RazorLabs - Where it all started
09 Jul 2023Eeka
In a beautiful and breezy afternoon of summer, Dr. A.J. Benitez was taking his lovely wife back home after a routine medical consult.As an ever nature-loving person, he decided to change the route so they both could enjoy the exquisite end of day of their planet. The vehicle handles very well the mild climb to the top of the hills.
Benitez was driven by the will to make people get in touch with the connection he had with the wonders of infinity, its mysteries, life... and the place he was taking her was a good candidate to provide a small gaze into it.
With no other intention than simply worshiping the view, to provide a beautiful end of day to his wife and expectant son, he went up the road. Her hair swirling with the wind of his roof-opened vehicle as the bright white sun was setting in the horizon. Half of the sky black-starlit, half in a gradient from dark blue to the intense white.
She turns to him in a smile, with part of the sun still shining in the background as it was a flower delicately adorned in her hair. For a moment, it felt like the time had stopped. A mental-picture he will forever harbor in his memories, alive and colorful.
As the time has slowed down, he could perceive in details her eyes fluttering open and her smily face turning into an indescribable expression of horror. With the vehicle in motion it took him no time to understand they could be in imminent danger, yet his reactions could not... they did not execute... no fast... not fast enough.
A sudden strong jolt followed by loud metallic thud and crashing sounds, the feeling of motionlessness as the horizon and sky starts changing positions, some debris floating around, yet his eyes wandered towards her location. He needed to see... He needed to know... As soon as possible... Now... Where... How... Did... She?
All he could see was her face, in fear, forcing herself into the car seat, before time sped up again as the rocky mountain came fast in their direction and everything went black.
An insistent noise echoing, piercing the darkness. What an annoying noise... What would the cause be? How could this be stopped?
Slowly, Dr. Benitez started opening his eyes again. It took a time until he could realize his vision was dim and still adapting to receive light. Everything was so strange, so confusing, what was all this, where is everyone?
Alerts continue to ring into the car panels, stating that emergency services were automatically called to the location of the crash.
The crash... the crash... the crash. These words kept repeating in his head and a dreadful feeling coldly crushed his heart. He could not see his own condition, his entire being was magnetized to finally being able to reach her again. And so he did.
Crawling through the sharp, dry stones of the valley he didn't feel any pain and couldn't remember how he managed to leave the car as the image of her laying down near the cliff shocked him to his core.
With every fiber of his being, he surged towards her... as he could. Something was not right, it was taking too long, like some strange unknown force was insisting on keeping them apart.
The sound of his struggle stirs her from her slumber and the comotion makes the already disturbed erosive ground starts to fall towards the cliff.
As close as he is and as exposed as she is to the cliff, he stretches his arm to try to catch her but no, he can't. He can't reach... He can't reach, as both of his arms are broken.
She falls silently as the ground crumbles down, taking him along but not as further. Still with eyes magnetized into her, the only thing left for him to do was watch and surrender to the traumatizing feeling of powerlessness as she rolls down the cliff.
In the days, years, after this event, Dr. Benitez struggled against guilt, blaming himself for what happened. Poor men who believe they are the ones to shoulder blame for certain events much larger than themselves.
Still, he could not allow himself to drown into the sorrow of the nightmarish day since little Nikola emerged as a scarred spark from this complete darkness and would need him.