Page 109 of Love, Nemesis
It was strange how her life and its struggles suddenly seemed so small.
Tick.
She closed her eyes.
Tick.
Held her breath.
Tick.
The Atlas was silent.
Everything was.
She waited in that still, silent darkness, waiting for some feeling, for the bed to disappear from beneath her, for her body to melt away, for some image or light to appear in the darkness of her head.
Sensation faded, like falling asleep but faster. Feeling seemed to vanish, swirling into some vacant space that could only vaguely be described in words.
She felt herself begin to fade, like falling asleep, and then it all just stopped.
Ana opened her eyes.
To her surprise, the same white ceiling remained above her.
She turned to her left.
Her Atlas was out of time.
She turned to her right.
The room was empty.
She sat up in bed, searching the room. Her eyes moved to the window and she stared through it. The trees were still outside, a leaf caught in freefall outside.
A shock ran through her body. She gasped, falling back onto the bed.
Another jolt. Pain reverberated through her. The room flickered.
Another violent jolt.
Ana gasped, sitting up from the bed, all sensation returned to her body. Everyone in the room flinched backward.
Wide-eyed, she looked over to see her Altas, out of time. She searched the room, watching each face that mirrored her shock.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
She blinked, searching the world around her. It wasn’t her watch this time. Her watch was gone.
She was out of time.
“Who has a watch?” she asked.
Tick.
