(Roum's point of view)
The walk seems long to me.
Too long.
It was as if my feet were touching the ground without really settling down.
Giving me the feeling of floating
As if each step belonged to someone else.
I am behind Alpha-1.
She walks, I follow.
I don't know if it's intentional.
I don't know if that's an order.
I don't even know anymore if I still have any will of my own.
Everything is jumbled up in my head.
A fog… compressed.
Yet I feel like I have the answer right on the tip of my tongue.
But also a total void
Where do I come from?
Who am I really?
I had never thought of that before
I was just living and content with the present that was offered to me.
And I know why.
It is… It is.. .
A mixture.
An accident.
An error.
Or…
No
That's all
I don't need to know
Alpha-1 stops abruptly, like a machine facing a metal door.
She places her hand on it. The door opens with a whoosh.
Come in.
I'm going in.
The room is cold.
Blanche.
That white that stings the eyes is still there.
She closes the door behind her.
Click.
Final.
I am alone.
Or almost.
My skin is shivering.
The black filaments detach
They move without me asking them.
They stretch.
Non .
So I hide them and keep them under my suit
I slowly squeeze his hand.
She's trembling so much.
This is not normal.
"What are you playing at?" Alpha 1 whispered in my ear.
- HA !
Stepping back, sliding his hands behind his back
When did she approach?
– I asked you a question
A whisper brushes against my inner self.
She has always been that frightening.
– It's not… It's nothing at all.
Stuttering
I close my eyes.
And breathe
And in the second, images strike me like shards of glass.
The capsule.
The inhabitant.
Her hands, her screams, thoughts that dissolve into my own.
The forest.
The shadows.
The horses.
The screams.
Teams
Hundreds
Romance.
Joy.
My body.
My head is falling.
And…then alpha
- You adapt quickly.
– HHA!
I open my eyes again.
Alpha-1 is standing in front of me.
His face pressed against mine.
How does she do that?
She's always had this way of passing
Without noise.
She's watching me.
Without blinking.
Without breathing heavily.
Just…
observer.
- What do you want?
Her voice is gentle.
- I...I don't know
My voice is cracking.
As if a secret was trying to come out at the same time.
- A human who desires nothing does not exist.
She's approaching.
I instinctively step back.
She smiled.
And takes my hand.
- How are you feeling?
I swallow.
- I feel… I feel very well .
It touches my throat.
Slightly.
Her fingers caress my skin.
I feel a shiver run down my entire spine.
- And if I cut off your head?
I'm backing away
She squeezes my wrist.
Just a little.
This is the first time I've succeeded. If you learn to use it… you'll be stronger than all humans combined. You could even become a perfect being and finally immortal. You represent the unreal, you are our savior.
A savior?
- You will follow in the domes.
She smiled.
You'll be perfect. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from you. I had more hope in her, Asmara.
She was like you. Fragile. Unstable. And deeply dependent.
I clench my fists.
- She's not like me.
- Yes. Exactly like you.
She tilts her head.
She hates who she was. She hates that you haven't lost as much as she has. She hates your existence because she sees herself in you.
She pauses.
- She's afraid we're better than her.
My heart skips a beat.
I lowered my head
- Look at me, Roum.
I have no choice.
My eyes rise on their own.
It was as if she were pulling an invisible thread attached to the back of my neck.
- You have a choice.
His voice became low, almost a whisper:
- Follow me and you will have everything... or be yourself.
Silence.
Long.
Suffocating.
My lips are moving.
- What if... I want to be myself?
She laughed.
A clear laugh.
Sharp.
Cruel.
- You can be, hahaha.
She places her hand on my chest.
Right where my heart races and never stops beating.
- but I would have to tear out his heart.
She squints.
A wry smile
- So choose, Roum.
She finally takes a step back.
I can breathe.
A little.
- Tomorrow, you will leave this level. You will accompany me into the first dome.
She turns towards the door.
- Stay here and rest.
She starts to walk.
Then it stops.
Without looking back:
- And Asmara? Don't worry about her.
I freeze.
- she will come too and to please you you will stay with Ela once you arrive.
The door closes.
I'm staying here.
Standing.
Mouth b.
I raise my hand.
The filaments under my suit are escaping.
Like… attracted by something on the other side of the wall.
She .
She is alive.
I missed her so much that my thoughts died.
All I want is to see her again
I close my eyes.
Remembering our days spent together, those good times:
She was…
Silence
What did she look like?
Our day
The smoke
The black
Shadows
The death
The flight
Hope
Survival
That was our life