Without much thought, Meredith had signed the waiver. Now that she was in the tube, doubt was settling in. A clear, thick liquid pumped in from an opening in the floor, covering her feet and climbing up her legs.
What if I die here? She thought, then shook the thought away. Dr. Matthews had assured her that the experiment was safe. He'd performed it over a dozen times.
The liquid reached her thighs. It wasn't cold like she'd expected it to be.
I wonder what the outcome was on the other experiments. Meredith ignored this thought. She was certain that if the outcomes had been bad, the doctor wouldn't have been allowed to continue his tests.
Hoping to calm herself, she closed her eyes and tried to relax against the metal plate at her back. The liquid was at her rib cage now.
An image flashed in her mind. It was her family. One of their good days, before Meredith had been kicked out and forced to survive on her own in anyway she could think of. Now it was two years later and she was in a tube about to be frozen alive. A shitty way to go, by her standards.
I still haven't gone back. I still haven't forgiven Mom. She hasn't forgiven me. What if I die right now? I have to talk to her.
Fear pulsed through her now. The thought of leaving this world without even getting the chance to say goodbye gave her a will to live that made her desperate to escape the cryochamber. Meredith pounded her fist on the tube's door. When the liquid continued to rise, she pounded again, harder this time. She had to make the doctor hear her. She had to get out. She had to go home. She kept pounding until her arms were sore and the tube was completely full.
I want to see them. This was her last thought before the liquid and her body were frozen solid.
She awoke to Dr. Matthews standing over her. He watched her in awe. "You survived."
"What?" She felt cold, but not uncomfortably so.
"You're the first to survive."