Only the dark emptiness on metal; cold and merciless to the touch, greeted her as she woke; her eyes sore and desperately trying to focus; her ears ached and throbbed with the deafening silence that seemed to never stop, not a pause or brief shuffle of slight movement. There was no smell of fresh, damp air on a bright, spring morning, not the faint whistle of birdsong that made time stop.
Her hand gently scrapped the smooth surface beneath her, hard as stone, soft as wispy clouds in the afternoon sky.
She felt like she was lying in the middle of a field of iron, un-ending, never moving, encasing her in a veil of slush grey with only a few bold, black dents that let her know that this place was not perfect.
How long had she been here; trapped in this claustrophobic nightmare that seeped into her fragile eyes like a needle. The towering walls illuminated by the faint, jittery glow that highlighted her face; piercing the menacing darkness like a knife.
Her attempt to move and shuffle to see around her clearer was in vain; the sharp stab at her sides let her know that she was far from safety here in this desolate, dismal dome that had her pinned down and unable stand on her own two feet.
What was this place? Why was she here? These questions she did not know, nor would she probably ever know or understand. She winced at all the mystery, the secrecy. Why?
“Welcome,” a monotonous, life-less voice bellowed to her. She jumped; her heart-beat quickening, her concentration falling, her eyes darting from one place to another frantically.
“Inserting mission data…” The voice, now soft and calming, uttered into her ear from nowhere, causing her to go from being panic-stricken to unusually calm.
It was at that very moment that all calmness, all fears, all pain and silence left her body like a receding tide.
All of her emotions replaced by a ruthless, bitter and callous need to do something. However, it took a few minutes to realise what she needed to do.
“Insertion of data complete,” the voice, now stark and bleak broke into her empty thoughts viciously.
A creaking noise filled the air; ear-splitting and shrill as the dome lifted marginally, leaving a minute, but noticeable, rift to her right.
“I will not let you down,” her subtle response was all she spoke as she shuffled closer towards the gap in her deadly sanctuary; ready to leave and enter an unfamiliar and possibly hazardous world she knew nothing about.
The unforgiving and unsympathetic light glared into the abyss and hollowness of her jet-black eyes. But no light affected her; made her wince, flinch or want to crawl back into the empty pod. She stood tall, towering over her former capture, the dome, like a tree would to an ant. She was surrounded by blindingly bright white walls that enclosed themselves around her. No, she needs to get out of here. Turning around, her eyes darted around the room restlessly; never settling on one object but instead jumped to the next in the blink of an eye. Her lethal eyes ground to a halt on the invisible surface that separated her from the dark room beyond. That's when she noticed people; strange, squishy-looking beings that glared at something just out of her sight below the protective glass.
She edged her way somewhat cautiously over to the unnecessarily extensive glass panel. Edging her way until her breath fogged up the glass, temporarily blocking her view of these humans. That's when she noticed the hunched, scrunched-up figure with pitch black hair that was now mottled with specks and splodges of dried crimson blood. His back faced her as though rejecting her presence and the presence of those surrounding him who glared daggers into his wounds.
She looked down at her pale hand blankly that now stretched out before her. Her jagged armband and rugged shoulder plates; her flowing, bold red half skirt that covered her bare legs and the lethal dagger strapped to her bare flesh; her armoured leg and chest plate that held her shoulder pad in place with a menacing chain and the elegant headpiece made up of 4 flowing wings like a crown. Her armour confused for her, why not something more 'human'?
YOU ARE READING
VOID - Cacciatore
Mystery / ThrillerHe was afraid; afraid of the conflict that would envelope him. Afraid of their new visitor who brought trouble where ever she went. He was afraid of dying because of her; because of her and her lack of knowledge of the planet her creators had sent h...
