In the Night, Chapter 4
Start at Chapter 1 or read the last chapter here.
“Hello, Fairweather.”
A single fluorescent light in the ceiling flickered on directly above Fae; she stood still, back pressed against the locked door. The darkness was piercing and the voice speaking to her was booming, almost too powerful to be in the room. Beneath the booming, Fae was able to hear a nearly inaudible tone like a ringing in her ear.
“I’ve been watching you,” the voice continued. “I know who you are.”
Fae took a step away from the door, moving into the darkness. As a foot entered the dark, the light she had been under turned off, replaced by the one she was now under. She stepped sideways and the light turned off, another picking her up.
The ring in her ear intensified, bouncing around in her head. A subtle headache began to swell behind her eyes and branched through her head.
“I know what you are,” a pause, “and I’m assuming control.”
A single spike of pain shot through Fae’s head as if she had been struck by lightning. She fell to her knees, shut her eyes tight, and clasped her hands to her temples. She screamed in agony, but she couldn’t hear it. Her eyes felt ready to burst. Her skull felt as if it had split in two. The pain overtook her and she blacked out.
Her muscles were tense, cramped from being compressed into a tight ball. Drenched with sweat, she rolled onto her back, eyes still closed, and gently massaged her temples, pressing away the last bits of the seismic migraine. Slowly the pain dissipated and moment by moment she opened her eyes a fraction more. The room was awash in light.
It was the same room. She was in her apartment in Container Town. Nothing had been moved and the door was closed. The light on it read locked. The ringing in her ear had disappeared and, it seemed, so had the invader.
“Intelligence, is there anyone in this unit?”
“Good evening, Fae. No, I am not registering anyone besides yourself in this unit or any other owned unit.”
“How long ago did I arrive?”
“There is no data.”
“How long have I been on the floor?”
“There is no data.”
“Has this unit been tampered with?”
“There is no data.”
She stood slowly, her legs shaky. Light-headedly, she grasped the chair nearby and stopped swaying. Fae blinked and for a split-second she saw an empty apartment. She blinked again and saw a face: a young, tattooed face framed by straight black hair.
Fae slumped into the chair and gazed at the blank wall. She blinked quickly and the same images mingled with others of a WELL transit stop and hallway. The woman, the apartment - Fae had never met or seen them.
But she felt compelled to find them.
Chapter 5 coming soon!