Sharpness Of Space

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.” A smooth feminine voice drawled. Adam searched the darkness of the room, his hands cuffed to a chair, and a rag stuffed in his mouth preventing any words from spilling. The darkness was thick, a suffocating mass of nothingness that engulfed him where he sat.

“Shall we prove that myth to be a lie?” The voice rang again through the darkness, closer than before. Adam tugged at his arm, praying for a miracle to set him free. A laugh echoed around him, a cold sound that ran down his spine.

“Your efforts are in vain, Captain. Besides even if you were to escape, you have nowhere to go.” With her words, walls opened to reveal windows displaying the unending beauty of the stars and planets that circled around. If it weren’t for the harshness of Adams' situation, he would have stared for hours at the pure wonder of unending space.

Sweat dripped down the side of his face, without the sun he didn’t know how long he’d been in this tormenting hell. When his ship was attacked the enemy had taken all of his supplies and forced him and his crew mates into cells of darkness. They took someone out one by one, performing life threatening experiments. With each experiment less and less of his crew returned until there remained only him and Cassidy. But even then, she disappeared as well.

Adam struggled harder against the bonds, he froze as a chilling touch engulfed his shoulder. Turning his head he met the face of a young woman. Her features held no mark of age or any flaw. Her hair was long, reflecting the silver shine of the stars. But the most captivating feature was her eyes. They held the oblivion of the galaxy, a mirror to the space outside the windows of the room.

“Captain, you are the only human so far who has succeeded in all 12 of our experiments. Quite a feat for your kind might I add.” The woman said as she removed her hand and stepped in front of him, clasping her hands together gracefully.

“Don’t get all excited though, you have one last experiment to undergo. And this is the toughest one.” She took a step forward lifting her hand to his gag.

“I can imagine you have a few questions, so I will answer three and only three. So think carefully, and I will remove the cloth from your mouth.” She said as she removed the cloth from his mouth.

Adam took in a breath, question after question poured into his mind begging to leave his tongue. “Why are you doing this?” He rasped, his throat rough and scratchy from lack of use.

“A very smart question, Captain. We are trying to form bonds with humans, but have learned that your kind cannot survive on our home planet. These past experiments are trials to see if your body would be able to withstand the conditions of my home planet.”

Adam felt vomit rising, he was drawing too many conclusions. Panic seized his common sense as he struggled harder against his bonds. “Who are you?! What are you?!? What do you want with the human race?!?” His screamed, his heart pounding in his chest as he pulled and pulled at his restraints. The woman merely smiled.

“Now now Captain, that was three questions in a row, I’ll answer the first two.” She chuckled, the coldness of her voice left a sickening feeling in his chest. “Your kind is not able to say my name, I’ll allow you to call me Amara. As for what I am? My kind is called Veganamid. And that is the last of your questions and the beginning of your final trial.” She clapped her hands together, a beautiful open smile spread over her features as she turned and looked out the window. “Please don’t disappoint me.”

Before he could react, a needle was pierced into his neck, a bright pink liquid seeped into his body causing an electric pain to shoot down his spine. She turned back towards him, showing no acknowledgement of whatever had pierced him. Leaning in, she placed her lips on his cheek. A cold sharpness entered his skin as her lips made contact, causing Adam to wince. She smiled at him before taking two steps backwards.

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, let’s prove them wrong.” She drawled as the bonds on Adams chair lifted and the floor beneath him opened, sucking him into open space.

His lungs ached yet no sound was heard from his gaping mouth. The coldness of space was as sharp as a knife, engulfing his entire body. His skin froze as his insides burned, tearing him and shifting him. He scratched his skin, begging for the pain to end. With each pulse of hot and cold his skin shifted, glossing over with frost then melting once more. He felt his blood freeze then melt, the pain searing through him he screamed again, though silence was all that came.

Death was all that he could see, all that he could feel. Even as he drifted amongst the beauty of the stars and many galaxies. He felt darkness edging at the corners of his mind, beckoning him to join it. Yet, within that darkness he saw a warm glow, soft, yet warm. He could hear it calling, telling him that his time wasn’t over. Reaching, he grasped that warm light and held on with all the strength he could conjure.

As each second passed, his body glossed over with frost, he heard nothing but felt everything. Adam still screamed, ignoring the frost that glittered on his skin. Ignoring the starlight sliver that now shone in his hair. He screamed and screamed into the void ignoring each breath that he took and the sound of his screams that now filled the absolute empty space. His body had adapted, his heart was still beating, yet human? He’d never be again.