Tisis

Light beneath the lightning (S)

I'm dead.
I have to be.
All I feel is numbness, all that surrounds me is darkness.

So this is how it ends, huh?
I guess old Stephen was right after all...when we die, we simply fade away.
No pearly gates or recycling bin or whatever our ancestors believed in, we just fade away...as if we never existed to begin with.

Huh...guess I don't get to see my family again on the other side after all.
A shame...I still wanted to apologize for all the shit I did...

Hmm...what's this strange...tickling sensation?
A...fluttering?

"-rus!"
A...voice? Ah yes, they did say something about a dark tunnel you have to go through, didn't they? Sure wish I would've paid better attention back then.

"Sirus! Go away, you little critters! You can't have him!" the voice continues to shout.
Critters? Wait, that voice...Nym? Is that...Nym's voice?

Ah right...she fought that thing too...and probably ended up dead as well.
She sure sounds lively for someone who just died though.

I slowly fade back into the darkness, when a sudden realization hits me.
I just heard Nym's voice.
Nym, who believed in some alien God all her life.
There's no way our God would call her to himself, is there?
And if we were just fading away into nothingness, then I wouldn't be able to hear her either.

Plus, what would 'critters' be doing in heaven...or hell, for that matter.
Yeah, pretty sure I'd be going to hell for the things I did.

But there is another option...it's as unlikely as it gets, but what...what if I'm actually still alive?

As if to answer my question, the voice proceeds, "Oh Garkla, in your everlasting mercy, please spare this poor fools life..."
Yup, that's Nym, alright...never thought I'd hear her pray for me though.
Which means, I'm definitely going to feel that in the morning...ah well, better make an effort to get those eyes open, before she worries herself sick...or something else decides to come by for a snack.

I command my eyes to open. No response. Everything stays dark.
But I'll be damned, if I let a little malfunction of my body stop me.

I keep trying and eventually, as the numbness subsides little by little, they flutter open and I stare into a starlit night...and into the face of the biggest bug I've ever seen!

I startle into a sitting position, making a whole swarm of palm sized bugs spread their wings and scram.

The movement gets immediately rewarded by a stinging pain in my head, back...on closer inspection, I'm pretty sure that everything hurts.

I take a few hasty breaths, but quickly force myself to calm down.
Alright, fact check...I'm still breathing. That's good...I guess.
Nym is also here...that's also good.
That bastard of a lizard isn't here any more...that's very good.

I look over to Nym and ask, "Okay, two...no, three questions. First: What happened to the giant lizard? Second: How am I still alive? Third: What the heck were those gross little things?! All I still remember is the bright flash and after that the lights went out."

Nym smiles at me and replies, "First: It is dead. I lured it to the swamp and the...'towers' took care of it."
"The...the swamp?! But that...that's far! There's no way you were able to outrun that thing on such a distance."

Nym points over to the cone and says, "Apparently we aren't the only one who are fond of our new home, Sirus. Sera actually stuck around and helped me...though I do think I have a few white hairs more now."

"Okay...and about my second question?"
"Honestly, I think your second and third question have the same answer. When I arrived back here, I found you lying in the grass, covered with those insects. At first I tried to chase them away, but no matter how hard I tried, they just came fluttering back right away. But the interesting thing is...they didn't eat you."
"Okay...then why were they sitting all over me?"
"When I touched you, I got an electrical shock...your body was supercharged with electricity. Don't ask me how that is even possible, I simply don't know how you are not dead after getting hit by lightning like that, but those bugs...I believe they were feeding off this charge."
"They were...eating the electricity?"
"At least, I have no better explanation. Oh, and we've seen them before, actually. They are those glowing lights we see dancing on the meadow during a thunderstorm. I saw them light up when they took flight."
"Ah, those things...been wondering, to be honest. But...they eat lightning? Honestly?"
"If you don't have a better explanation on how you are still alive, let's stick with that, alright? I mean, we've seen quite a few miracles on Tisis already. Animals I never even considered to be real, like the swamp tentacle monster or the dragon...yet we met...and even survived them. This is a world of wonders, Sirus. We must not forget that."

I take a few deep breaths of the cool night air.
A world of wonders, huh? I guess she does have a point with that.

Speaking of wonders...

My eyes wander over to Nym and I ask, "So...there was something you wanted to talk to me about before the little...incident, wasn't there? How about we continue that discussion...in the bath? Cause I sure could use one right now."

Nym flushes deep purple and she starts stuttering.

I force myself to my feet, almost falling in the process.
Yup, definitely going to feel that in the morning.

I walk over to Nym, bop her on her nose and say, "You're cute when you get all flustered, you know that? And I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't tease you like that. But it's just my way to deal with stress."

Nym looks down to the ground and mutters something I don't quite get.
She also might have said it in Asmodean, though I'm not entirely sure...though I can probably guess what she meant to say.

I look up to the lights in the sky and ask, "Hey, how do you think we should call my saviors from tonight?"
Nym thankfully picks up the cue and responds, "They follow the lightning...so how about 'lightning bugs'?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good enough name...so there...thank you, lightning bugs. I'll try to remember what you did today the next time one of you crawls in my face and not swat you."

That makes Nym laugh and relieves a lot of tension from the situation.

And while we're walking home, we jest and joke about how apparently none of our Gods wants us near them.

How else could we possibly still be alive?