Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

a human-shaped clamshell, each side of the suit joining near the head. He pulled himself toward one of the suits, wishing he had more upper body strength as he felt the stress, both physically and mentally, to get in a suit before landfall.

Another shift and he crashed into the bottom half of the suit. Luckily, gravity was now oriented below the lower half of the suit, so he scrambled to get in position and punched the engage button above him, situated on the inner chest. The top half of the suit lowered down over him like a clamshell, sealing him inside. The cacophony of sounds was muted, save the whirring and clicking sounds that were transmitted along the suit as the system came to life and finished sealing and creating the protective environment inside.

The suit was locked in position and Gus felt a pang of panic, trapped inside the suit like it was a sarcophagus, unable to move. All he could do now was watch the viewscreen outside as the pod hurtled Earthward.

The pod had stabilized somewhat, orienting itself instead of flipping around. Gus could see a background of blue through the blazing light of reentry that began to mask the view as an altimeter reading in the corner of the viewscreen shrunk at an impossibly fast rate. The inertial dampeners ramped up from a low hum to an ear-piercing shriek. A sudden feeling of compression, followed by another feeling of weightlessness were the last things he remembered before everything turned black.

###!###

Gus awoke in a void. His arms hung limp as he floated face-down in the suit. He ached all over; almost every muscle felt ripped or strained. He also had a splitting headache. The pain brought back a memory, vivid and clear.

Unknown to Gus, the suit had injected tiny robots into his system and they were already repairing his body of the damage he had received from the crash.

Gus moaned in agony. He never was one to have headaches but this level of pain was worrisome. At least nothing was numb, so he wasn’t paralyzed. Still, Gus had never had to deal with pain on this scale.

Neurons fired as robots repaired torn blood vessels in the brain, cauterizing them with tiny electric shocks that also served to activate memories long forgotten. The nanobots worked, and they learned of their new host as they repaired the damage. Neurons continued to fire, dredging up memories along the way.

###!###

It was an autumn morning with the air just starting to get crisp and chill, when a female co-worker invited him to join her for one of her fitness classes. Gus was so painfully shy, and this girl was so cute. Don’t blow this.

Since they were just regs, people without superpowers, they only had old-school gyms to exercise. These gyms had probably used the same weights and machines for the last forty years. The pungent smell of dried sweat and the discolored yellow sponge that peeked out of the cracked weight benches testified of their age and disrepair. Lots of things had changed once humans got superpowers, and regs had to make do with the scraps that were left.

They were one of the first ones to arrive and as the class filled up he realized that he was the only male member of the class. Everyone began to put ten pounds on the barbells in preparation for the class. Feeling he’d need a little more of a workout, he had put fifty pounds on the bar as they started doing some squat exercises, followed by a fair number of lunges. Fifty seemed to be doing the trick, giving him a good burn as they began the class. Then the instructor stated, “Ok, now that warm-ups are over, let’s get into the routine!”

Realizing the error of over-exerting himself this early in the routine for his out of shape body, but still not wanting to look like a total wimp, the torture began. As the shoulder presses, barbell curls, and tricep extensions went on, his legs began to become more and more wobbly. By the end of the class, they were spontaneously collapsing and Gus had to cling to the armrail to make his way down the stairs and out of the gym. The pursed lips and judgmental eyes told Gus all he needed to know. She was not impressed with him and rolled her eyes as he apologetically descended the stairs like a marionette. By the time he made it down the stairs she was gone. Good thing we drove separately…

###!###

Gus winced as he tried to move, bringing him back to his unfortunate present situation. So groggy. I can’t be dead… it hurts too much. The bulky suit made it difficult to move. What happened to the pod? Gus tried to raise his head and a sharp stab of pain in his neck froze him in a paroxysm of pain. It was too much; the pain combined with exhaustion from his ordeal overtook him again, leaving his question unanswered. Due to the memory taking the little attention he was able to muster, he did not notice the system diagnostics appear on a virtual screen on his visor.

Analyzing… analyzing… additional injuries detected.

Releasing nanobots.

Neurogenic shock detected…

Suit compression activated.

Monitoring volumetric pressure…

IV fluids administered to reestablish norms.

Increasing oxygen filtration from the environment to raise blood oxygen levels.

Optimization protocol engaged.

Sedatives administered during the repair phase.

Estimated time for repair: 3.8 days, longer sedation phase for recovery recommended.

Gus’ eyes fluttered shut as the sedatives took effect. Time passed and the man-shaped suit bobbed on the water, slowly floating toward an island. The waves and wind slowly pushed it towards shore, where it encountered an unseen barrier. As the suit was passively pushed through the barrier, the body inside began to react. And as it did, the suit compensated.

Analysis… sudden arrest of system.

Nanobots reassigned to oxygen delivery and manual electric stimulation of cardiac muscle to maintain normal rhythms…

Oxygen saturation increased to 40% to aid in respiration and transfer rates…

Circulation stabilized but brain function