Becca's mind floated through the emptiness of space. She peered through the finite world searching for any points of reference. She found nothing.
Total darkness. Total silence. Total peace.
There was not even the pull of gravity to tell her which way was up.
Her body was gone.
This must be death
Time seemed to be telescoping, stretching and compressing, as if it had no bearing in this place. She had lost track of how much time had passed.
Ten seconds? Ten minutes? Ten hours?
The memories that had billowed through the blackness of Becca's mind had come and gone. In their wake, a trail of red-hot sparks was swirling, along with the same eerie, distant whisper.
Don't think it... Don't say it... Don't think it
The chanting continued like the drone of voices in a medieval canticle.
It told of tales, she dared not say.
Light
The endless void in which Becca hovered was suddenly filled by a blinding sun. Rays of white-hot light streamed across the blackness of space, burning into her mind.
The light was everywhere.
And water, splashed on her face.
She jolted up, brought back to consciousness by the chill water.