Titans

The Genesis [04:57]

Location: Unknown

For the first time since meeting each other, as we look up into a suddenly glowing sky, we’re silent. Above us, the world rumbles and whistles, like a train punching its way through the atmosphere. The sound crashes into me, forcing my heartbeat into overdrive. I can feel my blood rushing in my head, in my fingers, which throb with the aftereffects of punching the dark-haired boy.

Another sound, like that of an engine igniting – loud and thunderous, a groan straight from the mouths of the gods. This time when it hits, it sparks something in my mind. A flickering ember of a once flaming memory. And that’s when I realise: I know that sound.

Cal comes to a conclusion just as I do. “My god. It’s a ship.”

And he’s right. I can see it now: the sleek metallic arc of its body, the large engines at its tail, the strong curve of its wings. It was an engine I heard. The four of us stand caught in its headlights, which are a thousand times brighter than any torch, as it descends. Suddenly, the night has been turned into day.

The ship hits the ground with a loud thud, sending hot air and dirt surging towards us. I wave a hand back and forth in front of my face, coughing and squinting, and step out of the glare of the harsh headlights as I wait for the dirt and smoke to clear. When it does, my breath gets caught in my throat.

The ship is massive. With the several lights along its surface, I can see a great portion of its nose, wings and body. It’s smooth and dark grey, with hollowed out chambers that I presume hold some sort of weaponry. Large slanted windows expand across the front in strips and dimly lit viewports are speckled all over its surface. The wings of the ship shoot out into the dark, curved but sharp, and it towers into the sky before me, the very top of its sleek surface lost to the night.

I register suddenly that Cal has moved to stand beside me, and in the light offered by the spacecraft I see the plain awe scrawled across his face, albeit mixed with hints of shock and worry. Curious, I move towards the ship.

Cal’s arm shoots out in front of me, easing me back. “Don’t. It didn’t just drive down here itself.”

I catch his meaning instantly. “You think there’s someone on there?”

“Or something.”

“Or no one!” The dark-haired boy calls from our left. He’s still fully illuminated by the ships headlights but walking determinedly towards us, the blonde girl resting in his arms. I try not to look at her, but the bloody patch on her shoulder draws my attention.

You did that, a voice in my mind whispers. And I should be sickened by the thought, but I’m not. There’s a void inside of me, like a black hole in my heart, slowly consuming anything that comes near it. I did that, I tell myself, and all I feel is empty.

I wonder if the void was there before this all happened, before I lost my memory – if a time like that even existed. Its scares me to think that it’s always been there, but it scares me more to think it hasn’t. That after just a few hours without any knowledge of my past, I’ve managed to screw up my future.

“Someone has to have driven it down here,” Call says, pulling me back to the present. “Last time I checked, spaceships don’t drive themselves.”

“And when was that?” The dark-haired boy is out of the light now, coming to a stop before us. When his gaze sweeps over me, his eyes flash with something dark. I try to feel guilty, but all I can come up with is anger.

Cal looks at-a-loss for a moment, but pulls himself together. “You know I can’t answer that.”

The other boy sighs. “The thing that fell out of my pocket? Before the crash?” He unfurls his right hand to reveal the small phone-like prism. “It’s a remote.”

“And you think you might have accidently pushed the magic button which calls the sky-ship?” I’m speaking before I can stop myself.

“Actually, Lilith, it makes sen–”

“Look, I don’t have time to stand around all day and argue,” the boy interrupts. “There could be medical supplies in that ship which could save Atara. I’m going in, regardless of whether you two follow me. In fact, it’d be nicer if you didn’t.” His last words are sharp and angry.

I watch him carry the girl – Atara – towards the ship and then finally I find guilt. It’s only the tiniest slither but it’s there, and it’s enough. I latch on the emotion and it spurs me into speaking. “We should help him, shouldn’t we?” I say to Cal.

He starts off after the dark-haired boy. There’s no anger in his voice when he replies, but there sure is disbelief. “You think?”

It hurts – knowing the only other conscious people in my universe right now either hate me or don’t trust me. But I take it.

I take it, and then the hurt vanishes into the void.