A New Age, of old strength and allies (ONC 2023)

4. The burn of discovery

An hour of counselling with Casimir always felt more like four. I was currently running on very little sleep, while waiting for the next bullet train out to sector nine. Caught between exhaustion and anticipation, I glanced at the sky. The previously moody pale grey had darkened, readying itself for a thunderous applause.

The humidity had thickened the air to a treacle-like consistency, along with an unnerving stillness, despite the building intensity. Like the silence of death in the aftermath of a killing. A feeling I knew well.

Spotting the train, I stepped back, the feeling still lingering in the back of my mind. As efficiently as always, it pulled to a soundless stop, the doors smoothly revealing their interior.

A few moments later, I was seated in a familiar pod, yet I couldn’t help wishing for the twenty-minute journey to extend into an hour instead. The extra time to sleep would have been appreciated.

My eyes were half-closed as I ran a hand down the back of my neck, when a flash of lightning, followed by the abrupt sound of thunder, cracked across the sky in a menacing accompaniment. My gaze narrowed at the blackening clouds, briefly streaming past as nothing but a blur of colour. The lightening splitting the deepening dreariness outside.
The hair on the back of my neck rose, as the weather whipped the sides of the carriages. The energy fields protecting the train, flickering.

Standing up, I leant against the windows, partially glancing up ahead as we rounded a curve, where the sky streaming by had darkened to the point of almost reaching night-time once again. A sudden violent shake, and the sound of screeching, knocked me back against the seats. Catching myself, I just managed to avoid smashing my head against the side of the headrest.

Another shake rattled the sides of the train, as lightening lit up the sky. A blinding flash rebounded against the train’s energy field as I turned away, the light blazingly bright. Staggering, I fell back against the door, making sure to stay away from the windows. The swaying of the train began to thrash, as though another force was attempting to tear it from the tracks.

The jarring movements had me catching hold of the hand-holds above the door, just as the windows were hit with an ear-splitting crack. The glittering panes shattered inwards with a searing explosion. The lightning, a driving force behind the scattering shards of glass. Spinning, I dived to the floor, raising my hands to create a force-field around my head and neck. I felt it, as it clashed with the power of the explosion, wincing as a few small shards caught my upper torso, before I could stop them.

The scent of burning filled the pod as I looked up. The seats were smouldering, but thankfully there were no flames. Carefully standing, I shook off the debris, the glass crunching beneath my feet as the wind roared in through the gaping windows. The once silent pod had been ripped apart, as the train continued to speed along. The shuddering became more pronounced as I stepped up to the door once more. With little expectation, I waved my wrist before it, but nothing happened.

‘Typical..., first those two strangers then Casimir, and now this.’

I could feel my anger stirring, always just beneath the surface, as it became a dull roar within my veins. As I glanced to the side, I caught sight of the scattered glass and splintered metal, rising as it began to float around me.

‘Well, since I’m so angry..., to hell with Casimir and his fucking whale music.’

After a sly look at the chaos outside, my eyes slid shut, the storm now a fitting backdrop for everything that I was feeling. The rumble of thunder still sounded, lightning flashing as it lit up the pod, even behind my closed eyelids.

Breathing deeply, I fought to keep my balance as the wind kept up its relentless battering, and I struggled to hear anything above the crushing storm. Raising my hands, I thrust them forward before tightening them into fists.