When voices whisper at dawn, is it already too late to ignore them?
"Run. Run, Sophie… just don't stop…"
Her feet pounded the concrete walkway, leaving tiny streaks of blood in her worn sneakers. Her breath, short and ragged, struggled to keep pace with the frantic beat of her heart. She was running.
For how long? An hour? All night? It didn't matter.
They were there. Always there. The spirits.
Their voices pierced her skull, sliding under her skin like shards of glass. Fuzzy shapes, ethereal and shifting, floated around her.
"HELP ME!" she screamed, eyes wide with terror.
But no one answered. The neighborhood was deserted. The city of Biel, hanging in the balance between ruin and technology, held its breath. The first rays of dawn brushed against crumbling facades, casting strange shadows between shattered buildings. Beyond the wall, above the rising jungle, a few surveillance drones buzzed like metallic insects.
On this bridge between two worlds ran a nineteen-year-old girl. Scraped and dust-covered, hair stuck to her forehead, her face still youthful but her eyes hollowed by fear.
"Open your eyes… Look through mine…"
"You're just an empty shell…"
"It's time… come home…"
The nature spirits — as she called them — weren't letting go. This time, they were close. Closer than ever before. And for the first time… they were visible.
The sun rose slowly over the ruins left by the great quake, painting dancing shadows across the deserted walkway connecting the "Groundward" zones to the elevated districts of "Skyward." A collapsed metro line curled like a skeleton of twisted metal. Steam hissed up from cracked ventilation grates.
Sophie shouted again:
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
But only her voice echoed off broken walls. The city remained silent. Around her: shattered storefronts, flickering signage, broken screens — and silence. She stumbled.
"I can't anymore… just a second… a break…"
Her legs buckled. She collapsed to her knees. Pressing her hand against her chest, she felt her heart pounding like a war drum. Sweat clung to her skin and soaked through her clothes.
And still… they were there.
She slapped her hands over her ears, digging in so hard her nails scratched the skin.
"Leave me alone! I don't want to hear it!"
The shapes around her thickened: gaping eyes, twisted mouths. Some floated in the toxic air. Others slithered across the ground like nightmare worms.
"Remember your name… Save me from the darkness…"
"Awaken… come save me…"
A spark of will flared in her eyes. She stood, stumbling, and ran again — faster this time, the cracked pavement blurring beneath her.
"Skyward District… maybe they'll stop if I get there… even if it's dangerous…"
But the spirits never stopped.
She tripped, caught herself. Her throat was raw, her vision swimming. Still the voices clawed at her mind.
"I'd rather deal with Kaissa patrols… at least they're human, right? Maybe the spirits fear them too…"
After minutes of blind wandering, she stumbled into a wide plaza. Towers of mirrored glass caught the morning light. Giant screens looped a silent warning:
ALERT: RESPECT CONFINEMENT. IMMEDIATE SANCTIONS.
She froze. Two officers in full gear stood ten feet away — smooth visors, rifles at the ready. One looked straight at her as a voice crackled in his earpiece:
"Hey rookie, it's only your second patrol — go easy. I'll check the shadow I saw over there."
"No worries. Just checking if she has an insert."
Sophie stood still, brain scrambling. What time was it? How to escape this? The spirits circled like vultures.
"Stop! Step toward me, now!" the officer ordered.
She clenched her jaw. Focusing, she spotted more shapes around him — darker, heavier ones latched to his shoulders like parasites.
He can't see them… They're around him too… Sophie thought.
"I… I'm being chased… by nature spirits. Please help me…" she said, desperate.
He laughed.
"Spirits? Seriously?"
"I swear… They're real… Don't you feel them?" she insisted.
"Another crazy Groundward girl… Do you even have your insert?"
Of course she didn't. No implant. Just her bare wrist. She thought of Jazz. Where was he? He could've helped create a distraction. In his absence, his teasing voice echoed in her mind:
Sophie, if lying were a sport, you'd have gold by now…
She smirked despite herself. The cop scowled, losing patience.
"Talking to your ghosts again? Show me your wrist. Now."
She raised her arm, trembling.
"I… I'm getting one soon. Just waiting on clearance… medical reasons…"
The officer frowned. Something felt off. He could sense it — a tension in the air, a pressure. Sweat beaded down his temple. Was she one of those weird groups from deeper Groundward? Paranoia whispered. His voice hardened.
"Leave. Or I shoot. You don't belong here."
"Please… listen… I need help…"
"Final warning!"
A voice chimed in his earpiece.
"Back off, I'm on my way."
"No, sir. I've got this."
Then he shouted:
"LEAVE!"
Tears welled in Sophie's eyes as she stepped back.
"I didn't do anything… You have no right…"
"ENOUGH!"
She turned away, screaming:
"YOU BASTARD!"
A single gunshot cracked the air.
The bullet ripped through Sophie's shoulder. Pain exploded through her. Her scream tore through the silence — raw, guttural. Her body jerked backward. Blood sprayed across the concrete. She collapsed, limp.
Her breathing turned shallow. Vision dimmed. The world melted into haze.
Then… light. A golden halo shimmered around her — pulsing, alive. It wrapped her like a soft cocoon. Warmth radiated through her bones, slowing the bleeding.
The officer backed away, weapon lowering, eyes wide in shock.
"It's her… It's all her fault…"
His superior arrived, panting, stunned by the sight.
Lying there, Sophie stared at the sky. Dawn now bathed the world in iridescent gold.
I don't feel anything anymore… And that light… so beautiful…
Her eyelids fluttered.
Just a moment… Let me rest…
Guardian Angel: The one who kills knowing he destroys life sheds his humanity. At that point, he is possessed by forces darker than man… and further still from the realm of angels.
To be continued…
Thank you for reading
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Further echoes of this universe can be found here:
https://linktr.ee/worldsreconciled
Elea 🤩