Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

O'Hara and crew all retired to their quarters for the night; Fitzpatrick, however, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Ominous buzzing sounds rattled around. She lied there, wide eyed, staring into the darkness.

There was a major difference in her composure since having met the traveler. She distinctly remembered the awe, fear, and joy, which exuded from the creature. Whatever the depths of those emotions, they had passed, and she was left with some consuming emptiness.

Marty...Zak...Imes, Becker; what happened? What's going to happen? Look at us; we're just like a bunch of frightened children. I sure act tough, but man, the next fight could really be our last, my last, and that traveler; he's able to destroy those Lokians with his mind, but he sends us to get a ship?

Frowning, she felt the impotence within turn into anger. Grumbling as she flung the sheets from her body, she marched out of her room, and decided to pay the mysterious creature a visit. The elevator door slid open after she pushed the call button, and she walked in, taking it down to the loading zone, where she found the traveler. He was still standing there, meditating, or sleeping, or doing whatever he did. Deckhands scurried around him like he was just a statue.

"'Sup, dude?" she sat down cross-legged in front of him.

He didn't move, or sway, or even twitch. He barely even breathed. She looked him over, and thought he was built like an athlete, stocky and muscular. Thick, gray fur covered most of his body. Only his face and the palms of his hands were bare.

His tranquility was something she coveted. "Not a worry in the world, huh?"

Moments eased by during which she also relaxed. She found her eyes growing heavy. There he stands—the great savior—and what does he do? Nothing. I suppose I should just be thankful he saved us, and he is providing a plan of action.... Whatever pessimism had possessed her melted away. In its place sprouted a degree of calmness.

For a moment, her mind went blank; she wasn't talking to herself, or wondering about the future, or even the present. It was like a daydream, but without fantastical images. Instead, there were physical sensations; her spine tingled, and her fingers were warm.

When she realized what she felt, she started trying to dissect the phenomenon; she wanted to think about it, reason it out, but lacked the impetus. Then, the color behind her closed eyes wavered. An intense, pleasing redness wormed its way around. Long waves of energy waned away from her, giving the impression of feeling long, not tall, but somehow stretched.

What she originally thought was fatigue, or the sensations, which came while falling asleep, intensified; she was totally awake, but her body was unresponsive. Scared out of her mind, she fought to stand, but an outside force calmed her. Pressure in the center of her brain drew her attention; something was building up. Then, it released like bubbly effervescence, and the image of the traveler cleared.

She thought she was imagining him, or perhaps remembering him; an image imprinted on her mind, which she was able to isolate and scrutinize, but he opened his eyes, and they weren't black pools of nothingness; they were all colors, radiating, wafting, melting, but contained. Beyond a doubt, she knew he was guiding her, and she tried to question the experience, but his overwhelming presence turned her around; she saw behind herself, and then a jolt rattled some unknown part of her. It took her a second to comprehend that he hadn't turned her; he was allowing her to see in all directions.

Instantly, Fitzpatrick felt something break around her, it was like having pierced a barrier, and she knew she was in control. She looked all around the deck; there were aliens at work, ships undergoing repairs, cranes, lifts, and carts were all moving throughout the immense area. Another pang of fear, which culminated in a bodily jolt, brought her back to reality. She was sitting in front of the traveler, only his eyes were closed, and he bore a smile.