Chapter 9: New World Beyond
Chapter 9: New World Beyond
"Tara..."
A muffled voice that she did not recognize cried out her name. She tried all in her power to answer, but to no avail.
"Tara, please wake up…"
Her world was filled to the brim with darkness. At least, that was what her eyes had been telling her. Besides the ghoulish howl that greeted her every so often, thousands of prickly surfaces tickled the backs of her arms and legs.
"Tara!"
The voice snapped Tara out of the trance. An overwhelmingly bright light then poured into her vision, but soon softened to reveal an entirely new landscape. Above her were hundreds of translucent leaves that hung from thin branches that appeared to be entangled with one another. Rays of sunshine managed to escape through the tiniest of cracks between them.
The girl yawned as she rubbed her eyes. Her body felt completely rested, as though she had just woken from a century's long slumber.
"That voice, who was that?" Tara said out loud to nobody in particular. She sat up, only to realize that a thin patch of grass was the culprit for the earlier sensation. "And where exactly am I?"
All around were towering trees. Birds flapped their wings in the bright blue sky above as a gentle wind graced her skin. The ground beneath her was partially covered by an assortment of different colored leaves.
"It's just like home. But—" She paused to take in the vivid scene once more. "It's so much livelier."
Tara stood and looked herself over. Though she only wore white briefs and a camisole exposing her midriff, she had not a scratch on her. It was then that a horrifying thought crossed her mind.
"Am I...in the afterlife—"
"System booted."
"Woah!" Tara yelped. She felt her heart jump at the unexpected voice. "What was that?"
The feminine voice continued to speak. "Registering code MY-KEY-01. Explorer ID 0620: Princess Tara, I presume?"
Tara placed her hand on her temple. The sound appeared to be coming from within her head. "Who are you?" She paused. "Are you...the AI?"
"Affirmative. I am your implanted AI companion. I was surgically installed into your cranium prior to your departure from the mothership, the Starbell."
"Ah yes, of course," Tara replied, hoping to play off her show of ignorance. But as she thought back, she realized that her memories were in shambles. The faces of comrades she had met onboard the ship were as clear as day. Memories of anything prior, however, were a complete blur.
"Is something the matter, princess?" asked the AI, "I sense theta waves. Deep in thought, perhaps?"
Tara's eyebrows perked up in annoyance. 'Some personal space wouldn't kill you,' she thought to herself.
"Apologies, am I being too intrusive?"
"You can read my mind too?" Tara hadn't even been awake for a few moments, and already she was being pestered by a nosey companion.
The AI answered matter-of-factly. "My sole purpose is to assist you through whichever measures were deemed necessary by my creators. So once again I ask: is something the matter?"
Hesitant, Tara gazed around. A flock of horned quadrupedals with reddish fur and white underbellies grazed nearby. Winged creatures and rodents scampered about. Though seeing such abundant life brought her peace of mind, it was no replacement for what she had lost.
"I barely remember anything prior to my time onboard the Starbell," she at last admitted. The AI paused.
"Your memory has deteriorated. Is this correct?"
"Yes." A cold sweat took hold as the realization dawned on her. To forget one's memories was usually a sign that their end was near. But the unexplainable phenomenon only ever occurred on the nights before the Demon's Mouth would go on its feeding frenzy. As far as she could tell, the satanic force was lightyears away.
"Oh dear," said the AI with a tinge of worry. "This could spell trouble. Might I analyze your temporal lobe for an explanation on the matter?"
Despite her reservations over such an invasive procedure, she complied. As it proceeded with its analysis, its inquisition continued, addling her further.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Yes, of course. It's Tara."
"Good. And what is your age?"
"Well…" The question caused her to ponder for a moment and in doing so, removed the distraction necessary for the AI's process to complete smoothly.
"W-wait, what's this I feel in my head?" Tara said flusteredly. It felt as if ambient static coursed through the inside of her skull. But rather than address the question, the AI continued.
"According to my latest copy of the database, you were closely acquainted with the third private by the name of Annah. Do you know such an individual?"
"Yes! I mean—" Tara stuttered as tears welled up in her eyes. The static had turned into pulsating shocks. She struggled to think, but combined with the unrelenting agony, her efforts were of no use. "I don't know! What are you doing to me?"
"Miss, calm down, you heart is—"
"What is this? It's driving me crazy!" She began clawing away at her scalp, yet the sensation refused to mitigate, even as blood seeped into her brows.
"Tara, you must compose yourself, otherwise—"
"N-no...NO!" The final shock consumed everything within her vision with a blinding light. A resounding crack of thunder immediately followed, drowning out the pleas of the AI as well as her own screams.
~
Tara's eyes cracked open. Her vision was clouded. It wasn't like before, when the slumber blessed her with vigor. Instead, she felt strangely derealized, as if her soul had transcended beyond the physical limits of her body. All that surrounded her now was a cool, blue mist.
"Hello? Can anybody hear me? Anybody?" she called out. But an eerie echo was all that answered. Every other syllable was distorted and accompanied by ambient noise.
Tara breathed a sigh, which was retorted in the same manner. She took a step forward. Then another. In spite of the gusts that rang through her ears, everything appeared to be at a near standstill.
Anxious, she clasped her hands close to her. The mist above emitted bright, sporadic twinkles, similar to those of dying stars. Below, it swirled around her ankles, glowing ever so faintly, beckoning her to grace it with her touch.
Despite all the signals in her mind telling her otherwise, she reached down. Upon contact, the mist exploded into a large plume that briefly devoured the oblivious girl. She managed to silence herself, only to let out a yelp upon witnessing what it had been hiding.
"W-where the hell am I?" Her lips trembled in disbelief. Beneath her feet, hundreds of thousands of meters below, were the tops of supercell cumulonimbi as far as the eye could see. Lightning danced silently between the clusters, briefly illuminating the abysses that lay between them.
The invisible barrier preventing her demise shattered like glass, sending her plunging into oblivion. As she reached the uppermost tips of the thunderous clouds, the wind tossed her about, flinging her closer to the storm before dragging her back out. Icy hail pelted her from all directions.
Tara thrashed about in an attempt to control the descent. With every twist and turn, strains of hair flew into her eyes. Soon she was completely blinded. Gusts carrying shards of ice collided with scorching hot plumes.
Tara then felt a hard surface bump against her. She was sent airborne once more before crashing down. After a few more skips, the princess came to a screeching halt. The areas that took the brunt of the initial impact throbbed.
Brushing away the soaked hair from her face, Tara looked around. Despite the downpour, plumes of glowing magma lit her surroundings, revealing a desolate, rocky land — not a single trace of life to be seen.
"How did I survive that?" she groaned to herself in disbelief, for she realized that this was the second time she had survived an astronomical fall.
The shaken girl's feet staggered briefly as she picked herself up. The left half of her body continued to pulsate beneath the droplets of rain that streamed down her skin and clothes.
"And where the heck am I? AI, what can you tell me?."
The companion did not reply.
"Hey, are you there?" Tara tapped the area behind her left ear but felt nothing besides her own skin. Shocked, she tapped several more times in hopes that she was hallucinating.
"No...no, no, no," she heaved shakily. She repeated the words of denial several more times until a shadowy presence came into her peripheral vision.
A flash of lightning illuminated the figure just as Tara turned toward it, revealing its humanoid shape alongside its visage. Its hair was long, much like her own, albeit a light shade of blonde even in the pouring rain.
Another flash fluctuated for a few seconds, granting Tara another peek. The figure's bodily shape indicated that it was most likely female. She let out faint stutterings, shocked over the fact that Tara had just fallen from the sky and survived.
Tara looked back at her. "M-miss, if you can understand me, please, can you tell me: is this...the afterlife?"
Much to her surprise, the woman had the mind to shake her head. "N-no, this is my home."
Her voice was high pitched yet soft, much like that of an adolescent. It was mildly familiar to Tara, who couldn't quite put her finger on where she had heard it before.
"What's your name?" the woman asked.
"It's…" Tara eyed her one more time. Thousands of thoughts stampeded through her mind, yet not a single one offered a definite answer as to whether or not to trust her. Finally, she let out a sigh. "It's Tara. My name is Tara."
"Really?" she replied with a chuckle, "So's mine!"
Tara approached her with a straight laced face. She halted just inches away and stared straight into her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, should I—" stuttered the young woman uncomfortably as she averted her gaze.
"No, please, look at me. I just need to—" It was then that she realized what had made the stranger seem familiar.
Hers and Tara's eyes were near identical, albeit different colors, as were their freckles. The expression she made was also similar to Tara's own whenever she found herself backed into a corner. The only noticeable difference was her skin tone and hair color, which gave her an appearance far more typical of a Kasaian.
"I-is that you mother?"
"Mom?!" the blonde haired Tara blurted out, flustered, "What? No, I can't possibly be. I'd say you look old enough to be my brother or even my husband, if anything."
"Brother? H-husband? What are you—" Tara looked at her in disbelief. Never in her life had she ever been mistaken for a boy. At least, not from what she could remember.
She reached up to stroke her hair but strangely felt almost nothing. Horrified, she patted the back of her head, then the sides and top.
"What happened to my hair?!"
As Tara began to hyperventilate, she stumbled toward a nearby puddle. In the muddy reflection, she saw a short-haired teenage boy with crescent-shaped eyes. He wore a long sleeved shirt with buttons and a design consisting of red and black lines that criss crossed one another. His denim briefs were torn in several places despite the rest of his body being unscathed.
"W-who is that?" Tara turned toward the woman and mouthed the words of denial while shaking her head. She stared back at her with a blank expression, unsure as to how to respond.
"Who is that!" she repeated, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her hand convulsed as she pointed at the puddle.
"I-I—" The other Tara opened her mouth repeatedly to speak, but cut herself off each time. Just past her, another, much smaller humanoid figure stood bearing a blank expression.
Tara — or at least the man she had become — gazed at the child-like being wearing dark colored robes. It looked to be a younger version of him, with the exception of eyes that glowed a light shade of gray.
"Do you want to live?" he asked. Then, without warning, his eyes released a blinding flash identical to the lightning that danced all around. Tara felt herself become swallowed up by the overwhelming light.
~
Tara woke up with a start. Jerking up into a sitting position, she frantically looked all around. Neither the blue mist nor the rocky landscape were anywhere to be seen.
"Am I back in the real world?" she whispered as she placed a hand over the right side of her aching face. The evening sun nearing the horizon came into view. The same green leaves from earlier had become darkened with the backdrop of an orange-tinted sky.
"Miss Tara," the AI piped up, briefly startling Tara. "You've regained consciousness. This is a most positive outcome."
"P-positive, huh? What did you find?" she muttered dryly. Nothing about the situation seemed positive to her. The image of her mother and the strange little boy was still fresh in her mind.
"Unfortunately, my investigation has yielded unsatisfactory results. Parts of your memory have been wiped for reasons unknown."
Tara wiped the sweat that lined her forehead. "Is there anything else wrong with me? Maybe a memory or two that shouldn't be there?"
"I don't see how that is possible, Miss. More importantly, I estimate you to be tens of thousands of ticks away from the target zone and without the proper equipment with which to track you."
Tara paused for a moment. Perhaps that boy really was merely a figment of a meaningless dream. "Well then, as an all-powerful artificial intelligence, what do you suggest I do?"
The companion didn't respond at first.
"Hello?" Tara ushered.
"Apologies. A scenario such as this is beyond my programming, at least for now. I require more data to assess our options."
"Where exactly are the others?"
"According to the latest obtainable report, the closest unit — Unit 271 — is located southward, within an undeveloped valley seventy two ticks northwest of the region's largest river."
"Any other distinguishing landmarks?" she questioned further. A geographic depression was not very much to go on. Without the help of the Starbell's GPS system, she'd almost certainly get lost.
"A few. The indigenes have settled on nearby hills, carving the landscapes so that it resembles intertwining staircases. And within the valley itself, there exist colossal, tower-like rock formations likely formed through extensive erosion."
Relieved, Tara felt her resolve rejuvenate. M3906 had far more to offer than she had anticipated. "Well, I don't really have another choice, do I? And it probably wouldn't hurt to find out whatever I can about this world along the way."
She took a couple of steps forward, listening to the leaves crunching beneath her bare feet. A winged insectoid briefly landed on her nose before fluttering away.
"On another note, what should I call you?"
"Pardon?" The companion asked, perplexed. Tara furrowed her brows; the question was a rather simple one.
"How should I address you?" she clarified.
"You can address me however you want, princess."
"Fine then." Tara placed her index finger over her lips thoughtfully. "MY-KEY-01, was it?"
"Miss?"
"I have an idea," she declared with a smile. "From this point forward, I'll call you Mikey."
"Understood. From this point forward, I will answer to the name Mikey."
Neither of them said another word as Tara ventured forward. Despite the countless other memories that continued to elude her, she could not stop thinking about the mother she had nearly forgotten.
High in the sky, the Starbell drifted beside M3906's moon. The crew members onboard grew restless, oblivious to the fate that befell their chief planetary scientist and former princess.