After Earth - She

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I feel a hand slide slowly over my shoulder with a careful swiftness that says, “are you awake”? I roll over the silky sheets while wiping the sand from my eyes. My sight adjusts to the glowing light breaking through the window curtains and, for some reason, my first thought is that my body feels like a warm calzone wrapped up in the oven of sheets I call our bed. Her eyes smile back at me with the same vibrance of light that shines through the window.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, chin propped up on a pillow.
I reply with a heavy breath that stretches every limb in my body.
“Glad to hear it. Let’s stay in bed a little longer. These sheets feel like a big bear protecting us from the frigid cold.”
I glance up at the screen in the wall portraying several news stories I can not read. In the top right corner, I can make out the animation of snowfall fluttering slowly down the screen before disappearing into a pixelated world.
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I mumble.
As I reach my arm around her, I notice her skin start to crumble beneath my grasp. Her skin slowly turns to an ashy material that slides around like sand. I watch as her smooth skin slowly transforms into this colorless, flaky residue that begins to float up into the air like snow in reverse. The pleasantness of a comfortable morning is demolished as my heart sinks into my stomach.
“What’s happening?” I spill out dryly.
Her radiant expression transforms like molded clay into one of absolute horror. I frantically try to scoop up the ashy pile forming on the sheets as two soldiers burst down the door to our room. They are wearing thick coats and guns are strapped around their backs. Before I can react, they grab her from our bed and rip away whatever human body remains. I am unable to move. I try to shout but the only sound is the lashing breeze of cold air. My eyes snap open like bungee cords breaking from the weight of a dangerous fall.
I can feel my heartbeat thumping aggressively under the layer of sweat coating my skin. I’m still astonished how my body is able to produce so much sweat under the four layers of sweater and jacket protecting me from the cold. I had to wake up in the middle of the night to put them on as the temperature dropped what feels like 80 degrees. Peeking through the face hole of my mummy sleeping bag, I see the leafless branches swaying in the tree above me.
I take a moment to gather myself before reaching into my pack. Leather book grasped tightly between my gloves, I flip through the pages.
September 12, 2032
It’s those little sideways smirks that first caught my attention. A subtle characteristic, like her lips are unsure which direction they want to curl and how much should be involved in the task. A smirk that emits an affectionate concoction of curiosity and mischief. This look pulled me in like a mime roping in the air.

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