The Invisible Planet

Part 6: Control

"Control it, Angie."

Fifteen year old Angeline was sitting on the floor on her knees with several sensors stuck on her arms and forehead. The hologram in front of her showed a transparent figure with a visible nervous system, reflecting the state of her body. Beside the figure was a bar graph of her emotions, with the red bar for fear nearly at the top.

"Deep breaths." Behind her stood Charlotte, the new caretaker. "You must learn to control it, or you will never make it to Midelian."

She inhaled sharply through her nose as her eyes watered, clamping down on her exhale. "I can't," she whimpered, beginning to sob.

"Yes, you can," Charlotte argued. "Focus. Don't hold your breath, control it. It will relax your heart and take your mind away from everything else."

The sensors emitted another shock, sending sharp pain through her skin as she screamed.

"Breathe," Charlotte said. "Focus on your lungs."

Angeline balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes, choking back sobs. "Please, I can't. Make it stop!"

"It will stop when you calm your heart."

She inhaled again, holding her breath.

"Don't hold it!" Charlotte snapped. "It will read you've stopped breathing. You need to breathe. You need to focus."

"I can't!" Angeline cried.

"Look at me," Charlotte said, taking the girl's face in her hands. "You can do this."

She stared into the woman's worried hazel eyes, clamping down on her breathing again. One breath at a time. Not too deep, not too fast.

Focus. Control it.

Angeline willed her eyes to open for just a few short seconds, taking in the blurry hues of blue and purple above her before she closed them again. Every shallow breath was painful.

"Grab my hand!" She dropped down onto the console, releasing her safe hold as she reached for Emani, desperate to pull the girl back up to a safer position.

She opened her eyes once more, bringing the crimson bark of a tree with purple leaves into focus. The small attempt she made to move sent pain through her body. By the difficulty she felt in breathing, she estimated at least two broken ribs and a possible punctured lung. She looked down to see a sizeable piece of glass protruding from the left side of her abdomen. The fact that the bit sticking out was pointed like a dagger told her it had likely gone through from her back.

Just to be sure, she reached up and gave it a gentle tug. Pain seared through her chest and for a moment she thought she would throw up.

"Oh, fuck," she muttered. She could taste the blood that was seeping up her throat. Coughing wasn't possible without significant pain and causing more damage.

Start small, Charlotte would have said.

Fingers. Toes. Arms.

Functioning.

Legs, less so.

There was a throb in her right knee that told her if it wasn't broken, it was probably dislocated. Walking was out of the question.

She rolled her head to the right.

Neck still functioning. She was in the woods, in the midst of a crimson forest with lavender leaves. There were trees as far as she could see.

She turned her head to the left and her heart sank. Ten feet away was Emani, one arm twisted unnaturally beneath her, body twisted, lifeless eyes staring still into the distance.

"Emani," she choked out.

No response. No sign of breathing.

She was dead.

Tears filled Angeline's eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

She could still feel the grip of the girl's hand as she tried to pull her back over the console, a few seconds too late.

The front of the ship smashed into the ground and flipped back over, sending cracks through the cockpit glass. Emani was flung back against Angeline, who did her best to secure another hold between the wall and the console as the ship spun back around. Now on its side, it began to slide through the trees.

Angeline grabbed Emani and shoved her against the floor, covering her as the cockpit glass shattered toward them. The still moving ship lodged suddenly against something, throwing both women free of the crash.

There were footsteps some ways behind her, bringing her out of her daze.

"Hey," she managed, doing her best to look up and to the right. Her vision blurred again with tears as a figure stepped into view.

A dark red cloak that dragged on the ground covered their shoulders, and the hood was drawn to hide their face in shadow.

Her eyes moved over them as they approached in a wide arc, circling the ship. Humanoid feet, covered in shoes made from shimmering scales.

The figure stopped short for a second, then began to hurry toward her. "You're alive," he said, speaking in an accent she had never heard. His voice was smooth as silk, and for a moment in her daze she thought his eyes were glowing red beneath the hood. "Mira!" he shouted. "Hold still."

He slipped one arm beneath her neck and one beneath her knees. The pain that shot through her body as he attempted to lift her made her think for a split second he had killed her.

"Sorry," he said softly, carefully setting her back down. "I'm so sorry. It's this glass, it's gone through you." He turned over his shoulder. "Mira! Bring Kita. This one's injured."

Her eyes were glued to him, trying desperately to peer beneath his hood.

"I would lift it, but I'm a frightful terror to look at," he warned. "Best leave it until we get you patched up."

Another figure approached beside him, this one in a green cloak.

"She's in a bad way," said the man.

The green hooded figure knelt down and put a hand on Angeline's abdomen. "We'll have to get that glass out of her," a woman's voice came from beneath the hood, speaking in the same accent as the man.

"Sorry, love. This is gonna hurt," he said.

Her mouth fell open in shock as he began to lift her, and then the world went black.