PART ONE: NEW EARTH

Chapter Two

| EUROPE, NORTHERN FROST REGION |

I open my eyes and throw my body up, gasping for a breath of air as if someone had been holding my head underwater. My heart was beating in my ears like a drum; my vision blurred and bright. In a panic, I crawl backwards until my skull slams into the wall. I feel material draped around me and hold it up in an effort to protect myself as my eyes begin to adjust. My rapid breath echoed throughout an otherwise silent room.

"Who's there!?" I shout out, croaking and stuttering as I force the cry out of my dry throat. The weak floorboards creaked and bent against my weight as I leaned further back into the wall, the wood dampening my back and shoulders through the cloth. Through the weaves of the material, I stare at the source of light and watch it diminish until it leaves me in complete darkness.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you," a Low voice hums from the other side. He turned a light on, shining in dark red. His tone was calm but it sounded static - like a recording. I lower the material and peek overtop into the drawing light.

It was… a robot. Not a man. About the size of a palm - and it floated. The light was coming from its eye. I look around the room, searching for the source of the voice. Was the robot really the one—?

"Hello." It continues. "Please don't be scared, I'm here to help you."

It begins to hover closer, driving my back flat against the wall. The robot stops in its tracks. It's hard to read an expression. "Sorry, I've never really done this before," it whispers. "I'm called a 'Ghost'. I've woken you up so we can get somewhere safe. I want to show you the way."

It kept its distance while I began to rationalise my thoughts, but I still didn't know what to do. Why was I asleep here?

After a moment of silence and heavy breathing, it quietly speaks up again. "I know none of this makes sense right now. And you're probably terrified and confused and… cold. It will make sense soon. I promise. Explaining everything now won't help. You just have to trust me," it assures. The robot hovers away and blinks its little red eye. I think it wants me to make the next move.

I take a deep breath. Where am I?

Holding the material close, I push off the wall and slowly stand up, scattering junk all over the floor. I take one glance around me and realise what I had been overlooking: They were bones. The bones of human skeletons. My hair spikes back up and like a lightning bolt striking down my spine, the adrenaline surges through again. I scream and run to the other side of the room, almost tripping over a skull and throwing myself against the cupboard of the opposite wall.

"They're dead!" I shout. "Why are they dead—!?" My breathing becomes hard to control and I fall deeper into the cupboard to support my weight.

"I know — calm down, you're hyperventilating." the robot commands. "They've been dead for a long time. So have you."

I feel my muscles go rigid. "What?"

It waits a moment before responding, as if being very cautious about the chosen words. "You were dead," it informs. "I resurrected you."

My head begins to feel heavy. That's impossible. It's lying. I want to run away to somewhere, to anywhere, but I feel like I'm glued to the floor. The sight of those skeletons makes me feel like a part of me is being ripped out and crushed. The longer that I stared the more my throat tightened. I couldn't look away. It doesn't feel real. None of this does. Why can't I remember how—?

"Listen." It interrupts, using its body to point toward the doorway. "I didn't... expect this kind of reaction. We should leave. I'll explain everything. But first we clearly need to go."

I wipe my nose on my arm and force a stronger grip on the weave around me. The robot begins to float away and in utter fear of being left alone, I rip my feet from the floor and follow. It stops before the entrance of a doorway, the shimmer of the light now reflecting off of its shell. "...There's more of them ahead. I'll guide you."

My heart freezes at the thought. "I don't know if I can," I mutter.

The robot turns toward me, analysing my facial expressions as if trying to figure out how to talk to me. "Think of them as bones, not people - sorry, that's probably a bad suggestion. Once we get outside the building, we can work from there. Follow me."

I nod my head.

We walk past a broken metal door into a grand room, withered and broken down by the elements. Along the walls and floor were the scattered remains of the dead - too many to count. A small yelp escapes my throat. My vision blurred as tears began to well up in my eyes; is this a nightmare?

"Stay close to me," the robot commands.

I do as it says, lightly grabbing hold of the railing. The wood cracks with each of my steps as it carefully leads me down the staircase. I keep my eyes down, being wary of the stray metal and rock that might cut into my feet. The structure was in ruins, and had collapsed down in front of the doorway. The robot stopped me at a hole in the wall; the debris of a broken window. It floated through. Rusty pieces of metal framing stuck up through the concrete and the minimal sunlight made it almost impossible to see them. Hesitantly, I grabbed the metal and ducked through.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"I don't know yet."

I sit down on top of a platform of novels I've organised to cushion myself, staring out of the hand-sized hole in the wood beside me. The dim moonlight cast long shadows across the streets. For the first time tonight, the silence gave me a feeling of comfort. Almost like I had made my own little home, protecting me from the outside world. It felt safe within this little room. It was high up, and it had only a couple of holes in the roof at the worst; so it's good. It's good. The robot thinks it'll be okay for the moment as well.

"Do you want to give it one more try?" It hums from beside me.

"What's the point," I ask. "Clearly I'm not what you think I am. I can't make a fire. It doesn't even make sense. I give up."

"You're freezing," It argues.

"I have this blanket."

"It's not enough, and I'm not sure if it's a blanket." the ghost remarks, floating toward the door. "I'll go see if I can find you some better clothes. Yours are in ruins"

"Wait," I call. "Please don't leave."

The ghost turns toward me, hovering in silent consideration. I know it's a robot, but I can't help but see a trace of humanity inside of it. And the thought of being left alone is more terrifying than the thought of freezing to death. Its company means a lot to me right now. I'm not sure if it has the capability to understand that, but I'd rather believe so.

"Alright." It whispers.

I adjust my blanket. "Thanks."

It floats back toward me, rotating its head. I begin picking at the fluff of the thing. "... I probably should have thanked you earlier, too. For waking me up. Bringing me 'back to life'. I've just been focused on everything else. It hasn't registered yet."

The images from earlier this evening flash into my head. There's probably hundreds of buildings that are full of them, full of those people. Maybe even thousands. "You can't save the rest, can you. Everyone we saw."

The ghost hovers in front me and steals my gaze. "I've been looking for you for a long time. But only ever you. The reason isn't clear, exactly." It sinks it a little lower. "No. I can't save anyone else."

"That must feel terrible."

"Kind of," it confesses. "But I think helplessness is something everyone can understand."

"I suppose so…"

We sit in silence for a few moments staring out of the little hole together. I notice a rabbit run across the fragmented cobblestone road. The ghost moves closer to try and observe where it went.

"Do you have a name?" I ask it.

"No. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to name myself or use what the others call me."

I lean my head against the wall. "What do the others call you?"

It rotates toward me. "Most of the time, 'Ghost'."

"And the rest of the time?"

"There's an engineer who calls me Jonas."

"Why?"

"He says it reminds him of bad ideas."

I scratch an itch on my shoulder. "Well I already like the sounds of it then."

There's a million questions I wanted to ask the robot. But for now it almost felt better to just lock them away at the back of my mind so I wouldn't have to worry about what the answers might be. Focus on the little things. One step at a time, maybe that way I'll be able to sleep tonight.

"Is that cloth warm enough to fall asleep with?" It wonders, almost reading my mind.

I let my spine take the shape of the wall. "Warm enough? No. Comfortable enough? Definitely not." I joke, giggling to myself. "But I'll make it work."

"That's good," Jonas contributes. "Maybe we can find something comfortable for you tomorrow. Or even better, a way out of here. I know a great place to go, I can't wait to show you."

I sink further into my spot and start to close my eyes. Thank god there's something to look forward to.

The jingle of the robot's mechanical parts hover beside me and start scanning the books on the shelf. Rather loudly. "Do ghosts ever need to sleep or 'recharge'?" I hint.

"No." It voices, deciphering my phrasing. "But. I can… pretend to? If you like."

"That would be nice."

It slowly descends onto my lap and lands on the blanket, dimming its eye and leaving only the moonlight to brighten up the room through the hole. "By the way," I mutter, "You're a guy, right? It feels weird to ask since you're a robot, but you have a deep voice so..."

"I'm not quite sure how it all works, but I think I'm male, yes."

"Cool." I note.

With nothing else to say I finally felt calm enough to lower my defences and wait for my eyelids to fall shut. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he whispers.

The Story Continues... 09/09/22