The red light continued to flash, although it was
difficult to see now--more a faint flicker than a proper
flash. Dimly, she recalled that the light signified an
emergency. Dimly, she thought she should be hearing the
alarm. Dimly?yes, it was all dim now. Dim, yet colorful:
the colors swirled and rippled around her. They tickled
her until she giggled as if she were young again. They
cooed at and coddled her until she felt safe and warm, as
if she were born again. She felt buoyant and free. She
knew she need never feel heavy again.
The buoyant colors shattered into a harsh, bright
light. The light felt alien--how could light have no
color? It was heavy and oppressive. She was unable to
move, although heavy things pushed down on her, blowing
air into her. She felt water come out of her. She found
herself accepting the air, although she knew
intrinsically that this was wrong. Air was heavy, and had
no color. She struggled to return to where she felt soft
and free.
"She's moving!"
The harsh noise slammed into her delicate hearing.
How could they stand it? Even words were heavy
here--falling straight down and bludgeoning when they
should float along softly and gently caressing.
"She's breathing on her own, now. I think she'll be
all right."
"What the hell happened down there?"
"I don't know--she's the only survivor. We had to
seal off all of Levels Fire and Grace. The South Pod is
completely flooded, too."
The crashing din was too much. She gasped and tried
to make this heavy thing work.
"Stop her from thrashing around!"
"What's wrong with her skin?"
She squirmed and thrashed, but the heavy things held
her down and shouted at her. She gasped and, grasping a
fleeting memory of another lifetime, tried to emulate
their clamorous cries, tried to tell them to set her free.
Abruptly, the heavy air lurched, and she slid across
the slick, cold surface beneath her. The surface suddenly
ended and, for one brief, blissful moment there was
nothing above her and nothing below her. Just as she
became aware of this state of buoyancy, she crashed down
painfully onto another slick, slanted surface where she
slid and rolled until crashing with a sickening crack
into something else. As pain shot across and throughout
her being, she began to hate this heavy place. Such an
unnatural thing--hate. She knew it to be a remnant of her
former self.
Then the soul-shattering shriek of rending metal
exploded across her consciousness, a hideous noise so
large and voluble, so monstrous and oppressive, that she
was rendered completely immobile. The heavy things cried
and fled, and she knew they were no longer there, but she
was unable to move. The weight of this place was crushing
her spirit, and she began to despair of ever being free
again.
At last a blissful silence filled the space. The air
was still heavy, and agony filled her body, but at least
the pain of the crashing noises was gone.
In this moment of silence, she heard her
heart's desire. A thin, trickling sound. A soft,
splashing sound. As she lay there, she felt a wetness
slowly pool around her body. Unable to move, she simply
lay there calmly as a glorious weightlessness gradually
gathered beneath her. She felt herself become lighter and
lighter, and the hate and the heaviness and the din that
marked her previous life began to fade blissfully away.
The harsh light began to fade away as well, and was
replaced gradually with a flickering, soft and shadowy
dimness.
She waited patiently--not eagerly. She knew emotion
was unnecessary here.
The colors appeared, and she knew she need never
feel heavy again.
x x x
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