Marionnette

The dust particles were all that was left from the image of her dad.

 Augustina was standing alone in this space beyond anything. Her first thoughts were of her family. But then, she started wondering, are there people here? Are there cities or anything in this new space she had found herself in?

Her memories felt foggy. Suddenly, her eyes grew heavy, and she began blinking rapidly. An image of a tree kept appearing and disappearing in her vision. Her legs moved on their own. Her feet felt heavy as black soil squeezed between her toes. It felt like she was in some kind of vast black desert under a white sky. There were many suns and stars above, which might explain why the sky was so bright. Her legs continued moving in one direction. Visions of her parents flickered in and out of her thoughts. She stopped.

In front of her stood a small kid with a lollipop, staring at her. He looked normal enough and asked her something in a language unfamiliar to Augustina.

He was probably asking something, Augustina thought. He looked like he wanted answers.

“Latin? Do you speak Latin?” she asked.

The kid waved at her, motioning for her to follow. The sky was getting brighter, the air was different... Augustina started to feel strange, like she was dead or dying.

She had been walking for a long time now, following this small kid with the big lollipop that somehow hadn’t melted or broken.

Flash!!
A ringing, buzzing, or hissing sensation suddenly overwhelmed her ears.

She couldn’t move any part of her body. She was strapped into a chair with belts. Her mouth was duct-taped. She saw some lights, and something that looked like lab equipment. A sharp metal tool was approaching her eye. She passed out.

My feet are burning... how long do I need to follow this kid? Suddenly, the kid pointed to a giant box the size of a house that appeared in front of them. The box was black like the sand, with a small knob. When the kid opened the door, inside were a bunch of...

She woke up, still strapped to the chair. But now she couldn’t see from one of her eyes. Through the working eye, she saw dark silhouettes...She could hear fragments of conversation:

“Is this real?”

“Did this woman really breach the barrier?”

“She is not—”

“She must be from—”

“Maybe we should cut the—”

“We already tested and cut—”

“Maybe the leg,”

“Arm—”

“We could barrier—”

She couldn’t make out any full sentences.

The box the kid had opened was full of doll parts: legs, arms, and more. She looked for the kid, but he was gone. Slowly stepping in, Augustina felt creeped out and completely empty. The doll parts looked somehow familiar to her. The door slammed shut and sealed. The room’s lights twitched. The doll parts began to move. In Augustina’s head, the room was spinning. She tried to reach the door and walls, but it was too late. She was trapped. Her body became connected to the doll parts by invisible threads...Strangely, she felt okay. She was standing in the middle of the box, feeling all the doll parts.

She tried to move one hand, and then saw a vision: A tsunami hitting a city. Why was she seeing this? Was this Earth?

She pulled another string, and saw a mother giving birth. What was this? Augustina wondered. Do these doll parts show images from Earth? Am I connected to them somehow?

She woke up again. A light shone above her. She was lying on a cold table. She tried to sit up, but a voice said:

“Don’t get up. The barrier won’t open if you move.”

She stayed still. Will I manage to break the barrier this time? Will I make it out of this black hole Earth?

A scientist spoke with a cold voice:

“The portal will open this time, for sure.”

Augustina softly, her voice cracking, asked:

“Mom? Is that you?”

“No, I am Dr. Lisa Reed. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”

“Will I finally breach the zero point?”

“Yes. This is the way. Trust me. Be still.”

The table began to shake, violently. She started losing consciousness. Her head was back inside the black box. She was controlling the doll parts and realized that with them, she could cause things to happen in different parts of the universe...Or so she thought.

She pulled one part of a doll, and suddenly saw a vision of a person.

Is that my mother? What is she doing to that girl on the table?

Wait… is that girl on the table… me?