THE MOMENT
"Huh... weird...," Norma mumbled to herself as she took in the unexpected environment. She tended to keep a level head, to begin with, and she felt drowsy enough to doubt whether she was awake at all. If it weren't for the debris littering the blacktop and leading to a rusted, ruined airplane, she might not have known where she was at all. As it stood now, at least she knew she was at an airport. Though, everything looked deserted as far as she could tell. Despite the fading sunlight, there were no lights on anywhere. She took a look around and then headed toward the terminal with more planes lined up.
She was still barefoot and in her night clothes. The runway felt uncomfortable under her feet; and, a cool breeze gave her a very real chill as she neared the building. She passed abandoned luggage carts that seemed to have been there for a while. The suitcases were weather worn and covered with dust. Norma wondered what happened; but, she instantly had more questions once she reached the building. The doors and several windows were barricaded from the inside and shattered from the outside.
"Uhhh... that's gonna hurt....," Norma mumbled to herself as she noted the glass-covered floor around the entrance. She thought for a moment, then realized she had options. She made her way to the nearest luggage cart and removed the top layers of bags. She hoped and assumed they were moist due to recent rains and dug through them until she found one that seemed dry. She found a couple of cases at the bottom and chose the brighter one to search first. The green and white color scheme was more appealing to her than the plain, faded black of the other one; and, its bright white color stood out to her. It looked almost brand new compared to the rest of the cart. It was labeled 'SoundCrowd' in a stylish font that gave her the impression of official merchandise belonging to a band, or maybe a sports team. She set it upright and grabbed the zipper; but, it didn't move.
"C'mon...," She was losing light fast and she hoped there was something helpful in there if she managed to open it. As she struggled with the zipper, a new, concerning sound reached her ears. She froze immediately and listened; it happened again, then again two seconds later. "...I have to find out...," Norma sighed as she recognized the crunching sound of footsteps on glass. She mustered her courage, then whirled around all at once to catch anyone trying to surprise her. She still found herself surprised.
A decaying, sickly-green zombie in a ragged business suit was making its way to her step by step. It was moving slowly and she took a moment to look at the building. Now she could see more shadows gathering inside and moving toward her.
"Running now...," Norma made the decision to take the bag with her as she jogged away. It was light enough to carry; but, solid enough to be used as a weapon if she needed to. And, she still hoped to find something useful inside. Luckily, the zombies all moved at a snail's pace. She kept up the light run for several minutes until the zombies were barely visible in the growing night. Then, she began wrestling with the zipper on the case more earnestly. "This feels real and it sucks...," she began to wonder whether she should start crying now or wait until she got eaten. Her level-headedness could only take so much and the frustration of the tiny zipper was starting to mount.
Then, a few more sounds caught her attention. She looked up when she heard shuffling in the dark around her; but, she saw a small, bright golden light floating through the air. It flew toward her, illuminating a dozen zombies around her as it approached. She had no idea there were that many, nor where they came from. It was as if they suddenly formed out of sight. The other sound that she noticed gave her hope; it sounded vaguely like muffled gunfire. And, she could see bright flashes beyond the golden light.
Norma’s sudden hope and relief faded when the light reached her. It was a beautifully brilliant golden and purple butterfly that probably couldn’t help her. It came down and landed on the green and white suitcase to rest. The only thing it did was glow brighter once it landed; it only showed her how trapped she was. She was completely and totally surrounded by groaning zombies now. It wasn’t until several seconds later that she realized she should have already been attacked. The light kept the zombies at bay; but, the gunfire drew closer. Her rollercoaster of emotions took her up to hope again. She waited patiently for whatever was going to happen next.
During a night of unexpected revelations, she was growing used to it. She happily accepted the new reality when a teenage girl skated up to her after a nearby burst of gunfire. The girl had bright blue spiky hair and she wore a long translucent duster. She was followed into the light by a flying, gun-laden drone that immediately dispatched the crowd of zombies around them.
“Hey, I’m Jenny,” the teen smiled at Norma as she offered her a hand up. “You’re not here on purpose, are you?” she asked. As she put Norma at ease, the golden butterfly lifted off the suitcase and flew up to land on Jenny’s shoulder. But, it didn’t stop there. Once it touched her coat it sank into her shoulder and transformed into a purple and gold koi fish. Norma realized the coat wasn’t translucent, it almost seemed to be made of water; the fish swam around her as Jenny knelt to the case. Now, she was the one radiating golden light. The case disintegrated as soon as she placed a hand on it.
“I don’t know where I am…,” Norma shook her head. “I went to sleep in my own bed, then woke up here.”
“Yeah,” Jenny giggled. “That happens sometimes,” she made a gesture at the air and a tall black hole opened. “You’re an Estrella,” she said. “You probably don’t know what that means, but if you go through there someone will explain everything to you. But, don’t worry. You’ll learn how to get back home to your Earth too,” she said.
“My…,” Norma began the question; but, she knew she could ask it later. At the moment, her one focus was leaving these zombies behind. She shook her head to dismiss the question and asked a different one. “... you’re not coming with me?” she asked. The drone started firing again; Now that she was safe, Norma was starting to be more curious about where exactly all these zombies were coming from.
“Sorry,” Jenny shook her head with a shrug. “I’m kind of in the middle of a game.”