It wasn't long before the adrenaline rush faded and I was forced to slow down to a light jog. If I tried to maintain a dead sprint I would peter out long before I hit the dome. Logically I knew that, but it was hard to ignore every bone in my body screaming that I should run as far and as fast as I could.

I'd been moving for almost an hour now, but in that time I'd only managed four miles. Pitiful I know, but the lack of sleep and the activities of yesterday weren't doing me any favors.

Any time I started to slow or felt like giving up, I had to remind myself of the wave of death chasing me. I had a head start, sure, but that beam wasn't slowing down. if anything it was moving faster, almost eager to consume the remainder of the city, and me along with.

I had had made progress to the dome, but the beam of light had only grown in intensity. The temperature had started to rise, and beads of sweat were forming on my face. I unzipped my parka, hoping the extra breeze would help cool me down. However, I didn't stop running doing so would have felt like a death sentence.

At some point, I stopped caring about how far I had left to go. I just made sure to keep putting one foot in front of the other. That was all that mattered now. If I stopped, I knew the chances of me starting again were low.

One foot in front of the other... My legs were numb, I had lost all feeling in them some time ago. I was absolutely drenched in sweat. As the beam had drawn closer, the temperature had skyrocketed. There were puddles of water scattered everywhere about the snow.

One foot in front... The heat was growing unbearable. I had shed my parka and gloves long ago, and it felt like someone had poured a bucket of water over my head.

My watch had started buzzing angrily at some point, but I didn't bother wasting the energy required to check. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that I didn't stop moving.

One foot... My perception of the world had shrunk to include only my feet and the next few steps in front of me. I felt as if I were moving through water, yet my throat remained dry. My feet were moving forward at a slow almost imperceptible shuffle. Speed was no longer a concern. My only concern was forward.

One...

My head was laying on a cushion made of clouds. The air was warm but comforting, like laying beneath the covers on a cold night. What was I doing again? I shrugged. What did it matter? I was comfortable here. Whatever it was could wait until I was rested. But what if it was important? I sighed. Fine, it couldn't hurt to check.

My eyes shot open. I was resting against a car tire, thoroughly exhausted.

It took a few seconds for the events of the night to catch up with me, but when they did I shot up, only to stumble on shaky legs.

The events of the last few hours felt distant; I had the same clarity about them as I might expect to have about years old memories. I couldn't even remember how I got here after a point, everything just became a blur.

I was lying at the base of the bridge that ran straight into the dome, the edge of which cut through the bridge at an angle. The bridge itself hung above a what might have been a river, though with the dome blocking it from its source, it was little better than a pond.

Cars were jammed all along the bridge and with no sidewalk, I would be forced to go over them to reach the dome. I climbed up on top of the car I had just used as a pillow and began moving towards the dome. I briefly considered swimming, but with my legs as dead as they were I was liable to drown before I made it ten feet, much less the few hundred I had left.

As I stumbled across the tops of cars, I glanced behind me. I immediately wished I hadn't. The beam was close now, it expanded like a wall in either direction, and I had to crane my neck back to see the top of it. Best guess it was less than a few miles from me, and it was moving a lot faster than I was.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

As it approached, the puddles left over from the snow started to boil, before evaporating into steam. It wouldn't need to touch me to kill me.

The dome looked different as I approached, I realized it wasn't a wall like I had once thought, but instead, it was something else entirely. The dome shimmered as I watched it, patterns sprang to life on its surface, branched out in infinitely many directions, before disappearing back into nothingness. I would have thought it quite beautiful if wasn't for the fact I was fighting for my life.

I was only a few steps away now, but I had paid dearly for my progress. My skin felt like it was on fire. Each breath I took burned my throat. I thought I could even smell my hair burning.

There were no obvious exits in the barrier, but I hoped I didn't need it. As I looked at the dome I realized, it wasn't entirely solid. It was moving, almost as if it was alive.

My hand reached out for the dome, testing it. There was resistance at first, but as I pushed it compressed like gelatin. After a bit of effort, my hand emerged on the other side. The air was cool there, and I felt a pleasant breeze caress my skin. I pulled my hand back.

I took a few steps back, hoping a running start would provide enough inertia to see me through. The beam was close now, consuming the car I had woken up next to. I could hear the water below me begin to boil. It was now or never. I ran through the barrier.

Next thing I knew, I was falling. I had wound up at least fifty feet in the air over a small body of water. In other words, I was boned. Even if I survived the impact I would drown there.

The water was rushing up to meet me, eager to pull me into its cold embrace. On impact, the world went black, and I knew nothing more.

----------------------------------------

Sergeant McKenzie took another drag from his cigarette. He was leaning on a balcony, gazing out over the lake. Even after being stationed here for six months, he was still able to appreciate the view. It was almost as calming as the nicotine itself.

The balcony of the outpost he was stationed at overlooked a small lake right on the edge of the Dome. Long before his time, any visible obstruction within a mile of the Dome had been cleared, meaning he could see just about as far as he wanted.

Over the past year and a half of service, he had gotten pretty good at timing his smoke breaks with the reset of the Dome. The warm red light gently emanating from the other side helped soothe his nerves, not to mention the mesmerizing patterns.

And boy, did his nerves need soothing. His current lieutenant was by far the worst he had ever had. She had a stick so far up her ass he swore he could almost see it when she yelled at him.

"McKenzie! Get your ass down here, you got a call from Alpha!"

He cursed under his breath. Speak of the devil. So much for a break. He flicked the cigarette to the side and was about to turn away when he saw something emerge from the Dome.

He had seen a lot of shit come out of that dome. Demons, flesh-eating fungi, leeches that fed on memories, and countless other abominations best left unmentioned.

A woman had flown out of the dome like a bat out of hell, smoke wisping off her shoulders and all. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought her one of those furies his friend had told him about awhile back.

She was easily fifty feet high, and as he watched she started falling towards the lake below. He stood there, stunned, as she dived into the lake feet first. It wasn't until she hit the lake that his brain started working again.

"Lieutenant," he yelled over his shoulder, "we gotta situation at the Dome!"

Without waiting for a response he jumped over the railing and started running towards the lake. So much for a break indeed.

----------------------------------------

I was back in the void again. Considering how the last few days had gone for me I kind of expected to be here earlier, only I hadn't expected to be aware of my return. I think therefore I am right? If I was dead how did I think?

Maybe this was just an in-between, the space that lay between life and the afterlife. Maybe the only thing keeping here was my body still alive as it sunk to the bottom of the lake. Well, if that was the case, all I had to do was wait.

So I did.

So I waited. Years passed, or maybe just seconds? Time held no meaning here, in this place unbound by gravity.

Suddenly the void shuddered, and I was brought back to when I first woke up. Surely I wasn't in yet another sac? Even death was a better alternative than that.

Then the void folded in on itself. Again and again, it collapsed on itself, not at all concerned about the lone passenger it thrashed about. With it came emotion. Pain, despair, sadness, longing, so many I couldn't even begin to count them all.

As quickly as it began it was over. The storm of foreign emotions was gone, replaced by just one. Hope. Small and inconsequential compared to the enormity of the others, yet it was the only one that lingered.

And the void, it was gone. All that remained was me. There was no sac, no membrane surrounding me, no sudden rush of feeling.

I realized then that whatever I had felt before was not void. It was perceivable, tangible, I was cognizant of it. It existed.

Now, there was truly nothing but me.

Given time to process, the realization might have affected me.

Instead, much like the void before me, I too ceased to exist.