SWOW October Writing Contest Entry || The Terminators of Eslyum

Instructions

OreoTurtleBear || The Terminators of Eslyum || Short Story || Yes || The moon (the 2nd one) Eslyum is pronounced es-LIE-um Fenyx is pronounced FE-nix Right arrow to move forward, left arrow to go back (mobile-friendly, just tap the different sides of the background; right to move forward, left to go back :D) If the font is too hard to read (sorry about that) here is a transcript: The killings were worsening. With thirty percent of the population murdered in their sleep and the other ten in secluded areas in the dead of night, the whole of Eslyum was terror-stricken. Except for me. Until now. I had passed the Terminators off as a phase. We could get over it soon. I hadn’t realized how dangerous they could be. Dressed from head-to-toe in black, their crepe-soled shoes barely made a sound. The sky was always clouded with the wildfire smoke from what was once a separate nation precisely nine-hundred-eighty-two years ago that had enveloped the whole Earth, so you could barely see the Terminators in the dead of night until they were right next to you. They pounced on you as a cat would a mouse. Sneaking towards you until just the right moment, then they would come speeding towards you and pin you to a wall. You never saw them. Never heard them. Until you were captured. I heard a rush of wind, and I was suddenly pressed against a wall, a knife pressed against my throat. It would only take one jerk in the wrong direction, and my life would be over. My hands were squished between my back and the wall. That was out of the question. I felt the cool blade pierce my flesh. I felt a warm, sticky substance roll down my chest. My heart was racing. ᴛʜɪs ɪs ɪᴛ, I thought. ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ɴᴏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ. ᴀ ғɪɢᴜʀᴇ ᴏғ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ. ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟʟ ᴏʀ ᴀ sᴛᴏʀʏ ɪɴ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ’s ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ. ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴘɪʟᴇ ᴏғ ʙᴏɴᴇs ᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴘ ᴏғ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ʙᴏᴅʏ ғʀᴏᴍ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅs, ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅs, ᴏғ ʏᴇᴀʀs ᴀɢᴏ. The knife was pressed deeper into my throat. I bit my tongue to stop a scream from rising. Anybody who heard me would come rushing to the scene, and they would be done-in, too. That would be another life gone. One more family weeping. ʙᴀɴɢ ɢᴏᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇsᴛ ᴏғ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ. ɪ’ᴍ sᴏʀʀʏ, ғᴇɴʏx. I thought I had felt pain before. When Father left us after Fenyx was born with a disability, and then leaving Arthur for Mother to take care of. She had enough to worry about already. My life flashed before my eyes. Watching Father pack as he left, not knowing that it would be the last time I saw him. I felt guilty for yelling at Mother when she favored Arthur above myself, even though I knew she didn’t. Arthur wasn’t even her child. Just forced upon her like a sack of potatoes that we didn’t need. I was boiling with anger toward my father. He left us and didn’t even say goodbye. Left us on our own to fend for ourselves. I let the emotions I had bottled up inside me out. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. Not just from the agonizing pain of the knife piercing my flesh. Not just from the Terminator standing above me, cornering me against a wall. I had been so stupid to think that the Terminators weren’t such a big deal. The whole of Eslyum was in danger of these rebels. As if on cue, the Terminator withdrew the knife from my throat with a sob. I inhaled a shaky breath as I heard the Terminator’s footprints quickly and quietly pat away down the street. I counted my breaths as they came and went. ᴏɴᴇ… ᴛᴡᴏ… ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ… I continued counting until my panting had slowed at least somewhat. I rummaged through my satchel, trying to find the green pill that I always kept with me for emergencies. I found it and held it loosely in my hand. My head spun from the lack of blood in my system. I stopped looking through my bag. The world faded to black. In my dreams, I heard a voice, mumbling something I couldn’t understand. A female figure emerged from the darkness, dressed in a black, hooded leather jacket and heeled equally black leather boots. “I couldn’t do it,” she muttered. “Sparks wanted me to. Said that getting you would bring great rewards for me. But I couldn’t. You must…” A static sound proceeded to fill the room. “My connection is being severed. I cannot continue anymore. Here is where I leave you.” I woke in a cold sweat, the woman’s words echoing in my thoughts. sᴘᴀʀᴋs ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ. ᴡʜᴏ ɪs “sᴘᴀʀᴋs”? I thought. I shrugged it off, trying to concentrate on the fact that I had survived a Terminator attack. I felt my neck. Somehow, I had managed to shove the green pill down my throat before I fainted, and it was no longer spouting blood. I sighed with relief and let my hand trail back down to its resting position on the ground. I sat up slowly, counting the seconds as they passed before I stood up a minute later. I looked around. The sun was just beginning to rise, marking the end of the curfew that was placed as an attempt to control the killings. The Vectura system was shut down during the time from sunset to sunrise. ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓