***
Rhapsody stood on a cracked desert plane, lined with cages that were hanging on gibbets as far as the eye could see in every direction. Each of the cages had a large eyeball inside it that appeared to be searching for a way out.
She turned around and found an eyeball as tall as she was, sitting on the desert floor. There was an empty cage behind it, with its door hanging open. The iris was mesmerizing in its beauty. It was a mixture of purple hues, with tendrils of lighter lavender extending away from the pupil. Even though the iris was two dimensional, the tendrils had the illusion of extending away from the pupil in all three dimensions. They swirled around the pupil like the spiral arms of a galaxy, hypnotic and enchanting. As she stared into the captivating orb, a whispering breeze began ruffling her hair. The faint sound of a haunting melody could be heard on the breeze, filled with a sweet innocence that brought tears to her eyes.
Dark shadows began dropping out of the sky above, swirling around her as she tried to listen to the barely discernible words in the song. The shadows had black and red tendrils waving around lazily as they drew closer. She felt shivers wrack her body as the tendrils plunged into her chest, wrapping around her spine and yanking her toward the open cage. She let out a scream and tried to resist, but it was like fighting against gravity. Her feet slid across the ground as they pulled her inexorably toward the open cage.
The pupil on the giant eye suddenly contracted and the lavender spiral arms surrounding it began swirling furiously. The whispering melody on the wind suddenly roared into a deafening blast of golden light, banishing the shadows with an explosive detonation. Rhapsody stood gasping for breath, staring at the enormous eye that was observing her. It was absurd to think a single eyeball could be expressive, but she felt a sense of protectiveness radiating from the beautiful iris as it observed her silently.
A horrible beeping noise interrupted the beautiful song, causing her to look around with a frown. As she turned away, the bleak desert faded away and she opened her eyes. Stupid alarm clock.
Still Alive Page 6
