Notebook with dark cover

The sound of machines monitoring vital signs mingled with the distant murmur of a city trying to pull itself together after the apocalypse. Korrin lay in a makeshift hospital bed, surrounded by sterile white light and gleaming metal structures. The medical ward was part of the Infinity's medical district, an entire section dedicated to those injured, traumatized and displaced by the disaster. The ship was colossal, a floating city with simulated levels, sectors and ecosystems. From the artificial sky that projected a false sunrise to the magnetic trains that ran for miles inside, the ship looked more like a mobile civilization than a spacecraft.

Korrin had his left arm bandaged up to his shoulder, hiding the strange black mark that had formed after touching that living, viscous substance. His gaze was empty. He hadn't spoken for days, hadn't cried. He had lost more than just his family. He had lost the right to a childhood.

Dr. Renn: Still not saying a word... But neurological activity levels are elevated. Restless dreams, instinctive responses... Trauma, probably. Or worse.

Dr. Renn muttered, as he checked his digital tablet.

Dr. Kaelis: Don't say stupid things, Renn. She's a child. She survived. That already makes her stronger than half of us here.

Dr. Renn: Did he survive?

He replied with a bitter laugh as he crossed his arms.

Dr. Renn: You and I watched the recordings, Kaelis. The ship activated itself. It closed the doors. And who was the last one to enter? Her? A brat with a necklace who magically ignited an ark of titanic proportions? No shit. Smells like something else to me. Something... we don't understand.

Dr. Kaelis: And what do you propose? Isolate it? Dissect it?

Dr. Renn: I say we should be careful. That thing on her arm is not normal....Just look at it, That mark is not a wound, Kaelis. It's a symbol. And in my experience, symbols are never innocent.That ship "chose" her. And you tell me, when was the last time technology chose something without there being something hidden behind it?

Dr. Kaelis turned to Korrin and sighed.

Dr. Kaelis: She saved thousands of lives, Renn. Don't condemn her for not fitting your idea of normalcy. Maybe... maybe that's what we need now. Something we don't understand, yes, but still have hope for.

The door opened with a soft buzzing sound, slid smoothly open, and a figure appeared.

It was Selene Vaelis A young woman of about sixteen, with ashen hair and steel-gray eyes. She wore a provisional pilot's uniform, her shoulders still somewhat large for her age. She was sixteen, and though she tried to maintain a professional bearing, her face betrayed nerves and something deeper: respect. Or perhaps compassion.

And even though she wasn't a doctor, she had insisted on meeting the girl everyone on the ship mentioned.

Selene: May I speak to her alone?

He asked bluntly.

Kaelis nodded quickly. Marlik let out a snort, but obeyed. They walked out, leaving Selene with Korrin.

The girl approached with slow steps. She saw the bandaged arm. She noticed the bruises, the cuts... and above all, that empty expression that seemed to consume the girl.

Selene: You are Korrin, right? I am Selene. I don't think it matters to you now, but... I just wanted to tell you that... you're alive. And that matters. Much more than it seems to.

Korrin barely turned his face. His lips did not move, but his body trembled almost imperceptibly, a spasm ran down his bandaged arm, as if the black mark reacted to Selene's words.

Selene: There are people out there who think it was your fault.

Selene continued, kneeling by the bed.

Korrin didn't say a word.

Selene: I'm talking about that day, the day we took off to the stars in search of survival. They say you didn't open the door. That you let them die. But I saw... I was there. And I know you weren't. I know you wanted to save them, too.

There was silence for a few seconds, but it seemed eternal for both girls.

Selene: I don't know why the ship chose you. Nor why that necklace glows when you touch it. But if you're here... if you're alive... it means something. What you choose to do with it... that's what will make the difference.

That said, Selene decided to get up and place something on the table next to the bed, an empty, black-covered notebook.

Selene: For you to write, when you are ready. What you want. What you can't say. Sometimes words hurt less when you see them outside your head.

After leaving the empty diary, he turned to leave, but before leaving, he turned once more.

Selene: You are not alone, Korrin. Not yet.

But it stopped her in that instant, Her voice had cracked as she said it, as if the words were also a reminder to herself.

The door closed with a whisper. For an instant all was silence. No monitors, no footsteps outside, not even the faint hum of lights seemed to exist.

And then...

The pain.

A sharp, icy sting pierced her skull like a sharp needle, forcing her to grit her teeth and clutch at the sheets with her good hand. The world spun. The lights dimmed as if reality itself was flickering.

And then he listened to it.

A voice. Close and distant at the same time. Grave. Inhuman. It had no tone or gender, but it was crystal clear. It slithered into his mind like a snake, each word vibrating deep in his chest.

██████: Do you think you escaped?

Korrin opened his eyes. The room was still the same... but it wasn't the same. The shadows seemed longer. The air, heavier.

██████:You left them to die.

He covered his ears. It didn't help.

██████: Everyone was shouting your name. Do you remember it?

The voice was a whisper that echoed directly into his consciousness, impossibly real.

██████: You are a lighthouse. A crack. A conduit... And you still don't know what for

Her trembling fingers reached for the notebook. Touching it, the pain dissipated as suddenly as it had begun. The lights stopped flickering. The world came back. But she was not the same.

He opened the notebook, perhaps seeking refuge in its empty pages. And there, on the first page, in a dark ink that had not been there before, appeared a single word:   Remember.