Afterglow

Chapter X

I awoke aboard the ship, my entire chest pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe.

George walked in the room and smiled at me. "What is it with you?" he asked me quietly.

I returned the smile with a grimace. "What happened?" I asked him in reply.

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Well... One minute your falling into a blackhole and you go off the radar." he swept his hand through his hair "next thing we know, your floating right next to us, not harmed one bit." he sighed.

I managed a weak smile. "You sound annoyed," I told him as I stood up.

Suddenly I began to feel light headed and had to sit down. The bed I sat on was quite comfortable although the message I had recieved was not.

George stared at me, his eyes tracking my every movement. "A message came through on the computers just after we located you," he told her as he tapped an interface on the wall.

it has a message

He stared back at her, like a coiled viper, poised to strike. "What's the message Miller?"

**********

what is humanity

"My species," I replied to the ghostly Ildriana.

what does it mean to be human

"It..." her breath caught in her throat "It means to experience different emotions."

what are emotions

**********

I looked at George in the eyes. "I shall end your existance." I told him in my quietest voice.

He leaned forward. "What?" he asked me disbelievingly.He put his hands on the wall and focused his eyes on me. "What does it mean?" he asked me again.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "I don't know." he told him quietly "when I talked to it, it felt different. You know Ildriana?"

He nodded.

"It looked like her... It didn't feel like her though. It felt like something trying to impersonate a human; like something that hasn't had much contact with life before." I closed my eyes and leant back.

I had to see it again.

He shook his head at me. "How can we convince this... this entity to not end your existance?" he asked me fustratedly.

I tried to stand up again, walked over to him and rested both my hands on his shoulders. "I don't think he just meant me." I walked over to the door in just my underwear and felt the cool blowing of the air-conditioning.

He twisted his body to look at me. "Where are you going? You're not even dressed!"

I had to see it again.

***********

what are emotions

I had to think about that one for a minute. "A chemicals released in the brain to react to our surroundings." I told the other.

why

"To help us survive and reproduce." I told it.

**********

I had to see it again.

I ran to the bridge, my feet growing ever colder with each footfall.

I could hear George running begind me, calling for me to stop and wait for him.

I kept on running.

As I passed cargo bay two, I noticed the shape of Ildriana beckoning me towards her.

I walked forward and into the bathing glow of the light.

**********

We are floating around the station now. We fly inside to find it dead and empty. I float forwards my brown hair floating in the zero gravity enviroment.

I can see her.

what is this place

"This is my home,"

no longer

**********

I awoke with a gasp, lying semi-naked on the floor of cargo bay two with George Locklear stood in over me.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked me violently. He paced backwards and forwards, knocking over bits of equipment as he did so.

"It destroyed our home," I told him quickly. He turned towards me and walked forward with pace. "What?!" he asked me loudly.

"The entity... It destroyed the station, our home..." I told him before the shock could set in.

I stood up just as he fell to the floor and ran to the control room. My feet thudding on the ground as I broke into a sprint.

**********

"Ryan, set a course back home." I commanded him as I ran into the room breathlessly.

He turned to me. "Miller! You're awake! How... When..." he attempted to question me.

I turned to look at him.

"Insignificant. Carry out my orders."

I walked to the cryo chamber.

**********

I awoke from the icey tomb that could have been condemned to. Stood above me was the shivering figure of George.

I sat up quickly, my naked body not used to a wake up as rushed and as sudden as this. "Geo... George... Wh... Why rushed?" I tried to ask him.

He did what looked like a shrug. Hard to tell due to the shivering.

I swung my legs out of the frosty bed to see the decaying corpse of Ryan and James lay twisted on the floor.

In the centre of the room was a glowing naked Ildriana. you two have cause emotions

I shakily walked towards the other. "Why?" I pointed at the bodies "why did you do that?" I asked the other.

they are irrelevant

I felt tears in the corners of my eyes. "A human life isn't irrelevant! Everyone is as relevant as eachother!" I told it.

you are the last

"What?"

you are the last

"What do you mean?" I asked the other with a noticable waver.

It walked towards me. you are the last and there will be no more

George stepped forward. "You bastard," he pointed at it "you total bastard!" he accused it.

you are the last here

"Why?" I asked it.

it is the nature of this one

"You bastard," george retorted.

soon i shall destroy this place and everything inside to make way for something new

I stared at the creature speechlessly. I turned to George. "How do you want to spend our last moments?" I asked him quietly.

The other had one last statement. five minutes

I planted a kiss on his lips. He retorted with the same action. He put his hands everywhere in a last ditch attempt to retaliate to the problem.

I saw the stars slowly begin to disappear through the window.

"Goodbye George," I spoke sadly

"Goo-"

nothing