Pebbles: A Collection of Short Stories

Home

"You have to go," Trac's words mingled with the blare of alarms, but the urgency of his face pushed them to my ears. "Go," he demanded.

The acidic bile from the surrounding electrical fire fogged my mind. The haze glued my feet to the floor.

"Now!" Trac roared as his hand hit the door button with too much force.

I was barely aware of his hands shoving me into the pod. Of all the tender touches, this is the one that would echo through me in the silent moments. Only when the door began to slide shut did I realize I was alone.

"No," careened from my panicked mind and lips, but it was too late. My palm futilely smacked into the sealed door.

"I love you." I couldn't hear Trac's voice but knew the way his lips curled around the words by heart.

Space was cold. As the tiny craft jetted away from the smoking ship that I called home, it was the chill that sunk in first, deep and painful. The pod spun out from its home ship like my mind. With a jarring blast, the stabilizers suddenly kicked in to reorient the tiny vessel. It was a slap to highlight that I was now far enough from my once life for stabilization.

I was safe but did it matter if I was alone, separated from everything I had ever known in life? This craft could sustain for days, scanning for the nearest inhabitable planet to land. As the great wide empty passed outside the small window, I pondered if life alone was really life or was I already dead?

Then the lock. It was easy to know when a suitable planet was found as the craft adjusted everything to the singular focus of landing. Still, this planet drew me in as well. My body warmed as I neared, and nostalgia fuzzed my mind. It felt like returning home, but I knew that wouldn't be possible. Earth had long been deemed uninhabitable from a mix of toxic air and extreme weather. It was nothing more than a poisoned rock. For the past twenty years, Carrack Peregrination was my home. I graduated school there, got my first job, fell in love with Trac. It was a life. Now, as I neared this new planet, the memories felt near.

The ship landed in the woods. All I could see was a mix of branches and leaves as a cold mechanical hand buzzed around me, checking my vitals and give me shots of vitamins and hydration. The time ticked slowly, but I knew I needed to keep my anxiety at bay for fear of raising my heart rate and prolonging the health clearance. Then, with little fanfare, the arm retracted, and the door popped open.

Despite the shade of the woods, my eyes narrowed to shield the harsh light from blinding me. I stumbled as I regained my equilibrium to gravity. The woods smelled fresh, like moss and clay. It was a smell that, despite the years, flooded me with memories of climbing trees and swimming. It was soothing like a warm blanket, and for the first time in days, a smile crept across my face.

"Hello," a familiar voice called to me.

"Hello?" I called back, uncertain of the source.

"Portside," the voice offered.

Instinctively my gaze shifted to my left, and there I stood. The startle must have been apparent as the apparition of me mimicked my response.

"You... but... you... you look?" I sputtered.

A serene smile filled my mirror image. "Yes, I'm part of you," the girl nodded. "Follow me. We can feed you."

My mind was lost, but my feet followed my doppelganger out of the woods and across a field to a neighborhood, but this wasn't foreign; it was the tidy rows of cookie-cutter houses that haunted my dreams; this was my childhood neighborhood.

"Where are we?" I murmured.

"Home," the girl said beside me with a giggle.

"Why do you look like me?" I finally managed.

"I'm part of you. We are Home?" She added as her hand flourished around her.

I let my eye focus on a few passing children. They looked like me at ten or twelve; even the boys had the frightening appearance of me.

"You're unhappy with Home?" The confusion clouded her voice and furrowed her brow.

"This isn't my home. You're not me."

I backed away slowly at first as she continued to inspect me. The unsettling aura sunk deep into the pit of my stomach, finally calling my legs to action. Just as I began my turn to run, I smacked into a familiar chest as arms looped around me.

"She isn't happy here," my emotionless voice said from behind me. "She appears unsettled. Her mind is confused."

"Nina," Trac's voice poured over me like cold water. "Is this better?"

I looked up to his face as my heart pounded in my ears, flooding my brain and causing my knees to give way.

"Heart rate is elevated, sir," the voice that had once been mine was not that of Dina, the ship doctor.

"Give her time," Trac's steady voice calmed me.

"How are you here?" I finally managed.

"I'm part of you," Trac's crooked smile offered. His warm brown eyes were inspecting me.

"Your hair." I let my hand flow through his floppy chocolate mane. "How did it grow out so fast?"

Trac's head cocked to one side as he lifted a hand to his hair; as he brushed through, it changed before my eyes. It was now the short look Trac had when we parted.

"You're not Trac."

"I'm a part of you," the man echoed back.

"What is this place?" I demanded again.

"Home," Trac and Dina echoed together.

"This isn't my home; you aren't my Trac."

"You made us. We are from your memories. We are here to welcome you Home."

My stomach curdled as the purgatory my mind built surrounded me forever.