Techno

Chapter 17

Merlin

     Merlin stopped in the middle of his story.

     "A government experiment gone wrong?" asked Ellie. "What were they trying to do?"

     "I don't know," Merlin answered, guilt weighing in on him. "Mankind often dreams of what they could do, they never stop to think if they should."

     "Why don't you share this story with the world?" asked Ellie, excitement in her voice.

     "Nobody would believe me," Merlin sighed. "Nobody believes anything anymore. This world is changing so much...and people are just having a hard time keeping up with it."

     "But you can't stop there," Ellie pleaded. "What happened next?"

     Merlin raised his eyes, "You'd really like to know?"

     "....Yes," Ellie answered. 

     Merlin sighed continued, glad he'd finally found someone who cared.

**

A Long Time Ago

     The light grew steadily brighter while Merlin stepped deeper into the crashed government craft. He ventured into an isolated room, surrounded on all sides by blinking lights, and a glowing triangle hovering in the center of it. It rotated as it hung, weightless, in the air and reflected the surrounding lights off of its glowing metallic surface. Merlin was astonished by its beauty, and something within him drew his body closer. A pulsation resonated from it as if it were supplying an infinite amount of energy.

     There were no blemishes, marks, or even a scratch on its divine surface. Furthermore, the triangle exhibited on unearthly hum that felt like vibrations in the air. Merlin reached out, not able to fight the urge to make contact with the triangle. It was a driving force, far outside the reach of the rational mind. Merlin longed, craved, for his fingers to grace the material of the object's unearthly skin.

     His fingers touched the object, and then something shot up his arm and into his brain. For a brief second, there was a feeling of utter power and tranquility with the Universe. Merlin smiled, feeling the true awesomeness of its ability, then began to respect it, and finally was in fear of it. All three emotions passed through him in a matter of seconds.

     Then, there was darkness.

     When Merlin came to, he quickly looked around for an indication as to where he was. The government craft was gone, all that was left was a smoking crater, and his sister lay just a few feet from his unconscious body.

     But something was wrong.

     "Nina?" asked Merlin, crawling up and over to her body.

     She did not stir, and when Merlin touched her skin it felt cold. He began to breathe quickly, trying to wake his sister that was already in a never-ending sleep. As he lifted her body up, Merlin felt a trickle of blood on his hand. He looked and, to his utter horror, saw that a piece of the perfect triangle was embedded into the back of her skull. Merlin screamed, and he ultimately realized what he had done.

     He had killed Nina.

**

Present Day

     "That's how it all happened," finished Merlin.

     Ellie was quiet for a moment before responding, "And you just...assumed that you killed her?"