YSJ Anthology 2015

Blink
James Nissler
It was sunset when the boy wandered the streets of Sterrion alone.
He walked at random; his gaze focused more on his own aching feet
than the buildings that shadowed him. The boy tried to keep his
mind calm, but night was fast approaching and his fear grew with
each minute the shadows lengthened. His name was Telic and he
was lost.
In his attempt to find his way home the twisting streets of Sterrion
had led Telic away from familiar neighbourhoods. He hadn’t meant
for it to happen, but then no one intentionally becomes lost. Telic
had been running errands for his parents and as boys of fourteen
often do, his mind had wandered and his feet had strayed. He tried
to remember the last place he recognised but he had been so
wrapped up in his own daydreams that his memories of the journey
were disjointed and fuzzy.
Telic glanced cautiously around as he wandered onto a large open
space with three tarmac roads branching off from it. From the
position of the sunset he thought the right road would take him
home. Telic crossed the courtyard but froze as he heard the steady
hum of an aeromotive zoom by overhead. The sleek craft was gone
before Telic could even try to gain its attention, leaving twin trails of
emission that blended into the smoggy sky. Behind the layers of
pollution Telic could barely make out the shape of Gehenna – the
dead planet – where it floated as an ever-present warning of the
destruction that humanity was capable of.
As he continued on his way streetlights began to light up in
preparation for night’s takeover. Telic began to grow nervous again,
although he was unsure why, and unconsciously touched the dark
leather patch that covered his left eye. It appeared that this street
was home to numerous bars and pubs, and while plenty of noise and
music came from these the traffic on the street was relatively thin.
Like Telic all the people wore patches over their left eyes, though
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