Somewhere in between life and death, Willow dreamed Victor touched her. They held hands on a warm, sunny beach, taking in the serenity of the blue, foamy ocean, and a brilliant, orange sunset. They sat together in the sand below a group of palm trees, both wearing crisp linen, and white sandals. They stared at the miracle before them, enjoying each other's company, without a care in the world.
She raised her soft, white hands over her head, looked at Victor with a smile of absolute contentment, and fell backward into the sand. She enjoyed the moist warmth on her back and the endless blue above.
"I could stay like this forever," she said.
Victor did the same, falling back beside her and groaning with pleasure.
A seagull flew overhead, cowling for friends not far off, and circling among the clouds dotting the sky. Glints of sunlight bounced off them and they sparkled like diamonds.
Lights flickered overhead, more significant than those reflecting off the clouds, forcing Willow to squint. They irritated her. She turned her head to Victor, who seemed immune, and who had closed his eyes. A smile had spread across his rosy lips.
Out of nowhere, the earth shook violently, and Willow sat up from the beach, startled. More lights joined in overhead, brighter, as the rumbling turned to sharp, spine-numbing explosions that rocked her body. The water in the ocean danced, and the seagulls turned sharply and flew back beyond the water's edge, away and behind her and Victor.
"Victor," she said, calling his name and gazing down upon him. Not only was his smile frozen, but his body seemed stiff amidst the violent flickering of light and the crashing of the earth. He didn't move. His chest didn't rise and fall.
She bent over and placed her head on his chest—no sound of a heartbeat—no pulse. She shuddered from the realization that the perfect moment with him on the beach was over, and she was alone. Maybe he was dead.
She cried and screamed, at the thought she had lost him.
Another light flashed among the clouds. They billowed till the sky was a mass of white, extending to the horizon and snuffing out the setting sun.
WHAM.
An explosion hit Willow, this time, taking her breath away. She held her hands to her chest, gasping for air, and coughed violently from the lack of it.
Another bone-rattling explosion rocked her body. The ocean disappeared, and the clouds rolled in, surrounding her and Victor.
She managed to turn and look down where Victor laid, but he was no longer there. His shirt, pants, and sandals—laid out entirely on the sand—looked as though they had never been worn.
"What's happening," she said, crying, and looking where the sky had been.
Another jolt struck her, and this time, she could no longer move. Her vision faded, and a sense of euphoria overtook her, causing her head to spin.
The clothes Victor wore took flight, and whirled around her, up into the misty atmosphere and out of sight. As she looked up, watching them disappear, another blast of light hit her, blinding her, and she felt herself fall back again to the soft, warm sand she felt beneath her.
∞ ∞ ∞
"Willow?" a voice urgently called. It sounded like a faraway echo at first. "Come back to us, Willow."
A woman called to her, but she couldn't see. She felt as though she were standing but could not feel her legs. She reached out in front of her, but could not see or touch her arms and hands. She felt herself moving forward, without walking. She floated.
YOU ARE READING
Victor Black - And the Garden of the Gods
Ciencia FicciónVictor Black seems to have it all. He graduated at the age of sixteen. His parents have money, and his father is a high-ranking military official in Colorado Springs. Victor is also a competitive figure skater and world traveler. Everything was supp...
