Flash Forward: A Science Fiction Anthology

3: Fear the Light

"Damn," Richard said, his eyes peering through the small crack in the cabin wall. They had called this rickety shack home for the last two nights. Sarah kept her distance, her back pressed against the opposite wall, watching her foolhardy companion peer out into the light.

Never let the light touch you... she repeated her mother's words in her mind, as Richard continued to foolishly stare through the crack. Do not go out during the day. Do not trust the clouds, or the mist, or the shade to protect you.

She had been with Richard for only a few weeks, a mutual agreement based on a shared need for resources and a desire to satisfy certain pleasures that were getting harder and harder to find. Not that Sarah didn't try, of course. It's just that people kept dying around her.

"Not a cloud in sight," Richard said, "We'll have to lay low and stay quiet today."

Then whisper! Sarah's mind yelled, though she kept her voice down. She had learned a long time ago that criticizing a man's safety precautions only led to trouble. How quickly had it taken them all to leave all their modern sensibilities behind and embrace the barbaric ways of old?

Richard peered through the hole again, and shudder ran down Sarah's spine. It was going to happen again. She knew it.

Even as she watched him, Richard's body seemed to freeze in place. He became impossibly still, that tiny ray of light streaming through the crack locked firmly on his irises. If she braved to look, Sarah would have found Richard's eyes completely unblinking as he continued to stare. The light had taken him. It was only a matter of moments now.

Seconds passed, and Richard remained motionless.

Then, as quickly as it had started, he awakened. He pulled his body, as if with some great effort, away from the wall. He smiled, and then started walking for the door.

"Stop," Sarah whispered harshly, putting her body between Richard and the door - as she had done with so many companions so many times before.

"Don't be ridiculous," Richard said, his smile eerily wide. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Don't." Sarah said, quieter and yet more harshly, picking up the sharpened iron bar she kept by the doorway.

Richard's expression remained unchanged, but his unblinking eyes moved slowly between Sarah's weapon and her face.

"Join me outside, Sarah," Richard said, taking another step closer.

Any second now... Sarah thought.

"Don't resist," he said.

Any second...

Richard lunged forward, growling like an animal, his smile changing instantly to a horrific snear. Sarah swung the iron bar, catching Richard in the ribs. He toppled past her, knocking her to the side, and crashed into the door.

When the light takes them, hope is lost, Sarah remembered her mother's words. Kill them before they kill you.

As Sarah righted herself, she saw his hand on the knob, and realized she was only seconds away from being bathed in deadly light. Without a moment's hesitation, she took the bar in both hands, pointed the sharpened end at Richard's back, and lunged. Again and again she pierced his body, blood streaming over her hands, arms, and chest. His body fell to the ground, his face contorted, struggling to cling to life.

A few final raspy breaths escaped his lungs, before he grew still again.

You have seconds after someone dies to protect yourself. Cover them quickly.

Sarah hastily dropped her weapon, scrambling along the floor for her suitcase. She whipped it open frantically, her eyes dancing between its contents and her companion. His eyes were still open. It could happen at any moment.

Grasping an old pair of sweatpants, she scrambled over to Richard's body just as his eyes began to glow. She wrapped his head as quickly and tightly as she could, her own breath coming out in ragged, untamed gasps.

Her work done, she crawled to the opposite side of the room, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. If she had been watching, she would have seen the light between the cloth pulsing like a heartbeat. One pulse. Two pulses. Three. Four. Dimmer each time. Until finally, the light disappeared.

When she finally willed herself to open her eyes, she found herself back in that old cabin again, covered in blood, a tiny pinprick of light from a crack in the wall the only danger.

She was alone again.

As she had a dozen times before, she swore this was the last time she would take a companion on her journey. She had promised her mother as much, after she had died.

But she knew it was a promise she couldn't keep.

If you allow someone to travel with you, her mother said. You must be ready to kill them at any moment.

She had been. She would be.

It was the only way to survive.