Beautiful Nightmare

Litost

Litost:
(n) the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, through their accomplishment, of everything that has gone wrong in our lives.
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A huge boom filled the air, and then, just as I thought we would hit the crashing waves below, the escape pod was catapulted upwards. I slid to the other side of the aircraft, crying out as I smacked my head on the wall.

I scrambled to the open door and, clutching the side of the aircraft, I peered out to see what had saved us. My heart leapt as I recognised the Genesis logo on the side of a helicopter that was hovering above us, ropes dangling down from it that had attached onto our pods.

A familiar voice rang out from the helicopter. I smiled as I recognised it as the announcement lady who had given us messages from the Creators on Halka.

"Attention all Light Spirits," she began. "Welcome to Earth. Please accept our apology for your...less than ideal arrival - we are still trying to locate the source of the issues. Please sit down and reconnect your seatbelts while we take the short journey to the Genesis research facility where you will receive further instructions. Thank you."

I quickly obeyed their orders as the helicopter lifted us higher into the sky and across the dark ocean to safety. I wondered what had happened to the people in the black suits, but I couldn't see out of the open door while in my seat and I was not going to risk falling out.

Bringing up a trembling hand to my head, I winced as I touched the place where I had hit it on the wall. My fingers came back dripping with crimson red blood.

"Oh my goodness, Pearl, are you okay?" Crystal asked me with wide eyes.

I shook my head.

My eyesight blurred, but not because tears were welling up. Everything became fuzzy; then I saw nothing at all. My consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Throughout the inky space my heartbeat pounded loudly, echoing in my ears, and then nausea crept from my abdomen to my head and the world went black.

I woke up surrounded by hushed voices and insistent bleeping. I was laying on an uncomfortable bed, a sharp pain in my arm. I was at least ninety percent sure I was dead, but I continued to lay there quietly, keeping my eyes closed, matching my breaths to the beeping of the machines that surrounded the bed, the only indications of my heartbeat, my existence.

Curiosity finally pried open my reluctant eyes to meet a dismal view of a powder white hospital room. Looking down at my arm, I realised that the stinging had been caused by a sharp needle inserted into my elbow.

I sat up, only to be restrained by a nurse in a pristine white uniform. She smiled tightly at me. "Good afternoon, Pearl. Please can you lay back for me; we don't want you injuring yourself."

I stared at her. "How do you know my name? Who are you? Where am I?"

"You are in the hospital wing of the Genesis compound. Don't worry, you're perfectly safe. You experienced an injury in the attack on your life from the Gadhan savages," she replied calmly.

"Gad-Gadhan savages?" I stammered. Were they the people who had appeared on our plane?

She nodded. "Yes. Don't worry, we'll keep you safe from them. Now, I just need to do a few more checks and then you should be ready to join your companions for decontamination."

She quickly checked my blood pressure and took a swab from my cheek, and then dismissed me. I hurried out of the room, bumping into a large man in a white suit. I eyed him nervously, but soon noticed the Genesis logo on the lapel of his jacket and smiled, relieved.