Welcome to Vanquador

White. Blinding, burning, brightness was surrounding me. It seemed to burn behind my eyelids. My thoughts had been gone, but suddenly they came back to me with a shot of adrenaline that hit the restart button on my heart.

I couldn't move, but I could imagine it. The little burning star in my chest had reawakened. It wasn't possible. When a person dies they're meant to stay dead.

Maybe this is just the after life. I couldn't see or feel my body, so maybe I didn't have one anymore. Maybe my mind was living outside of my body. Maybe I was still dead.

With a sudden jerk adrenaline pushed through my veins and into every part of my body. With a painful gasp my eyes opened and I shot up into a sitting position. I felt on fire like I was burning from the inside out. My heart was beating so fast I was sure it would give out at any moment.

My vision was disoriented and I couldn't seem to focus on anything around me. I could only make out dark walls and shining spots of moving silver. Stars in the night sky.

My nose seemed to be working a little bit better. A medical smell filled the room and underneath it rested a distinct death fragrance. It took me a while before I realized I was the one that smelled like death.

My ears had been ringing, but once that had subsided I heard hushed whispers coming from a constellation. The shining spots were cluster together discussing something for a moment before one broke away and came closer to me.

"Young one, how do you feel?" The star's voice was smooth and motherly. The kind of voice that was best at comforting a child.

My jaw popped as I opened my mouth to talk. Nothing came out. I couldn't talk. My tongue was so dry and swollen I could hardly feel it.

"River, bring me the Dicere please." The mother star said to another one.

My eyes rolled back into my head and I fell onto my back as the mother star was handed a large syringe filled with a shimmering purple syrup. A sharp pinch hit the back of my throat followed soon after by a lighter gab to my tongue.

A wet cough ripped out of my throat as water seemed to drown me. The water was quickly absorbed by my dry mouth and it suddenly felt like I could breathe again.

"Now how was that?" The mother star asked me. "Any better?"

My voice was slow and cracked, but sounds did come out. "Yeah." A cough stole my breath. "Much better."

Just those few words left me breathless and gasping for air. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but suddenly I felt very tired. The adrenaline in my veins seemed to seep away from me. I had a feeling I would soon pass out.

"What about your eyes, young one?" The mother star asked as I slowly fell asleep. "Can you see?"

Just before I completely lost myself again I managed to shake my head. "No."

The last thing I heard before falling out of the world was the mother star. "River, go get Dr. Briss and let him know we'll have to replace the patient's eyes and make some more enhancements while we're at it."

The next time I opened my eyes the world was in sharp clarity. They hadn't given me anymore adrenaline, so my body felt stiff and slow. It took some effort, but I managed to sit myself up right.

The walls around me were streaked with black paint and covered in darkness. Each wall felt like a swirling vortex that would swallow me whole if I wasn't careful. A dim, flat, light took up more of the ceiling space. It was a strange light with a glowing orange substance swirling in a glass case built unto the ceiling. It didn't look like something that would provide a lot of light, yet the whole room glowed brightly despite the dark walls.

Other than myself and the silver table I was sitting on there, wasn't really anything in the room. I couldn't even find anything that resembled a door.

I looked down at my body. I was in a hospital-like-gown that shined like it was made out of tinfoil. The gown went all the way down to my ankles which were grey. I was an olive-skinned person, so seeing my skin grey made my heart skip a beat. Where the cells dead? Were parts of me still dead like my eyes had been?

My eyes. I couldn't see them, but I could tell they weren't my eyes. My vision had never been bad, but now it was beyond good. The world was so crisp and clear I felt kind of disoriented. Suddenly thin, silver lines swirled across my vision. Words formed in front of me saying things like:

60% cell regrowth complete.

Inadequate light.

70% sight function.

10% adrenaline.

Inadequate energy. Sleep needed.

The words came and went, before being replaced by other ones. It was sickening and I grabbed my head. I closed my eyes, but words kept dancing in front of my vision. That's when the burning started. My eyes felt like hot coals in my eyes sockets and I screamed as I pressed my palms against them.

I rolled off the silver table sending fire across my back and chest. That's how the mother star found me. Curled up on the cold ground with my eyes on fire.

I was in a different room. The walls were white and the ceiling light was a swirling blue. This time when I awoke I wasn't alone. A girl with burning, red hair watched me with curious hazel eyes. She didn't seem inclined to talk and I wasn't sure what to say. I had so many questions, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who would have answers for me.

I decided I would see what she knew anyway. "Hey, I'm Marlowe." I thought an introduction would be the best way to start, but the girl didn't say anything. Her eyes widened and she seemed to shrink into herself.

"Can you tell me what's happening to me?" I tried to keep the desperation out of my voice, but it was still there.

The girl looked scared and unsure. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly and just shook her head. I felt a pain build up behind my eyes. I wanted to cry, but for some reason it wasn't possible.

"Please." I pleaded with the girl. "Can you at least tell me where I am?"

The girl looked pained at the sight of me breaking down. She let her hair fall into her face as if she were trying to put a wall between us. I felt a sense of panic begin to build up in my chest. They'd done something to me. They'd done something to my eyes.

My chest began to burn and I heard the girl let out a soft gasp. The pulsating star on my chest was so bright it was shining right through the gown I was still wearing.

I looked back at the girl as the silver words came back into my eyes, telling me my blood pressure was getting dangerously too low. "Please." I cried without tears. "Tell me what's wrong with me!"

The girl looked at me with fear. I couldn't understand why she was so scared. When she ran for the door my voice called after her.

"What are you doing to me!" I yelled as the silver words flashed.

"Blood pressure too low!"  They told me right before I passed out again.

"Marlowe of Earth." A booming voice echoed around the hollow room I found myself in.

A sleepy fog surrounded my head as I opened my eyes. I was in the same room as before, but this time I wasn't alone with the red headed girl. She was there in the far corner of the room, but there were others. Scientists in glowing gowns that simmered like stars surrounded me. They all seemed a bit weary and looked at me though curious eyes with irises that glowed as if lit from behind.

"W-where am I?" I stuttered as I tried to sit up. "W-what have you done to me?"

Silver letters floated around the room putting names I didn't know to faces I had just seen for the first time. The man who had first spoke took a step closer and I felt my body jerk back only to be stopped by a wall behind me.

"Don't fear, Marlowe of Earth." The man's voice was significantly softer than when he had announced my name before. "You are safe now and within a few days you'll feel alive again."

Glowing blue eyes looked at me with hope. The star in my chested brighted at the sight of someone so hopeful even though the man's gaze made me uncomfortable. He was a giant, far taller than me which was saying something, with close-cropped brown hair peppered with specks of white. He looked human, but the unearthly glow from his irises betrayed the truth. Something was off.

I glanced at the glowing letters above the man's head. "Director Luvender". Once I had read them, the words whisked away and were replaced by new information. "Leader of The Directorate of Vanquador instated in the year 2997 on the 1st day of the 1st Period."

I blinked at the words. They made no sense. Nothing made any sense. The Directorate of Vanquador? 2997? Wasn't it 5049 a few days ago? What year was it?

Silver letters flashed me an answer. "Year 3013, 24th day of the 3rd Period."
What? 3013? 3rd Period? What did that even mean?

"How are your eyes, Marlowe of Earth?" The man, Director Luvender, asked to bring me back from my thoughts.

Panic rose in my throat. My eyes weren't my eyes anymore. I shook at the thought, but managed to keep my voice steady. "I can see, but it's too much."

Letters swirled across the room and it took everything I had ignore them.

The director smiled with teeth that were too white. They seemed to glow just like the blue in his eyes. "You speak of the Cognition of the Boundless. A force that lets you see all knowledge if you know how to use it."

My head stun and a warning flicked in front of me. "What did you do to me? It's..." I struggled to find the right words. "It's an abomination!"

The shining people around me gasped as the director's face dropped.
"You are blessed!" His brow lowered in anger. "Many have tried, but none from here, from Vanquador, have survived the procedure. Only those who have come from the light have been blessed with the sight! You should be grateful!"

I couldn't take anymore of his nonsense. "Maybe I had never wanted to be blessed!"  Pressure burned behind my eyes as I glared at the director.

The man looked away to one of his followers. "Take him to the dormitory and arrange for him to stay with Cando Brawnist." He turned to me, the hope in his eyes lost. "I was going to give you time to recover and control your cognition, but now you'll have to learn the hard way."

Before I could react the director stepped towards me. His hand shot out and with a light touch the star in my chest dimmed and my world went dark.