Sirosa

Chapter 3

Bodies everywhere.
The stench filled her nose.
    She stared into the pit, watching the maggots writhing around in the bodies, devouring the eyes and tongues of the corpses.
    The groaning as the air escaped the bodies filled her ears.
    The smell... the sound... the feeling!
    Mac'hla shot up with a scream and looked around their room frantically. Though their vision was clear they could still smell, hear, and feel the horrible memories.
    She sobbed and held a pillow up to her face, trying to stifle the wails erupting from her chest.
    She could feel the hot sand beneath her feet, damp with blood.
    They scratched at their feet, desperate to rid themself of the sensation.
    Screams.
    She slammed her hands over her ears.
    Rotting flesh.
    They covered their nose.
    "This is not real." she whispered, "This is not real."
    She pulled the blanket up over her head and wound herself up in it tightly, trying to give herself a different sensation.
    "I smell... laundry soap." they whispered, focussing on every little detail of reality to pull themself from the hell their mind was trapping them in.
    She ran her hands through her hair, "I feel... hair. Soft."
    She took a deep breath, "I hear my voice. I am a Lieutenant on the starship Enterprise. I am safe."
    Slowly, the phantom sensations began to pass and they curled up as small as they could.
    She thought back to her childhood, but now it was safe.
    When she'd have trouble sleeping, she'd curl up next to her mother in a tiny ball, listening to her mother breathe.
    Their mother would stroke their hair as they fell asleep, humming lullabies and planting gentle kisses on the top of their head.
    Mac'hla's eyes were growing heavy, and the desire to rest was stronger than the fear of the nightmares.
    Her eyes closed, and she fell into a blissful, dreamless sleep.