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Sunshine - Chapter 4, Draft 1

I swam through a swirling oblivion towards an objective beyond the eternal horizon. Determined to overcome impossibility I pressed fourth unable comprehend the motivation for my relentless pursuit. I was infatuated with the useless importance of my endless race, powerless to resist the urge to continue, and unable to understand it"s utter futility.

The dreadful grip of fear began to bleed outward from the surrounding brightness as the illusion of my destination began to slowly fade. I floated, too feeble to break the engulfing vice of terror that had surged outward from the depths of my confusion.

As the last glint of my objective disappeared a startling nausea arose as the lonely pulse of sorrow ignited from within. Behind, an endless velvet darkness began to creep forward, slowly swallowing the oblivion. As it approached I discovered the distant embrace of pain, overwhelming, and in it"s purest form.

The complete agony of the conception of pain thrived, forever at it"s most potent but somehow continually worsening. A blazing press against my being, distantly familiar and yet completely alien. The gay fortitude of it"s touch trickling through me, testing my limits, always jovially furthering it"s potency, realising it"s success through my distraught.

The pain became an extension of my soul, triggering a miasma of agonizing force. It"s presence becoming a provocative guide to truth. For in it"s endlessness I could thrive, drawing from it"s endless grind, empowering my essence by converting it"s volatile energy to a vitalizing flow of glorifying brightness.

New found determination set in as I discovered motivation within terror and fuel within pain. I pressed outwards, away from the shadow, desperate to escape it"s gaping maw. A brief surge of despair began it"s onslaught as yet another darkness appeared ahead. It relentlessly cut through the oblivion, and as I poised to react to my new foe the foreboding excruciation of the second darkness smiled.

I could feel a shiver course through the oblivion as it shrunk. Engaged on all fronts by the spread of the darkness. I pushed the cold away as I used the empowering warmth of hope to strengthen my resolve.

My awareness began to expand, it discovered a distant soul, floating, alone in a contracting oblivion. I could feel the soul begin to cower as the oblivion shrunk further still. The darkness prepared to swallow the soul as the oblivion let loose an agonizing roar of defeat. I felt a wave of compassion toward the soul and then terror threatened to regain it"s hold as I discovered the soul belonged to me.

Pressed against the agitating edge of defeat I exploded. My strength and determination burst from within, devouring the darkness as universal tranquility became the beacon of my will. Voraciously, I consumed the darkness, feeding on it"s energy to empower my force and to amplify the strength of my being. The darkness slowly recoiled until only the blazing determination of my will remained.

Fear faded and I was only left with the pain of undeniable comfort, I released my hold on my surroundings and drifted into the ever brightening horizon...

Consciousness sprang fourth as I extracted life from death, I had passed close to the shimmering curtain of eternal oblivion as I lay swollen in insurmountable turmoil.

As I opened my eyes I drew in a long cool breath that momentarily dispelled my agony. I could barely make out my surroundings as brightness flooded my vision. As I began to inhale my second breath I began to understand. The pain that flowed freely was a result of my injuries and I eventually was able to understand that I lay in a place of healing. In this home for the sick I would be able to grievously recover from my passage through death.

I was alone, my small abode silently dark in the morning light and I began to wonder how long I had been travelling outside reality.

My vision darted forward as a soft thud against the door announced the admittance of a visitor. She was garbed in a purifying white robe, and as she approached I strained to make out her features. She let out a sound that I recognized as my name and asked me how I was feeling.

I tried to reply and discovered there was something blocking the passage to my voice and soon realised that the question must have been of the rhetoric nature, she clearly was not aware of my consciousness as she busied herself through a collection of tasks.

Eventually I was able let out a loud gurgle and to my satisfaction she suddenly spun. As her features finally were revealed I realised that my consciousness was a complete surprise and as a result I began to wonder how terrible my injuries actually had been.

She reached forward soothingly and softly explained that I should not try to vocalise my thoughts until she had removed the breathing apparatus from my throat. As she slowly pulled the tube free it left a distinct rotten taste that burned my esophagus raw.

After an eternity I was finally free to ask the myriad of questions that had built up in my mind. I let out a distressing whimper as I found my mouth too dry to be of any use and waited patiently while she let a cool liquid dance along my swollen tonsils.

One question stepped fourth, more important then all the rest and as soon as I was able to I let it croak fourth: "Is Zoe ok?"

My stomach began to churn as the nurse explained that she had no idea to whom I was referring. Sadly, I belted out the remainder of my curiosity to which she seemed to be able to answer to an acceptable level.

I learned that my injuries had been tremendous, that I my survival had been a surprise, and that I had given her an even greater one when I woke up. I learned that I had been someplace that I shouldn"t have been and I also learned that through my actions a colleague had been revived.

The answers began to blend together as I continued to worry and quizzically I asked if I any visitors had come? To my surprise, it seemed quite a few had and I began to understand how long I had been traversing the lands between life and death.

Without specifics, however, I was unable to guess if any of the visits were made by Zoe and thus the answers only served to lengthen my curiosity. Soon, my flow of ultimately pointless queries began to fade and the nurse suggested that I try to rest and that a physician would be coming to see me soon.

As my awareness shifted to rest I began to realise how exhausted I actually was, it amazed me that I could be completely drained after being awake for such a short time but the nurse explained my body"s energy was focused on healing. A comfortable warmth flowed through my body as I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

I awoke, suddenly, as if frigid water had been splashed across my features. The room was dark, initially the darkness invoked a tincture of worry that quickly subsided as I discovered that blackness around me only offered the serene peace of the night.

My vision eventually drifted across the room to a shadow in one corner. The shadow sat, comfortably erect within a small chair. I was unable to make out any distinct features and thus I released a faint burst of inquisitiveness to prod the shadow"s attention.

The shadow jerked slightly as if awoken from an uncomfortable sleep. As the shadow slowly rose I could feel its gaze wash along my injured body. Bursting anticipation began to press itself against my chest as the shadow finally let it"s voice pierce the silent darkness and I couldn"t resist smiling as I realised who the voice belonged to.
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