Triggered

Posted on 08 Apr 2017 @ 5:16am by Lieutenant Avery Stuart Ph.D.

394 words; about a 2 minute read

What sound did the ship make as it impacted the planet?

Was it as deafening as Avery imagined or nearly silent in comparison to the chaos just before?

Did She groan in protest for a long time after impact, or was Her voice instantly silenced the moment She dropped from the sky?

Over and over, these questions tumbled in her head, like so much white noise, or the incessant buzzing of insects in her ear.

The ship, as she knew Her, was gone and reality as she knew it would never be the same.

***
36-year-old Avery knew how to respond in a crisis. She had learned to always trust her instincts when they told her to prepare herself for the wave of intense emotion coming. She had learned how to comfort others and to offer words of reassurance without ever revealing the sadness she felt inside.

She had learned caring for others was her purpose. Doing so gave her life meaning.

Like her fellow survivors surrounding her, Avery worked tirelessly to treat the wounded. Adrenaline, though trauma induced, kept her going, kept her from feeling or thinking about what came before.

Eventually, however, there were no more patients for her to care for. No more words of comfort needed to be offered.

Eventually, she was just a counselor without a crew. A shepherd who had lost her sheep, and a person about to be overcome by memories.

***

Five-year-old Avery was about to learn how to respond in a crisis. Five-year-old Avery was about to learn to always trust her instincts when they told her to prepare herself for the intense wave of violence that was coming thanks to her father. She had learned how to appease others and to offer words of obedience without ever revealing the fear she felt inside.

She was about to learn keeping her father happy was her job. She was about to learn doing so would give her life some sense of safety.

***

Five-year-old Avery knew exactly what sound her mother's head had made when it finally hit the last step of their family's spiral staircase.

It had been deafening, and Juliet's voice was instantly silenced the moment she dropped from a great height as her daughter's invincible heroine.

Her mother, as she knew her, was gone and her reality, as she understood it, would never be the same.

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