Evaporation

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Evaporation in T-Minus 10 seconds.

The sleek voice has been counting down for…

Evaporation in T-Minus 9 seconds.

11 seconds; at first it started at T- Positive 10 seconds, it’s been counting down ever since and I wish we would just go.

…8 seconds.

“Aqua.” Somebody calls. Not the announcer- somebody else. I look up. Unda regards me with an irritated expression.

“Will you quit spacing out? We’re about to evaporate and my partner is completely out of it! Come on, now, we’re leaving in six sec-”

Evaporation in T-Minus 5 seconds.

“That’s even worse! I can’t believe you; we’ve been sitting here for fifteen seconds and you aren’t even ready for us to leave yet and-”

“Oh, hush. I heard you the first ten times,” I say as I grimly take his hand. Unda’s such a whiner.

Evaporation in T-Minus 3 seconds.

I wait.

Evaporation in T-Minus 2 seconds.

And wait.

Evaporation in T-Minus 1 second.

Then nothing.

…No, something.

An enormous, overwhelming sensation that feels like a thousand white-hot needles pricking me all over- again and again and again! I feel cold and hot at the same time. My flesh crawls. I feel like I’m hanging upside down- the blood is rushing to my head and my heart is in my throat and my stomach jumps up where my heart was and that’s IT!

It jumps up.

Not down

UP.

Evaporation is complete.”

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