Darla

Continued from here

Darla awoke in a somewhat familiar place, yet she didn’t recognize any of the faces of those around her. There was a giant painting on the wall across from her, and she recognized it as one of the Old Gods. But besides the picture and part of the room, everything else seemed foreign. Confused and a bit afraid, she tried to sit up. She knew she’d made a big mistake when immense pain shot through the right side of her body. “Ugh,” she cried as everyone rushed to her side. She fell back onto the hard mattress and tried to assess her situation. Many people spoke all at once, and the language was foreign to Darla. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but her head felt fuzzy every time she tried. She did remember part of a dream she was having before she woke. Abbefore was there, leaning over his orb, mumbling something to himself, when he suddenly spun around on his pedestal and looked straight at Darla. He tried to communicate with her, but like a television with lousy reception, she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. It seemed he was trying to show her something very important, and he kept repeating the words, “Don’t forget to…” but that was all she could remember of the dream. With a heavyhearted sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the commotion of those around her. She took a long, deep breath and tried to relax. Abbefore’s image was still so vivid in her mind. “If only I could remember,” she kept whispering to herself. But with an exhausted mind and an acutely injured body, she fell asleep once more.

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/02/05/afterwards-writing-prompt-5-monday-5th-of-february-connexion/

Barely escaping the shrouds of darkness, Darla suddenly found herself in the middle of a vast hangar. A monstrous beast hovered above her, one of many held fast by large steel cables anchored to an invisible ceiling. Standing in sheer awe and bewildered by the presence of this battle-ready fleet, she looked across at the dimly lit caverns she’d just escaped from. Unsure of where to go, she began walking along the indoor tarmac, watching as the looming monstrosities above her were periodically lowered to the ground. Once settled into place, the engines began to whir, and the fully powered beasts were so incredibly loud that the vibrations went straight through Darla, rattling her teeth. She wasn’t sure how long she could remain there before being spotted by a Detainer. After looking around for a hiding place, she noticed a large corridor leading to another hangar. Peeking inside, she realized just how vast this place was. Beyond the corridor she was standing in, there appeared to be countless corridors leading to endless hangars. Each area looked exactly like the one where she was presently standing. As immense as the place was, though, there didn’t seem to be any signs of anyone else like her. Everything appeared to be under the operation of robotics. And the hum of the mechanicals at work was almost a pleasant refrain from the blood-curdling cries she’d witnessed just a few hours before. With the war barely begun, she knew this was just the precipice of what was to come. Fearing she’d never again see the one person who meant the world to her, she waited earnestly for any sign of his presence. Wispy black strands of hair whipped across her ivory skin as more engines roared to life. Forlorn and fearful, her face creased with worry, she shivered at the sight of what her world had become.

Continued here

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/01/08/afterwards-writing-prompt-1-monday-8th-of-january-darla-sci-fi/