Orpheus

14

"Riley. RILEY!"

She burst open her eyes; the harsh white light burning her. She could barely make out the outline of a person's head; Owen's head. "WAKE UP!"

Her instincts kicked in as she shot up straight and gasped; the liquid still hung on her skin, chocking her with each breath.

"Whoa there! Easy..." Owen said comfortingly, patting her back as she coughed. "Easy..."

He held her for a few minutes, patting as Riley coughed and went through the post-cryo shock. Her thoughts were a mess; the nightmare rattled her a lot more than she let on; she could barely form connected thoughts. Only a solitary name echoed in her head again, and again, and again on repeat.

'... Ethan... Ethan... Ethan...'

"Hey," Owen said in a surprisingly gentle voice "you alright?"

Riley managed a stiff nod, before she rolled her legs over and attempted to get out of the pod. Her knees buckled the moment they made contact with the ground.

Panic suddenly tightened its noose 'round her neck. 'My legs... I can barely feel my legs...'

"Shit!" Owen exclaimed. "Riles lean on me." Without waiting for a reply, he slung one of her arms 'round his neck. "Connor! A lil' help!". A slight tinge of panic was in his voice.

Connor, who was by the medical cabinet, jogged towards them.

"Don't worry." He said once he reached them. "It's numbness from lack of movement." A few seconds later the two of them, each with an arm of Riley 'round their shoulders, helped her walk towards one of the medical beds.

'Look at me.' she thought 'Being carried like a damsel in distress.'

They made her sit gently in an upright position. Riley's head swooned; she had both her arms on the sides of the bed for support, but they felt like loosely packed Jell-O. She was certain she would have fallen sideways if not for Connor's iron grip.

"Here" Owen handing her a soft towel. "Make yourself dry. I'll go get the meds." He took one last worried glimpse at Riley, before running to the cabinet.

She shakily brought the towel to her face and wiped it dry, choosing to focus on nothing else other than her rattling breathing.

'... Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in... Breathe out...'

She felt Connor's grip relax at first, then leave entirely. She didn't care; she kept the towel to her face, finally letting the waterworks she was holding in soak into the fabric.

A few moments later she felt somebody near her.

"Here," she heard Owen's voice. "Have these." His tone was soft.

She uncovered her face from beneath the towel and looked at Owen; he was standing in front of her, in his outstretched palm he held some pills. "Chew them."

She took them all at once and immediately regretted it; the explosion of flavors ricocheted across her mouth. She tried keeping a straight face, but evidently she had failed; Owen was smirking like a mad man.

"So..." he began "it's that bad, eh?"

Riley could only nod as the ricocheting got worse. "Water. I need water!" she croaked as she scrunched her face; trying to keep a poker face was futile. She rapped at the bed as the conflicting palate on her tongue was at war with itself.

"Here," said Owen, grinning ear-to-ear, a glass of water seemingly materializing in his hand.

'He knew! The bastard knew how it tasted!'

Of course she didn't say it out loud; she snatched the glass from his hand and seemingly emptied it in one long gulp.

"Wow, you're fast. Remind me never take you out for a drink." Owen could barely speak through his smirk; it would appear he was firmly back in his cocky demeanor.

"You knew, didn't you?" Riley asked, gasping for air. "You knew how it tasted."

Owen took the empty glass from her. "Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't very good at lying. Riley playfully punched his arm.

"Hey!" he retorted. "Okay maybe I deserved that. But being punched by a grandma is embarrassing enough!"

Riley looked down at her arms; they were wrinkled from long immersion in the cryo fluid. Maybe she did look like a grandma.

"But you better be careful: " Riley replied with a smirk. "This grandma can kick ass."

"You need to catch me first!" Owen grinned back; he got another punch on the arm, this time harder.

"OW!" Owen replied. "What was that for?"

"Being a slowpoke." she smiled. A comfy silence fell over them.

Riley watched her feet dangle from the upraised bed; she remembered she hadn't quite done that for years.

'The room is silent... but I don't quite mind it; this silence is comfy.'

"Connor's gone to get you a cup of coffee." Owen broke it. "Might take him a while."

"Yeah..."

"Oh and, in an hour or two, you may need to hit the toilet." Owen replied. "Holding in body fluids for extended periods of time may give you a bad case of the loosies."

Riley scrunched her face as she didn't know what to do with that information. "I will... keep that in mind?"

"Yeah..." Owen grinned as he got up. "Well, I gotta do an hourly check by the Intersect. Be right back."

He didn't wait for an answer as he walked towards the ladder that lead up to the Intersect. Riley watched him climb up. At that moment, she didn't really know how she felt.