were. Right, your cryopod. You"ve been asleep for a week, now. Time to get your parents and find out where to go from there.
You weakly lifted a hand to push open the door of your pod, a vertical standing tube of sorts that was white and light blue in color. Cushioned, so you wouldn"t get a neck cramp or something while frozen. You paused for a moment before actually stepping out of the pod, realizing it required a lot more effort than you were used to, and chalking it up to weakness from being immobile for so long.
Your living room was a comforting sight, with oddly colored carpets and plants strewn about. Fairy lights were still strung up from a couple years ago, when you and your dad decided to be sneaky and use a little extra energy for reading together. You paused for a moment to actually look at the plants, noting it was kind of weird that they were so shriveled and barely identifiable considering it"d only been a few days since they were last watered.
This concern was quickly forgotten when you remembered you had to retrieve your parents. You took a step forwards and almost crumpled to the floor, shocked by how weak you actually were. And, now that you were noticing, very dehydrated. And very hungry.
...Okay, maybe your parents could wait a few minutes.
You all but ran to your kitchen, grabbing a cup from the counter and holding it under the tap, only for no water to come out. Definitely weird. The water shouldn"t have been shut off so soon, not unless something had gone horrifically wrong.
It didn"t end up really mattering, as you had some old water bottles left under the sink. They were warm, and tasted like dust, but it quenched your thirst and took the bite off your hunger. Looking around in the fridge for actual food only gave you a sick feeling when you got an eyeful of unidentifiable rotten mush and decomposing containers.
You checked the pantry and decided a few cans of fruit would be good enough, considering there were plenty left for your parents.
Right, your parents. You really should go get them, already.
A quick venture over to the closet for the second cryopod increased the anxiety that you"d shoved to the back of your mind tenfold once you realized the pod was empty. Nobody was inside. This... wasn"t great. But, hey, anything could have happened! Maybe one of them woke up before you, and was somewhere else in the apartment. Maybe they were out right now, on their way home to you. And there was still another pod in your parent"s bedroom, so one of your parents was probably still here.
You hesitantly turned to the door at the end of the hall, the one leading to the third cryopod. You almost didn"t want to go and check, to just leave yourself ignorant so if there wasn"t anyone there you didn"t have to think of the implications any more than you already had.
Letting out a breath you didn"t realize you were holding, you began to make your way down the hallway. It was the exact same one from when you were a little kid, with all the same pictures lining the walls. Nothing was out of place, and that almost made it worse.
You jumped a little once you came out of your thoughts, the door right in front of you. Reaching out to grab the handle, and freezing. There was something in there, making an almost silent rustling sound. Should you be relieved or terrified? Was it your parent or a man-eating Zurk? Would opening this dreaded, horrible, world-ending door result in a wonderful reunion or your untimely demise?
Okay, maybe you"re being a little dramatic. Can you really blame yourself? This is a pretty stressful situation.
Tensing yourself for a fight, you push open the door with more force than necessary, surprising yourself with the loud "bang" of the door hitting the wall. Your eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of the disgusting little bugs, only to find a cat?
You blinked at the cat, an orange little thing. It blinked back at you. Your thoughts ran too fast for you to keep up with. I mean, a cat? You didn"t even know they were still alive. Did someone sneak it into the city? Why was it in your apartment? What was it wearing?
Your questions were interrupted by a little drone flying up in your face, making you stumble back and just barely restrain yourself from swatting it out of the air. It beeped and chirred at you for a moment, before pausing to gauge your reaction. You cleared your throat, glancing between the drone and the cat, who was batting at a loose sock on the floor.
"Um." You cringed at how rough your voice sounded, and how uncool your first thing you said was. Not even a little creative.
"Ah, English then. Nice to meet you, human! I am B-12 and this is my feline companion, Stray! She and I are pleased to meet your acquaintance." The drone, B-12, did a spin as it spoke, sounding happy with itself. Is it an it? "Actually, human. You"re quite the sight to see! I was not aware there were any of you left around." You stared at B-12, eyes wide, before looking over to the cryopod in the corner of the room. Not empty, just full of old books.
Okay, so your parents are gone. No more of them. You clung to the hope that they were simply hiding elsewhere, before turning back to the drone who was observing you carefully. "What do you mean, none of us left around? Did the others leave the Slums?" Your voice cracked awkwardly, and you fidgeted with your hands. The cat, Stray, was rubbing themself across the carpet and flopped onto their back. You noted Stray was a girl. And snuffling around the clothing in your parent"s laundry basket.
"Ah, no. The humans have been gone now for well over 300 years! All dead for one reason or another. You"re quite a spectacle, you know? How did you make it?" B-12 said that last question mostly to themself, whirring around your head and making you a little dizzy with all their movement. It took you a moment to actually process the words, before you let out a small giggle, breathless and unbelieving.
"300 years? You"re joking." You steadied yourself against the door frame, one hand grabbing onto the hem of your shirt. "Negative! Really, it"s quite the shocker we even found you. This city is pretty big." You had to agree. They happened to be here, and right as you woke up? What is that timing? You felt your stomach drop after properly processing what B-12 just told you. 300 or so years since the end of City 99. You weren"t aware cryopods were even capable of preserving people for that long.
And oh god, 300 or so years. That"s a long ass time. And all of the humans? Gone? There"s no way. You are not the last human. This can"t actually be happening.
You were a little too caught up in your thoughts to realize you"d been hyperventilating, only coming back to reality once a furry presence brushed up against your legs, cooing out a curious "mrrp?". Stray"s big eyes stared up at you, round and honey brown. At least you weren"t the last organic life. There was some hope there. Actually, now that you thought about it, more than 300 years probably meant the outside world was safe, and that"s how Stray got here.
B-12 nudged your shoulder a bit, catching your attention. "I understand this is a lot to process, but we really should be going. Stray is on a mission to find her family, and the sooner we get her to them the better. You"re more than welcome to join us, I"d even encourage it!" They sounded awfully upbeat after the massive bombshell they just dropped on you, last human and all, but you guess there really was no way to go but forwards.
Stray and B-12 left the room, heading towards the front door of your apartment. You stayed behind for a moment, taking a long look at your parent"s bedroom.
They had a queen bed, with quite the array of mismatched pillows and blankets strewn across the mattress and the floor. A dresser to the right, and a shelf with the cryopod behind it to the left. There was a tapestry pinned up above the headboard of the bed, and the red candle your mother used to read paperwork lay where it always had on her dark oak nightstand. Sometimes, when you were very small, she"d hold you next to her and tell you stories while the candle burned low. Stories about the world above the city, like the bright sky and the hot summer days where she and her friends ate popsicles at the beach together.
Your favorite stories were the ones about the woods. You liked to imagine climbing a tree in a thick forest, especially while it was raining. Your mother always told you that a rainy forest had a very specific smell to it, and she"d take you to see one when they were allowed out of the City. Your throat suddenly felt very tight, and your cheeks very wet. Quickly wiping away your tears, you shut the door to your parents room and followed your newfound friends to where they were waiting by the door.
B-12 whirred excitedly and Stray blinked at you with her big, owlish, and quite frankly cute eyes. You gave them a weak smile and thought for a moment, before grabbing a tote bag your father always kept by the front door to hold groceries.
"I"m going to pack some stuff, just in case. Sorry to like- hold you up, and all." You felt kind of awkward, but neither objected so you made your way to your own room, packing some money and spare clothing. A book caught your eye, a history book of the States. Rather impulsively you shoved it into your bag, burying it under some underwear and a coat before returning to the living room.
"Alright, let"s do this!" B-12 teetered a little bit in what you could only assume was happiness, and you nodded to them before opening and stepping out of the front door, unsure of what to expect.