The cargo elevator rattles as it goes further down into earth. The fourteen men and women fidget and throw looks at each other nervously, descending further down into the subterranean complex. "Heh... We are going to end up in hell if we keep going down." Said someone, chuckling nervously. Well, getting chosen to be put in stasis by freezing your body to almost absolute 0 temperature isn't something that happens every day. "Oh, it seems like we've arrived." Said the same guy.
The elevator stopped with the same noise one would expect from a heavy cargo elevator. once the door opened, a couple of scientists in white coat and a few security staffers awaited patiently for the fourteen volunteers. "Welcome. Welcome to N-18 Laboratory." Said one of the scientists, a gorgeous red-headed woman, tall and ample of shoulders. Still, although her presence was somewhat intimidating, her lovely smile seemed to appease any whit of aggressiveness her body may inspire.
"Please, step down the elevator. Mind the gap." Said the other scientist, a not so handsome man, with little sleep in his eyes and few hair in his head. With her naturally calm voice, the redhead doctor began to make the introductions. Dr. Samantha Noguerra and Dr. David Locke. "Before proceeding, I need to check everyone's ID." Said Locke. It was a bit tedious to check all those fourteen people where who they said they were, but as Samantha said with a shy giggle, it was a required measure.
"Well, now that everything is set, let's go!" Said Samantha in a cheerful tone.
Although it was well deep under a mountain, the complex was very well lit and polished. The walls were of a bright white with very modern orange stripes. The ground was made of some sort of dark metal, kind of textured so it wouldn't be slippery. Still, even if the place could look very cold and clinical, there was something around that brought peace of mind and easiness. Maybe it was in the light, maybe it was in the air, but as they walked deep into the complex, the idea of being put into a very expensive freezer didn't seem so overwhelming.
The soothing voice of Dr. Samantha also helped, filling the busy corridors of the lab with very basic explanations of how the processes of being put in stasis was. "So, once the temperatures reaches -459.67 Fahrenheit degrees, all molecular activity from and object stops completely. That means the object is absolutely stopped, it won't age or deteriorate." Said Samantha. "That's why you will feel like you fell asleep. But no need to worry, all of you will be monitored and observed 24 hours." Said the doctor. Then she smiled.
Their walk through the complex took them to some sort of 'pre-chamber', with some lockers on the sides and showers on the other side, all separated by just some thin walls of non-transparent plastic. "Well, this is a bit embarrassing." Said Samantha with a mild blush in her cheeks. "We need you to strip of all your clothes, clean yourselves with the soap on the showers and then put on the special jumpsuits on the lockers." Explained the doctor.
It seemed like each locker had a small tag with the name of each one of the fourteen volunteers. "But... Well, I already showered this morning." Said the same guy from before. The only 'bigmouth' jerk who seemed to be doing the talking. "Of course. But we need to make sure." Said Locke.
There was something weird in the water... And in the soap. Although the water was warm, it left a cold sensation on the skin. And the soap felt like it got under the skin, making the feeling of cold even more present. On the other hand, the jumpsuit was nice. It had been hand-made to each one of the volunteers. It followed the same pattern that the rest of the complex; white with some thin orange lines across the back, legs and arms.
"May we proceed?" Said Locke after both scientists made sure everyone was set and clean.
Then... Everything becomes slightly blurry. A feeling of angst crawls into the room, and from there security staff takes control of the volunteers. "I... Don't like this part." Said Samantha, her voice starting to sound distant and muffled, even if she is standing in front of everyone. "We cannot risk any subject thinking about this twice." Replied Locke.
Some of the volunteers tried to fight back, but it was of no use. Whatever was in the water had done something to the fourteen, making them weak and dizzy. Security staff handled them with ease, almost dragging them to the next chamber where sixteen stasis pods awaited for them. The pods were already open, made of all sorts of hi-tech materials. The lighting here was much more mild, of a sickening yellowish colour. The pods were set in two rows of eight, with a wide corridor between them.
"Be careful!" Ordered the voice of Locke as some of the security members were less than polite when putting the volunteers into the pods. Then, as the pods were loaded with each person, the thick metal doors began to close, caging everyone into their own freezing coffin. "This isn't how it should be done. It's the third time we lose an entire bunch of specimens, and its because they are put in the pods in a state of stress and angst." Stated Samantha. "Nonsense." Replied Locke.
The pods began to fill with a very thin mist. It was easy to breathe, but with each breath the temperature of the body got lower and lower. It got to a point everyone passed out. A deadly cold sensation, despair and loneliness being the last feelings most volunteers felt before losing their consciousness.
/---------------/
And then came a sound, distant first, it grew into a noise so immense it could be heard far away in space. There were no scrams, there was no life. There was only the obnoxious noise, deafening, with no end.
And then, nothing.
Silence followed for what it felt like decades.
Until one day a warm feeling began to grow in the pods. Starting from the chest, like embracing a growing Sun. The feeling was so nice and soft it brushed away any nightmarish memories, putting them away in a small corner in the back of everyone's mind. And the feeling only grew, and grew. For almost an entire month, the peace of that 'Sun' warmth embraced, appeasing any pain, but not allowing anybody to wake up.
Finally, the pitched noise of de-pressurization. Valves turning and gas escaping. Once more, and probably against all odds, your eyes opened again, just to see the thick metal doors of the pod open. It was almost like being re-born. Like waking up after being away for so, so long...
But there was something different. The lighting was the easiest to note. It wasn't sickening any more. It was a very pale shade of blue, bright enough to illuminate everything, but not enough to be be blinding. The floor... It wasn't metallic. Was still of a dark colour, but it looked like... Anything you could remember. It felt like plastic, yet it was much stronger and way softer, but it wasn't slippery either.
Whatever this place was, it most definitely wasn't the N-18 laboratory any more.
There where only ten pods there, set in two rows of five each. the small hallway between both rows lead to a closed door. A small door, almost as if taken out of a science fiction movie. "W-Where are we?" Wondered a voice. On the other end of the hallway there was another open pod, with one of the other volunteers stepping out of it, looking really confused. It was a man, one that had been quite silent before, and by his looks it seemed like he had been a lumberjack, or something related with cutting trees.
"What... I have no memory of this place." Said the man as he looked around.