Sixth Extinction

Chapter 1

Alarms echoing around the underground structure woke Robbie from a deep cryogenic sleep. His eyes shot open. No! Not again! Many flashing lights circled above him as he stumbled out of his chamber.

A red light cut through the darkness and smoke as the beam spun, lighting up the long dark tunnel system. Fire, the facility has caught fire.

High-pitched beeps assaulted his ears and directed his attention to the flashing screens along the opposite wall of his chamber. He forced his stiff legs towards them and fell to his palms on the control board. He wiggled his still frozen nose and squinted to see the dials. More important, the oxygen dials. The digital display died the last time he defrosted. He’d replaced it with an old fashioned needle, one which was now in the red and confirming his fears. He thought the pain in his chest was because of the defrosting stress and his unnatural ageing, now he presumed it was because the facility was low on oxygen. Will I ever see the Earth reborn? No, not if I don’t put this fire out!

Coughing, he staggered down the tunnel and found his locker. He located his work suit right where he left it three thousand years ago and pulled it over his limbs. An oxygen mask hung on the wall. He unhooked it from the clip and shoved it over his head. The tank health indicator was still green, still healthy. He didn’t have time to check manually. He needed oxygen now.

The oxygen didn’t taste as good as he remembered, but it soothed his burning lungs. Now to do something about that fire.

Robbie made his way down the arched lead lined tunnel. Smoke blurred his vision, but he knew the deep underground system well. How many times before and during the extinction eras have I wandered around, fixing and repairing the structure while the others slept. They designed the facility to be all computerised with Robbie as its back up. After the many days and years he spent coming out of his chamber to fix something the computer stuffed up, he felt it was the back up. A useless one at that. Now, here he was, chasing another malfunction down. How did a fire start? It’s not supposed to happen.

His fears grew as he approached the oxygen farm and the smoke became thicker. He arrived at the facilities glass centre and peering through the clear walls in horror. Flames crackled as they danced up the large trees. Fire found its natural consumption and it was delighted to devour all living plant life.

“We’re dead,” Robbie said to his shocked reflection. His mind ached as it searched for a way to save himself and the others. They all required oxygen when they awaken. Even when the Earth’s surface is liveable once again, they still needed oxygen to get up there. Air purification! He thought. Put the fire out and all I’ll have to do is activate the scrubbers before my tank supply runs out.

He ran for the control terminal room. First thing is to seal this off. He slammed his palm down on the quarantine controls. More loud beeps echoed as a blue light begun to flash above the oxygen farm. All doors and vents banged shut a moment later to trap all smoke and harmful air particles within. Why didn’t the sprinklers come on? He wondered then hit the water system. Heavy drops of water sprayed into the farm. Steam filled the space as the two elements collided. There’s nothing wrong with the fire system. A few choice words directed at the computer became muffled by another ear busting alarm. “What now!”

The new alarm had Robbie squeezing past a tangle of pipe work. Despite being frozen moments ago, sweat now ran from his forehead. He had no idea what job waited for him at the water plant, all he knew was something caused a build up of pressure and was about to blow pipes. The override switch on his computer console didn’t work the first time he hit it to release the pressure. Neither did the fourth and fifth time he struck the square button. He knew it wouldn't, but he had to take his frustration out on something.