Post by Cascadia on Oct 2, 2007 15:23:06 GMT -5
Chapter One
The sky was melting. Strange hues of metallic silvers and blacks were pouring over each other, raining liquid metal over everything. The sun shone off the sky painfully bright, glaring angrily into the eyes of the public that uselessly ran screaming. The swirling metals froze as they hit the atmosphere, forming dagger-like crystals that cast thousands of rainbows over the world, shadows dancing and crackling as they bent and wove behind their objects, contradicting the brilliant light show being performed behind whatever they were hiding.
I was running, as everyone else was. The problem with running is it's supposed to serve a purpose. You're either running to or from something. But how do you run from the skies ? Any form of shelter or hiding place had been obliterated, and all the shuttles had left already, leaving everyone behind completely alone to watch this beautiful destruction. And what good did the shuttles do ? Most were impaled by the crystals, or crushed in the nothingness that now changed pressures to it's liking. Any shuttles that did escape, what hope did they have ? Were there really other galaxies ? Would they even reach them ? At this point, the questions didn't really matter, no one cared or bothered to try and answer them. It was panic, not escape. There was no rescue, just hopeless flight to put off an eminent, maybe less painful death.
I clutched my side as a cramp hit, gasping for air as I continued to speed over the shaking ground. My other arm was held in front of me, my hand clutched in his tightly. He was faster, and probably the only reason I was still moving. I grit my teeth and let him drag me along, my legs moving too fast for my liking beneath me. Granted, it'd be nice to just sit and wait for death. And part of me wanted that very badly. To just give up, flop down on the cracking soil, lay back and watch reality rip apart, but he wouldn't let me. He never gave up, and his strength flowed from his arm through mine, giving me courage to keep going. Where ? I didn't know. It really didn't matter. So long as we were together, I could handle the end of the world.
I closed my eyes as we ran, letting him lead completely. I didn't want to see the bodies we ran around, the sun glowing brighter through the black nothingness oozing over it's surface. Didn't want to see the stars, little pin points of white, red, yellow and blue against the metal sky. The dazzling colours made me dizzy, the rainbows made me sick. It was too beautiful, too perfect a scene to be real. Deathly beautiful, I mused as I felt him tug, signaling to hurry. I snuck a peak at him, his dark hair fading into the backdrop, the silvers and stars outlining his shape. His right arm pumped at his side while he gripped me tighter, still dragging me along for the ride. I managed a smile, the first in hours. Tears were still dried on my cheeks, and I could feel wetness running down my face still, knowing I probably hadn't ever stopped crying.
A sharp pain in my side made me cry out and I tripped, my hand slipping out of his. I tumbled, the speed of our flight and uneven ground sending me rolling. I came to a stop on my knees, hand gripping my side tightly. Glancing up, I took my hand away, gasping at a deep crimson liquid flowing over my fingertips. I giggled, hysterical. Another one bites the dust, I kept giggling, unable to stop the insane laughter from bubbling out my lips. His voice brought some of my sanity back, and I looked past my stained hand to his face. He dropped to his knees quickly, hands suddenly under my arms, lifting me. He helped me stand and I knew he wanted to keep running, the craving to keep moving seen plainly in his eyes. I shook my head, sobbing once and let my hand return to my side, covering my wound. It was shallow, I could tell from the feel of the ripped flesh, but it was enough to sting and bleed.
"We have to go," he pressed, his arm still steadying me, hand against my back. I shook my head again, throat too tight to speak. "Come on," he urged, pulling me forward a step. I stumbled, almost falling. His other hand returned to me, holding me up.
"Go where ?" I managed, my eyes still streaming in clear rivers of defeat. He didn't have an answer, and for the first time since I'd met him, I saw him cave in. His jaw clenched, and he pulled me into an embrace, my hand leaving my side to hold him. I ignored the blood running down my hip and leg, clutching him tighter as the shrieking rose to a deafening level around us. People were everywhere it seemed, running every direction at once, crying and screaming at the melting sky and raining crystals. They sobbed uncontrollably and yelled unintelligible words at the world and everyone around them, because in their hearts, they all knew; there was no where left to run.
The sky was melting. Strange hues of metallic silvers and blacks were pouring over each other, raining liquid metal over everything. The sun shone off the sky painfully bright, glaring angrily into the eyes of the public that uselessly ran screaming. The swirling metals froze as they hit the atmosphere, forming dagger-like crystals that cast thousands of rainbows over the world, shadows dancing and crackling as they bent and wove behind their objects, contradicting the brilliant light show being performed behind whatever they were hiding.
I was running, as everyone else was. The problem with running is it's supposed to serve a purpose. You're either running to or from something. But how do you run from the skies ? Any form of shelter or hiding place had been obliterated, and all the shuttles had left already, leaving everyone behind completely alone to watch this beautiful destruction. And what good did the shuttles do ? Most were impaled by the crystals, or crushed in the nothingness that now changed pressures to it's liking. Any shuttles that did escape, what hope did they have ? Were there really other galaxies ? Would they even reach them ? At this point, the questions didn't really matter, no one cared or bothered to try and answer them. It was panic, not escape. There was no rescue, just hopeless flight to put off an eminent, maybe less painful death.
I clutched my side as a cramp hit, gasping for air as I continued to speed over the shaking ground. My other arm was held in front of me, my hand clutched in his tightly. He was faster, and probably the only reason I was still moving. I grit my teeth and let him drag me along, my legs moving too fast for my liking beneath me. Granted, it'd be nice to just sit and wait for death. And part of me wanted that very badly. To just give up, flop down on the cracking soil, lay back and watch reality rip apart, but he wouldn't let me. He never gave up, and his strength flowed from his arm through mine, giving me courage to keep going. Where ? I didn't know. It really didn't matter. So long as we were together, I could handle the end of the world.
I closed my eyes as we ran, letting him lead completely. I didn't want to see the bodies we ran around, the sun glowing brighter through the black nothingness oozing over it's surface. Didn't want to see the stars, little pin points of white, red, yellow and blue against the metal sky. The dazzling colours made me dizzy, the rainbows made me sick. It was too beautiful, too perfect a scene to be real. Deathly beautiful, I mused as I felt him tug, signaling to hurry. I snuck a peak at him, his dark hair fading into the backdrop, the silvers and stars outlining his shape. His right arm pumped at his side while he gripped me tighter, still dragging me along for the ride. I managed a smile, the first in hours. Tears were still dried on my cheeks, and I could feel wetness running down my face still, knowing I probably hadn't ever stopped crying.
A sharp pain in my side made me cry out and I tripped, my hand slipping out of his. I tumbled, the speed of our flight and uneven ground sending me rolling. I came to a stop on my knees, hand gripping my side tightly. Glancing up, I took my hand away, gasping at a deep crimson liquid flowing over my fingertips. I giggled, hysterical. Another one bites the dust, I kept giggling, unable to stop the insane laughter from bubbling out my lips. His voice brought some of my sanity back, and I looked past my stained hand to his face. He dropped to his knees quickly, hands suddenly under my arms, lifting me. He helped me stand and I knew he wanted to keep running, the craving to keep moving seen plainly in his eyes. I shook my head, sobbing once and let my hand return to my side, covering my wound. It was shallow, I could tell from the feel of the ripped flesh, but it was enough to sting and bleed.
"We have to go," he pressed, his arm still steadying me, hand against my back. I shook my head again, throat too tight to speak. "Come on," he urged, pulling me forward a step. I stumbled, almost falling. His other hand returned to me, holding me up.
"Go where ?" I managed, my eyes still streaming in clear rivers of defeat. He didn't have an answer, and for the first time since I'd met him, I saw him cave in. His jaw clenched, and he pulled me into an embrace, my hand leaving my side to hold him. I ignored the blood running down my hip and leg, clutching him tighter as the shrieking rose to a deafening level around us. People were everywhere it seemed, running every direction at once, crying and screaming at the melting sky and raining crystals. They sobbed uncontrollably and yelled unintelligible words at the world and everyone around them, because in their hearts, they all knew; there was no where left to run.