esper

4. ESPER

    The frozen Esper lay upon a bed of soft rock, half excavated from its earthen womb, the chill of the encasing ice reaching even beyond the girl�s mental prison. The sheer size of the creature was unthinkable, with massive, leathered wings curled around the carapace that protected its body, its back arching up to a height of thirty feet above them, riveted with spiny protrusions that grew steadily smaller as they approached the being's neck. The spines were triangular in shape with sharp edges and the largest of them was as tall as a fully grown man. The head curled under the left wing with the appearance of deep sleep, the long, ridged snout ending in two large, sooty slits and its closed right eye visible through the icy glaze. This, the girl suddenly knew without a doubt, was the being that had penetrated beyond the crown�s control and had spoken to her what seemed like ages ago, but which was only a matter of hours before, according to her chronometer. She had to communicate with it again. Maybe it could help her find a way to escape.
      Can you hear me? Who are you? Please, help me. She pleaded over and over with the slumbering monster while, from the corner of her immobile eyes, she could make out Vicks and Wedge moving towards the giant beast. She felt her heart rate increase at the sight of their progress towards the frozen Esper though she did not feel the accompanying panic which would normally have seeped into her consciousness. She remained devoid of emotion.
      �Great Gods, captain,� Vicks shouted, in absolute amazement. �What, in all the heavens, is this thing? Is this the Esper we were sent to find?�
      Wedge circled around the large stony dais upon which the Esper lay, disappearing from view on the right, and reappearing a few seconds later on the left. His face plate had gone opaque, a definite sign of his growing unease at this discovery. She could almost feel her own Magitech Machine vibrating on the edge of its offensive mode, only a single command away from totally annihilating the beast before her. She could do nothing to stop them if they decided to destroy the Esper, but she also knew that doing that would violate their very reason for being here though how she knew that was beyond her comprehension. She cared not for understanding at this point. She had to get through to the Esper, try to warn it of the danger that was imminent.
      Please, can you hear me? These men want to hurt you, and to use you, like they are using me. Do something to help yourself. I know you have the power to stop them.
      I do have power, young one, and you shall possess this power soon. But you are not ready for the trials ahead.
      �Sir! What�s happening?� came Vicks' voice across her Machine's interior, panic-laden and growing steadily more alarmed. "What's it doing?"
     You must know that only within you lies the seed of true destiny.
      The being�s eyelids suddenly sprang opened, the eye swimming madly in its socket as the beast took in a great laboring breath and then... it focused directly upon the girl.
      The girl gasped as brilliant light erupted into the cavern all at once, blinding all who stood within the chamber, overloading the visual circuitry within the Machines and within the minds of the two humans. Within the split second that her conscious mind retained its capabilities, the girl heard the anguished screams of her companions, and knew they were no more.
      Be free, young one, and begin your journey.
      The intensity of the light increased infinitely and she no longer knew herself as just simply living, but as having lived and as having not yet lived. The cosmos shrank before her, and her essence expanded its consciousness to adapt, lengthening the frail, mortal coil of existence, stretching it beyond its capacity for understanding as she was filled, every part of her, with an overwhelming sense of purpose and truth... but it was mortality which kept her from escaping the physical realm. She screamed.
      Then, there was only darkness.

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