Genesis

Chapter 55: Broodmother

Traveling through the reaches of space while conscious was one of the most peculiar experiences as of yet. I saw everything exactly as Aklai had shown. I flew faster than I thought was possible for me.

Hours seemed to pass before I felt like I was making any headway. Far, far away, I could see it. The swirling galaxy that was the Milky Way, where my home sat tucked away in one of the many spirals.

I picked up my speed even further, excited to return to the planet I had run from, knowing that I was now prepared to face what was ahead.

How long had it been?

A year?

More? Less?

I had no way to guess. I remember many nights and days passing. Months on Adjutor, and more months on D'karia had slipped by without my notice. I was too preoccupied in what was ahead of me rather than the time it took.

I flew in to the area shown to me and entered the solar system that contained Earth. Neptune was the first planet I encountered, but I flew by it. As cool as it would be to detour to the other planets, it would be a task I would perform later on. Saturn and its many moons passed by as Neptune had, Uranus was nowhere to be seen. Neither Jupiter or Mars showed their faces either.

But Earth, exactly as I had left it, filled in beauty, hovered gallantly in the reaches of space, pulled and turning by the force of the sun's gravitational field. It was a sight to behold. The clouds swirling majestically within its atmosphere, pockets of white flooding the open skies. The landmasses, surrounded in the blue oceans, littered the sphere with life.

From above everything seemed so peaceful. I dreaded discovering what mayhem had unfolded since I had left, to see what I could have stopped.

The image of the massive creature surrounded eel and beast alike was still burned into my skull. I had only relearned what it looked like months ago, but the violet eyes had struck such a deep fear into me that I had never been able to let go. I had to face that fear now, head on. There was no excuse I could give that would let me run again. I was the only one who could stop it.

I curved around the Earth until the landmass of the Americas came into view and then broke through the atmosphere, plunging straight for the region above the Gulf of Mexico. For just a few moments I was shrouded in flame. The heat flushed by me like a strong current of air and then faded as the flames ceased their attempt to burn me.

I could hear the waters of the gulf toil beneath me, waves beating against the nearby shore and the winds whistling across the tumultuous waters. No boats could be seen from the vantage point I was at.

The pier of Riviera and the city skyline popped into view. Towering structures stuck up high, piercing the air like a javelin. I stayed above the city and slowed my pace significantly.

Below me, the streets were filled with honking vehicles and frantic people as they tried their best to push through the onslaught of heavy traffic from both car and pedestrian alike. Each individual felt themselves more important than the next. I could hear fights breaking out and panic unfolding.

I tuned my ears back to the Gulf to listen and see if they were panicked for the reason I thought. I had hoped for more time, but I would have minutes at best, and all the people below had no hope of escaping before the massive beasts beat their feet upon the wet sands of the beach.

I saw the city center beneath me, a large roundabout filled with cars and a central garden area around it nearly devoid of people. A few stragglers pushed their way through the northernmost vehicles, but most avoided the garden entirely.