The light, slipping into the dark with a flutter,
a burn at the back of my skull.
I ease back to life in the silence,
bare feet padding on a floor of ice.
It is a cold metallic world
and my shoulder dances with fire regardless.
Beyond the light there is darkness,
halls made of hyper-absence and quiet.
The soft touch of my feet is alarming.
I am exploding my way down the corridors,
Running dead fingers along the walls,
breathing into the slumbering air.
Soon there are echoes whispering
around corners. I follow, I seek in the dark,
I find voices, muffled noises. Strangers
speaking of strange things in strange places.
There's a glow at the end of the tunnel,
a spillage of light, un-mopped, careless.
I tread with care. The words seep out:
"...would've thought. Cal the engineer."
"It's weirder for me than it is for you."
"Just fix the damn ship; I'm getting nervous."
"Relax, Lilith. I can do this. I think."
"Real comforting. I'll be right back."
A shadow growing larger, cleaning up
the mess of light with a harsh black line.
Short dark hair floating around the corner,
abruptly stopping when I'm seen.
She looks like she's seen a ghost. I feel like one;
my feet don't quite recognise the floor.
She's about to say ghost, let it out,
prove the haunting real. I'm dead, now say it aloud.
"Atara."
The figures come rushing out. I ache,
and the cold metallic world wakes.
YOU ARE READING
Titans
Science Fiction"What was it like to witness the creation of the universe?" "Terrifying." When Atara, Merc, Cal and Lilith wake to darkness, they're each more than a little afraid. With no memory of who they were before, and with the universe bursting violently to...
