Samantha Malloy

A Steam shovel was busily clumping up dirt in a construction site. The driver of the machine maneuvered the huge shovel to pick up a large boulder and held it precariously above a large gash in the ground. “Careful where you aim that, Mac!” yelled the foreman to the driver, “There are steam pipes down there.” The driver made a rude gesture back to the foreman and pushed the lever to the side, swinging the shovel around to drop the huge boulder onto a clear piece of ground. . The boulder hit the ground with a hollow thud, then dropped out of sight as the hidden well cover beneath it splintered under its weight. The foreman and the Steam shovels operator stared at each other in open-mouthed shock. Cautiously, they approached the new hole and peered in. “Should we check it out?” asked the driver. “It didn’t hit a steam pipe, so best to leave it alone for now,” answered the foreman. ~~~~~~ Fifty feet down, the boulder had come to a rest, smashed into a computer center at the bottom of the well. The sputtering computer was hooked up to a cryogenic tube with a woman frozen inside of it. “Beginning emergency resuscitation,” the screen on the side of the tube read. The cryogenic tube then began to thaw the frozen woman. A few hours later the top of the tube squeaked open. The woman inside opened her eyes and began trying to move her arms and legs, but her limbs felt like jelly and refused to move. . After a few minutes she succeeded in raising her body enough to peer over the sides of the tube. Her vision was blurry, but she was able to make out the shape of the large boulder, sitting on top of a metal structure. The space was faintly illuminated by the light coming in from above. She sat up fully and pushed her long chestnut brown hair out of her face. Where am I? She thought, panicking a little as she rolled out of the cryogenic tube, to the dusty floor. The room was very small, when she stood shakily up, using the side of the tube for support. She brushed the dirt off her skintight silver bodysuit and took a moment to acquaint herself with the torso and arms and legs that formed her body. Staring at the large boulder, that was close enough to touch. She looked up and saw the hole where the boulder had entered. It was a long way to the top and she knew there was no way she could climb it. She began to really panic and started frantically pushing on the boulder, trying to move it as far from her as she could, while her breath came in short gasps. “Okay calm down,” she said aloud to herself clenching her fists and forcing her breathing into a normal rhythm. “Think about this carefully. First what is your name?” She thought for a moment, “Samantha Malloy. Ok good you know who you are.” She rose and started to pace in the small space while she thought. “Now why are you here?” Samantha asked herself next. Unfortunately, her mind was unable to find the answer to that question. But she had the distinct feeling that whoever put her in the tube meant her no harm and that there was a purpose behind her being there. She just couldn’t think of what. Suddenly, she heard a faint voice. “Hello?” she called. Then she heard it again, faintly coming from beneath the boulder.