Chapter IX: Pebble Physics
In which the beast speaks…
Why do I always feel pain here, in the endless void? It burns though my heart, before spreading throughout my tortured body. It feels as though I have a hole in my heart, from which nothing but pain and sadness spill forth. Every time I gain happiness, the flood of despair washes it away like an almighty storm. The void surrounding me begins to give way to a hauntingly familiar scene. Once more, I am in the now hated glade, waiting for Her arrival.
With every visit, this place grows more grotesque, as the trees become blood-stained and the grass grows razor sharp. The water in the small stream is midnight black this time, its oily surface giving off a putrid scent. The sky above is wreathed in bands of crimson and violet, the sun nothing more than a glimmering speck in the heavens.
A sudden crash brings forth a freezing torrent of rain, which washes away the dark glade, until only the void remains. Slowly, the world reasserts itself, as reality struggles to triumph over the nothingness. Random images appear as spheres of memories; some show the glade, others show a bloodbath in which a maniacal man kills with a screaming sword. He wears a madness inducing smile, which freezes my blood in its eternal circuit.
The rain is back, its crimson droplets soaking my soul in guilt, its numbing cold spreading throughout my being. In the darkness, countless eyes watch the madman before me, as he kills with a smile on his face.
Suddenly, the world reforms, though it is not the hated glade that appears. I am standing in a massive ivory-white room, utterly devoid of life or love. Cold, heartless machines line the walls, and countless monitors spew forth an endless stream of depressing numbers. On the far side of the room, a heart monitor whines in a monotonous crackle, the green line on its screen failing to grasp the concept of vertical motion. In the centre of the room, where I had been certain that nothing existed, there is now a large white pod. It stretches from floor to ceiling, it’s clear glass case filled to the brim with a gel-like violet liquid. Floating unsupported within, is Her.
She is clothed in a modest podsuit, with the lettering on the chest reading, “ALZA00971”. Her eyes are closed, but I can feel her power radiate out, sinking into my unprotected psyche. I can feel her now, probing my mind with the clumsiness of a new-born. For an instant, a myriad of emotions and thoughts flow through my brain, as our minds are connected. A heartbeat later, they are gone, erased from this world as if they had never been.
With increasing ferocity, she takes my memories and shatters them. The pain in my chest grows larger with every destroyed recollection, until it feels as though I exist only to suffer. The girl in the tube begins to thrash in her watery prison, her unused lungs trying to cope with this sudden activation. Her flailing hand strikes the case, causing a microscopic crack to form, which rapidly expands outwards until it has circumnavigated the pod. I draw closer, compelled to help her by the bond we now share.
The rain pounds harder, making it hard to think, hard to breathe. Rain?
The thought appears and disappears like a puff of smoke, as the room fills with freezing water. In the distance, I can hear a blade begin to scream, it’s war cry echoing inside my mind. The madman with the maniacal grin will be here soon, to kill us with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. In the pod, the girl has stopped struggling, perhaps she knows that her fate is set, that her death is unavoidable.
Another crash tears my attention away from the girl waiting to die, bringing me face to face with the deranged swordsman. Blood covers him from smile to feet, though I somehow know that it is not his own. Behind him lies the dreaded glade, now populated by scores of white-coated beasts with eyes like fire. They howl in anticipation of the feast to come, and the blademaster joins them, his warped voice somehow more animalistic than the creatures behind.
Once more, a new sound draws my attention, this time back to the cracked chamber. The rain, in my absence, has become midnight black. Wherever it falls, darkness reigns; and the ivory room is soon transformed into an ebony hall. In the centre, the pod remains untouched, its violet hued shape an aberration unto the blackened walls. I walk towards the towering structure, a strange blade finding its way into my blood-stained hand. I can feel the mad smile transform my innocent face into a rictus of fear and rage.
As I reach the damaged structure, I catch a glimpse of my reflection. For a moment, I can only stop and stare, for before me stands a bloodied warrior. From his light brown hair to his tanned skin, he is every bit a kid, though the screaming sword in his hand tells otherwise. Wrenching my gaze away from the symbol of lost innocence, I ready my blade, its ear-splitting roar now a constant comfort.
With a wordless cry, I plunge my weapon into the fractured glass, shattering it instantly. As the violet liquid rushes out, I can only stare at the beauty before me. She has not moved since I appeared, a picture of serene grace. Suddenly, she takes a step towards me, somehow finding me through closed eyes. As her fingers brush against my blood soaked clothes, I shy away. The black blade clatters uselessly to the floor, its power worthless against the slender figure standing here.
Slowly, she opens her eyes, revealing nightmare eyes from which crimson tears stream forth. Unnoticed, the dead glade has reappeared, completing the scene of terror. I start to scream uncontrollably as her gentle hands enclose my neck, and tears of my own begin to fall as she leans close and whispers, “You cannot save her, boy. No one can...”
Awakening Page 119