Work Text:
Satisfaction, much like time, was a mysterious thing. People had a tendency to go most of their lives thinking they had a thorough understanding of both concepts, if occasionally baffled by the passing of the latter. Yet there were moments when both seemed to develop wills of their own, bending one’s state of mind as they saw fit.
Simon, bathing in an influx of AT-5’s ocean, perceived those last few seconds as a newfound eternity, the blood no longer rushing to overtake him but gradually crawled up his neck. Flashes of what existence he’d led rotated around his conscious, highlighted moments of Mars, of Eden, of Filament, of his Brothers and mother that he couldn’t decipher were brought on by the warped monster biting down his door or the fabled welcoming to the Grove.
A light brought him out of his reverie, though not one so mythical as something capable of enveloping him and ushering whatever he had for a soul to wherever it so chose. No, it was the simple glow of the bulb attached to the life vest, dimmed thanks to a coating of blood over its surface but shining nonetheless.
Staring at that soft glow as the vest bobbed past his vision, fury, terror, and despair were drained from his system, replaced by a feeling he didn’t think he’d ever been consumed by before.
Happiness was not a foreign concept to Simon, there had been plenty of times on Eden when praise from Elders and camaraderie with his Brothers had filled him with a sense of purpose, of cheer that lingered despite living on the outskirts of the apocalypse.
Yet joy tasted different when it stemmed from success. When looking at that life vest made him realize that he’d done good, good for an objective greater good, not one the Father insisted on. Logically, Simon knew there was a chance the black box wouldn’t make it to the surface, that it might get stuck inside the sub, never to fall into the hands of the people that needed it.
But watching that vest bob its steadfast rhythm, watching that single light shine on despite the encroaching blood, made Simon feel a spark of hope to light up the universe.
In his last few seconds, Simon smiled, blood rushing past his lips and sliding through his teeth to fill his mouth. Such was how he stayed as the blood overtook the top of his head, keeping the expression even as an arm and a pendant that were no longer his grew into something far bigger than him, crushing what was left of his body in the process.