Sci-Fi Scenes & Snippets

EXCERPT: Prey of Light - Battle Winsor Reveal Scene 2009

Her thin brown hair hung loose now, brushing her shoulders in a lush cascade, unlike the tight bun she wore earlier. She stood very still and silent, except for the rise and fall of her breasts. Her eyes were closed as if listening to some distant voice. Across from her, Battle watched, waiting. He had no idea why or what he waited for except that her beauty entranced him.

He made sure not to distract her with any movement. One by one, the strands of her hair began to defy gravity. Her hair hovered above her shoulders in a halo of opaque tranquility. She looked as if she was immersed in water. He began to feel and smell an electrical charge. The hairs on his forearms stood on end. That’s some kind of static.

Battle heard the wind outside the institute barreling into the building like waves against the seashore. Is that in my head or my ears? Suddenly, he heard another sound beside the wind. Was that a whimper, a moan, a laugh? What the hell? Battle’s vision began to blur, the lamplight dimmed between them and she soon became nothing more than a silhouette against a smoky background.

His mind went blank along with his vision. He was aware that he should not witness whatever this was but he stayed his position. Battle, surrounded by the mist, heard a low hum that grew louder. Slowly, the fog around him lifted. Beyond her, shrouded in the mist she projected, Battle could see a beam of light. Then another, and another, crossing one another, forming a box of some kind. A rectangle; a coffin!

Battle Winsor was no longer in the hallway of the institute in Anchorage, Alaska. Or was he? He wasn’t sure anymore but he was sure that his mind and his eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Yet he smelled moist earth and his nostrils stung from the cold. It must be the bourbon.

The beams became clearer and changed shape. Still a misty picture around the edges, Battle didn’t recognize a thing, save for the triangular shape the beams made anew. Inside the pyramid of light lie the black coffin made of a material Battle didn’t recognize. Wait, the lab techs were looking at something black and tin… Remembering the thin objects their bunk mates, that fancy research team, had and kept hidden from them when he and Ronny arrived.

Lying at the center of the strange black coffin was a wild red rose. It was fresh cut with all its thorns. Battle could even make out tiny drops of dew on its petals. Why wild, why the thorns?

“It’ll be dead in a day or two.” He said aloud and felt the room tumble around him. He toppled into the door frame and heard a woman scream somewhere near him.

Holy shit! Battle took a step back. He blinked and found her glaring at him. Her eyes reflected a strange orange glow, apparently cast by the lamplight.

Her eyes narrowed immediately, adjusting to the florescent light in the corridor. She charged him. Battle braced himself and stood his ground. Her hands spread out like claws and she reached for his throat. He caught her wrists, holding her at arm’s length.

“Look lady, I’m sorry to intrude on your private party here, but you were in my way.” Battle noticed the flickering lights around them. They were back in the hallway, just outside of he and Ronny’s room.

“What did you see? Tell me!” The orange reflection was gone from her eyes and she seemed different, somehow. She did not look exactly like she had when they’d met just this afternoon. The brown of her eyes, the red of her lips, the texture of her brown skin? Something in her physical appearance had changed. Battle wanted to know what and why.