Blogathon post #41: Reality is questionable
And I don't mean just because it's Blogathon. I mean in the story too.
The shouting's faded. Perhaps they've gone somewhere else. Shion drifts to a halt, because now she's realized the truly strange thing here. She can't even put her finger on why it catches her eye so, but...
There's a set of stairs leading up to a great golden slab, hovering in shining white containment rings, anchored with gray emitters that orbit majestically. A tall rectangle, short arms, vaguely cruciform. There's a mark in the center, a bloody-red squiggle. Some sort of letter?
She's staring at it, and she doesn't even know why.
And then, echoing from everywhere and nowhere all at once, she hears the sound of a chime, and then there's total silence. She's not even sure she's breathing. She looks around, eyes widening, and everything's still. Console displays still and unblinking. Two men moving a crate frozen mid-step. She can't even hear the ship's engines.
Golden light. Golden light at the base of the towering slab. The girl from the Encephalon is a shadow in its midst, wide eyes looking up at her again, just like before. Shion wonders, abstractly, if she's shaking; she can hardly feel her body anymore, like she's about to make a dive. She can see the girl's necklace now, a golden cross.
She blinks.
She's in a wooded valley. Mountains in the distance. Soft clouds in the sky. Ruined stones around her. Everything's gray. Mist wafts over the ground. The girl stands there, perfectly calm, arms clasped behind her back. She's talking. Her mouth moves, and Shion can't hear a thing.
Behind her, a wall rises. Light gleams gray on gray. Just like the thing in the hangar, except no letter in the middle, some other sort of design.
The girl turns, walks into the thing, vanishes. Fades away as easy as air. Shion can almost hear wind, or maybe that's just her ears straining for any sound at all.
She walks up to it; she can't not. Hesitates, then slowly reaches out her hand. Where had she gone, that girl? What was she trying to say?
When her fingertips touch it, it shimmers. Ripples, like she's touched water. The chime sounds, sweet and clear in her mind--
"Look out!"
Noise echoes in her skull. She startles, looks up, and the gray anchor of the containment ring is sliding right round towards her head. She lurches backwards, dodging it by a few centimeters, loses balance, lands on her ass, utterly bewildered.
"Watch it, you slacker!"
Oh, beautiful. Mr. Purple-X-Face had saved her from getting a serious head-clock, of all people.
"Only authorized personnel are allowed up here," he bellows. "I've had three people vanish on me already."
Vanish?
"Get the hell out of here! My men'll start slacking if they see bimbos like you around."
Shion wobbles to her feet, hesitates between apologizing and flipping him off, and flees. Loud ranting follows her.
"Who's the idiot that let civilians on this ship, anyway? Hey, what're you staring at? Get back to work, you slug!" Meaty thunk. "Damn slacker!" Sound of a man getting slammed to the deck. Shion leaves almost at a run, spine crawling. Doesn't slow until she's out of earshot of the bastard, and then she trails to a halt in the corridor, stares at her fingertips.
Vanish?
This post is part of Letterblade's Blogathon 2010 madness, to raise money for Heifer Project International. Please go here to pledge your support.
The shouting's faded. Perhaps they've gone somewhere else. Shion drifts to a halt, because now she's realized the truly strange thing here. She can't even put her finger on why it catches her eye so, but...
There's a set of stairs leading up to a great golden slab, hovering in shining white containment rings, anchored with gray emitters that orbit majestically. A tall rectangle, short arms, vaguely cruciform. There's a mark in the center, a bloody-red squiggle. Some sort of letter?
She's staring at it, and she doesn't even know why.
And then, echoing from everywhere and nowhere all at once, she hears the sound of a chime, and then there's total silence. She's not even sure she's breathing. She looks around, eyes widening, and everything's still. Console displays still and unblinking. Two men moving a crate frozen mid-step. She can't even hear the ship's engines.
Golden light. Golden light at the base of the towering slab. The girl from the Encephalon is a shadow in its midst, wide eyes looking up at her again, just like before. Shion wonders, abstractly, if she's shaking; she can hardly feel her body anymore, like she's about to make a dive. She can see the girl's necklace now, a golden cross.
She blinks.
She's in a wooded valley. Mountains in the distance. Soft clouds in the sky. Ruined stones around her. Everything's gray. Mist wafts over the ground. The girl stands there, perfectly calm, arms clasped behind her back. She's talking. Her mouth moves, and Shion can't hear a thing.
Behind her, a wall rises. Light gleams gray on gray. Just like the thing in the hangar, except no letter in the middle, some other sort of design.
The girl turns, walks into the thing, vanishes. Fades away as easy as air. Shion can almost hear wind, or maybe that's just her ears straining for any sound at all.
She walks up to it; she can't not. Hesitates, then slowly reaches out her hand. Where had she gone, that girl? What was she trying to say?
When her fingertips touch it, it shimmers. Ripples, like she's touched water. The chime sounds, sweet and clear in her mind--
"Look out!"
Noise echoes in her skull. She startles, looks up, and the gray anchor of the containment ring is sliding right round towards her head. She lurches backwards, dodging it by a few centimeters, loses balance, lands on her ass, utterly bewildered.
"Watch it, you slacker!"
Oh, beautiful. Mr. Purple-X-Face had saved her from getting a serious head-clock, of all people.
"Only authorized personnel are allowed up here," he bellows. "I've had three people vanish on me already."
Vanish?
"Get the hell out of here! My men'll start slacking if they see bimbos like you around."
Shion wobbles to her feet, hesitates between apologizing and flipping him off, and flees. Loud ranting follows her.
"Who's the idiot that let civilians on this ship, anyway? Hey, what're you staring at? Get back to work, you slug!" Meaty thunk. "Damn slacker!" Sound of a man getting slammed to the deck. Shion leaves almost at a run, spine crawling. Doesn't slow until she's out of earshot of the bastard, and then she trails to a halt in the corridor, stares at her fingertips.
Vanish?
This post is part of Letterblade's Blogathon 2010 madness, to raise money for Heifer Project International. Please go here to pledge your support.