Kael's boots touched the cold floor, the pod behind him hissing shut, locking away the warmth and safety of confinement.
Across the room, the dark capsule split open with a thin hiss, steam curling around its edges. Kael took a cautious step closer.
A cough broke the silence, followed by a groan. A slender hand, dark like Kael's but marred by a glowing red tattoo on the wrist, gripped the edge of the pod.
She pulled herself up, blinking against the light. Her eyes were sharp, even if confusion clouded them, and she scanned the room like a cornered animal.
"Stay back," she croaked, voice raw.
Kael raised his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Where are we?" Her gaze darted to the other pods, the sterile walls, then to Kael again.
"I don't know." He swallowed. "I just woke up too."
She rubbed her wrist, tracing the red tattoo, a symbol Kael couldn't make out. Her hair was cropped close, curls clinging to her head, and she wore the same gray uniform.
"Do you remember your name?" Kael asked.
She hesitated, glancing at the tattoo, then back at him. "Sera. I think."
"Kael." The name tasted familiar now, grounding him.
A low hum echoed through the room, and a strip of light near the door flickered from white to green.
Sera's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't like that before."
Kael felt it too—a shift in the air, as if the room had exhaled.
The door, flush with the wall, clicked. A faint seam of light appeared around its edges.
Sera stepped out of her pod, legs shaking at first but steadying quickly. "We need to see what's out there."
Kael nodded, heart pounding. "Yeah."
They approached the door together, the green light pulsing softly above them.
Kael reached for the panel beside it, but Sera grabbed his wrist. "Wait."
From the other side of the door, something moved. A shadow, fleeting but real, passed across the seam of light.
They both froze, breath held.
The shadow paused, then moved away, leaving only silence.
Sera let out a shaky breath. "Whatever's out there... it's alive."
Kael pressed the panel.
The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a long corridor of white panels, illuminated by a dim, pulsing light.
They stepped into the unknown together, the pods behind them hissing shut as the door sealed with a final click.