Ren's ArtPrompt Writing Contest #1: The Hunt

"Visitors..."

Jaqueline said it with such nonchalance.

Her boyfriend, Richard, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as composed.

"But!" That's all he could say as she walked out onto the rooftop vista.

This was her world. And no one else knew.

Jacqueline had chosen to be "dropped in" with full conscious memory. She had designed it meticulously. The golden sun rising over the horizon. The city, simultaneously a blend of old world and new world. And the mothership...

It searched the city for its target. A mystery target. This was the only unknown in Jacqueline's world. The only facet that made it worthwhile. "Surprise me," she said before she dropped in.

Focusing on the mothership, Jacqueline's vision began to gain clarity. With a silent swoop, a craft emerged from the mothership. The birth of new awareness. She gazed through the gate as it hovered over the city. Jaqueline brought her attention upon it, seducing it, until her vision became the vision of the craft.

Whatever she was looking for... She would know it as soon as she saw it.

She had designed this world after all.

Richard was still too scared to step out onto the vista. "Poor guy," she thought. "I programmed him to do just that. He doesn't have a choice."

His voice faded as Jacqueline's consciousness focused more and more into the craft. "Stabilize. Stabilize." As soon as the craft found equilibrium, Jacqueline smiled. WHOOSH. It moved like a blur over the horizon. Then again. WHOOSH. It was back.

She gave herself a quick report. "Speed... Check. Steering... Check. All systems good."

This drop in wasn't a test drive though. It was a hunt.

“What could this target possibly be?”

The uncertainty caused her mind to roam. Something lingered just outside her consciousness. Fear began to grip her. Storm clouds appeared instantly. Anxiety threw her back into her body and she almost stumbled over the edge of the vista. She heard Richard gasp as she staggered. The craft shook in response, almost hitting a skyscraper.

Jacqueline grounded her feet and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Focus, Jacqueline.” Then she repeated the ancient mantra to counter fear…

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

The sky cleared. The craft stabilized. And hesitantly, Jacqueline brought her consciousness back into the craft.

Looking down at the city, she saw people going about their day. It was just another day for them. The same as every day. She had programmed them to do just that. They didn't have a choice.

Moving slowly, with care, she brought the craft’s focus to a building. It was a skyscraper, the tallest one in the city. Something about it called to her. The rooftop.

As she focused more and more, it became clearer. The roof began to look familiar. Eerily familiar. Then she saw a figure, poised, staring right at the craft.

“It’s… It’s me! How?”

Before Jacqueline could even finish her thought, the other Jacqueline took control of the craft. In the blink of an eye, the craft was now over her.

As the laser beam blasted in slow motion, Jacqueline remembered…

“I’m here to find myself. And the only thing that can defeat me is me.”

Her world was ripped away from her, replaced by bright white lights and a muffled BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.

“Did you find it?” Her assistant Richard asked as he help her remove the virtual reality headset.

All Jacqueline could do was smirk.