Post by MING on Nov 12, 2009 15:06:14 GMT -5
Panic. Yes, that's what she was feeling. Persephone was panicking. It wasn't because of the turbulence, the roar of re-entry. No, those were all logical things, things she could explain away. She'd seen a video about visiting Earth for the first time, and heard of the experiences of other Zeons as they made their first contact with gravity. So none of that scared her.
It was the gravity, not the pull on her body that she couldn't feel yet because of the G-forces playing on the Zanzibar. It was the weight she suddenly felt on her very essence. It felt like the planet itself were trying to swallow her soul, to drag it down and keep it imprisoned. Her hands clawed uselessly at the seat straps that held her down, the clothing that suddenly felt suffocating. Her breath came in shorts rasps, her eyes wide and crazed, searching for any escape she could find.
For a brief second, she found herself in a lucid moment of thought, and reached a shaking hand into her pants pocket, pulling out a small medical bottle. Somehow, as the buffeting and jumping of the ship calmed, she was able to twist the cap off and drop two white pills into her hand. With a single motion, she threw both into her open mouth and swallowed, having long since being enabled to take them without water.
And the panic returned, though with a subconcious knowledge that the medicine would take it away soon. The ship's flight was by now a glide path, and beyond the occassional air pocket, was fairly smooth. Tears clouded Persephone's vision now, and a small laugh escaped her lips. In her mind, she was falling into the mouth of some massive beast, it's jaws wide open and rows of sharp, vicious looking teeth waiting to clamp down on her. Her brittle laughter grew louder, the tears flowing more freely.
This planet was death, and she was going to die here. The thought elicited more laughter, her eyes stinging and burning as tears continued to gather. She was hyperventilating, she knew this in the back of her mind, but could do little to prevent it. As she began to pass out, she had the strangest feeling of someone looking upon her. With pity? Or was it more of a personal sadness?
~
When she awoke, the ship was still. A brief intercom call confirmed this. Likely, it had landed at Odessa, so it was now time to depart. Calmly, she wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes, hit the lap bar release, and stood up. She'd arrived on this planet successfully, and perhaps someday she might escape it again.
It was the gravity, not the pull on her body that she couldn't feel yet because of the G-forces playing on the Zanzibar. It was the weight she suddenly felt on her very essence. It felt like the planet itself were trying to swallow her soul, to drag it down and keep it imprisoned. Her hands clawed uselessly at the seat straps that held her down, the clothing that suddenly felt suffocating. Her breath came in shorts rasps, her eyes wide and crazed, searching for any escape she could find.
For a brief second, she found herself in a lucid moment of thought, and reached a shaking hand into her pants pocket, pulling out a small medical bottle. Somehow, as the buffeting and jumping of the ship calmed, she was able to twist the cap off and drop two white pills into her hand. With a single motion, she threw both into her open mouth and swallowed, having long since being enabled to take them without water.
And the panic returned, though with a subconcious knowledge that the medicine would take it away soon. The ship's flight was by now a glide path, and beyond the occassional air pocket, was fairly smooth. Tears clouded Persephone's vision now, and a small laugh escaped her lips. In her mind, she was falling into the mouth of some massive beast, it's jaws wide open and rows of sharp, vicious looking teeth waiting to clamp down on her. Her brittle laughter grew louder, the tears flowing more freely.
This planet was death, and she was going to die here. The thought elicited more laughter, her eyes stinging and burning as tears continued to gather. She was hyperventilating, she knew this in the back of her mind, but could do little to prevent it. As she began to pass out, she had the strangest feeling of someone looking upon her. With pity? Or was it more of a personal sadness?
~
When she awoke, the ship was still. A brief intercom call confirmed this. Likely, it had landed at Odessa, so it was now time to depart. Calmly, she wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes, hit the lap bar release, and stood up. She'd arrived on this planet successfully, and perhaps someday she might escape it again.