Terminal... An Electric Dreams Story

As the first light of dawn pierced through the curtains, Linda turned on the bed and buried her face in her blanket. She never did like mornings, and this one was bringing added pressure along with it.

For today was the day she gets to take it. The day she discovers her fate amongst the others, amongst humanity. Today she either lives, or begins the short walk towards her death. She had thought about it all day for the past three weeks, she hadn't been able to help it. And finally today had come. The day of the drug..

Linda tried to push the thoughts away. Where was deep sleep when one really needed it...?

Pixabay

Terminal...

17th April, 2030 (Present Day)...

"Lin, we made your favorite. Pancakes and eggs."

Linda heard the words of Mary, her mother, but she wasn't so sure how to reply. Today, she had little, if any appetite for food. But she smiled nonetheless as she took her place at the table, next to her kid brother.

"Nothing better than great food to start the day, don't you think Lin?"

"Yeah mum." Linda replied this time, while reaching for a fork.

"Well, guess what happened last night when both of you went to bed."

"You went to bed too?" Pete, Linda's kid brother answered, while chewing through a mouthful of pancake.

"Oh, eat your food Pete." their mother retorted, before going on to answer her own question.

Linda meanwhile, was surprised at how good the pancakes tasted despite her lack of appetite. She ate quietly as she listened to her mum.

"Well, you see, I couldn't sleep. So I went down to the old bedroom. And guess what I dug out from the old book shelf there."

"The ten keys to sleeping by Pete McNally?."

"An old book of horoscope." Mary said, ignoring her son. "And it promised that today would bring a welcome new chapter of love, and happiness in our lives."

Linda smiled at her mum. She heard the meaning in the reference to the old bedroom. She also heard the meaning in the promise of a welcome new chapter... In our lives. They were basically talking about what was coming, without really talking about it.

But she understood, or at least she felt she did. Only she didn't really know how to genuinely partake in the conversation. She was after all, the primary person of interest today. So she sought a different tack instead.

"Mum, these pancakes are great!" She said, in between mouthfuls. "Can I get some more?"

"Oh sure honey."

As Mary left the table and made her way to the kitchen, Pete and Linda exchanged looks. They both had different ways of dealing with their mother, but both of them also understood her pain.

"Don't blame her." Pete said, in a low voice so their mother wouldn't overhear. "She's anxious, we all are."

Linda thought back to that day. The day her parents had taken the drug themselves. Pete was only two at the time, so he didn't remember much about that day. She herself was six, but she had been old enough to remember..

Her mum had seen a silver bird, and all had been celebratory. But the tension had been in the air. She too had felt it even though she was only a little girl then. And it finally broke when the needle left her dad's arm.

"What do you see?" the doctor had asked..

"Nothing.." her father had said.

And so a black cloud had descended on their lives. Three weeks later, her dad had died. Linda quickly fought the tears rising in her eyes as her mother returned with a new plate of pancakes...

..........

17th April, 2019...

Hospitals and clinics around the world were filled to the brim. Young and old, strong and weak, they all lined up to get their shot. Everyone wanted a piece of that formula. The formula that would save humanity.

Only six months ago, the ozone layer had finally lost its strength. Unknown external substances had penetrated Earth's atmosphere. Humanity had been at risk..

All the industries had finally sprung to action. The cleaning of Earth's atmosphere had suddenly come alive. All indiscriminate disposal of gaseous waste had ceased. But it had all been too little, too late. A strange infection was spreading. Humans were already at risk. And Humanity was dying fast...

What had followed next was the greatest search for a cure that humanity ever experienced. It would have been completely futile, but one factor was on the side of the humans. Whatever it was that infected man, it seemed to only affect those from 18years and above...

And so when a cure was finally found, after six months of a drastic reduction in total human population, the relief could be sensed in the very air that was breathed. Everyone, young and old, weak and strong, wanted a shot...

But like every drug, this one also had a side effect. One that would change the course of humanity for a long long time. For if you had a shot of the Terminal, for that was what it was named, you either saw a strange animal and lived extensively long, or you saw nothing and died soon after...

It was this drug that Linda, when she turned seventeen, like the rest of humanity, had to take to know her fate...

..........

She lay propped up on the bed, her eyes heavy. The dizzying effect of the anaesthetic was slowly beginning to fade. Beside her, her mum and little brother sat and waited.

Soon after the doctor walked in, and took her pulse.

"She's ready." He announced.

At his voice, Linda opened her eyes. The sign of her family smiling down at her reassured her a little. She knew the big one was yet to come.

"Do you require more pain killers?" The doctor asked.

Slowly, Linda shook her head. She looked at Pete, and gestured towards the table beside her bed. Pete stood up and reached across for her bag. From it, he retrieved a saved piece of pancake from the morning's meal.

"If you can fit all this into your mouth, you definitely are a miracle worker." He chided as he handed it to her.

Linda smiled, and accepted the challenge. She stuck all of it in her mouth. Then she threw Pete a defiant look.

"Now.." Pete whispered, though all in the room could hear.

Then quickly, the doctor inserted the syringe he had carefully kept concealed behind him all this time, in Linda's raw arm. And she bit hard into the pancake, her eyes tightly closed.

The silence that followed the removal of the syringe was deafening. As everyone else waited in anxious silence, Linda took in three loud crunches of pancake, before she opened her eyes.

"What do you see...?" The doctor, Pete and Mary asked all at once.

Linda smiled, and then she swallowed noisily.

"A flying pig." She whispered.

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

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Written for @tygertyger's Electric Dreams Contest

This one was a very difficult prompt combo. I hope someone found it a pleasant read.

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