After Fate Fell

67

2 years, 4 months, and 10 days after it all
•ELLA•
The path down into the canyon juts downward steeper and less moonlight is reaching my feet. It's a wonderful combination of thrills as I teeter over the edge of death. Except I'm not feeling the thrill, or the fear, or much of anything. I'm just here, walking down the path with only one thing on my mind. And I can't even put my finger on what that thing is, other than I know it's calling me here, and I know I'm meant to follow it, I have to listen to the voice.

It's so dark I can hardly see my hand as I put it inches away from my face. Yet my feet know where to step, my hands know where to grab onto the wall next to me, so I don't worry. I just continue my descent down, deep down into the nothingness.

•MAREN ELIZABETH•
I don't even know what I'm doing out here. I brought myself out here on my own terms, nobody was telling me what to do, no little voice in my head was calling my name. So why am I out here? I'm asking this question to myself. I shake my head as I continue walking around, looking for purpose in this dark, dead world.

I stumble upon it, confused and dumbfounded upon my discovery. A set of footprints, leading straight from the ship off into the darkness, a set that isn't mine. And I know at this point that I have to follow them. I don't know whose they are or where they lead, but I know that by following I'll find all of this out.

And I don't know if this is fate or my own heart that I'm following at this point, because the two start to blur a little. But I follow it all the same.

//

Step after tiring step, breath after gasping breath, my journey lingers on into the night. This is starting to sound like something that just happens all the time, but I am losing track of time. I'm waiting for the sky to light up and for me to be rescued from the cold and from the darkness, but the sun doesn't give me that release, doesn't rise from below the horizon, no light comes.

//

Both moons have set below the horizon now giving my feet no light to walk by, and all I have now is myself and the darkness.

•ELLA•
There is no light anymore, yet my feet still know where to step, so on I go. Something in my mind tells me I've almost reached the bottom, but I can't tell if that's Lorien's voice in my mind or just my own hopes creeping in and fooling me. Either way, I try to hold onto it and believe it. Because either way, it can't hurt me, it's only motivating me at this point.

My extremities are numb, the tips of my fingers, toes, and ears feel like ice. The icy feeling is starting to creep to other parts of my body. And it is in this moment that I realize that there will be nothing at the bottom of this canyon to bring my icy body back to life if I reach the bottom and fall to the ground of numbness and cold....which is beginning to look more and more likely every step.

And for the first time on this journey into the abyss, I actually feel fear. I am going to die here, I think. And I don't know if it's the absence of Lorien's encouraging voice in my head that allows this fear to creep in, or if it's the presence of my own thoughts and reality surging back into my head. I can't die here. I can't have flown all the way across the universe to die of hypothermia on my first night on this planet I'm supposed to live my life out on and call home. I can't. I just can't. But me telling myself this is much different than the reality.

I force my numb feet to move at a faster pace down the cliff side. I don't know if it will help me or if I'm just going deeper into my grave.

•MAREN ELIZABETH•
With no light to guide me, I stand, staring off into the darkness, unsure if my eyes are open or closed. I turn my head to the sky and see the stars, oh the stars, and I know that I can't be dreaming of something this beautiful. A thousand million stars stretch out as far as the eye can see. And oh, they're brighter than I've ever seen. This world of darkness brings the out brightest of lights, as far away they may be. I stare in awe for an eternity as I freeze and the night lingers on.

•ELLA•
A dim light comes into view below me, surrounded by piercing darkness. I see my hands, my feet, and the rock beneath them again, and I sigh of relief. I will live through the night. I will live through the night. I tell myself this as I climb down, nearer and nearer to the light as it becomes brigher and brighter.

My eyes don't look down at where I'm walking, but instead at the light dancing in the darkness of the canyon floor. It calls to me, and even if it didn't, what else would I have to walk toward? This beam, this beautiful energy brings light to my heart once again, and finally, I hear her voice, and this time, it's not in my head.

Ella, she says. And I run to her. I am engulfed in the light and the darkness disappears, the cold in my body disappears, I disappear.