Glimpsing Dreams

It feels cold, shivers amidst the dark fog surrounding her. Rising from her knees she looks around for something, anything other than nothingness while whispers echo in her ears. Walking in a random direction her feet hit's something and stumble. Her hands splash a puddle of liquid. Panting she looks at her hands, and the smell. It smells like blood.

A dark red liquid drips from her hands. Bodies everywhere, blood pooling from the holes and torn limbs and horrors making faces unrecognizable.

Her pants getting heavier, echoing with the whispers.

"Emily." Voices whispers behind her. Shivers shock through her spine and chest.

"Why?" The warping voices asks.

Turning around slowly to the direction of the voice her eyes widen upon the torn figures. All bloodied and a girl in one of their hands missing her lower half. Wide, black holes for their eyes.

"Why did you leave us?" The ghoulish entities speak in unison. "You abandoned us."

Emily steps back and bumps into a wall, panicking she looks at the figures again. Closer now to her face. Breaths become heavier and heavier, like a pile of heavy metal crushing her.

The ghoulish figure extends her hands and hold of her face gently, hugging her.

"Emily."

"Hey Emily you okay?"

Emily opens her eyes with a gasp. Raising her head the floor and table rumbles with the sound of a passing train. The smell of air freshener and sanitation liquid. She fell asleep in the park, she had a nightmare.

"Emily!" Felicia pops in her view, spooking her.

"You awake now?" Thorn asks her. "You were sweating like crazy. Bad dream?"

Rubbing the necklace she stays silent. The nightmare stuck on her thoughts. The bloodied figures and bodies. If felt familiar, yet alien.

"Yeah. A bad dream."

•••

July 6, 15,000 ATS

The Spartan System and the fortress world Frejya. Is the nearest star system with a Marine Corps training facility. And one of the few systems for training marines. Majority of the marines training facilities are located at the east and northern fringes of known space where many alien warbands, star hordes, biofleets and space pirates are more common. Their more commom enemies.

The news is even reporting another victory in the Alphani star cluster against some biofleet but at the cost of two Ludvig Class Carriers and a few hundred marines.

According to a spokesperson of the galactic alliance economic bureau being interviewed. If the war in the south eastern fringes continues long enough, it would strain the federation economy and trade, augmented by the fact, multiple states are backing off the federation alliance treaty in fear of being exterminated by the confederates.

Her mind is still unclear on what decision she should make. Conflicted. The beer isnt helping her mind other than loosen her up a bit from the problem like she did when they arrived in the system.

Remembering the first days she arrived all she did was sulk in her room. At times, she would just wander every nook and cranny of the habitat she now calls home. For Jenna atleast who studied here for five years.

But she had to stop sulking. Her injuries had already healed, there was no point sitting around and doing nothing. When she saw Jenna struggling with the rent, the food, the bills. She straigthened herself. Her home was gone. She had to move on.

Sulking around isnt going to bring back the dead afterall.

Applying for a job for Merlot wasnt her first choice. Many corporations and companies were based in the system didnt accept her. Mr. Merlot was a nice man. A man of innovation and imagination, and of giving chances to what he believed to be talented people. He accepted her application.

As she continued working and promoted to the repair crew meeting Thorn and Felicia and learning new things and helping out Jenna. She felt happy for the first time in a year. All that changed when the first and second stellar defense line collapsed in three months. Thorn and Felicia already thought of signing up again.

She eventually wanted to sign up. She knew of the consequences leaving Jenna. But she enlisted anyways. And the consequences?

Jenna isnt talking to her, avoiding her. For three days she tried to make a conversation only to be turned down and ignored. To make it up for her stupid decision, she thought of buying Jenna a gift. But walking around the mall, it's probably just an excuse for her to roam around again carrying with her her guilt.

"So thats why youre here." Thorn says to Emily. "She must be so pissed at you."

"I know. Its just that....I just want my home back. For me and my people." Emily looks at the side away from Thorn and Felicia. "Is that so wrong? Plus Im just as pissed as her."

"If you die while doint it. Probably." Felicia says to Emily, Thorn cringing at her words.

"Remember Bob?"

Emily holds on to a wooden railing. Overlooking the habitat's artificial lake and rivers where the mall park is located three floors down. The scenery reminds her of the great oval lakes in the northern hemisphere, along the myriad emerald forests of Calhoun Alpha.

The same fertile lands where crops were grown and peaceful villages stood. Now, they are probably gone. Replaced with mining drones and industrial clusters and polluted skies.

"Maybe buying something for Jenna wont change her mind. I'd still probably die." Emily grips the railing. "But if I'm gonna die anyways, I want to at least try and do something that matters."

"How many times are you gonna say that exactly?" Felicia comments.

Emily slumps in the railing with her arm hanging. Watching the colorful dirigibles in the supposed sky floating about Reminding her of the cargo airships Calhoun used in the cities. The last time she rode an airship a dog licked her shoes and had to watch it until she found its owner.

She could still remember the cute barking of the dog and it's fluffy coat.

At the corner of her eye she spots what looks like a plush store and at the window. A dog plush with a black fur and red collar. Emily remembers Jenna formerly having one until she lost it.

With a smile she has an idea.

Entering the plush store she quickly asks if there are available plushies like the one displayed at the window and the cashier tells her there is only one available and immediately grabs the last one.

Thorn and Felicia bemuse at Emily for buying a plush as an apology gift but anyways of it will be enough for Emily, its enough. Not their problem according to Felicia.

•••

Birds chirp outside the window of the hospital ward. Beside the window, a young man watches the birds fly gracefully. Bright fragrant colors complementing the way they fly.

Drawing the birds with in his little book, he outlines every detail of the bird. From the tip of it's beak, feet and feathers, and its shining eyes.

"New sketch?" Jenna asks. Making the young man smile and checks the drawing.

"Yeah. For a space habitat, It's so peacefull here I mistook it for a neighboring city when I woke up." He replies. Closing his book.

"So. How are you feeling Juño?"

"Feeling better. The medicine is probably working. But I do feel a bit of an itch in my arm." Juño rubs his arm, examining the purplish-black spots. "It looks off."

Jenna faces the window and inti the clouds, remembering the footage of the latest attack of the confederacy with confirmation of chemical and biological weapons being used. The biological weapons don't seem contagious. If it was, she and the rest if the system would have already been quarantined.

Symptoms from a weapon yet to be revealed included black spots which indicated dead nerve cells, rotting flesh or skin cancer. They can heal cancer now but the weapons somehow made a new form of cancer that is incurable. And they've yet to find a cure.

Anyone who survived were comatose and died later on as cancer cells take a toll on thier bodies. Juño however was one of the lucky few, having only his left arm affected.

"I'm gonna lose my arm." Juño says to her, observing the black spots. "The doctor already told me. But it can be grown back. Right?"

Jenna sighs and smiles. Looking at his arm.

"Yeah. Hopefully."

After a few talks, Jenna and another nurse walk by more patients. A space station had been converted into a refugee hospital and attached to the habitat as more refugee ships flood the system after being denied by other planetary government.

Older stations are being refurbished and sent to a classified location incase confederate forces attack.

The war isn't coming to their favor yet the confederates are doing more damage than they are. The confederates "All out war" was nothing more of a genocidal campaign.

And Emily is going to see it with her own free will. She has nightmares of Emily laying dead in some mud pit. She cant help the thought of her dying and becoming another name in a wall. She doesn't want it to go to that point.

"Ms. Walker?" The nurse beside her notices her down face. Snapping Jenna out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You look a bit off for the past three days. Did something happen?"

"Don't worry Hen. Its nothing."

Night has come again. And as part of the seasonal schedule referencing Nazar capital standard time, all citizens are notified of incoming rain. Rain sprinklers activate and mist producers to simulate a rainstorm.

Reaching her hand out to the sky the bus stops in front of her. The bus driver asks of she's gonna ride or not. Jenna boards immediately, feeling embarrassment from the other passengers.

The ride is silent, every building that the bus passes she already seen it many times her feeling of wonder became dull, even before the war. Emily made her dull days brighter again. And now its about to disappear.

Emily is probably upset she isnt talking to her. She'll have to wait for her at home. If she ever comes home early.

•••

"Don't go."

A voice echoes around her. The same voice from the ghoulish figure.

Looking up at the figure floating in the void. Its innards hang from its missing lower body.

"She'll be all alone, will she not?"

Emily doesn't speak, too scared to even whisper and with a wall on her back. Her legs shiver and she collapse on the ground with her hands scratching for a way out other than forward.

The ghoul nears her till it is inches from Emily's face.

"Scared little girl?"

Emily hyperventilates, as flashes of the invasion, the first hours of war project around her. The blackened skies and her burning village. Paxy's death.

She covers her ears to make the sounds stop as she feels her eyes are about to pop from her skull.

"You will never save her!"

The ghoul holds her face with its rotting hand left with nothing but bone. And the creaking of a door disturbs the ghoul.

"Emily?"

Jenna's voice.

Emily's eyes open. Jenna standing beside her as the rain echoes inside. She fell asleep at the dinning table, tired from her stroll.

Raising her head, she rubs her eyes and face Jenna.

"Ahh Hey Jenna!" Emily nervously laughs. "You're home early."

Jenna closes the door, walking towards her slowly.

"Oh right uhh. Got you a plush. Looks like the one you lost eh?" Emily shows Jenna the dog plush she bought, squeaking it. "Like it? Just like the original."

Jenna locks eyes with Emily.

"Emily, were you mumbling in your dream. Just now?" Jenna asks.

A moment of silence returns as Jenna sits in the opposite side of the table. The plush set aside in the center table. Avoiding each others gaze.

They both want to speak first, but lumps in their throats made them wait longer. They both feel they are in eternity waiting for the other to speak.

With a bit of breath. Jenna sets her arms on tge table and with a stern face. Speaks first.

"When did you start having nightmares?"

Emily grips her shoulder, gulping.

"Emily."

With her eyes glancing back and forth from nothing to Jenna she slouches and cross her arms.

"It all started with the news. When they told us we were losing." Emily tilts her head. "I though that the war would end in a few months. Or within the year. My hopes were up that we could go back. They promised. They promised all of us, and now were stuck here for who knows how long! And not just us!"

Emily clutches her bicep, eye brows curling.

"I dont want to see more innocents die. That's why I want to fight."

"But were losing." Jenna reminds her. "So why bother? Were safe here. The whole habitat can be moved somewhere else. Don't you want to live!?!"

"BUT ITS OUR HOME!!" Emily stands up, slamming her hands on the table. "Don't you want to go back!?! We don't even know what they are doing to Calhoun!"

"And I am telling you I DO NOT approve of it! Its not our war!"

A street sweeper covers his ears from the two women arguing. As he continues to clean the street, emergency sirens suddenly wail, interrupting their argument.

The loudspeakers ring upon activation.

"WARNING. WARNING. HOSTILE FLEET DETECTED. ALL CITIZENS EVACUATE TO SHELTERS."