I feel so tired...

... I don't want to wake up right now

... But it hurts so damn much!

I try to pry my eyes open, only to be blinded by a strong light.

I try to breathe, but it feels like there's no air at all...

My body is so cold, yet so warm...

"What's going on?" I try to say, panicked, but instead, I wince in pain, from my dry cracking lips.

"Where am I? Why am I here?" I think, trying to recall everything that happened recently, but it seems my mind is clouded. The last thing I remember is leaving the front door of my house - ready to go to school - and then... Darkness.

Regaining my calm, I realize I started breathing, but something feels wrong with the air... Or maybe right. It feels too pure, too comfortable on my lungs. I remember the feeling and taste of the air at home, and this definitely wasn't the same.

"I need to open my eyes" I think. Taking half a minute to gather courage, I forcibly open my eyes, and resist the pain that comes with the strong light.

One minute... Two minutes... Three minutes.

Finally, my eyes start getting accustomed to it. And as the agonising white fades, my vision reveals something that I didn't expect.

Green. So much green.

I was awestruck by the sheer quantity of trees, birds and grass. I thought plants only existed inside sanctuaries, and only in small quantities, with small species. Enormous trees, with hanging vines all over were spread in front of me. Grass was dancing with the wind on the ground, and the breeze gently caressed my face, bringing a calming feeling that I'd never felt before.

Tears rolled down my cheek without me realizing it. Never had I dreamed that I'd live to see such a beautiful scenario. Life was teeming all around, the sky was painted in blue, and no buildings were in sight.

Getting a grip on my thoughts again, but still mesmerized by everything, I remembered I was lost, and started to look around.

Looking down, I noticed I'd been sitting in some kind of tank all this time, and that there was a big, red, button beside my hip, with the word "instructions" written above it.

Nervously pressing it, because of the self-destruction button stereotype, a hologram suddenly appears in front, almost giving me a heart attack.

On it, there was a beautiful, blond woman. She wore glasses and a white coat, and stood with a serious face in front of me. A few moments later she started talking:

"Hello Nathan, my name is Yama, and I am happy to inform you that you survived an extremely dangerous, compulsory, experiment, that enviosioned the perpetuation of the human species."

An experiment? I don't remember anything... What the hell...

"You may not remember some things because of the stress you were under, and because of the nature of your changes.

You were subjected to radiation waves that interacted with the molecular structure of your DNA - it made your disulfides bridges and nitrogen bases unstable, making it possible for your genetic code and form to change in short time spans, according to your needs and character.

To make it easy for you to understand, it's possible to say that all subjects of the experiment make Lamarck's laws true. With your genetic rearrangement, it too became possible to make full use of synthetic organs, so several of your organs were exchanged for stronger and more resilient versions - and because of this, you may experience some inicial discomforts, such as light sensitivity and balance loss."

Okay, she's telling me that I was part of a dangerous and compulsory experiment, had my humanity changed, and my organs taken away. This woman is starting to get on my nerves.

She, then, continued:

"To ensure that the experiment would not be detrimental to your development, we injected several serums on you, with chemical components, along with special polymers that ensure the permanence of the effects. None of your mutations will be useless, nor bad."

The hologram paused, and I was relieved. It was so much that had happened in such a short amount of time that I didn't think I could pay attention to that hologram anymore.

I was kidnapped. Experimented on. Violated

My mind spun, got lost and hazy. My vision followed. I felt nauseous and threw up on my left.

Breathe in, breathe out. This thought turned into a mantra for who knows how long. The hologram had paused, as if it kept track of my state. Slowly, as my calming mantra repeated itself in mind and body, my anxiety faded. Then I focused on the chirping of the birds, again on the melody of shaking grass, my heartbeat was finally slowing down.

As soon as I could focus again, the hologram resumed its notice.

"You and several successful children have been sent to planet Exitium, which is the closest habitable planet next to Earth. All of you have one single mission there: to survive. As of now, considering you travelled for 30 years, cryogenized, inside your hibernation chambers. Earth has ended. You are the last humans alive..."

What?

"...Capsules sent from earth contained, each, a full team of four people..."

It can't be...

"...You have been assigned as the captain of your team, for your psychological profile and knowledge..."

Earth is no more?

"...You are to ensure a prosperous location, collect all capsules, put them together, and found a human society to colonize this planet..."

Is everyone really dead?

"...In the name of our planet, our home, I wish you the best of luck, Nathan Eden, leader of team Eden, and may you and humanity rise once again."

The hologram darkened and faded, leaving me all alone in my hibernation chamber, catatonic. I couldn't move, I couldn't see nor hear. My home doesn't exist anymore, my family is dead.

Earth is dead.

(Proofreader: VQ - leader of the galaxy)