All around her. Engulfing. Surrounding. Tumbling uncontrollably in empty space. But not empty, not exactly. There was a sense of something. Something ephemeral. Something in that space, rushing past her. Through her, even. Like a cold embrace of something ... other. She was carried along in the wake of that other force, present all around her, taking her where it willed. Uncontrolled...
And then her breathe wouldn't come.
Panic. Terror. She lashed out against it, flailing. But her limbs could find no purchase. There was nothing there to grab, to grapple, or to hold on to. Over and over she tumbled, struggling for air, gasping, but there was no air at all. Only...
Her head smashed into something solid. A flash of pain, then darkness.
_____
She woke up terrified; her head aching, her mind disoriented. For a moment of panic, she did not remember where she was, knowing only the throbbing pain and unfamiliar surroundings.
Voices, muffled. Familiar voices. She blinked for a moment, then realized it was her link pearl, laying forgotten on the nightstand. She smiled tiredly and took the small sphere into her hand, just listening to her friends speaking to each other.
She remembered now. Closing her eyes for a moment against the pain, she wondered what time it was. It was dark out, she noted absently, so it must be some time in the night. She lay there, musing, as the vague fragments of her familiar nightmare chased themselves into oblivion.
Suddenly the room felt too hot to her. The space seemed too confining. The four walls, stifling. She needed out. She needed out, now.
In the morning she was found fast asleep, bundled in a blanket and leaning on the post of the front stoop; link pearl still clutched tightly in her hand.
And then her breathe wouldn't come.
Panic. Terror. She lashed out against it, flailing. But her limbs could find no purchase. There was nothing there to grab, to grapple, or to hold on to. Over and over she tumbled, struggling for air, gasping, but there was no air at all. Only...
Her head smashed into something solid. A flash of pain, then darkness.
_____
She woke up terrified; her head aching, her mind disoriented. For a moment of panic, she did not remember where she was, knowing only the throbbing pain and unfamiliar surroundings.
Voices, muffled. Familiar voices. She blinked for a moment, then realized it was her link pearl, laying forgotten on the nightstand. She smiled tiredly and took the small sphere into her hand, just listening to her friends speaking to each other.
She remembered now. Closing her eyes for a moment against the pain, she wondered what time it was. It was dark out, she noted absently, so it must be some time in the night. She lay there, musing, as the vague fragments of her familiar nightmare chased themselves into oblivion.
Suddenly the room felt too hot to her. The space seemed too confining. The four walls, stifling. She needed out. She needed out, now.
In the morning she was found fast asleep, bundled in a blanket and leaning on the post of the front stoop; link pearl still clutched tightly in her hand.
