Nova, Part Ten
by ted 2112, HSM team writer
The water was cold and dark, and wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Her lungs burned as she clawed her way to the surface. Above her she could see bands of light dancing in vertical ribbons, and for a moment she was young again, learning how to swim, and going too deep, only to become scared and race to the surface. The universe had taken that away from her, everything she ever knew was gone, and now it was giving back.
She broke the surface, reborn, and with a heave she filled her lungs with the heavy air. The strange planet was still and quiet, with a huge moon hanging in the starry sky above her. Nova’s body ached as she swam slowly to the beach and crawled her way out of the water, only to collapse on the sand. She lay there staring up at the stars, and ran her hands over her body feeling the solidness of it. Her body was burning with pain, but it was a real body. She was alive, she could feel, and she had form.
Nova dragged herself from the beach, and on shaky legs managed to stand; then, with a slow, purposeful hobble, she walked from the beach, and into the tree line. Her feet quickly found their path. The trees gave way on each side and led her further into the dense woods. She knew the way, although she had never been here before. Nova came at last to a clearing. The moon illuminated the glade with a clear silvery light. This was the beginning place.
∞
The Misfits could make out the flume, even from their far distance. It started as a white splash, unbelievably high. However, it quickly became a sheet of white that seemed to shimmer and warp the air itself. It moved outward with incredible speed, hiding the blue sky behind it, and pushing a wall of wind out in front. The wave of light traversed the distance in mere seconds until it finally crossed the shores of civilization.
They stood huddled together, as the tempest crossed over them. The wave of solid air pushed them back. They tried to cling on to each other as they fell, but were all blown swiftly apart and lost each other in the boiling fury. Each was alone; the wall of light had dismantled the Misfits. Where there were once four, there was only Seiphie, Tac and Pence now.
∞
Sam awoke, feeling like he couldn’t breathe. All around him the air was perfectly still, and all sounds seemed to have retreated behind a sharp ringing in his ears. He could feel the heavy air on his skin, yet it felt more like he floated motionless under water. Nova was here.
Sam moved as if swimming under a glittering white sphere of light that covered everything. Last he remembered he was at Home Field, yet now here he was some many miles away. He moved as if pulled by a strong current. He willed himself to move faster, and the air obliged him, pulling him ever swifter, all the while heading to the water’s edge. His home, his neighborhood faded into the white luminous wall, and was washed from his memory. Sam moved ever faster as buildings and places spun from reality into memory only to be overtaken by the racing white wall, and lost again behind its curtain. It seemed to Sam that the world was being scrubbed clean, by a cleansing wave that overtook all things.
As suddenly as it started, Sam could feel the wave crest and then suddenly retreat. Its mighty power, spent and giving way, the white slowly faded revealing holes of blue sky. Sam found himself standing by the water’s edge. With all his might he wanted to dive into the sea, yet he paused and turned for a last look. The city gleamed in a sweet sparkle, and he smiled. The feeling of something lost tugged at his heart. He could not remember what it was; only he had loved it dearly. It would be the thought Sam carried with him deep into the water.
∞
Seiphie walked quickly down the street, careful to avoid puddles. She was glad it was raining, the rain hid her tears. She was thinking 
about him again, and like every time, she cried. She cried for some unknown past, and felt guilty that she would give anything to recall it. It had been a year since the comet, and she knew that sometimes, things just changed and there was nothing you could do about it, although she could not recall what that change was. The comet didn’t bring destruction. It simply was swallowed by the ocean. No tidal wave came, only a strange wind, which as time went on, Seiphie found it difficult to remember. Visions came to her from time to time, and haunted her dreams, but the vision of the boy always came, especially when it rained. She could see him standing by the water’s edge, looking back and smiling. She had seen it the afternoon the comet hit. She didn’t know who he was, only that the memory was somehow very dear to her. She told Pence about it once, and he told her that she would probably forget it in time. He said it like it was a bad thing, but she didn’t want to forget. Although the vision of the boy made her cry, it also brought a great peace to her, and after she cried she felt a strange joy, and that she hoped Pence was wrong and that she would never forget.
The Misfits had a secret place under the Hub. She had found it one day while looking for a place to sleep. Tac called her a restless spirit, but in reality she simply had trouble sleeping and would look for crash pads she could use for a quick nap by day. Sleeping brought strange dreams that kept her in her perpetual tired state. She would set the timer on her phone for forty-five minutes, that way she would wake up before she entered REM and had one of her dreams. The secret place became the Misfits hangout and they simply referred to it as the Spot. Tonight she was meeting up with Tac and Pence to plan a party they were calling “The End is Near” bash at the end of summer. “The End is Near” was the Misfits motto, and although they didn’t know why they chose that other than it just felt right.
By the time Seiphie reached the Spot, she was done crying and that gladness found its way into her heart. Tac and Pence were already there, and she felt happy to be with her friends again. These were her friends, and they understood her insomnia, and accepted her for who she was. The Misfits were something special, and she couldn’t imagine life without them. It felt as if they had always been her friends, and would always be her friends. She sat down on the couch; she was tired, but happy. She was home.
∞
Sam broke the surface of the dark water, near the beach. Under the great moon he felt a wonderful great renew. The fatigue had washed away; like relics of the past. He knew this place. This was the place of his dreams, the place he had come to many times when he had dosed off. This time is was not a dream.
Sam felt he now understood the dreams, and sleeplessness. He wanted to find his friends, and explain to them. They had listened to him, and stayed with him to the end. He hoped they were all right. He had told them the comet wouldn’t hit, but it did. What Sam now realized was the comet would hit, there was never any doubt to it, rather no harm would come, something no one could understand in that place and time. The comet was coming for him, just like it did for Nova, and now they were here together.
She appeared on the beach, paused and then ran into the water. Nova swam out to him and they embraced. Each real for the other, their separate journeys now over. Sam and Nova went to the clearing, and planted the seeds and ate from the apple that had crossed the heavens with Nova. In their dreams before, they beheld the tree, proud and tall, and although it was just planted, the seeds awoke from their long slumber and grew, and would continue to grow with them.
Sam knew that Nova had always been with him. There was never a moment in his life Nova was not there. They both knew they didn’t start here, yet the time before was merely a preparation until this place was ready. There were others like them scattered far and wide, in many worlds yet uncounted. Nova had her planet’s beginning story, for Sam, the first two were called Adam and Eve.
In this place, in this world, it would be the world of Sam and Nova. The Great Tree was spreading its roots, and in time a comet would come to this world as well; until then, it belonged solely to them.
August 26th, 2012 by ted2112 | 8 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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Although it is my name on this, Nova has been a collaborative effort between Olivia_Allin, Terra_Cide, Norse and myself. We have all worked very hard on Nova all summer, and have enjoyed every moment of it! Nothing like this has even been done, and with the success of Nova, and also the Vickie stories, I hope it will not be the last for fiction in Home.
I have always felt the best endings are the ones that are beginnings as well. Thank you so much for coming on this journey with Sam, Nova, Seiphie, Tac and Pence.
The End is Near!
The end was awesome! Loved it! Let do another.
Great story And kudos to all of you for it. I loved the way you ended this, with a hope for a future rather than destruction and chaos. Good job on everyone’s part.
Great writing to all of you! I hope this continues too. It is part of what makes Home interesting.
Great read Ted! As always.
Brilliant! I loved this story and I didn’t see that little twist at the end comming. It makes the stuff you were saying earlier alot more deeper. I am going to re read the whole story!
This was part of my summer reading and if this was a book I could buy I would. Good job HSM and what happens next?
Go Nova!
Great work everyone. I really enjoyed the novel. This kind of thing make me proud to be part of this community.
First off, great job everyone!!! The pictures were amazing and went well with an amazing story. Kudos to Olivia_Allin for her talent. It was nice to have a visual. I am glad Terra_Cide and Norse were supportive of this Novella and Ted, the writing was incredible, suspenseful, exciting and kept us wanting more each week. I thought of Nova as part of my summer reading, it started around Memorial Day and ended around Labor Day. I loved the ending and hope some day there is more tales of Sam, Nova, Seiphe, Tac and Pence!
Ted, you should be proud of this story and for doing such a good job with it all. I know you put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows! Now I want to read the whole story as one!!