Eimose’s mouth hung open once again, it’s a wonder no bugs flew in.

“Run that by me again. You’re going to do what now?”

“Instruct you on what’s to come.”

“Is this something you can do when you’re dead? Like a skill when you get when you pass on?”

“Nope, not even close. Now hush up, we’ve got a lot of stuff to cover and not a lot of time.”

“Not a lot of time? I’m dea--”

She lifted a finger and he immediately quieted.

“Time moves differently here, so I can’t waste anymore.” Her eyes softened and her voice quivered when she spoke again. “I wish I could tell you everything, but I need you to survive.”

Her blue eyes glistened as if diamonds had found their way into her blue orbs, burning themselves into Eimose’s subconscious. This person, whoever she was, deeply cared for him and he had no idea why--this would drive him to the brink of insanity until he met her again.

“You’ll have to be quick when you wake up. Go to the Revelations lab and find the girl you’ve seen before. Wake her up with a shot of adrenaline and run like your lives depend on it, because they do. Grab a vehicle and head northwest until the sky turns blue. Then please, for the love of the gods, stay there. Live a quiet life. Don’t get involved with the world’s affairs. And please,” she glided to him, stopping just inches away, “stay safe.”

The green-haired woman smiled sadly and lifted her hand to caress his cheek, to reassure him that everything would be okay, but just as their skin made contact he faded away in the breeze. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to her field of dancing flowers. Eimose would live a full life without her and it was okay. He’d return to her, and she’d keep counting the sunrises until he did.

____________________________________________________________________________

Her chest rattled when she took a breath, but Terra was alive. Not well, far from it, the stabbing pain a constant reminder that death would not come for her that day. She hadn’t passed out after she’d been shot though she’d begged for the small mercy of unconsciousness to escape from the throbbing in her chest and the fear that followed. Despite not falling into the numbness, she had no clue where she was, yet the deadly wound that had been inflicted on her had nearly healed.

Right after she’d fallen, soldiers had swarmed her and she remembered a powerful thrumming in the air and her stomach feeling queasy from suddenly being lurched upward. Safely assuming she’d been transported in a helicopter, she had no freaking idea where the hell she was. For all she knew, they were on an island in the middle of the sea. What she did know was that she was at some GreenHouse facility judging by the ‘GH’ plastered on the door to her far right.

She sat on an uncomfortably stiff chair, her hands bound to the arms of the chair, her feet bound to the legs of it. A solitary chair sat across from her separated by a table, her only other company.

Why hadn’t these people just let her die? What was the point of shooting her if they were planning on fixing her up immediately afterward? A cold sweat formed on her as she suddenly had a flash to Indo sitting bloodied on a chair in a room very much similar to the one she was currently in.

The door opened, making her flinch against her bindings. A skinny pale man wearing black entered, his face devoid of any emotion. Without a word he took a seat across from her and stared at her with empty eyes. After five seconds of unblinking eye contact, she had to look away and squirm uncomfortably.

“What was your involvement in the bombing of Headquarter three,” he spoke in a chillingly slow tone.

Terra didn't want to talk about it. Her silence was her answer.

"Why did you save only one Scout. What was his involvement." The man continued.

"What? Eimose didn't do anything. I didn't even realize he was there," defended Terra, suddenly realizing her blunder.

"How many people did you work with."

She kept her mouth shut this time.

"Are you planning to take action on any other facilities."

Silence.

The man sighed and walked to the door, opening it slightly. A small square pouch and a thick file were handed to the man and he sat back down across from her. He slowly unzipped the pouch and revealed its contents: a syringe and a multitude of small cylindrical containers filled with a clear liquid.

"We typically rely on more...physical methods to get our information before resorting to this serum." The man explained as he poked the syringe into a tube and drew back the plunger, filling the hollow object with liquid. "But it seems that you and your people have no regard for our lives, so there is no reason for us to hold back."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

He got up and went to her side, grabbing her arm and plunging the syringe into her vein. Terra felt a pinch, but all in all, was fine by the time he sat back down again.

"When you go under, I want you to think about all the people you killed." He lifted the cover of the file and began laying out images of people on the table.

"Wait, I didn't kill anyone!" Terra finally said, remembering her sadness and confusion on the day of question. She hadn't known that Petri would blow up the area! GreenHouse had been the one that harmed them first! "I was just trying to save my friends!"

"Was it worth it." The man stated somberly.

"What?"

"Were the lives you took an adequate price for your actions."

"I didn't kill anyone! GreenHo--"

"This is my daughter," he pushed a picture of a young woman toward Terra. "Her name is Magkie. She was on the phone with me when you took her away. It was her first day of work."

Terra's stomach twisted and her words caught in her throat. He leaned in so he was mere inches away from her.

"I wanted to watch you burn like you made her, but this is a good alternative."

With that, he left the room, leaving his words hanging in the air and the photos of strangers staring up at Terra.

She couldn't explain this feeling that roiled around inside her. All she could do was stare at the faces of people she'd never met and whisper silent apologies, waiting for the unknown to usher in the revenge of a broken father.

Her limbs grew stiff in the chair but she made no attempt to make herself more comfortable. Eventually, her whole body ached of discomfort but she continued craning her neck to memorize all the faces laid before her. And then the serum hit.

It was as if a fire had been lit inside her veins, running to every part of her, scorching her skin and bones. She bit back her cries; the pain wasn’t as horrible as it felt when she had to purge a corrupt crystal. But as the fire spread, it became harder and harder to hold back the whimpers that eked out.

The fluorescent light began warping the world around her, melting away the room, leaving its remnants in a dark puddle that soaked into her shoes. A blood red sky glared down at her as the black pool beneath her threatened to rise up and drown her, the fire continuing its torment from inside.

Terra was certain her new world wasn’t real, but the pain and fear she felt was tangible. The last part of rationality in her brain fled when she saw a body rise from the depth of the pool of darkness at her feet.

Roger’s head broke through the surface first, his eyes wide and full of fear as he clutched his bleeding wound.

“Help me,” he choked, blood dripping from a bright red mouth. “You can help me.”

Terra struggled vigorously in her bindings to help the man she hadn’t been able to save before. He was a mere foot away, but the bindings refused to give and she watched with tears streaming down her face as his life drained into the dark pool, his eyes never breaking contact with hers. Again.

She tried to close her own eyes yet the images remained crisp and clear, crudely informing her that this was inescapable.

This is not real. Not real. Not real not real not real.

But more bodies began rising, their dying gasps breaking the membrane of dark liquid. Eimose. Petri. Indo. Regal. Brit. Roip. Vazerio. Dexai. Podinal. Unter. And then the faces she’d so meticulously memorized minutes before. Try as she might to avert her gaze, everywhere she looked another would rise. If she looked straight up, away from the bodies, the fire in her veins burned up her spine and pounded against her skull, yet this was still a more preferred alternative. But when the ground shook with tremendous vigor and a low scream rattled her bones, Terra made the mistake of looking toward the source.

At the horizon there came the monster she feared more than pain. The monster she'd encountered when she had been Sun, brought into her mind by Alter. But Alter was nowhere to be seen and the monster was growing larger. Every step it took pulverized the bodies underfoot, dark drool pouring from it's hanging jaw, its direction clear.

As it neared, she could feel the air get colder as her impending fate slowly approached. It was like watching a bomb fall in slow motion and waiting for the inevitable destruction. But a miracle happened.

Not a miracle as in her bindings came loose or that some vigilante in a brightly colored costume burst in and rescued her, it was a small miracle, one that rescued her from the current prison her mind was trapped in; the serum had run its course. The world melted around her just as it had come into existence.

Terra had never been so elated to see the bland walls of the room and the steel table still in front her. The man sitting in the other chair, however, she was not excited about, especially considering he had another full syringe resting on the table beside him.

“What was your involvement in the bombing of Headquarter three."

Terra looked down at the table still covered in faces, mind reeling from her experience. Even though she knew she was at fault, admitting it out loud would cement her choice so she remained silent once again.

"How many people did you work with."

"Two," Terra revealed. "But Eimose wasn't one of them! I was with Petri and Indo, but they're dead."

The man nodded but continued his line of questioning.

“How many people are involved in your organization.”

“I’m not part of any organization, alright? I’m alone.”

“So the two others that escaped were just innocent bystanders and you just happened to have an unconscious Scout with you,” he summarized, raising his brow.

“It’s--I--They--,” she started, fumbling for words. She had no idea how to condense everything she’d been through into a single answer. How did she even start? Hell, she’d just been following Brit and Regal’s lead at that point, but before that was an even more scrambled history.

“What will your organization be targetting next?” The man asked after watching her mouth open and close.

“I’m not part of any organization, believe me. Or maybe don’t and keep on asking me the same questions over and over and get the same answers,” She quipped, tired of his line of reasoning. “You do know that’s the definition of insanity, right?”

His eyes darkened and he stood up, grabbing the syringe.

“Wait! Wait!” Terra pleaded. “I answered your questions! I’m not part of an organization! I’m really sorry about your daughter but I swear I didn’t do it on purpose! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Her apologies turned into pleas, but no matter how hard she yelled, he deposited the serum into her vein. His calloused expression almost seemed gleeful when he drew away, his own justice playing out.

When he left, she didn’t notice as she’d shut her eyes tight to perhaps negate the visual torture. But the visions came nonetheless, and fire ripped through her body as her loved ones died and the creature roared on the horizon. Only the small miracle of time could save her, and time had never been on her side.