Sugar Bomb

Frozen Girl

As soon as I ran my fingers over the icy letters, I felt faint vibrations. In an instant, the surface, densely packed with storage disks, lifted, revealing a hidden layer of thick, silvery liquid beneath. A freezing cloud, like liquid nitrogen, burst straight into my face. I counted, waving the icy mist away with my hand. Leaning over the silver surface, I saw my reflection in it. The liquid gently rippled under the influence of the vibrations, as if some mysterious mechanism was operating at the bottom of the capsule. I stared, hypnotized, wondering what this dense liquid might conceal. And then suddenly, a splash, right in my face. Everything happened so quickly. The silvery liquid with a biting, sterile smell ended up on my face.

"Damn!" I shouted, rubbing my eyes with the intention of backing away. I wasn't able to do so. I felt a pull downward, and my gaze landed on a small, pale hand, tightly gripping the lapel of my jacket. Instinctively, I grabbed the hand, trying to detach it, and the sound of surprise echoed from many witnesses present. Grasping the hand, I pulled it towards me, opening my eyes in indescribable surprise. A small, trembling body emerged from the capsule.

"My God..." I whispered, freezing at the sight of this unearthly being. The room fell silent. Only faint sounds of working machines in the cargo hold could be heard in the background. Large, blue eyes stared at me. Her wet, long lashes were coated and stuck together with the silvery liquid. She coughed, her body convulsing, desperately trying to catch her breath without taking her eyes off me.

"A woman...?" I heard whispers growing louder by the second. Two men standing on the other side of the room tried to approach her, but I stopped them with a firm gesture. I felt her breathing start to even out. I couldn't pull myself together after what I had seen. Another tug snapped me out of my daze; she pulled herself up and sat down. I watched, fascinated, as she clumsily pushed back her long, tangled, chestnut hair. The woman kept staring at me, gasping for air as if after a great exertion. Her neck was slender, and her collarbones were sharply defined. I let my curious gaze slide down her chest. Instinctively, I looked away upon seeing her pale pink n*****s erect from the cold. I took off my jacket and draped it over the frightened girl's shoulders.

"Bring adrenaline," I shouted to the men standing opposite, drawing their shocked gazes. This frail creature was incredibly weak, seeming to close her eyes from exhaustion as if she might faint at any moment. I guessed that aside from the presumably long hibernation state, the cause of her deteriorating condition could be the icy liquid she was still partially immersed in. Without thinking twice, I grabbed the girl under her arms and pulled her out of the shimmering cold substance. Thankfully, the jacket covered her down to her buttocks, and she pulled her legs up towards her stomach. Initially, I held her away from me, at arm's length, but I couldn't treat her as a potential biological threat. She reached out towards me, and I let her snuggle into my shirt. Disbelieving what was happening, I took a few steps back and sat on a hospital bed behind me. With a real woman in my arms. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I guessed I wasn't the only one. She seemed paralyzed, thoroughly cold, and craving my warmth. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. She rested her folded legs on my thighs, making me start to absorb the chemicals dripping from her.

"Thank you," I said to one of my colleagues, who handed me a sterile syringe with adrenaline. I panicked, feeling the woman slowly go limp in my arms. Without losing another moment, I exposed her chest and injected the syringe's contents under her trembling skin. She immediately opened her eyes wide, her breathing speeding up even more if that was possible. I knew there was no other way. We couldn't lose her now.

"Seth, lay the woman on the bed," I heard a firm command. Emperor Finneas was a composed and calm man, but for the first time, I heard fear in his voice.

"Yes, sir," I replied reluctantly, standing and simultaneously moving the trembling creature away from me. She reached out towards me, but I straightened up and stepped back. I couldn't stop staring into her bright, blue, and confused eyes.

"Focus on examining her, check if she's healthy, determine her origin if possible. Don't forget about the disks from the capsule. I want to see a report on today's incident by the end of this week at the latest," ordered Emperor Finneas, then added, furrowing his bushy, gray eyebrows, "Do not let her out of quarantine, everything is to remain strictly confidential. Until further notice." He then turned on his heel and left the room. In quarantine, it was just me, the frightened girl, and my team standing by the door, casting questioning glances at me.

"Give her an IV and draw blood for tests," I ordered nervously, squeezing the remaining silver liquid from my wrinkled white shirt. "And someone bring her a blanket!" I added, giving the girl a quick glance. The poor creature still couldn't catch her breath, shivering from the cold, curled up on the bed. She stopped paying attention to me and stared blankly at the black window in front of her. She seemed resigned and lost. I couldn't blame her; who knows how many years she had spent in cryo-sleep, traversing the vastness of space. I wondered if she remembered anything from her previous life. Did she have one? Was she grown in a lab like me? What if she's really from Earth? What if she remembers the old world? How come she didn't get sick like the rest of the female population on the Old Planet? I sighed, heading towards my colleagues.

"We need to talk," I said firmly.