Chapter Text
The morning of the accident was no different than any other. You and Ryland wake up, make coffee (with Armando’s help), and give a goodbye kiss as he heads off to teach.
It was only a few hours later when you began to hear it.
Wind. Lots of it.
Weather was an odd topic on Erid. With the thick atmosphere, any rainfall that occurs doesn’t reach the surface. When you arrived on Erid, they built the biodome at a higher point above sea level as an attempt to lessen the amount of gravity you would feel on your bodies. It wasn’t much, but any bit helped. In doing so, every once in a while you can hear the rain occurring outside the biodome, as you were high enough to be able to hear it every once in a while.
Wind, however, was found all over the planet. It was the main weather ‘event’ you knew about with Erid’s conditions. The wind had gotten worse while the star was dying, but once you arrived with the taumoeba and the sun began to warm up again the wind died down. At least, you thought.
BANG.
The sound reverberated across the biodome, reaching your home and quickly gathering your attention. Cautiously, you set down your book and took a peek outside the window. Nothing immediately looked out of place, but as you looked further across your habitat you noticed that a small section of lighting panels for the biodome on the east side had gone dark.
It reminded you a bit of the Truman show, when the light falls from the sky. But in this case, nothing fell. It just went…dark. Did the light break? The Eridians were pretty good at maintaining the electrical structures, you’ve never seen this happen before. Why-
BANG.
You turn your head to the sound, thoughts interrupted. Another panel section in the biodome, this time on the northern side, has gone dark. Your heartbeat picks up a bit. This wasn’t normal. The sounds of the wind picking up pace echoes perilously throughout the enclosure, growing louder and louder with each waking moment. Nevertheless, there was only one thought that crossed your mind.
Ryland.
You need to find Ryland.
The rocks beneath your feet shift as you begin to walk at a brisk pace towards his classroom.
BANG.
You flinch at the sound again, pausing when you notice the lack of light where you stood. You look up and notice that the panels above you have gone dark as well. You speed up your pace towards his classroom. There was no way he hadn't noticed the strange phenomena by now.
“Ry?” You call out, hoping maybe he could hear your voice over the roaring wind which was ramping up considerably. Your about to call out again when-
BANG.
You don’t look up to see where the sound came from. You know what it is. You don’t have the time, you need to find Ryland. Your breathing is picking up, the wind ringing through your ears. It's an odd sensation, hearing heavy winds while not physically feeling them.
Before you can yell for him again you see his figure appear from his teaching podium. You can see his figure relax at the sight of you, and yours does the same. Relief floods your veins and you notice him walking towards you quickly. He’s saying something, but you can’t hear it over the howling sounds from above.
“What? Ry I- I can't hear you!-” Your heartbeat thumps through your ears as you continue to walk towards him to meet up with him.
“....in….ou….sin….nd…!”He's close enough you can hear his voice, but you can’t hardly understand him-
BANG.
The sound makes you duck your head, as if you were going to get hit by something.
Finally, you reach Ryland and he quickly grabs your hand and begins practically running back towards the house.
“We need to go back in the house!!!” You can barely hear his words over the howling wind. Your grip on his hand tightens and your breathing sharpens, adrenaline pumping through your veins.
The two of you run as fast as you can across the rocky beach, occasionally slipping across the loose rocks beneath you. Out of the corner of your eyes you notice that the machine that controls the tides has quit, leaving the water on the surface eerily still in comparison to the booming wind from outside.
The calm before the storm.
The door slams open as you both rush in, shutting the door immediately behind you. It probably wouldn’t help anything with what was going on outside, but it's the thought that counts. It was at least much quieter inside the house so that you could converse without shouting at the top of your lungs. You hold tightly onto Ryland’s fox cardigan, which you were currently wearing, tugging it closer to yourself as you try and wrap your mind around the situation you were both in.
Ryland checks outside the window before he looks back to you, both of you out of breath. He gives you a once over, checking to see if you were alright.
“A-Are you hurt?” His eyes convey his panicked feelings and thoughts as he holds onto you by your shoulders.
You quickly shake your head no. His eyes glazed over with a look of relief that you were okay, letting out a satisfied breath. You open your mouth to respond verbally-
BANG.
The sound causes the both of you to flinch. He lets go of you for just a moment, taking the moment to pace back and forth in your living room
You watch as he continues to ramble to himself. The winds begin to invade all your senses and you're taken back to a time back on Earth, one where you were ushered down to the basement as a tornado ripped through your hometown. An idea flashes through your mind as you have a moment of realization.
“Ry? Ry!” You try to get his attention, having to physically grab onto him when he doesn’t immediately respond to you. He looks at you with a frightened look.
“Ry, do you know how to get to the basement?!” He looked at you confused and you could visibly hear the cogs working through his brain. Once it clicks, he has a newfound look of determination and nods, grabbing your hand and leading you down the hallway.
BANG.
You instinctually want to cover your ears at the sound, but you continue on following your husband.
The ‘basement’, as you called it, was something that was devised early on during the planning of the biodome. Rocky was the one to suggest it and Ryland agreed, it would be good to have it. In the case that the biodome became compromised, there was a shelter in the rock-base of your home for you to retreat to. You’ve never had any reason to use it or utilize it in any way, at least until now.
Ryland opens the back door with a click, the roaring of the winds much louder outside of the house. It was eerily dark outside, as there were only about half of the lighting panel sections still in operation, reminiscent of the darkness that encased the entire planet daily. You could swear that you saw a flash of something lightning-esque in the distance beyond the biodome.
Before you could dwell on it any longer, he trails you behind the side of the house and as he removes some of the brush covering the back of the house, you notice a door you had never seen before. He quickly opens it, struggling for a bit to crack it open, as it hadn’t been opened since it was constructed. You both rush inside, stale air rushing through your lungs, quickly shutting the door behind you.
…
About an hour had passed once you were safely settled within the shelter, no idea what was happening outside. You snuggle alongside Ryland in a cot within the shelter, the sound of the wind having died down some, but still roaring in the distance, though now much more diluted through the layers of protection. Your head rests on Rylands chest, with his right arm rubbing small circles on your back out of comfort. Neither of you had spoken much since getting settled within the bunker, but he spoke up first.
“...I thought it was just wind. I started realizing something was wrong once Carl came in and started ushering all the kids out of the room. God- the kids…” You look up and see the utter look of worry across his face, pulling at your heartstrings.
Carl had been the Eridian that was essentially acting as a bodyguard for the classroom, hence why Ryland bestowed the alien the name Carl. They didn’t talk to Ryland often, but they made sure the kids made it to and from the classroom safely and Ryland had a fond affection for the eridian.
You reach your right hand out and grasp his left hand. You thread your fingers in-between his somewhat calloused fingers, rubbing small circles with your thumb to try and comfort him.
“They’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.” You reassure him, hoping your words soothe over his nerves and worries.
He sighs and you feel his head lean down towards yours, giving a kiss to the top of your head. He stays there, content in keeping his face in your hair as a comforting, grounding gesture.
…
A few more hours go by and the two of you find yourselves fast asleep. The exhaustion from everything finally catching up with you two, the adrenaline having left both of your bodies.
You aren’t awake to notice, but the wind outside has died down significantly, practically non-existent. Before your slumber you heard a few more crashes and bangs, but it didn’t seem as if the biodome had crashed and burned while you were safely tucked away.
Bzzt.
Bzzt. Bzzt.
The buzzing happens to wake you up. It rings in your ears and you sleepily squint your eyes and furrow your brows at the sound interrupting your slumber. You push yourself up from Ryland’s warm body, which seems to constantly radiate heat, and you try to look around for the source of the vibrations.
Your rustling seems to have awakened Ryland, as he rubs his eyes from underneath his glasses. He hums in confusion, furrowing his brows as he finally registers the buzzing sound that echoes throughout the basement.
Your back pops as you stretch your arms above your head and you continue to peer around the room. “Ry…?” You say, biting back a groan as you stretch your arms in a way that feels incredible. The man in question only hums back in response.
“Do you know of anything in here that would…I don’t know…vibrate…?” In your half-awake daze, it's difficult trying to figure out where the source of the vibrations are. He peers around the room, seemingly more awake as he ponders your question. He rubs at his chin while he thinks and if you peered inside his brain, you would definitely be able to see the cogs moving in there.
“Um…I think there's like, a comms thing in here. I think it's over….” He gets up and stretches his back before he trudges across the room over towards a box underneath a table.
“Aha!” He says, feeling the vibrations through the outside of the box. He kneels down with one knee on the floor and pulls the box out from underneath the table. If you could see his face right now, there would be stars shining in them. He quickly unlatches it and digs through it. He pulls out a few flashlights, some battery packs, before picking up what appears to be something of a rudimentary walkie talkie. You can hear the vibrations against his hand, this time much softer.
He presses a button on it and it lets out a beep. The vibrations stop, and you can hear static. Ryland gets up from the ground with a grunt, curses his old man joints, and goes and sits on the cot. You move from your spot in the room and join him, leaning over his shoulder while you wait for something to happen.
“Grace (Name) okay, question??!!!!”
The panicked voice on the other end of the call is most definitely Rocky. You would recognize that voice from anywhere. A feeling of relief flows through your body as you know he's okay and you can tell it eases Ryland’s nerves as well.
“Yeah bud, we’re okay! What-what was going on out there? Are you guys okay? Are the kiddo’s okay? I know Carl took them but-” Ryland continues to ramble off questions out of worry. You bring your hand up and rub circles on his back, hoping to try and calm his nerves just a little bit.
“Where are Grace (Name), question? Need to make sure humans are safe, statement!” Rocky completely ignores the anxious rambles of your husband. You can’t help the small smile that adorns your face at the similarities between the two.
“We’re in the basement er-, shelter under the house. You didn’t answer my questions-” Ryland’s brow furrows in frustration at the eridians stubbornness.
Before Rocky could retort, the familiar voice of Adrian appears over the system.
“Rocky give Adrian device.”
“But-”
“Rocky give Adrian device, statement.”
A few grumbles from Rocky can be heard during what you assume is Rocky passing the device to the other, causing a small chuckle to leave you at the interaction. You tap Ryland’s shoulder to get his attention and you motion for him to hand you the device. He looks at you, silently pleading for you to let him hold onto it, before ultimately succumbing to your batting eyelashes and handing you the communication device.
“Adrian, what’s going on?” You ask calmly.
“Eridian weather. Rising temperature in Erid atmosphere from star warming back up cause shift in atmospheric pressure. Worst worst worst storm Rocky or Adrian ever seen. Do not leave shelter, hole in biodome ceiling-”
“Rocky fix, statement!” the smaller eridian’s voice interjects.
“Yes, Rocky fix. Will not take long, single earth day at most.” Adrian finishes.
Rylands thoughts can’t stop racing. The biodome was made of some of the strongest materials Erid had to offer in order to sustain the pressure and temperature differences.
“Adrian, how is it out there? Is everyone okay?” Ryland pleads. You can see the way his brows furrow out of concern, a desperate look across his features.
The eridian is silent for a moment.
“...Many many many eridians hurt. Erid houses not made for such winds, statement. Major thrum will be happening for recovery and rescue plans. Will contact more when more information.” The low notes of Adrian's voice are evident of the devastation that has occurred outside your safe haven.
You reach your hand over to Rylands and hold onto it tightly.
Where do you even go from here?