Art in Laughing: Prolouge I

Nine Years Ago.



There was a dead silence after the first explosion; as though several breaths caught at once, wondering if what they just heard really meant what it could mean. The second explosion was what caused panic. Natural ground and manmade structure alike fell into the gaping maw of the cracking planet, orders were all but screamed out through the ear-grating broadcast system, and thousands of people rushed to the nearby spacecraft that was hurriedly preparing their departure. This panic followed the second explosion because it was proof to all inhabitants of the small mining planet that they would not be able to stand against a third explosion.

“Out, NOW.” a gruff voice demanded sternly. The voice belonged to a certain black-haired young man, who was dressed in a formal uniform and obviously commanded some amount of authority. He was standing in a crumbling mineshaft, quickly ushering the last handful of remaining miners to the safety of the surface and awaiting ships.

A grey mo-ti-qee in a similar uniform was standing near the man, glancing down the tunnel where the light was swallowed up, then back towards the opening where the lights that had not been knocked out by the explosion and the stars filtered in with a calming glow. After studying both directions he turned his head to the other and stated urgently, “I think that’s everyone, Jezerit. Let’s get out of here.”

Selidor Jezerit nodded to his officer and started to walk towards the lighted entrance of the tunnel… but then, just then, he was interrupted by a voice coming from beyond the shadowed end of the tunnel. A plaintive voice, muffled- most likely from echoing against the circular stone walls. A voice that called simply;

“Selidor….”

The young man instantly stopped, swiveling on his heels to squint into the darkness with his mismatched eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was sure that they had gotten everyone out, or that the person used his forename; but it sent shivers down his spine. Selidor glanced back to his companion, who had also stopped to stare with a quizzical expression at Selidor.

After a pregnant pause, Selidor finally asked in a spooked whisper, “Did you hear that?” The mo-ti-qee furrowed his hairless brows and replied in an equally quiet voice, “What?”

Just then, the unknown person called out Selidor’s name once more- far more pleading this time. His reaction was immediate as he again turned from his partner and towards the darkness; “There it was again!!” Selidor exclaimed, and then the horror struck his face, “I think we’ve missed someone. They could be trapped from one of the explosions!”

His grey friend shook his head, “Jezerit, I don’t hear anything!” But by this time, Selidor was already starting down the tunnel. The mo-ti-qee called after him, “Come back! The last two explosions came from this shaft! We don’t know if or when another will hit!” Yet his leader was already engulfed in the darkness and his only response was the gruff voice yelling back, “I’ll be back as soon as I can! Make sure my wife gets on a ship safely!” And then even his voice was swallowed by the pitch black tunnel.

Deeper in the mineshaft, Selidor had activated his exploration lights… yet they made little difference, leaving him peering into the darkness, squinting his heterochromatic eyes. The young man had stopped running for fear of injury, and instead searched the best he could for the form of the person calling his name. The only reward that was granted to his sight was his increasingly visible breath. Well, that, and occasionally the strange half-eclipse symbol that seemed to litter the walls of this tunnel as his miners explored it and pressed further into the planet.

“Hello?” the leader called out tentatively. Although some part of his mind was expecting only silence, the voice suddenly answered with a half-whispered “Selidor”… right by his ear. Selidor whirled his head around and saw nothing, then cursed himself for jumping at what must have been the result of an echo.

The voice called out again, this time in front of him, “Selidor…. Selidor, please….” still urgent, but less begging. He responded by pressing forward, yet now his mouth was pressed into a thin worried line and the hairs standing on the back of his neck did not die down. The voice called again and again…. The space between the beckonings lesser each time.

Selidor tried to ignore the fact that it seemed as though something was shifting and moving just out of his view. Something that was rising, like a thick liquid dripping towards the ceiling. He instead concentrated on reaching the voice as soon as possible and getting out of there. A voice that he had thought to be decidedly feminine and pleading but was slowly growing to more of a chant. A demand.

A voice that was becoming more masculine. And gruff… And oddly familiar.

“Selidor. Selidor. Selidor.”


(After notes: So AiL is pretty much the story of Selidor over the three months he was off on his own, but I thought I would start it off with a couple of flashbacks. Just to show a few things, like, you know.... SELIDOR WAS SANE ONCE. Er.... sane..ish.)