TBVF: Chapter 8: The Key to Survival is Breathe Deeply
Title: The Blue Vast Future
Author: Ariel Chew
Genre: Sci-Fi, Humor, Friendship, Family
Summary: A SB#187 team aged-up to be in a Kaiju battle. Ariel’s merely a 21-year-old supervisor of Gamma Rapper, but with all the training of the Academy she has, will it prepare her for the biggest turns of events of the century?
~*~ It is half past 9 when she arrives home, the little place she rents from Mrs. Adams that she has come to call as her little peace haven.
Or nightmare wonderland, depending on the situation.
She digs through the little pocket outside of her sling bag for her keys, nimble fingers easily unlock the door to her room. Familiarity has her easily find the light switch in the dark, flipping it on instantly as light pour into the room.
A yawn escapes her, prompting tears to gather at the corner of her eyes that she instinctively rubs her eyes, mimicking the actions of a child all ready for bed time. That’s right; after such a long day, Ariel is exhausted. Begrudgingly, the need to bathe floats to remembrance, the girl trudges towards the bathroom with heavy feet.
When a person is alone, this is the time for a person to reminisce.
Fingers treading through onyx black hair that glints a hint of oak brown under bright light, Ariel lets her eyes slide shut as she expertly washes her hair clean, rubbing and scrubbing at the places where dirt and other dirty particles may have lodged themselves in.
Mm hmm. A sigh of relaxation, she does the same to the aching parts of her body, like her shoulders and her thighs (All the running she did tires her muscles out far more effortlessly than she likes to admit).
She turns the knob off once she’s done, determination to reduce her water bill just as she has for the past few months. Toweling off on her way out of the bathroom, she comes to a stop before the mirror, staring at her reflection.
As Mulan once sings in her Disney debut, “Who is this girl I see; Staring straight back at me”, Ariel can’t help but wholeheartedly agree to the fictional character’s words. The mirror image looks so haggard, so old, like she’s way past her prime and deescalating down the hill on a rollercoaster ride.
Her hand reaches towards her face, lightly tracing the eye bags she’s sporting from restless nights and feeling the dryness of her face.
Nothing will be the same come tomorrow.
Reality hits hard, her hands clenching into fists as they fall to her sides when she recalls Affan’s words.
If only she was strong enough to give the PPDC a piece of her mind, fearless enough to face her demons, confident enough to make a stand against all odds, perhaps none of these would happen.
Affan and the rest wouldn’t be removed;
Iris wouldn’t lose her cool and risked being removed from her position;
The respective Jaegar teams would be able to advance with the latest parts and updates;
She wouldn’t feel so hopeless.
“… Damn it!!” She yells at herself, anger and regret welling up inside her like an ugly plague, like lava overflowing out of her as her fist lashes out to the wall.
It hurts, her knuckles hurt, her head hurts, and so does her heart. One hurt from the pain, another hurting from thinking and dreading too much, while the other hurts from the overwhelming guilt.
“Why can’t I do more? Why… Ugh…” Tears burst like rain in famine; once they start, they are hard to stop. She sobs, cries her heart out, wondering why was she here when she can’t do anything to stop such horrible things from happening.
“… I need sleep.” Yes. Perhaps sleep is the only way to get over the bad things. But even sleep is hard, wrestling into the domain of dreams a tough task while avoiding the potholes of nightmares that lay waiting in ambush.
Home. She misses home. Wants to go home, but can’t because of her duties here. When she’s here, only there’s a chance to stop the Kaiju from attacking her home.
“Mommy, Daddy… How are you all doing?” She whispers into the night, turning under the momentary safety of the covers.
She misses the times when she’s afraid, all she had to do was run to her mother who will hold her tight when the lightning strikes and thunder rumbles in the distance; her father who will gently pat her on the head and tell her to cheer up even though she didn’t do so well in her exams.
Ariel is the basic definition of home sick.
“… I promise that I’ll come home once everything’s over… So please… Please…”
‘Please be safe.’
The same words that she wordlessly spoke to Affan hours earlier lies fresh in her mind, and for some reason, as she drifts off to sleep, she is at peace.
She wanders off to a place of color, where there are no Kaiju attacking or nuclear threats amongst nations. There are only old faces, and new faces, working alongside each other in a café in her dreams. Happiness is all around, she knows this, because she is filled with joy and satisfaction at seeing everyone get along even though she knows clearly this is a dream.
If only she didn’t have to wake up, then perhaps this is what heaven is.
Three days later, however, tells a whole different story. Life in the Shatterdome, if any, got even more hectic; as there is a reduction of manpower, the remnant has to work double the effort to have the same progress as before in the unchanged amount of time.
As a result, well…
Almost everyone is on their nerve’s end.
There’s less bickering on their social chat group, and even if there’s any showdown between the team, the end-result of confrontation will be one of them being called away by more pressing issues – hence a diffused situation.
This also meant that clashes between Akmal and Caleb have been reduced significantly during these period of time.
Thinking back, it’s hilarious how these two came to disliking each other.
Most likely it started from that one time when Akmal asked Caleb to list down the number of parts used by Beta Strucker, instead the latter made an amateur mistake of compiling a report on the names of the parts, resulting in a shouting match in the social chat group.
Indeed, the start of ugly enmity.
“Ariel?” Said girl blinks, looking around for the source of the well-acquainted voice until she realizes it was right behind her.
“Dr. Shah!” The medic nods, smiling though fatigue overshadows his cheerfulness. Even the medical team has been reduced to only Shah and his assistant, Dila. So it’s no wonder the man overexerts himself over the long hours and many patients, seeing how the Shatterdome’s clinic is open to medical consultation and minor surgeries.
“You don’t happen to be in a rush, are you?”
She shakes her head, returning a smile. “Nope. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well…” Shah starts. “I was wondering if you could help pass these cards out.”
He hands her a thick envelope, and she peers inside to find a stack of what looks like appointment cards.
“These are…?”
“Appointment cards.” Bingo! She got it right! Her face must have shown her glee because Shah chuckles at her expression. “It’s already the last quarter of the year, and I need to conduct medical examination on all members of the PPDC.”
She nods. “Understood. I’ll hand it out to them then. There are names right?”
“Yup. So it should make your work a little easier.” Shah glances his watch for a fleeting moment before he returns his attention to her. “Since we’re on this topic, when might you be free for your check-up?”
“Mm~ How about later today? Say, about 4?”
Shah retrieves his smartphone and taps a few keys. “Let me check. Hmm. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll put you in at 4 then. Alright?”
“That sounds great.” Coincidentally her phone starts to buzz impatiently in her sling bag. “Whoops; That’ll be mine.”
Turns out the caller ID appear to be Iris too. Wonder what’s up…?
“I should get going as well. I’ll see you later at the appointed time. Farewell.” Shah waves goodbye, both of them departing into opposite direction as Ariel picks up the call.
“Hello?”
~*~
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Author: Ariel Chew
Genre: Sci-Fi, Humor, Friendship, Family
Summary: A SB#187 team aged-up to be in a Kaiju battle. Ariel’s merely a 21-year-old supervisor of Gamma Rapper, but with all the training of the Academy she has, will it prepare her for the biggest turns of events of the century?
~*~ It is half past 9 when she arrives home, the little place she rents from Mrs. Adams that she has come to call as her little peace haven.
Or nightmare wonderland, depending on the situation.
She digs through the little pocket outside of her sling bag for her keys, nimble fingers easily unlock the door to her room. Familiarity has her easily find the light switch in the dark, flipping it on instantly as light pour into the room.
A yawn escapes her, prompting tears to gather at the corner of her eyes that she instinctively rubs her eyes, mimicking the actions of a child all ready for bed time. That’s right; after such a long day, Ariel is exhausted. Begrudgingly, the need to bathe floats to remembrance, the girl trudges towards the bathroom with heavy feet.
When a person is alone, this is the time for a person to reminisce.
Fingers treading through onyx black hair that glints a hint of oak brown under bright light, Ariel lets her eyes slide shut as she expertly washes her hair clean, rubbing and scrubbing at the places where dirt and other dirty particles may have lodged themselves in.
Mm hmm. A sigh of relaxation, she does the same to the aching parts of her body, like her shoulders and her thighs (All the running she did tires her muscles out far more effortlessly than she likes to admit).
She turns the knob off once she’s done, determination to reduce her water bill just as she has for the past few months. Toweling off on her way out of the bathroom, she comes to a stop before the mirror, staring at her reflection.
As Mulan once sings in her Disney debut, “Who is this girl I see; Staring straight back at me”, Ariel can’t help but wholeheartedly agree to the fictional character’s words. The mirror image looks so haggard, so old, like she’s way past her prime and deescalating down the hill on a rollercoaster ride.
Her hand reaches towards her face, lightly tracing the eye bags she’s sporting from restless nights and feeling the dryness of her face.
Nothing will be the same come tomorrow.
Reality hits hard, her hands clenching into fists as they fall to her sides when she recalls Affan’s words.
If only she was strong enough to give the PPDC a piece of her mind, fearless enough to face her demons, confident enough to make a stand against all odds, perhaps none of these would happen.
Affan and the rest wouldn’t be removed;
Iris wouldn’t lose her cool and risked being removed from her position;
The respective Jaegar teams would be able to advance with the latest parts and updates;
She wouldn’t feel so hopeless.
“… Damn it!!” She yells at herself, anger and regret welling up inside her like an ugly plague, like lava overflowing out of her as her fist lashes out to the wall.
It hurts, her knuckles hurt, her head hurts, and so does her heart. One hurt from the pain, another hurting from thinking and dreading too much, while the other hurts from the overwhelming guilt.
“Why can’t I do more? Why… Ugh…” Tears burst like rain in famine; once they start, they are hard to stop. She sobs, cries her heart out, wondering why was she here when she can’t do anything to stop such horrible things from happening.
“… I need sleep.” Yes. Perhaps sleep is the only way to get over the bad things. But even sleep is hard, wrestling into the domain of dreams a tough task while avoiding the potholes of nightmares that lay waiting in ambush.
Home. She misses home. Wants to go home, but can’t because of her duties here. When she’s here, only there’s a chance to stop the Kaiju from attacking her home.
“Mommy, Daddy… How are you all doing?” She whispers into the night, turning under the momentary safety of the covers.
She misses the times when she’s afraid, all she had to do was run to her mother who will hold her tight when the lightning strikes and thunder rumbles in the distance; her father who will gently pat her on the head and tell her to cheer up even though she didn’t do so well in her exams.
Ariel is the basic definition of home sick.
“… I promise that I’ll come home once everything’s over… So please… Please…”
‘Please be safe.’
The same words that she wordlessly spoke to Affan hours earlier lies fresh in her mind, and for some reason, as she drifts off to sleep, she is at peace.
She wanders off to a place of color, where there are no Kaiju attacking or nuclear threats amongst nations. There are only old faces, and new faces, working alongside each other in a café in her dreams. Happiness is all around, she knows this, because she is filled with joy and satisfaction at seeing everyone get along even though she knows clearly this is a dream.
If only she didn’t have to wake up, then perhaps this is what heaven is.
Three days later, however, tells a whole different story. Life in the Shatterdome, if any, got even more hectic; as there is a reduction of manpower, the remnant has to work double the effort to have the same progress as before in the unchanged amount of time.
As a result, well…
Almost everyone is on their nerve’s end.
There’s less bickering on their social chat group, and even if there’s any showdown between the team, the end-result of confrontation will be one of them being called away by more pressing issues – hence a diffused situation.
This also meant that clashes between Akmal and Caleb have been reduced significantly during these period of time.
Thinking back, it’s hilarious how these two came to disliking each other.
Most likely it started from that one time when Akmal asked Caleb to list down the number of parts used by Beta Strucker, instead the latter made an amateur mistake of compiling a report on the names of the parts, resulting in a shouting match in the social chat group.
Indeed, the start of ugly enmity.
“Ariel?” Said girl blinks, looking around for the source of the well-acquainted voice until she realizes it was right behind her.
“Dr. Shah!” The medic nods, smiling though fatigue overshadows his cheerfulness. Even the medical team has been reduced to only Shah and his assistant, Dila. So it’s no wonder the man overexerts himself over the long hours and many patients, seeing how the Shatterdome’s clinic is open to medical consultation and minor surgeries.
“You don’t happen to be in a rush, are you?”
She shakes her head, returning a smile. “Nope. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well…” Shah starts. “I was wondering if you could help pass these cards out.”
He hands her a thick envelope, and she peers inside to find a stack of what looks like appointment cards.
“These are…?”
“Appointment cards.” Bingo! She got it right! Her face must have shown her glee because Shah chuckles at her expression. “It’s already the last quarter of the year, and I need to conduct medical examination on all members of the PPDC.”
She nods. “Understood. I’ll hand it out to them then. There are names right?”
“Yup. So it should make your work a little easier.” Shah glances his watch for a fleeting moment before he returns his attention to her. “Since we’re on this topic, when might you be free for your check-up?”
“Mm~ How about later today? Say, about 4?”
Shah retrieves his smartphone and taps a few keys. “Let me check. Hmm. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll put you in at 4 then. Alright?”
“That sounds great.” Coincidentally her phone starts to buzz impatiently in her sling bag. “Whoops; That’ll be mine.”
Turns out the caller ID appear to be Iris too. Wonder what’s up…?
“I should get going as well. I’ll see you later at the appointed time. Farewell.” Shah waves goodbye, both of them departing into opposite direction as Ariel picks up the call.
“Hello?”
~*~
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