The room splits as I am led into the Re-Dawning chamber. I expected metal—but it’s glass. A cylinder of glass extending from floor to ceiling.
“Drop.”
The silver robe slips from my shoulders as the cylinder sinks into the floor.
“Walk.”
I obey, careful to proceed in a straight line until my feet settle upon the blinking circle. It beeps.
Resisting the urge to cover the intimate regions of my flesh, I focus my breath. I count in and out as the crowd murmurs and the cylinder ascends.
I want this.
A mantra or a prayer?
In and out.
I want this.
In and out.
As my breathing regulates, my peace of mind is restored. I have left behind the fear, the negativity, and the past. There is only the New Dawn.
A soft click, then silence. The airlock of the cylindrical cell has been secured.
My eyes open to greet Samuel, the leader of the Small Star Council, who now holds a small silver remote with a little orange button.
I want this.
His thumb hovers above the orange dot, and suddenly, the solitary peace of the private cylinder has transformed into a stifling, claustrophobic tube.
“WAIT!” I scream, pounding my fists against the glass, but his finger is already pressing down on that little orange button.
I smell it before I feel it. Sharp and chemical and hot all at once. The first droplet wastes no time burning away the old flesh to prepare for the New.
Ashlyn Frank is a Writer and Director based in New York City. She writes plays for the stage and screen as well as short tales of speculative fiction and horror. Recent credits & publications include: Chamber Theatre Productions, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Chango Film, The Iris Theatre, Theatre Right Now, The Road Theatre, Ellipses Magazine, Rooted Literary Magazine, Spectral Film Journal, and Apricity Magazine. You can follow Ashlyn on Instagram @ash.grace.frank, and view her work on ashlynfrank.com.
Featured image by on Unsplash.
