In the Eye of the Cosmos

Chapter Six

Sunday April 16th
Unknown
17:36

I feel warm again, like a volcano - waiting to erupt.

I'm back home.

Leo sits across me, playing with his toys, a toothy smile plays on his lips. He shines like the blazing sun, full of an everlasting happiness that might never fade away. Mum stares at Leo triumphantly, he's the centre of her universe now. Nana rests on the arm of the sofa, her genuine laughs ricocheting through the apartments thin walls.

I feel like I don't have a worry in the world and maybe I never will - if I just have my family.

And before I know it, I can feel a smile play on my lips. I'm grinning ear to ear, side to side, warmth radiating off of me like a fires scorching fumes.

Suddenly, all at once, my family fixes their gaze towards me, stares so profound I can almost feel them puncture my flesh. But it's not my family anymore, it's not their faces. They're turning, burning, winding, melting, twisting into something horrific - the split image of the monster himself, its eyes incandescent pools of a tempestuous flaming red. Shrill unfamiliar laughter fills the hallways, crashing into the walls like wrecking balls. Their real screams of terror relentlessly echoing through my brain.

🌟🌟🌟
17:53

I wake with a start.

My heart beats incessantly, unwilling stop, I'm soaked with sweat and my head throbs delightfully, almost like a hammer keeps smashing my head repeatedly - over and over again.

Where am I?

My lungs desperately gasp for air and I can feel my breaths becoming even more jagged than a piece of broken glass.

I'm a mess.

A firm hand presses against my chest, pushing me further into the bed.

I'm coughing and spluttering desperate to get out of this box, to go home.

I'm suffocating.

"Calm," mutters a soothing voice, "take a deep breath, Luna."

I respond, one breath in and one out.

The hand is slowly lifted away from my chest and I can finally breathe.

"Sit up," instructs the voice yet again.

I obey.

A woman sits facing me at the edge of my bed, her inquisitive emerald eyes trailing my every move. She wears formal attire, heels and all that. Her Helios Mark peeks from underneath her shirt as she grabs some type of screen from the bedside table.

"What's that?" I ask, pointing to the screen.

She looks at me, bewildered, "It's a tablet, Bishop."

"Oh, I-I've never seen one before. It's  interesting - that's all." I stammer.

The woman chuckles, "Luna, if you're going to pretend you're fully Heliosan you'll at least have to pretend you've seen a tablet before."

She knows? Well, she must be in on the secret.

"Right," I pause, "sorry, but where exactly am I?"

She gets up from my bed and pulls the sheets open, the cold bites my skin, "You're on a spaceship, heading towards Ostridaea. We should be there in a few hours."

Centuries ago, travelling to a different planet in a different galaxy would take an eternity in earth years, but now, it's different. Space is a go-getter now, Heliosans can afford to go to planets in their fancy private rockets and attend their luxurious holiday homes.