What Flickers in the Distance

A dense cloud of gray rose like a phantom as I stood in place and the others took their own leaps of faith out of the van and into uncertainty. We quickly side-stepped each other in our bulky protective gear, forming a uniform line awaiting instructions from the two captains who broke through the veil of dust and appeared before us.

"Congratulations on being selected for the first mission of 2050," one of the captains boomed from behind his mask, as if we should celebrate this accomplishment. Scoffs from the veterans punctuated the charged silence of the newcomers.

"Listen up!" The other captain yelled. The intensity of his demeanor doused any lingering jokes.

"You will be paired off. If this is your first mission, you will be paired with someone with experience."

He paced with his hands grasped behind his back.

"Listen to all instructions. Do NOT disobey orders or you will be compromised."

He stopped and faced us.

"Simple as that."

He stepped forward and scanned the line with his finger, gauging our experience levels. Experience level was inversely proportional to the degree of flinching instilled by his steely gaze. The intense palpitations of the man to my right resonated in the space between us, his fear more tangible than the occult radiation.

“You two,” the captain said, motioning to me and the resonating man. “Go down to the river and see what you can find. Whatever you do, don’t go into the water. If you need to retrieve something from the water, signal for assistance.”

We glanced at each other, the man's eyes shifting with unease. I gave the captain a swift nod in compliance. The captain left us to our duties and the man beside me held out a gloved hand.

“I’m Max,” he said.

The mistake of a rookie. It was better not to share any information with your mission partner. Easier to handle casualties that way.

I gave him a weak smile without taking his hand. His green eyes shone through the glass barrier, waiting for a response. I shoved away the sharp tug in my chest. No time for emotions.

“It’s better if we don’t talk. Stick to the plan,” I instructed as I turned away from him and headed down the steep embankment before he had a chance to say anything else.

My bluntness must have stunned him for a moment based on the delay in the hurried crunching of gravel following behind me. His heavy breathing penetrated the thick layers of my helmet, and I sighed. I paused and peeked over my shoulder, causing him to skid to a stop like a child caught red-handed.

"Just relax and steady your breathing. Rushing gets you in trouble out here," I cautioned.

He gulped and took a deep breath. "Got it."

As we slowly made our way down to the river, the persistent and ominous clicking of the Geiger counter sent shivers up my spine. Each click pricked the hairs on the back of my neck, warning me that we should turn back. The levels were too high here. We couldn’t stay here long, even with all of our protective gear.

Swallowing my apprehension, I continued moving forward, trying to focus on my footing. The rocks littering the riverbank made for a precarious situation in clunky boots and my propensity to lose my balance while encumbered with an inflexible lead-lined silicone suit.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

My heart skipped, my pulse chasing the accelerating cadence ringing in my ears. The frenetic clicking became white noise, so overwhelming and disorienting, drawing me to the water's edge in a trance.

The tip of my boot broke the surface of the dull water. A shimmer of gold glinted beneath the blackened sheen and gentle ripples. The furious clicking transformed into a deafening static as I kneeled on jagged stones and my hand reached into the forbidden river.

In a violent jolt, flashes of light sparked like scintillations in my mind. Images exploded, revealing scenes reminiscent of memories, but memories I didn't recognize.

A little girl with long raven hair like mine giggled as she eyed the four glowing candles on a birthday cake placed on a table in front of her.

A little girl like me.

But she wasn't me.

This wasn't my memory.

The girl looked up, her gaze directed at me, her green eyes shining in the candlelight. The soft curve of her nose, the subtle dimples in her cheeks, the faint freckles dotting her pale skin. All so familiar, yet somehow foreign.

And the colors. The colors were so bright, almost fluorescent. The yellow ribbon tied in the girl's hair, the blue frosting lacing the edges of the cake, the red balloons swaying in the air. So magnificent and shocking, I was blinded, like stepping out of a dark cave and into the sun. My eyes had become so accustomed to the bland and the bleak.

As the girl leaned forward and extinguished the candles in one quick exhale, tiny pinholes punctured the image like the rapid fire of birdshot against a fragile metal foil.

Colors faded, bleeding and blending together until the swift grip of a hand on my elbow ripped me from my kaleidoscopic vision and back into the reality of gray. Max pulled me away from the river and the abrupt motion sent both of us crashing hard against the rocky shore.

"What...what are you doing? Are you crazy?! You can't go in the water!"

His touch electrified the blood running through my veins and short-circuited the pulses in my brain as I turned and met his green eyes. The gold flecks of his irises flickered in the reflection of his mask.

Those green eyes.

“Charlotte,” I whispered, my voice barely audible above the thumping of my heartbeat within the confines of my helmet.

Max's pupils dilated and his desperate breaths fogged up the glass in front of his face. He stared at me, confused. “What?”

“My name is Charlotte,” I repeated, going against my own code of ethics. “But you can call me Charli.”

-

Author's Note: This is a continuation of a sci-fi microfiction I started last year. The first part is below!