Coming Soon
After the Earth and its orbital colonies disappear, a mecha pilot is left to fend for himself in the void of space.
"The creaking of the brig seemed to bring life into the ship, like it was murmuring to him alone. The floors had began to warm up too— after the second or third day of the journey, he moved to the ground to sleep.
He liked to imagine that they were headed to a chunk of Earth that survived the Pale Tide. It floated through space, a meadow with singing birds and crickets and a river running through the center. The green of the grass and the twinkling blue water was so clear in his mind that he realized he had forgotten how vivid the world once had been. He imagined there were cows and chickens and that his belly would be full. The Captain would let him out of his cell for good and he would drink milk and bathe in the cold river-water and run barefoot through the dirt. When he thought of that, he pressed his cheek firmly into the floor, pretending the heat on his face to be the sun basking over him.
When Caris awoke on the cold floor feeling that the ship was no longer moving beneath him, dread filled his stomach. Before he even opened his eyes, he could tell that the room was darker than usual. Opening them, he found that he was right. The little emergency light at the end of the hall had shut off as well."
Section IV