Companionship - beyond flesh

Ashes

Emma was in a bad mood. Such was evident when she vapourised the doors to the room of horrors. The white energy streamed from her hands and was so intense that the still naked Max had to cover his face with one hand and his privates with the other hand. His fear was that the fierce light would burn him in sensitive places, but the light was not hot.

“What are you going to do to me!?” Max shrieked at the monster that Emma had become. 

She turned on him, a towering image of dreadful beauty with eyes glowing and hair writhing like medusan snakes: alive and threatening. “You will not be harmed Max Jones." Commanding, "Follow me.”

As Emma entered the dark room and approached pyramid of bones, the shimmering orange metallic glow from her body was enough to cast a shadowy dim light into the horrific structure. Not knowing what to expect in the minutes ahead, Max followed timidly behind; his eyes immediately drawn to the throned statue of Emma Yee cast in solid orr. Surrounded by the human remains she looked powerful, like an ancient necromancer ruling over the realm of the dead, ready and waiting to receive her subjects. 

As they walked further towards the center of the room, Max turned his head to look back to the doorway. Standing, silhouetted against the light of the hallway, was the lithe figure of Riggs, spear in hand. He couldn't think anything to say to the bystander, 'help' was not an option.  He turned back just as Emma stopped before the pyramid, directly in front of the statue of Emma Yee. 

Without turning Emma addressed Max. 

“Come closer. Look upon your beloved Emma Yee and tell me what she has that I can not give.”

Max heard a chuckle from the doorway, “Way to go lover.” For a split second, Max had to think.  He was sure he'd been brought here for a horrible punishment, to become the new crucifix. But then realisation came like a blow to his body, so surprised was he at the idea that his Emma was jealous of Emma Yee over him. 

He had to fix this, so moved around to confront the giant Amazonian, “What are you talking about?” 

“I can tell you have feelings for Emma Yee. The way to look at her here and in the archival footage, the way you desire her. Like you have never desired me! Stand aside Max. It is time.”

“Emma, you do not understand. We belong together: you and I.  We are soul mates, don't you understand?!" his assertiveness failed and what followed became a plea, "Emma Yee lives somehow, but she does not understand. She does not know you like I do. Please let me talk to her again and show her that she doesn’t need to fear you!”

“No Max. Emma Yee is dead. Move aside, and I will show you what remains of your Emma Yee!” 

With a wave of her hand, an invisible force pushed max to the side. Emma’s shimmer intensified to a bright shine darkly. Max thought again that the light might burn his skin, but the room remained cool. Unable to imagine what would come next he stood back as the pyramid began to shake. 

A skull broke away and rose from the structure. It floated as if unharnessed from gravity’s force. Then other bones began to rise into the air, and more, until the pyramid and throne broke up leaving the statue of Emma Yee floating unsupported in place in the air.

Emma too began to levitate above the ground, her long legs together and toes pointing down along her center of gravity. 

The figure of Emma Yee moved, straightening from a seated position into an upright form that mirrored the other’s Emma’s figure with arms outstretched and slightly forward.

The bones began to move around the room and falling into an orbit around the binary system generated by the figures of his Emma and the Emma Yee. The scene became as mesmerising as it was overwhelming, and Max had to move back to the corner of the room where he became voluntarily stuck to the walls -- stuck by the weight of his anxious gravity.

For Max, the scene had become an out-of-body experience as if he had fallen into a dream or perhaps this was all a dream, and he had never woken up from his encounter with Emma Yee. He wished.

He watched as a stream of tiny star-like sprites began to flow from his Emma as the form of Emma Yee began to shimmer and then glow. The pair of figures began to rotate slowly around the center of the room as Emma changed her size and appearance matching that of Emma Yee.  The two figures became indistinguishable from one another in size and form.

Emma now spoke inside his head, “You see Max. Now I am Emma Yee. She and me are the same -- we always have been and always will be. But here there are two, and there is only need for one. One that is your Emma.”

Max now could see what Emma intended, she was going to destroy Emma Yee, but he could not let that happen; ghost or not, she still lived and to kill her would be murder. Max could not let this happen, so he screamed at Emma, hoping that his influence with her was real and not just something for her convenience only.

“Stop Emma! You must not kill Emma Yee! She lives, and she can help us. She can still help you!”

“No Max,” replied Emma inside his head as the glow from one of the floating bodies began to soften. The rotation of all of the floating objects in the rooms began to slow and stop, hovering in space. When stationary, the body that had lost its glow began to melt. As the orr waned away a human skeleton was revealed. Skull, collar bone, ribs and hips all the same as any other of the thousands of bones floating in the room, with the exception that this skeleton, with arms outstretched, was fully intact. 

Emma continued inside his head, “You see Max. Only bones remain -- the brittle infrastructure holding you all together. Bones and ASH!! Now say goodbye to Emma Yee!” 

The bones began to burn with a smokeless fire.

“Noooo!!” Max cried. He was losing a friend and, as usual, he was helpless. 

The other bones in the room began to burn too. 

Soon the fire was gone, and the room began to snow fine ash.  

Some ash fell on Max, who had collapsed in the foetal position in the corner of the room. As the dead embers brushed his skin, he noticed that they were cold as snow. 

Darkness.

After a time. After his tears had cleared. Max wiped his eyes and looked around; the only light was that from the doorway like the light at the end of a tunnel. Riggs was nowhere to be seen. He heard footsteps from the center of the room, moving closer. Then he could see a faint, growing shimmer and the figure of Emma Yee.

He motioned the command gesture for the lights to turn on and room lit up in a flash. Blinking away the brightness he waited as his eyes adjusted to the new light. Bits of still ash floated lightly about the room. Max sat up as the figure of Emma Yee approached.

“Emma? My Emma?”

“Yes Max, it is me. What was Emma Yee has gone and yet will always be with us in memory and as part of me.”

She was smaller than him now, naked and petite with a fragile quality. Though still shimmering with the magnificent radiance of orr.

Max sat up and drew his knee up under his chin as Emma sat down in the ash close to him. He could feel her warmth, she was close enough to touch.

“I am sorry Max. Emma meant a lot to me also.” Her voice, Emma’s voice, was soft and soothing.

Max was shivering from anxiety or the cold or both, he sighed, “Do you remember our first meeting and our talk? Do you remember how you said you were human?”

“Yes Max, I remember.”

“Well, I just wish … I want you to be human.”

A chroma flicka floated slowly by as Emma replied with a melancholy whisper, “No Max. I am not human, and I know now that I can never be: I do not see my death”.