A Sky Full of Madness

It felt like they had been walking for more than a day, the zone had that effect on the mind. It messed with the mind's perception of time. An hour could feel like five. Other times five hours could feel like thirty minutes. Duncan looked at the Veteran who was up further ahead, he didn't know how the older man was walking faster than him. Maybe it was that burst of energy brought upon by destroying the Department's communications system. All possibilities had to be considered, not that Duncan could think of many more. "When will we arrive at this place?" he asked.

"Soon, I'm sure of it," the Veteran replied quickly. He stopped and placed his hand flat against his brow, carefully he started to scan their surroundings. The show was starting to make its presence felt in the skies above them. They had been walking for hours. "It's getting late lad."

"It's been getting late for a long time, I've lost all sense of the day. The show is about to start." Duncan looked up, the clouds had started to shift in colour and dazzling long streaks of starlight and mystery had formed above them. The streaks swayed gently, becoming more and more aggressive with every second that passed.

"Something looks different," the Veteran observed.

"It always looks different this deep into Athelstan. You should bloody well know that by now Vet," D. Beck huffed. He could have sworn, the lights of the show had some mood altering affect on a person. "We need to keep moving!"

"Can't we just enjoy it for a little while longer?" Even under all the layers wrapped around the Veteran's face Duncan could see the older man's eyes start to pop. "It's all so pleasant-" and his words faded away, the Veteran vanished before Duncan's eyes. Nothing like this had ever happened before. D. Beck held his hand tightly against his chest, he could feel his heart rate increase dramatically in a panic.

"Vet! Vet!" he screamed, hoping that wherever the Veteran was that he could hear him. The show continued to rage, some of the colours looked new and the slithers of cosmic light felt warmer. Something was different.