28 April 2012
I snapped my gaze back to where he was pointing, and my eyes widened in horror. Just above the clouds’ surface there was a huge whirling hole in the air. It was shimmering green and purple, dark blue and red, like the reflections of a bubble in firelight. Out from it spewed plumes of sooty cloud, tiny sparks of blue static tearing through its tangled mass. It tumbled out of the hole like a waterfall.
Everything I had ever sought out was right before my eyes, yet I couldn’t understand what it all meant. Where was it coming from? Why was it here? I felt like I was back in my dream again, the answer just out of reach. From behind me I could hear my passenger’s breath of amazement, followed by frantic scribbling and note-taking.
“We’ve got all we need,” he announced, “We have to go back before we run out of fuel.”
I ignored him.
“What are you doing?”
The hole grew larger as we accelerated towards it. Only now did I realise the sheer enormity of it, my perspective having been scrambled after staring into the abyss above us. The engines started to scream as I pushed forwards ever faster, drowning out the similar sounds from my passenger behind. My heart was racing, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead.
“We haven’t come all this way,” I yelled over the noise, “just to turn back now.”
The pod vibrated manically and I could feel blisters growing on my hands as I struggled to keep it steady. Planes of metal started crashing down from the ceiling as the pod struggled against the airflow from the hole. I thrust the controls into overdrive, giving the final push it needed. I just had time to see the pod engulfed in a stream of colour, before my vision cascaded into darkness...
Weathered Worlds: 5/10 • Opuss № I