Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Energy Critical

LIFE SUPPORT FAILURE: ENERGY LEVEL CRITICAL

Adam's body burned with searing heat. The air around him swelled with the sound of distant sirens, but he couldn't move, and he couldn't speak. His right cheek rested flat against burning metal, but he couldn't move to adjust against the discomfort. For a terrible moment he thought he would feel his flesh searing off, but even as he thought it, some of the heat dissipated. It was still unbearably hot, and his body was racked with incredible exhaustion, but at least he wasn't dead.

His head pounded

LIFE SUPPORT FAILURE: ENERGY LEVEL CRITICAL

Somehow that was a surprise, but he couldn't think why.

Adam tried to open his eyes, but when he did, a blast of heat rolled over the surface of his corneas, as if he was staring into an open oven. He groaned, his body slick with sweat and blinked hard.

He was having difficulty making out his surroundings. The sound of the siren swelled and then quieted before swelling again, accompanied by the slow, even pulsation of a dim, red light. He tried blinking again, but his vision swam and tilted, slowly rotating to one side as his head continued to pound.

Dizzy as he was, his stomach began to churn, and he felt as if he would lose his breakfast, but he choked the sensation down. As a fighter pilot by trade, he didn't get vertigo easily, and even when he did, he was usually able to chase away the side effects.

Even so that didn't stop the unpleasant sensation that came with feeling like he was on a rocking ship amidst a stormy sea.

His head was spinning and throbbing all at once.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the heat on the air continued to dissipate leaving his skin feeling raw and charred. The skin of his cheek still tingled and burned from where it rested against the floor, throbbing with a slow dullness up into his face. His organic leg ached right along with his left arm.

What happened?

ENERGY LEVEL STABILIZING: LIFE SUPPORT REENGAGED.

That was a relief.

A ship could survive without life support for a good hour or so as the crew used up whatever remained of the oxygen before slowly suffocating on their own carbon dioxide, However, the regulation of breathable air wasn't the only thing controlled by the life support systems: this included but was not limited to, air circulation, temperature stabilization, and a few other odds and ends like atmospheric humidity.

As soon as the life support reengaged, the air conditioning kicked on, blasting the room with a proper current of arctic air that could only be compared to the soft kisses of angels against his charred face

Now that cool air was finally circulating, the nausea finally began to dissipate as well, taking the dizziness with it, but leaving behind an incredibly profound exhaustion. Adam had been exhausted many times in his life, but nothing could compare to the way that he felt in that moment.

He had no desire to get up.

No desire to move.

No desire to do anything.

He didn't even have the desire to want to do those things, and even if he did, he doubted he'd be able to. Even twitching the littlest joint of his smallest finger was like asking him to climb a mountain. Keeping his eyes open made him feel like Atlas holding up the sky.

His level of comprehension was so profoundly stunted that he had been robbed of the ability to think in words, so he didn't bother to try.

Adam closed his eyes soothed back into unconsciousness by the gentle current of cool air against his aching skin.