The Settlement
Copyright© 2025 by THodge
Chapter 1: The Waking
Ted’s mind jolted awake like someone had flipped a switch. One second, nothing. The next, awareness flooded back with a vengeance. His body thrummed with sudden energy, but his lungs refused to work.
The pod lid cracked open with a hiss. Fresh air rushed in, and Ted gasped, pulling in one desperate breath before his chest seized up again. He clawed at his shirt, yanking the fabric away from his throat.
’Can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?’
He hauled himself upright and pounded his chest with his fist, trying to force his lungs back to life. His vision swam as he scanned the room for help, but the other pods remained sealed shut. He grabbed the edge of his pod and tried to swing his legs out.
Movement caught his eye. To his left, someone else was stirring. A young woman lifted her head, her dark eyes sharp and focused despite the circumstances. She looked like she was searching for something specific, her gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar space with methodical precision.
Her eyes locked onto Ted. She watched him struggle for a heartbeat, then climbed out of her own pod. Her legs gave out immediately, and she dropped to her knees. She grabbed the pod’s edge and hauled herself back up, her arms shaking from the effort. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest, but she pushed forward anyway, stumbling toward Ted with grim determination.
“What’s wrong?” She reached his pod and studied his face, taking in the way he clutched his chest and gasped for air.
Ted pressed his hand against his sternum and pointed at his lungs.
The woman’s expression shifted. ’Pod sickness. Lung collapse from extended suspension.’ She’d read about this in training. “Lie back down. I’ll get the equipment.”
She moved across the room with more confidence now, her legs remembering how to work. The equipment cabinet stood exactly where it should be. She grabbed the device without looking at the warning label that read “Not for human consumption” in bold letters, or the smaller text beneath that said “Nanobots, samples.”
Back at Ted’s pod, she positioned the facemask over his mouth and nose with steady hands. The machine hummed to life. “Just relax. You’ll feel better in a few minutes.”
Ted managed a weak smile as the device started working. His eyes widened. A strange tingling sensation spread through his chest, like something was rebuilding him from the inside out. ’That machine is actually reconstructing my lungs.’
The woman’s own breathing had grown labored during the rush to help him. She sank to the floor beside his pod, exhaustion hitting her like a wave. After a moment, the machine beeped. She stood, pulled the mask away from Ted’s face, and studied the device in her hands.
’If it helped him... ’
She pressed the mask to her own face and took several deep breaths. The tingling sensation filled her lungs, uncomfortable but effective. When she finished, she returned the machine to its storage cabinet.
Ted sat up slowly, testing his breathing. Normal. He looked around for the woman who’d saved his life and spotted her pushing the device back into place. He climbed out of the pod and stood on shaky legs, waiting to see if they’d hold his weight.
“Are you okay?” The woman turned back to check on him, already moving toward the control panel.
“Yes. Thank you for saving my life.” Ted watched her cross the room with purpose.
She glanced down at the medical device as she closed the cabinet. The small print finally registered. ’Not for human consumption ... Well, he seems fine. I used it too, and I feel okay. How bad could it really be?’
“Are we the first ones awake?” She headed back toward Ted, but something nagged at her. A wrongness she couldn’t quite identify. She moved to the control panel, her footsteps heavy with exhaustion.
Her eyes scanned the readouts, searching for the source of her unease. Then she saw it—a flashing red light indicating a system error. Her training kicked in. Main power cable. If she didn’t act fast, the rest of the group wouldn’t wake up at all.
“Stop! What are you doing?” Ted lurched toward her.
She froze, surprise flashing across her face. “I’m resetting the power for the rest of the group.”
“How do you know how to do that?” Ted’s voice carried genuine disbelief.
She shrugged, but a small smirk tugged at her lips. “I’m the engineer for this group.”
They stood together as the nearest pod began to open. A gasping sound echoed through the room—someone else waking from a long sleep. Ted and the engineer exchanged wide-eyed glances.
She extended her hand. “I’m Emma, by the way.”
“Ted. I’m a farmer.” He shook her hand, grateful for the anchor of normalcy in the strangeness.
Emma’s eyebrows rose. “A farmer? That’s actually fascinating. I’ve never really thought about farming before.”
Ted smiled at her enthusiasm. He turned to watch more pods beginning to open. “Do you know how many people made this trip?”
“Our group is one of three. There should be a thousand of us total. We’ll split into five smaller groups, each with their own settlement. The idea is we’ll work together to survive.” Emma’s voice took on a rehearsed quality, like she was reciting from a manual. “It’s supposed to make us more efficient.”
“Why three groups?”