Snippet #915238

"You'll thank me in the end when you learn what trash pollutes your mind, Little Girl!"

The words echoed around Ebony's head, as the darkness engulfed her, suffocated her. Where was she? Surely she wasn't dead? How could she be? If this was death, it was not what she had expected. Growing up, she had learnt that death was not something to be feared and yet this constant darkness frightened her. If she was to spend eternity locked in this place, she would most definitely go insane. The thought alone was driving her crazy. There was nothing but the darkness. Nothing at all. The thought of living alone in a place devoid of any of life was a daunting thing and staying in such a place was not something Ebony intended to do. But how had she come to be there? And how was she to escape? She was almost certain that it was not death that had taken her, but something else. Her mind was blank, unknowing of the events that had taken place to get her there. Hadn't she been on the ship? No, she had left the ship, she was sure of that. So what had followed? Despite her constant digging, she was unable to locate the memories. Each time she felt she had grasped them, they slipped from her touch, retreating to the recesses of her mind, hidden in the shadows. She had to find them. She had to free herself or else she would be stuck here forever, but how?

Searching, grasping in the darkness, she fought to find anything that would help her. Except there wasn't anything. The black void, that she had concluded was her own mind, was empty. The only thing that resided there was her current thoughts, nothing more, nothing less. So what was she to do? She had to fight the darkness, or else give in to it and let it take her. No. She couldn't do that. She wouldn't surrender. Just as she made her decision, a bright light flickered at the edge of her mind. Hesitating, Ebony pushed her thoughts towards it, like a moth to a flame. It glowed brighter and brighter, enticing her forwards, locking her in place. All at once the light filled her mind, casting away the darkness, bringing her memories flooding to the surface. Coming off the ship, looking at the red rock that was now her home, then being attack by the one who had called her "little girl", then the sharp pain across her chest. Had that killed her? No, this wasn't death. She was merely unconscious. With that realisation, the light dimmed, shrinking back, but the darkness did not return to her. Inside, she felt her eyes open slowly.

Ebony was on her back, looking up at the top of the dome. Keeley was bent over her, inspecting her injuries. A hot pain stretched across her neck. She remembered the electric pulse, spreading from her to that man. The swipe of cold metal against her neck, cutting into her causing the warm sensation of blood on her neck. Her chest ached, as though she had been punched, with several broken ribs. Then there was the pain in the back of her head. It throbbed more than anything else. Every movement made her wince with pain. As Keeley leant forwards to remove the injury from her neck, Ebony flinched away from her touch. These people were rogues. They all meant her harm. From the instant she had set foot on this planet she had been targeted, by criminals and crooks. She could trust no-one here. Even this medic had a glint in her eye. As the pain was removed from her neck, she wriggled free of the medic’s grip, scrambling to her feet. She swayed, her mind going fuzzy for a few seconds before she regained her composure and steadied herself. She had to get away from these blood loving leeches who sought to destroy her. Shaking from head to toe, she testily tried to walk, discovering that with every step she gained more strength. But would it be enough to escape the grasp of the enemy? They were the darkness that haunted her every move. They were the ones who wanted to capture her and keep her locked up for good. To Ebony, this all made perfect sense now. Every one of them was evil in her mind. But her mind had been warped. Slowly, she was turning insane, due to the events that had met her when she first stepped off the ship. Fate had drawn a cruel card and was bearing down upon the unfortunate girl, with a slim chance of escape. Her path was hidden from view, obscured and unsure.