R.E.solve (Rain Experience Book 2)

by Thomas W. Everson

  The frequency in which the image changes across the four screens to something new increases. They’re never the same. It starts with scenery. Fields, trees, gardens, bodies of water, but quickly advances to civilizations, species, cities, technology and the space in between worlds. The tones begin to harmonize and soon it’s like a ballad.

  My eyes dart from one screen to another, only to catch a glimpse before it changes to a new picture. Before I know it an entire musical piece is constantly being played. I’m entranced. My eyes begin to burn as I realize I haven’t closed them to blink in a few minutes, and I am unable to do so. They are completely locked open.

  As the images continue to flow, information about the Vraditi become imbedded in my mind. Their development as a species, their history, both cultural and technological. I am amazed when I learn the average Vraditi lifespan is three thousand of their own years and thus their advancement as a species has seen exponential growth.

  Mathematics, star charts, spatial anomalies and universal physics become engrained. I begin to understand a number of scientific facts and theories, including a bit more about temporal mechanics. They move me to their catalogue of encountered species and their development as well. Humans comes up on the list but, before I can begin to understand how my species exists on another planet before it does on mine, everything begins to blur. I can no longer focus on the information coming in.

  “Limit reached. Starting extraction process.” Xera speaks.

  Everything is fuzzy for a moment before my vision becomes white. My head begins to ache. I flail and cry out. I feel light-headed and dizzy. I am barely holding onto consciousness. I lose all feeling. The darkness I’m becoming too familiar with builds. It’s come to take me despite no despair being felt.

  “What is happening?” Quva asks.

  “I do not know. Something is wrong. The extraction is causing pathways to collapse. There is a buildup of another energy within him. The information is…it is overwhelming him and our system!”

  “Shut it down!”

  “I am trying!”

  I’m in the black world for only a moment when I jolt awake. My eyes open and I see several Vraditi standing over me. I’m lying prostrate on the floor. They are talking but everything is muffled and I can’t make out anything. My eyes roll back.

  I’m thrust into the darkness within. Despair wells up around me but it’s blurry and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking at or for. I sense nothing from the Vraditi.

  Are they not a part of this collective consciousness?

  I begin ‘the walk’ to move my time here along, and I begin to see the women of my life. I’m confused because I’ve never had this reach before in sensing people’s despairs, but I can feel the reach.

  Each one of them comes into view and I can sense they’re upset. They feel they’ve lost me. In my mind’s eye I see things through their eyes. They watched as I entered the cylinder and fear I’ve been kidnapped. They worry and grieve over my assumed captivity, or death, and that they too will be abducted. They’re hiding inside, in the basement. Agatha worries about me being inside the ship when the house shifts through time.

  I suppose I’m going to have to tell Quva we need to cut the tests short. I can’t keep them worrying. I just need to break out of the darkness.

  Having addressed what needed to be seen I wait for the exit light to appear, like normal. But it doesn’t. Behind me, there is nothing, not even the remnant haziness of sensing the women. The imagery is gone.

  Pushing to feel for the Vraditi leads to nothing. I am fully alone and unnerved. Unable to escape the world of despair, my own begins to creep in. Between thoughts of being stuck in the despair forever and dying away from my family, I can feel my heart speed up. Dying with never having made restitution for my actions as Tiberius causes me anxiety.

  I’ve never not been able to leave out before. What’s wrong?

  I run, changing directions multiple times in hopes the warm light will appear, but there is no feeling of movement. I’m motionless.

  “Help!” I yell out, hoping to reach the world of the living. “HELP!”

  Without a firm grasp on how much time is passing, I switch back and forth between thinking it’s only been a couple minutes to several hours. Though I’m here, I can feel my heartbeat and breathing, both are rapid.

  “I don’t want to be here anymore!”

  Viewing and being overwhelmed by people’s despairs leaves me with a deep scar on my soul; but the darkness by itself with no contact at all is much worse. I concentrate on the girls, thinking about being with them. I think about everything they’ve done for me, to me, with me. I try to imagine them here.

  “There’s too much left to do. I can’t stay this way now. I have to come back to you. I have to atone for my past.” I think of their faces.

  My efforts are futile and I cease running. I collapse. My mind going blank for a bit while I lie there, waiting to vanish from existence only to be reminded I am still alive by a barrage of thoughts.

  Maybe I can’t pull myself out. Every time I’ve been here, an external stimulus opened the doorway.

  If I’m still here when they leave, I’ll be crushed against the side of the starship and Quva won’t know what to do.

  Death. My friend. My enemy.

  Were it not for Drake’s blade, I wouldn’t have had these extra months. I would have died as Tiberius and not as the man the women know. Funny how things work.

  I regret not being able to say goodbye. I regret jumping off the plateau. I regret throwing the sword. I regret not loving them enough.

  What is love? Is it the feeling you have when you miss someone after being apart even for a short time? A positive emotional attachment? Attraction?

  Do I love any of them more than the other?

  Ami. The answer has always been Ami. I love her, I miss her.

  The questions in my mind plague me. I realize I’ve been weeping as I inhale heavily and let out a stuttered exhale. I roll around in nothingness, wallowing and wishing my end would come soon.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Curled in the fetal position for what could be hours or days I right myself to try again. Throwing my arms out to the side, I scream just to make myself known and I put significant energy into it. I bellow, trying to break free to reality.

  I have to leave. I have to keep my promise. I have to prove to myself I’m not Tiberius.

  You will not escape me. You are me!

  No, I’m not you Tiberius – I am Rain and you are dead. You are nothing more than memories!

  I exist and I will win over you.

  Maybe I can reach out to them.

  You won’t succeed.

  I can extend the darkness beyond my body. Can I control it? Can I use it to reach them?

  Concentrating on the darkness, I sense the presence within me, latent. I think about the house. I think about reaching out to them as a sign that I need help. I visualize it happening but as I envision the tentacle reaching for the house I feel a sharp shock to my body causing me to lose focus. Another shock sends me to my knees and I feel I’m being electrified. A yelp escapes my lips.

  It must be Quva!

  “Help!”

  I’m shocked several times over and over, clearly under attack, but it stops and I try not to move again. I recover, second-guessing myself, and my decision-making abilities.

  What was I thinking? What did I think might happen by agreeing to accompany Quva and let him examine me?

  I would be at the house if I had just refused to look in the book. I should have taken heed of Evalyn’s warning.

  I sigh and begin to succumb to the darkness again. Before I can slink into self-loathing further, someone calling my name pierces the darkness around me.

  “Rain!” It echoes.

  Startled and overjoyed, I jump up and look around for the light. Having been in darkness, the voice is particularly loud as they call me again. It’s feminine.


  “Rain!”

  “Keep trying! I’m here! Help me!” I yell. The only response I receive is my name again.

  “Rain!”

  Without the light to guide me to the exit, I’m stuck here. I attempt to reach out with the darkness yet again to whoever is calling out to me. The electric shock hits me again. At this point I am convinced it’s an attack to keep me from reaching out. I push harder to pass, only to be shocked harder. I finally break through and can sense the helplessness of my family.

  Instead of just one of the girls calling out for me, each of them has been and I can sense them. They’re near. To my relief the light finally appears in front of me. Despite feeling weak, I’m able to move toward the exit. Brighter and brighter, I approach the light and when I reach it my eyes snap open to a bizarre sight.

  I’m suspended weightlessly in the air within the room where I last was. Pitch-black tentacles are jutting outward in all directions from me. Ami, Eve and Emma are there. Eve and Emma are outside the room, unable to reach me. Ami has dodged through to reach me. My eyes meet hers. She grasps my hand firmly and I see the darkness in her skin, seeping through the veins in her arm. Seeing her in such a state scares me to full awareness. The darkness recedes into me and I collapse to the ground with a thud.

  In a rush of movement Ami is on top of me pounding her fists into my chest and crying.

  “How could you?!”

  Her skin has returned to normal. She’s unhurt, but she’s hysterical. I turn my head and attempt to shield myself with my forearms but she throws them out of the way and slaps me hard across the face before collapsing and bawling into my chest.

  “I thought you were dead! First the chasm, then this!”

  Emma shoves her hands in her coverall pockets and glares, a heavy frown on her face. Eve’s eyes are red, burning with agony, jealousy, and anger. Beyond them Quva, Xera and a group of Vraditi watch from beyond closed glass, clearly observing another experiment.

  “What’s going on? How…?” I try to comfort Ami by stroking her hair.

  “You’re a jerk!” She sits straight up and looks me dead in the eye, tears still rolling. She extends to hit me again, but Eve grabs ahold of her. She struggles to get free of Eve’s grip. “Why would you do that? Didn’t you think about me?”

  Eve interprets, “We thought something terrible had happened to you. There were some shockwave explosions and that led us to think the worst.”

  “We saw you go into the cylinder thing.” Emma takes her turn. “After you disappeared we started throwing things down to draw their attention. Eve was ready to kill them. But Agatha said it was too dangerous. We hid in the basement.”

  I sit up and put my arms around Ami, hugging her close. Her sobbing slows and the other girls finally break down and join me in comforting her. It’s a few minutes before anyone speaks again.

  “They began electrocuting you to keep the darkness contained. It was spreading everywhere. They said you had no vital signs and I just wouldn’t believe them,” Ami chokes through her hiccups.

  Quva and Xera enter the room and I run my fingers through Ami’s hair to calm her down a bit more. Quva has his pad and types furiously on it.

  “Have you returned to a normal state Rain?” Quva asks looking up at me briefly.

  “Close enough. I was not expecting that response,” I reply. “It’s only happened before in a time of danger.”

  “What was it? Is this part of your alkos?” He looks at me in confusion.

  “It’s not. It’s something else. If I thought the test would incite a negative reaction, I would have told you about my condition.” I sigh.

  “What is your condition?”

  “A few months back we entered a void of nothingness. In this nothingness was a collective of what I can only call ‘souls’, who died in despair and hopelessness. Somehow it formed a consciousness and threatened harm to my companions if I didn’t let it inhabit my body.” I half-chuckle: my story sounds insane.

  “How is this possible? Are you saying there is something after death?” Quva stares at me in disbelief.

  “In some form. We don’t have many answers.” I shrug.

  “Your explanation explains the anomalous readings we received when we began to extract the implanted information. After a violent display we were positive you had died. Then the black tendrils extended out.

  “Are we in any danger? Your skin turned black and when this female touched you it began seeping into her. Can it infect others?”

  “I don’t…know.”

  Quva strokes his chin a bit. He taps around on his pad for a moment and appears to be deep in thought. “There are no reports of damage on the ship. No reports of illness or death. Still, if an outburst of this manner manifests again, we will take whatever action necessary to ensure the survival of this ship.”

  “I understand.”

  Xera speaks up, playing with a pad of her own. “We cannot risk another event by resuming the extraction procedure. Though it is dangerous to let you retain the knowledge imparted, scans show your mind has already begun purging much of it.”

  Tapping Ami’s leg, I tilt my head indicating I would like her to move. We both stand, but I brace myself against her. My head swims and I feel nauseous.

  “I need to rest again.” I look to Quva.

  “We will escort you to the guest quarters.”

  “Thank you.” I close my eyes for a moment, trying to regain my balance.

  When I’m ready, Quva waves for us to follow. We exit the room to the flying platform. We’re there in just a few minutes, and when we enter there are four smaller beds lined up instead of the one there previously. Emma, excited, runs and jumps on the third one down and sprawls out.

  “This one’s mine!”

  Ami and Eve race to the one first in the line. They both jump onto the bed at once and collide with each other. Wrestling around, they argue over whose it is. I turn back to Quva. He looks at me and squints all four eyes in question. I shake my head.

  “Eat and rest. I need to conduct some work and then I will take you up to the observation deck.” His lips stretch into what I think is his version of smiling, but it looks more like a straight face.

  They take their leave and the women and I are left alone. While Ami and Eve continue their fight over the first bed, I lay down on the second one with my arms behind my head. I kick off my shoes and let out a heavy sigh.

  Emma stands and begins jumping on her bed. Due to its springiness she is launched high into the room. She lets out a scream of delight and catches the attention of Ami and Eve. When she comes back down she’s launched up again and she giggles. Unknowingly she starts a game and both Ami and Eve jump up and begin bouncing from one bed to another, continuing their battle. Emma joins in and they wrestle around.

  “Why don’t we just push the beds together,” I suggest.

  “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Ami stops for a moment and gives me a smirk.

  “Whoa there. Not what I meant and you know it. It’d just be easier for you to jump around.”

  “I think it’s a good idea.” Eve winks at me.

  “You would!” Ami bats back.

  Before I can get up, they are pushing the beds together and looking at each other with playful contempt. The floor vibrates and a hum sounds as the material slides across the floor.

  Now with one large play area, they resume their jumping and roughhousing. Though they fight each other constantly, they appear to be getting along for the time being. Bounding through the air, they swing pillows at one another. I flinch as it looks like Emma is about to land on me, but she gracefully bounces in between my legs and throws her pillow at Eve.

  “How did you get up here?” I ask, my voice raised a little to break through their ruckus.

  “After the shadow reached from the ship to the house, they just showed up.” Eve huffs while hovering over me and defending herself against a beating from Ami.

  She leaves hers
elf open for a brief moment and Ami smacks her in the face with her pillow and then jumps across to the other side.

  “We heard a noise outside and we couldn’t stop Eve from running out to check what it was. It was stupid.” Ami sticks her tongue out to spite Eve.

  “I took one of the big guys hostage and got us on the ship!” Eve puffs her chest proudly.

  “They ended up giving us translators. They explained there was something wrong and hoped we could help.” Emma throws a couple pillows at Ami.

  “I still don’t think they can be trusted,” Eve says and then hits me in the face.

  I flinch and throw my arms up to protect myself as they all begin to beat me. Grabbing my pillow and shielding myself with one arm, I fight my way up. I swing it wildly to push them back. I grin and jump up and down rapidly to offset their footing. When they’ve retreated, I launch my attack. I begin jumping up high and diving on Eve, bringing the pillow down on to her, then swinging around and popping Emma in her side. Ami hits me from behind and I leap away.

  After a long session of playing around we collapse on the bed. Emma laughs hysterically and, like a contagion, it causes us all to break into laughter with everyone fueling everyone else. It takes a while, but we quiet down and relax.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been such a burden to you all.” I tell them. “I’m going to be better.”

  “Rain.” Ami caresses me in the side. “We understand who you were isn’t who you had hoped, but we still have faith in you.”

  “I know. But I mean with everything. I am going to try and be better about staying out of trouble. Like this.”

  I kiss her on the top of her head and wrap an arm around her.

  This is nice. It’s a change from Tiberius’s violent tendencies seeping through. Despite the mishap with the test today, nobody is dead. Maybe I can change. Maybe I can ignore the dark urges.

  You will not escape me. You cannot. We are the same.

  I ignore him and close my eyes. Lying in a state of rest for a long period of time, my stomach grumbles and Emma looks up at me wide eyed as her ear was pressed to it. I snicker and sit up. Surveying the room for the robot, it’s in the back corner as it had been before.