Sleeping Beauty

Prologue

The last thing I remember is the light. The light was so bright, and warm. I was sure it would be the last thing anybody would see. I remember how I eyes refused to close, no matter how much I willed them to. It was as if I was retreating further and further into my own body, losing control of all functions. Feeling no pain, no cold, just grateful warmth around me.

They tried their best to keep me comfortable. The doctors I mean. My wife was there. So was mother. Andrew, my son, was holding my hand, but that sensation too came to pass. I knew I was dying. Surrounded by family, and all I could think about was when I’d wake up again.
23 months ago, Marie, my wife, suggested I get a check up. I was feeling a little bit under the weather. So I reluctantly agreed. They took my blood and ran it through a fancy machine, and out of this fancy machine came an un-fancy result.

Cancer.

They gave me 7 months…

Marie tried everything. Experimental treatment. Chemo. Even black magic. In the end I ended up losing 90 pounds, all of my hair, my job, my ability to walk on my own, and all hope. I knew I was dying.

Marie refused to give up though. Before my hearing had abandoned me on that bed, I heard her agreeing to something. Signing something, whimpering and saying, “All I want is for him to live… no matter what. No matter when.”

That’s when she looked over me and whispered into my ear. She told me how I would wake up and everything would be better.

Slowly, she backed away, and that’s when I lost it. I couldn’t hear anything in the room. I looked around frantically and realized how hard it became to breathe. The numbness started in my legs and gradually worked its way up to my face. I didn’t want to say anything. I knew there would be no point. No point in delaying the inevitable. I felt my body expel the last bit of air from my diseased form. That’s when I began to focus on the light. That blinding hospital lamp.

Convincing myself that that was the famed light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I was dead.

At least I thought I was. Marie was right. I woke up. Unfortunately she was also wrong, everything was not better.

My name is Vincent Wohl. Born in Virginia 1994. Died in Michigan 2041. Resuscitated in United Nations capital No. 52 formerly known as California 4623.

I am known as “Sleeping Beauty”.

Chapter 1: Rude Awakening

I came into the world slowly. The first thing I remember was the bright light. The light ebbed away to reveal a field of sunflowers. In all directions, just endless fields of sunflowers, and a sky so blue it was as if a painter entered my reality and decided to do some decorating. I was standing. At my feet was a pond and inside the pond was Marie. She was so beautiful. She levitated above the water, lying down on air. Breathing calmly.

I decided to make my way over to her. I took a step and found that the same air holding Marie held me as well. I didn’t know any better really. I thought I was in heaven. And for the sake of my sanity, I let myself believe that.

When I was close enough to her, I laid myself down next to her. She was in nearly transparent sleepwear. Her hair was flowing in the air, suspended by an unseen force. Her head looked like an anemone. I reached out to touch her, to see if she was really there. She was. Her skin was smooth, clean, and warm. Whatever force was flowing through her began to make its way through my fingertips and up into my chest. It felt alive. I could feel it traveling through my system, intricately working itself into all parts of me. That’s when I felt myself take a breath. My chest expanded to three times its normal size, and it held for the longest time. My sigh was matched by Marie’s exhale. She was awake. She sat up to hug me.

That’s when the dream changed. After Marie hugged me, she pulled back and told me how proud she was of me. She told me to live my life. Told me all the things you’d expect to hear before a farewell. I knew I would never see her again. She stood and turned. Before I had any say, she dove into the pond. It was strange… Soon as she was submerged, the pond became an ocean. The ocean was glowing with the same force that occupied my body.

The sky started to turn into night, and I had a strong urge to dive in after her. The uplifting air slowly dissipated, and I was lowered into the water. Like a lobster into boiling water, I tried to fight my way out. I descended to the depths at an alarming rate. All was black. That’s when I heard the applause.

Chapter 2: The Prince

My ears were bombarded with noise. Skin slapping against skin. It was such a foreign sound. I felt cool and comfortable. I opened my eyes. They didn’t take everything in immediately. Yellow petals, multiple suns, and blue outlines. I thought I was in the field again. I heard warbled voices, and saw floating shapes. I thought I was sucked into purgatory or something.

“Vincent Wohl? Can you hear me?”

I turned my head and uttered Marie’s name.

Again, the foreign noise paddled my eardrums. I fell asleep. A dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I felt fantastic. There wasn’t the throbbing pain of diseased lungs, no more headaches, not even gas. The room I was in was clean, crisp, and cool. I looked down at myself. I looked like I had been going to the gym. My torso was beautifully toned. My hair was cut short, my nails were done, even my toes felt like they had received some treatment. I was beginning to wonder how this all came to be when a man walked into the room. As soon as he made eye contact with me, he shook with glee. A massive smile spread across his face.

“You’re awake. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sir, I’ve been watching your resuscitation period from the moment you were found in that underground lab.”

I gave him a quizzical look. His accent was foreign, from what I could tell. He had brown skin and short black hair. He wore strange black arm gloves that worked into a one-piece suit. He didn’t look like any nurse I’ve seen. I realized I was staring at him, so I spoke.

“Where am I?”

The words came out of a sore throat. It felt as if I hadn’t spoken in a long time. Using my vocal chords again felt like trying to ride a new bike.

Soon as the words came out, he was in awe. Before he could answer me, he rushed out of the room and was gone.

I felt very uneasy. Everything about the room I was in looked foreign, yet somehow familiar. I sat up. All the equipment I was hooked up to was gone. Instead there was what looked like a monitor built into the wall next to me. It glowed with readings, readings that were, I realized, synonymous with my life signs. When I breathed in, I saw a section of what looked like a heart speed up slightly. I didn’t see any electrodes on my body.

“It’s a Life-Monitor. State of the art health surveillance system created just for you. Your immune system is very different from ours, so we have to watch you very carefully.“

The famed “Prince” of the new world, the one who brought me back to life. Her name was Dr. Priscilla Patel. A leading doctor in the UNC 52.