02-24-2016, 06:03 PM
Aadibah stepped outside after Connor, watching the man as he mounted his "hover-bike". The futuristic vehicle created a large plume of dust while rising about a little less than a meter into the air, the soldier covering her face as it took off down the streets of the coastal town. He got smaller and smaller as he sped off down the roads, eventually taking a turn and vanishing from sight. Then, the sounds of the restaurant and the town settled in. Voices, low, muffled by the wall at her back, others more clear as they came from civilians making their way around town. Some spoke English, others different tongues, none of them Arabic. A warm, night wind made its own way through the sidewalks and roads, washing over the residents like a massive, ethereal blanket.
Left boot crunching against the dirt path, right one pushing off to rotate her body, then taking a step forward, and Aadibah was on the move. Her pace was a speed-walk compared to the casual amble the rest of the denizens and occasional drunk had. Within the next ten minutes, some of the time being wasted after a few wrong turns, and the same path the trio the engineer had joined was laid before her, a gravel line in the sand being drawn to a white half-circle in the distance.
Two small, boot-shaped concave dents were made into the gravel as the woman became still, caught mid-stride. For a small moment, all that could be heard were the people, the waves crashing against the sandy beach, some birds chirping, a dog barking. The scent of seafood, salt, and even the stench of rotting seaweed and dead fish on the shore. It assaulted Aadibah's senses. The warm air settled on her hardened, dirty skin, her rough cheeks and bumpy nose.
It's not home. It will never be home. Keep moving. The sands of Arabia are course, hot, stained with blood. It is not welcome here, where sand is soft, warm.
The crunching began again, the soldier's boots driving home with every step, grinding into the path. Her legs powered through each stride, each motion. Another ten minutes of this and the gate stood only a few meters away, watching Aadibah heave and cough, gasping for air.
"Gah... ha... hoo.... hah....." Leaning against a palm tree, she gave herself a moment. It took everything you had to leave. You know you can never stop this. You chose this path, the path of a leader- No, a warlord. Five more minutes of her lungs expanding and contracting, chest rises exaggerated. Then a small push off the tree, calves and thighs taking a few awkward steps forward to get back into a proper cycle of movement. Even here, some place outside of the world, where there's magic, and technology from your future... No, not even here.
The whiteness, the light, the front face of her body bathed in it, on the edge of its abyss.
So keep marching, soldier.
A step, a flash.
Keep fighting.
Nine.
The other side was still the bleached white, and Aadibah squinted her eyes at the brightness of it all. After a moment of adjustment, her sight fell on the fountain at the center, where she had first came into this "verse". As Connor had said, it looked to be about two hours to get to the center, then another two to get straight across.
The engineer did not hesitate, left leg once more driving itself into the floor. Instead of a standard contraction and extension of the thigh and lower leg, however, she was suddenly propelled to something around ten meters ahead of her original position, having soared over the ground at around two meters into the air. Coming down was like landing a plan, first leg forward taking the brunt of the inertia and momentum, attempting to absorb and translate the motion forward still and conserve as much energy as possible. A short step, and she was off again, this cycle of leaping across the ground continuing. The power suit underneath the soldier's clothes was going berserk, fans whirring and the internal computer heating up, accompanied by audible hissing and other high pitched sounds of air rushing through hoses and pipes. Each and every step was followed by the sharp clinking, clanking, and rustling of her rifle, back pack, and other items, heavy steel helmet constantly swinging back and forth on top of her hair like an upside down swing, her strap the rope and her chin the tree branch.
An hour later, Aadibah was dipping her face into the center fountain. Her lips were dry, cracked, mouth salivating. Her helmet sat to the side, her gloves stuffed inside, along with her rifle and backpack. Her keffiyeh was down, the edge around her neck becoming soaked in the cool, clear liquid. As it dribbled down her face, lips sputtering and spitting, it became murky and dark, dirt and crimson trailing down in drops and drips. The soldier watched as the water came down back to its source, inexplicably becoming clear again as it hit the surface of the pool. For a short while, Aadibah wash her face, hair, neck, hands, and arms in the fountain, only her splashing and gulping, the babbling and bubbling of the fountain itself filling the void.
Damn. I should have gotten a drink with that gyro. "Phu-wah!" Another plunge of the face into the pool itself, coming up for air. Felt like I was legitimately dehydrated.
After the skin that could be exposed without taking off her clothes was thoroughly scrubbed out with her fingernails, then those being picked out, Aadibah's hair was soaked. The top half of her jacket, her keffiyeh and even her shirt and sleeveless gained a small layer of moisture. The bunches of her rolled up sleeves at her elbows had gotten completely damp and were now folded out to air dry. The engineer scrunched her nose a little bit as she looked down to see the pool was still clear to its bleached white bottom.
Half an hour later, half of the way straight across, the huffing and puffing and stomping of the soldier keeping the quiet at bay. However, more and more often Aadibah's head and eyes turned to figures in the distance, always just too far enough to elicit the eyelids to squint close together.
Stay away from anyone associated with the "Empire". Fortunately, the second half of the trip went by without disruption, and the engineer found herself coming to a screeching halt in front of another one of those big white glowing gates. Aadibah was still for long moment, teetering on one foot while the other hung forward. It won't do to just sit here. You know that even if something happens, it's probably better than dying slowly here.
Her back straightened, her limbs flexing and forcing themselves to move, body thrown into the white.
Such terror you are facing.
Left boot crunching against the dirt path, right one pushing off to rotate her body, then taking a step forward, and Aadibah was on the move. Her pace was a speed-walk compared to the casual amble the rest of the denizens and occasional drunk had. Within the next ten minutes, some of the time being wasted after a few wrong turns, and the same path the trio the engineer had joined was laid before her, a gravel line in the sand being drawn to a white half-circle in the distance.
Two small, boot-shaped concave dents were made into the gravel as the woman became still, caught mid-stride. For a small moment, all that could be heard were the people, the waves crashing against the sandy beach, some birds chirping, a dog barking. The scent of seafood, salt, and even the stench of rotting seaweed and dead fish on the shore. It assaulted Aadibah's senses. The warm air settled on her hardened, dirty skin, her rough cheeks and bumpy nose.
It's not home. It will never be home. Keep moving. The sands of Arabia are course, hot, stained with blood. It is not welcome here, where sand is soft, warm.
The crunching began again, the soldier's boots driving home with every step, grinding into the path. Her legs powered through each stride, each motion. Another ten minutes of this and the gate stood only a few meters away, watching Aadibah heave and cough, gasping for air.
"Gah... ha... hoo.... hah....." Leaning against a palm tree, she gave herself a moment. It took everything you had to leave. You know you can never stop this. You chose this path, the path of a leader- No, a warlord. Five more minutes of her lungs expanding and contracting, chest rises exaggerated. Then a small push off the tree, calves and thighs taking a few awkward steps forward to get back into a proper cycle of movement. Even here, some place outside of the world, where there's magic, and technology from your future... No, not even here.
The whiteness, the light, the front face of her body bathed in it, on the edge of its abyss.
So keep marching, soldier.
A step, a flash.
Keep fighting.
* * *
Nine.
* * *
The other side was still the bleached white, and Aadibah squinted her eyes at the brightness of it all. After a moment of adjustment, her sight fell on the fountain at the center, where she had first came into this "verse". As Connor had said, it looked to be about two hours to get to the center, then another two to get straight across.
The engineer did not hesitate, left leg once more driving itself into the floor. Instead of a standard contraction and extension of the thigh and lower leg, however, she was suddenly propelled to something around ten meters ahead of her original position, having soared over the ground at around two meters into the air. Coming down was like landing a plan, first leg forward taking the brunt of the inertia and momentum, attempting to absorb and translate the motion forward still and conserve as much energy as possible. A short step, and she was off again, this cycle of leaping across the ground continuing. The power suit underneath the soldier's clothes was going berserk, fans whirring and the internal computer heating up, accompanied by audible hissing and other high pitched sounds of air rushing through hoses and pipes. Each and every step was followed by the sharp clinking, clanking, and rustling of her rifle, back pack, and other items, heavy steel helmet constantly swinging back and forth on top of her hair like an upside down swing, her strap the rope and her chin the tree branch.
An hour later, Aadibah was dipping her face into the center fountain. Her lips were dry, cracked, mouth salivating. Her helmet sat to the side, her gloves stuffed inside, along with her rifle and backpack. Her keffiyeh was down, the edge around her neck becoming soaked in the cool, clear liquid. As it dribbled down her face, lips sputtering and spitting, it became murky and dark, dirt and crimson trailing down in drops and drips. The soldier watched as the water came down back to its source, inexplicably becoming clear again as it hit the surface of the pool. For a short while, Aadibah wash her face, hair, neck, hands, and arms in the fountain, only her splashing and gulping, the babbling and bubbling of the fountain itself filling the void.
Damn. I should have gotten a drink with that gyro. "Phu-wah!" Another plunge of the face into the pool itself, coming up for air. Felt like I was legitimately dehydrated.
After the skin that could be exposed without taking off her clothes was thoroughly scrubbed out with her fingernails, then those being picked out, Aadibah's hair was soaked. The top half of her jacket, her keffiyeh and even her shirt and sleeveless gained a small layer of moisture. The bunches of her rolled up sleeves at her elbows had gotten completely damp and were now folded out to air dry. The engineer scrunched her nose a little bit as she looked down to see the pool was still clear to its bleached white bottom.
* * *
Half an hour later, half of the way straight across, the huffing and puffing and stomping of the soldier keeping the quiet at bay. However, more and more often Aadibah's head and eyes turned to figures in the distance, always just too far enough to elicit the eyelids to squint close together.
Stay away from anyone associated with the "Empire". Fortunately, the second half of the trip went by without disruption, and the engineer found herself coming to a screeching halt in front of another one of those big white glowing gates. Aadibah was still for long moment, teetering on one foot while the other hung forward. It won't do to just sit here. You know that even if something happens, it's probably better than dying slowly here.
Her back straightened, her limbs flexing and forcing themselves to move, body thrown into the white.
Such terror you are facing.
Isn't it wonderful?
Such terror you are facing
Isn't it wonderful?
Isn't it wonderful?