Realization

Whole New World
Chapter Two
Realization

Dano paced the floor in the middle of the hospital room while his mind tried to process everything. The world outside looked like a war had taken place, and he had no idea why. He had recently woken up in a metal tank, and he had no clue what happened to put him inside that thing. There were too many questions and not enough answers. Dano was soon knocked out of his concentration by a loud beep, the watch was charged enough to work.

Dano moved back to the window, and lifted the watch off of the sill. What he saw filled him with a mix of confusion and rage, and he promptly threw the watch across the room. The watch smashed into the interior window, and cracked it before falling and coming to rest on the small table below. Dano was breathing heavily as he stared at the watch. Slowly his anger subsided, and he sighed. He walked across the small room and picked up the watch, inspecting it for damage. Luckily it was unscathed.

Dano found himself staring at the date and time on the watch face. Wednesday, June 2nd 2032, 2:29 pm. The time and date re-ran through Dano’s mind, over and over and over. He had been out for twenty years, laying in that pod for two decades. Where was his family, his friends. Were they dead, are they hiding from whatever happened to the world? Dano’s mind was on the verge of collapse, he couldn’t process anything other than the watch he held in front of his face.

Dano pulled the chair away from the table and sat. He held his head in his hands and tried to concentrate. It is 2032, I have been in stasis for twenty years. To Dano it felt like a science-fiction story, and not actually his life. It’s a dream, that’s it, just a dream. Dano dismissed that thought, it wasn’t a dream, this shit was for real. But why me? What happened to put me in there. Dano tried to remember, but all he could recall was a bright white light, a lot of heat and excruciating pain.

Dano pulled his head out of his hands and stared at the tank he had risen from. Okay, I need to concentrate. I’m alone, so I need to survive. No biggy, shouldn’t be that hard. Dano stood and moved to the door, but stopped when he remembered he wasn’t wearing shoes. He turned and stood with his back to the exit. He scanned the room a second time, and found a pair of boots that were hidden behind the dresser the first time he looked. Dano picked them up and looked them over.

They were black, SWAT cut boots. They looked pretty worn and had a little scorching on the tops, but other than that they were good to go. Dano loved SWAT cut boots. The tops of the boot went way above the ankle to the lower calf. This way no matter how bad Dano twisted or rolled his ankle the boot would hold it in place. This was great, since Dano’s right ankle was a bit tender after he rolled it in high school football his junior year.

Dano slipped on the boots and tied them up. They fit well. Maybe these are my old boots, but they weren’t scorched when I last saw them. Dano dismissed the thought with a shrug, and instead began to think about what to do. Out of habit he began a verbal checklist.

“Flahghbah” Fuck me.

Dano tried again and concentrated hard on his tongue to get it to work.

“F-f-f-irst I need food.”

Dano smiled, his speech was coming back faster than he expected.

“Then I will need shelter.”

Feeling proud Dano left the room and found himself in a long white hallway. He looked down both possible routes before choosing to go right. As he took his first step the florescent lights flickered and then shut off. Dano was now in a dark hallway without any means of lighting his way. If something jumps out at me I’m going to kill the director.

After a long couple hours of stumbling through the dark Dano finally found his way to the bottom floor of the hospital. Using his cell phone as a light he had figured out he was on the seventieth floor of the building in the recovery ward. Once on the ground floor Dano followed some signs that lead him to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was well lit by a wall of windows to the right of the entrance. Dozens of round grey tables with at least four chairs that looked similar to the one in the room Dano had awakened in dotted the area. The floor, walls and ceiling of the large open room remained the same as the rest of the hospital. White. The far wall had a rectangular hole cut in it, a metallic tray platform jutting out in front of plastic glass that covered the front and top. This created a counter above shallow rectangular indents into the metal stand behind the plexiglass wall. To the right of the serving area was a grey metal door that lead into the kitchen.

Dano quickly moved through the large room and pushed the door open. The kitchen looked like any other commercial kitchen. Stainless steel appliances and counters made an island in the center of the room, while a big stainless door with two latches, one a foot from the top, the other a foot from the bottom, sat to the right of the island, and was probably the entrance to a freezer. To the left was a rectangular hole in the white walls that resembled a threshold and possibly lead to a pantry.

Dano walked over to the large metallic door, his rubber soled boots making a slight thud as they hit the ground. He pulled the two latches to the open position and grunted as he tried to pry the door open. The door groaned in protest, but eventually complied. Dano stepped inside and looked around the dim room. It was definitely the freezer, but everything had warmed up. Dano cursed under his breath and exited the room temperature freezer. He crossed the kitchen and moved through the threshold on the opposite side of the room. Inside were racks of different sized cans and bags of flour or sugar, and other non-perishables. Dano cruised around the small pantry trying to find something worth eating when his eyes fell upon a group of cans. The label told him that inside were baked beans with brown sugar and bacon. Dano pulled one of the cans off of the rack and inspected it, making sure there weren’t any holes. Satisfied the can was safe he moved back to the kitchen.

Dano scanned the area quickly, and couldn’t find any bowls or utensils. He began rummaging through drawers until he found a soup spoon and a can opener. Once he had his utensils Dano moved to one of the many burners that took up some of the islands counter space. After inspecting one of the burners he deduced they were gas and not electric. Drawing on his relatively vast knowledge of electrical Dano knew that even a gas burner need an electrical spark to light the fuel. He went back to scrounging through the drawers once again, and found a lighter. Dano moved back to his selected burner and turned on the gas. He heard a hiss as the fuel vented out of the small holes around the burner. Dano lit the gas with the lighter. The fire consumed the gas that floated around the burner in a flash, and then calmed and began to consume the fuel at a constant rate.

Dano opened the can of beans with the opener and smelled the contents. The scent of brown sugar assaulted his nose, but no smell of decay could be detected. He placed the can on the burner then leaned against the serving counter behind him, and began to wait. After a few minutes a bit of flame caught the paper label on fire, and it promptly burned off. Dano didn’t care, there wasn’t anything near the can that could make the small fire spread. Another few minutes went by and the beans began to bubble. Dano decided now was the time to eat. He turned off the burner and used his sweat shirt as protection to pick up the can. Dano quickly grabbed his spoon and half jogged out of the kitchen into the dining room. He took a seat at the first table from the door just as the heat in his hand was starting to get uncomfortable, and placed the can in front of him.

Dano looked at the warm beans for a few minutes. He didn’t really feel that hungry, but he dipped his spoon into the can and pulled out a nice portion. He held it in front of his face, still debating whether to eat or not. Dano shrugged and put the spoon in his mouth. Once the warmed up beans hit his tongue a hunger grew in his gut. He chewed a bit then swallowed, but the spoonful didn’t seem to put a dent in his exponentially growing hunger. Dano shoved another spoonful into his mouth, then another and another and another until the can was empty.

Dano tipped the can so he could see the bottom in the dimming light of the cafeteria, as if he could conjure more by looking at it. His stomached grumbled, and Dano looked down at his gut with a raised eyebrow. Well, I haven’t eaten in twenty years… Dano stood and went back into the kitchen to fetch more food, and maybe a drink.

By the time Dano and his stomach were satisfied the sun was setting, and the cafeteria was getting dark. Dano groaned as he pried himself out of his seat in the dining hall, his stomach feeling like it was about to burst. Strewn around him lay a dozen empty cans and water bottles, the water he also found in the pantry. It was warm, but Dano didn’t really care.

Dano shuffled out of the cafeteria, wishing he hadn’t eaten so much, turned left and moved down some dark hallway. Using his cell phone he illuminated his path until he came to a door on his left. He tried the handle, but it was locked. Dano cursed and moved down the dark hallway to the next door. He tried again, and this time it opened.

Behind the door was a small room with the same color scheme as the room Dano awoke in, but the crappy wallpaper had cartoon kittens on it instead of butterflies. Inside was a large bed with only white sheets on it. It sat underneath an exterior window where the last light of the day shown through half opened blinds. Several different types of medical equipment were scattered around the room, casting ghastly shadows all over the area.

Dano moved slowly into the room, his senses trying to pick up any slight movement. After a slow scan Dano believed he was alone, and a little bit of him was saddened at the realization. All alone. He shook off the thought physically and moved to the bed. He removed his watch, necklace and keys and placed them onto an end table by the foot of the bed. He shut off his cellphone, which only had about half its charge left, and set it down with the rest of his accessories.

After pulling off his boots Dano slipped into the bed and took a deep breath. His first day was complete, and he had accomplished his checklist. Something still nagged at him though as he tried to fall asleep. It was a tug, a pull on his mind. Dano couldn’t dismiss the feeling, or figure out what it was. His mind began to slow as sleep crept its way into Dano’s brain, and after a few minutes of lying he finally fell into a deep sleep.

Dano looked around, the room seemed familiar. There was a slight sheen to everything, as if the whole place had been waxed. Light came from nowhere, and there was no ceiling or walls, only a black abyss. Dano stood on a concrete floor and there were some desks with people sitting at them in front of him. They appeared to be doing some sort of paper work. Dano tried to talk, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. One of the people looked up, and Dano was shocked to see that he didn’t have a face. His features were in a state of flux, his hair, face and clothes morphing into something else every few seconds.

Suddenly Dano was pulled away from staring at the ‘human’ by a loud explosion. A body flew through the air and landed in the middle of the desks, scattering some of them. Dano saw burned flesh and clothes as the body squirmed in pain. The ‘human’s’ that sat at the desks didn’t move, and continued working.

The burned body opened its mouth, and a blood curdling scream came out. Dano tried to block out the noise by covering his ears, but the scream still came through loud and clear. Dano fell to his knees as the scream began to make his head split. He tried to yell, but nothing came out of his open mouth.

An eternity went by, and the scream never faded. Dano was about to smash his head against the floor when a hand reached out and touched his left shoulder. He turned his head to see a feminine figure in a spotless white cloak stand above and behind him. Emblazoned on her chest was a yellow and orange sun with eight tendrils of matching color pointing outward. Her cloak was elegant, and had a gold trim around the wrists and bottom edges. Her hood covered her face except for her chin and mouth, which was turned upward in a motherly smile. Dano felt another hand touch his right shoulder, and he turned to see another woman. She was a tad shorter and wore a cloak that matched the other woman’s, but only in shape. Instead of blinding white it was a deep blue with cyan trim, and a crescent moon surrounded by an even deeper blue blob adorned her chest. Her mouth was contorted into a look of worry. Dano felt a calming presence from the two women, and the dream around him faded until all that was left was a kneeling Dano in a black abyss.

Dano shot up out of the bed, beads of sweat covered his brow. It was a dream, but it was unlike any he had before. It felt too real to be a dream. Dano rubbed his face roughly and swung his legs off the bed. After a few minutes of sitting he shook off the dream and began getting ready for the day, putting on his boots and accessories. Dano looked at his watch and it read 10:30 am. He sighed and exited the room.

Dano had a quick breakfast of warm beans and water then hit the bathroom. His dinner really worked over his digestive system, and Dano felt a little lighter when he finished.

Dano was happy that the hospital was a lot brighter now that the sun had risen. It was a lot easier to find his way around the long white hallways. As he walked he ran over his plan for the day.

“First I need to figure out my surroundings.” Dano physically nodded to himself in conformation, but failed to come up with another thing to do today. He shrugged and set out trying to find the exit.

It didn’t take long for Dano to find signs pointing his way to the entrance of the hospital. As Dano walked toward the front door his mind raced with the possibilities of what was actually outside. Although he had a glimpse yesterday he still didn’t really know what was outside the walls of the hospital.

After a few solid minutes of walking Dano reached a reception area. He exited a hallway and found himself in a much more open space than the hallways that dominated the floor plan. To his right was a short white wall with desks behind it. It only reached to about Dano’s waist, but from the top of the wall up was a plexiglas barrier. Some of the plastic glass panels looked like the slid to make an opening. Behind the desks was metal bookshelf after metal bookshelf full of manila folders. They stretch along the three back walls that make up, what Dano believed to be, the receptionists booth. To Dano’s left was a large waiting room. A red and black checkered carpet replaces the normal white tile, and the walls are lined with chairs. They had thick black plastic legs and arms, and a cheap cloth filled with foam for a seat cushion and back rest. Several small wooden coffee tables sit in the middle of the room, and were probably covered in magazines back in the day. In front of Dano was a pair of sliding doors that lead to a small hallway of sorts, and then another pair. Dano can see some of the outside through the glass that made up most the doors, but the outer entrances were caked in dirt and grime.

Dano stopped at the end of the hallway and stared at the doors. He was unsure if he wanted to leave the relative safety of the hospital. His mind began to jump to conclusions. What happens if there are zombies? Or rad-scorpions? We aren’t the courier or the vault dweller here. Dano began to laugh at his own imagination. “Rad-scorpions…” His voice lacked confidence, like a child’s trying to make the dark less scary.

Half of Dano wanted to turn around and curl up in bed, nice and safe, but the other half wanted to leave. It was the pull he felt earlier, the tug on his brain to go somewhere. Dano took a deep breath and released it. He walked across the reception area and pushed the inside doors open. They gave way with little resistance, and Dano was soon standing in front of the last pair of doors. His imagination and worries were going all in. Raiders, Ghouls, crazy people, cannibals, secret government programs. Dano sucked in another breath and forced his worries aside. He pushed the last doors open with a grunt and stepped into the light of the outside world.

Thanks for reading guys
and for the positive responses
it means a lot to me, since this is only my second fic
i will keep pumping out chapters when i feel they are up to standards
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that is all
kthanxbai