Cole breaks through the surface.
A mouth full of water is followed by a harsh wheeze in his throat.
His body in full drowning mode, but comes back into survival in an instant.
He vomits and heaves and gasps as he holds on to the floor, leaning out of the small pool of water.
DEATH IMMINENT
DEATH IMMINENT
The red menu throbbing like a headache. Swelling in and out of his vision.
I know.
Suddenly, like a whale, Orion also bursts forth from the opening.
He spits and coughs violently, looking around.
"That was a close one," Orion finally says.
"Yup."
"Where are we?"
The two then look up from the contaminated sea water they are wading in. The pain and fear and imminent organ failure flee, briefly.
Before them lay the pods, intact.
Due to the shipwreck, the pods seemingly go upside from the ground almost to the ceiling, in a slant.
But the room is intact.
And the pods all whole, and possibly working.
And full of life.
"We made it. We found it," Cole says, kicking his feet excitedly in the water, and slaps Orion on the back.
"Do you know how to wake them up?" Orion asks.
Cole thinks about it.
"Yeah. I do, actually."
Cole pulls himself from the opening, soaking wet from the water, and limps towards the pods.
He gently puts his hands on the first one he is near, almost like touching a pregnant stomach in waiting.
Orion pulls himself out of the water too, but doesn't sit up.
He just lays on the ground, staring up at the pods going up to the ceiling.
A sidewall of twenty to thirty pods and canisters waiting to be opened above him.
Cole looks up from the one he is touching and stares at them all.
"As high tech as it is, it was super primitive. So that in the case of something like this, after a nuclear war or a ship being destroyed, they could still be woken up. There is a shelf life though."
"How do you know?" Orion asks, getting up to a stand position.
"I don't know. I just know it."
"Do you remember this?"
"No. I think I was in the other room. I've seen something like this. I swear I have."
"So. How do you open them?"
Orion goes to one of the pods, feeling around for a gap or crack.
Nothing.
Solid like an egg. Not even a lever or line of separation.
"It has to be from the inside," Orion says, puzzled.
Cole then sees his answer across the room.
A strange puzzle like desk is protruding from the wall, which should've been the floor.
Cole walks over to the small monolithic like objects that are sticking out like random switches.
Like a trap door meeting a life size puzzle.
Cole's menu analyzes them, even with the red throbbing of death blocking his view.
He tilts his head and reaches for one. His hand touches the smooth 3 or 4 foot shape and a memory seems to be accessed from it.
Cole remembers.
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He pushes the piece down, like a lever. If he hadn't known it or had some grasp on it from the old life, he would've never known to move the piece in such a strange direction.
Suddenly, a large cranking sound is heard, and lights click on, illuminating the room. Cole smiles. Orion cheers."Let's go, Cole!"
Cole laughs.
DEATH IMMINENT
"It comes for all of us," Cole says out loud.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Cole then looks at the pieces, wondering which one goes next.
Orion goes over to a series of sealed boxes and shelves built into the room.
Like hard pelican cases that were forever water proofed and full of things you would want at the end of the world.
"They trained you to fight," Orion says.
"Probably. I mean, yeah. But why you saying that?"
"Well. We are probably in luck."
"What is it?"
"If they thought you were going to wake up during a war, they would have things ready for you. Even at the edge of the ocean."
Orion takes his largest knife and wipes it on the ground, then slams it with all of his strength under the pelican like shelves.
He yells and grits his teeth as he uses all his strength to try to break one open. Finally, the box and shelf snap and Orion steps back.
Cole watches Orion open the broken shelf.
Guns and explosives and weapons fall out.
Orion turns and smiles.
He then goes and starts breaking open the other ones.
"Explosives, oh my." Orion is like a mercenary at Christmas. Albeit a gun running Christmas show or something like it.
"Will they still work?"
"Yup."
"Well, lets get these people out first."
"Duh," Orion snaps.
"Duh?"
"Oh. Sorry. From another world."
Goliath stares at the nuclear reactor, not know what to do with it.
His claw marks are all around it.
He turns and stares at his horde, watching him impatiently.
Not many of them left. Not many of them left in the world, period.
Sobek then sees the high priest he impaled across the room, and nods in approval. It was a good toss.
Suddenly, the lights flicker in the boiler room.
Immediately, the fallen get chatty. They speak and squeak, and the winged ones start flapping and flying around.
Then, loud cranks are heard, as Cole continues working on the manual process, and primitive switches and pulls are moving after decades.
But Sobek does not know this.
He just knows something is moving.
And it is loud.
More cranks and movements are heard in the walls around them.
Popping and snapping.
Things coming alive.
Goliath looks at the reactor, hoping it was doing something.
It was not.
The demon horde start to get more nervous, looking around. They chatter, making clicking and growling noises.
Goliath yells an order, silencing them, but also looks around, wondering where the noises are coming from.
And whom is causing them.