Stars ➳ TMR, Thomas [1] ✓

Chapter {1}

Darkness.

My vision kept shifting between light and darkness. One moment a bright light was shining directly into my eyes, blinding my sight in streaks as I squinted. But the other it was beyond dark. So dark not a single things was visible, not even a finger that I held in front of my face.

I found myself at the beginnig of a long, dark hallway... more of a tunnel when I think about it. Somewhere in the distance white spot was visible. Somewhere, so far away it seemed impossible to reach it. It shimmered on that far away, screen-like darkness that however thick it seemed couldn't swallow the light.

A low humming sound that slowly started increasing its volume flooded my ears. It reminded me of a vehicle just after its ignition had been turned on. Yet I didn't know how I remembered the sound. I lifted my hands up, wanting to put them on my ears to block the sound, but they passed right through my head, as if I was a ghost amongst my surroundings that seemed to fade in and out of each other, as if shapeless but still having enough of sharp edges to shift that way.

My whole being was glued to the floor, my legs seemingly stuck in the black mud. A humming sound from earlier was now so loud I felt like it was behind me. I turned my head in its direction, seeing two more lights. Only they didn't come from one small spot somewhere in mid-air, but from a vehicle that at arising speed kept going toward me. By the time I frantically started to move my legs a vehicle...a train passed right next to me, whooshing my hair in its direction with such force I couldn't see anything but strands of dark brown as they swung by my eyes.

Out of all of the fuss I managed to catch a glimpse of one person's face. He kept his head out the window, enjoying the rush of air. When he looked at me, time seemed to slow down. His curly, light-brown hair flew with the air in little waves, his blue eyes stared right at me, pearcing my body and into my soul. His mouth formed words, mouthing them slowly at me.

The moment I finally understood what he was mouthing, train bursted out of the slow motion bubble, speeding on the invisible rails and towards the white light. I felt my legs suddenly move, like they've been freed from the mud restrain. I ran with unbelievable speed that seemed more like I was flying. But the further I ran the further the light and the train seemed. I stopped, train slowly disappearing from my sight, being swallowed by darkness. My sight gradually started to blurry, darkness surrounding me converted into light, while the white spot at the endless end became black. I felt my legs give out and I ended on the white ground that slowly swallowed my whole being. I kept falling through the stages of ground- stone, mud, dirt and finally grass all replaced one another while they speeded so quickly before my eyes all I could see was blurriness. I landed on the same spot as earlier. The same train, the same person, the same light.

The slow motion appeared again. But this time he screamed something. Words came out slurred because of slow motion, but I understood them anyway. "Aria...Save...Me!" He disappeared from my sight and train the moment the words came out. Train speeded away without any trace of blue eyed boy, leaving me to stand locked into the mud. My head swarmed with empty memories and faceless people. Blue sky, white robes, black buildings. It all left as fast as it came. My whole body started to throb with pain as the white light from the end of the tunnel slowly and gradually approached me. Unable to do anything I stood frozen in the place, waiting for the light to swallow me. As it did my eyes shot open even though they weren't closed.

Sunlight seeped from some kind of opening between four metal beams. Cold behind my back cooled my whole being, seeping into my bones like a waves of flapping sea whose blue, soft color shone in my vision as a representation of sky.

"Where is he?" I felt myself shout, hoarse my voice came through the torn vocal chords in my throat. As an answer I got a dozens of gasps, both left and right sounding in unison as I managed to squint through my lashes; the sight I got was plainly different. Dozens of teenage boys, their hights, races and ethnicities different stood around the opening, their faces a strange mixtures of confusion and shook. They all looked tired, masked on their faces dirt and dusts, even blood and their forms fairly muscular.