aurora rising one shots, volume one.

Rose

Word count:
488 words

A n g s t

Starring:
Aurora 'Auri' Jie Lin O'Malley
Rose Callaghan

~~~
The girl with mismatched eyes POV

I walk into the ancient, crumbling Eshvaren temple, my skin prickling and my power at my fingertips.

There's withered Ra'haam vines everywhere, crawling over the walls, floor and roof.

The golden paint that lines the walls is flaking off, and the huge, arching windows that dot the walls have been shattered.

I walk to the altar, passing rows and rows of rotting wooden seats, and strange statues with mismatched eyes.

I reach the dusty altar, and there's a vid recorder. I press the 'on' button and a recording whirs to life.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" A young Terran woman says. She's clutching at a wound on her side, and there's a wild look in her eyes.

"My name is Rose. Rose Callaghan. I was a trigger."
"Originally there were fourty-six Ra'haam planets to destroy. I've destroyed many, but there is a few remaining."
"But, I guess, if your seeing this, you're a trigger. A trigger called Aurora."

She groans as the recording shakes, and a hundred whispers can be heard.

"Don't trust the Eshvaren. Whatever they say, don't believe a word. They lied to me, said that I would be okay, that I would live through this."
"But I guess, if your seeing this, I didn't."
"And I'm sorry, Aurora. I'm so, so sorry that you couldn't have a life of your own. That the Eshvaren took that from you."

She screams as the Ra'haam surge forward as one, but hold them back with a blast of deep green power.

"I tried to resist them, to resist my calling, but when the Ra'haam attacked, I couldn't deny who I was any longer."

She's crying now.

"I-I I'm so sorry. I have to leave now."
"Goodbye and goodluck, Aurora."

And with an ear-splitting scream, she lets out dark-green light, and incinerates the Ra'haam, killing herself in the process.

The recording shuts down, and I am left shell-shocked.

"I'm sorry, Rose." I whisper, but my voice sounds too loud in my ears.

I take the Vid Recorder and sprint outside, wanting to run far, far away from the ghosts that haunt the temple.

I run, and run, and run, far away from everything, tripping and stumbling over vines and fallen rocks.

I run until my legs shake and my face drips with sweat. I run until I collapse in a heap at a sparkling green pool, surrounded by black plants and trees.

I place the Vid Recorder at the side of the pool, and make a cairn of stones in her memory.
My last act is I bring up a rose bed, that will circle the pool, protecting it.

"I will love up to your name, Rose." I say, and walk towards my waiting ship with a new sense of purpose.