Unnatural Omega

Chapter 2 - Kwame

The buildings twinkle in the light of a brilliant sunset. People scurry along the footpaths and transporters glide from one destination to the next.
Dirk and I stand looking out this window, trapped by forces we can't ignore. The beautiful sounds of Nova and Seeck leak through the walls, but gloom holds us hostage. Neither of us can force our legs to retreat from the window, an impending sense of doom rooting us to the spot. My heart thuds in my chest as the blood in my veins acts like sludge.
Children explore the world with their parents below, but we stand locked in a world of dark anticipation. The ominous cloud oozes behind my sternum as the light turns from bright orange to a dark burgundy. The sun sinks behind the horizon.
A force pulls my sight towards the outskirts of the city. A wall borders the edge of society from a barren landscape—dunes of sand span the entire horizon. Large transporters zip between buildings, stopping only at their designated stations.
My gaze settles on a specific transporter and I stare. It is too far away to see much detail, but it moves along its track at rapid speed. It comes to a stop, but no people get off. Three or four figures  disappear into the cars. The doors slide closed and the transporter starts moving. Before it reaches half speed, a blinding flash of white comes from the window. The roof bends inward, and the whole thing shrinks as the metal snaps from too much pressure. What was once a transporter to fit a hundred people is now only big enough to fit ten.
Clouds of black billow from the window, coalescing around the transporter, clinging to it despite the wind.
In the following void, my heart stops.
The silence in my chest pulls my senses from me. As if the black cloud has wrapped around me, my vision darkens and my hearing dampens. I watch as the window flies upward, my view becoming a close up of the floorboards. I don't feel my body's impact with the floor.
The last thing I register is Dirk's tortured roar.