The Edge of Reality ~ Part 2

<sub>This is a continuation of Part 1 by @grocko.

Part 2 starts with the #DREEM-WOTW contest prompt as hosted by @samsmith1971 with Dreemport.com</sub>

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The gear turned, interlaced with another, and another. His eyes traced the inner workings of the machine to the place where the light shone. Stepping back from the contraption, hands on his waist, David observed the ticking of the gears and the silent brightness of the new crystal-light a bit longer. Wiping his oily hands on his shirt, he covered the grime with his waistcoat.

He assumed she knew he was there but was never certain. He wouldn't admit anything before he made sure everything was in order. Pausing for a moment, he placed fresh blue tulips in the vase on her bedside table. He opened the paisley curtains just right, returning warmth to her face. Finishing the last of his habituals he then said, "Papa is here, my love."

The crystal's light flickered as he spoke the words. Its pattern was unknown but the hidden meaning always drew him to the verge of tears.

"You know my dear, I was thinking," he shuffled the chair closer, grasping her pale hand. "I hope you are having the best dreams."

Before releasing her hand, he quickly wiped off his own. A smile crossed his face as he noticed how he had transferred his grime to her hands. She used to love working in the lab with him.

Her Mother always chided David for allowing her to be in there with him. "Purposefully destroying femininity, one dress at a time," she nagged daily.

Squeezing his daughter's hand, David smiled at the thought. He stayed with Vivian from noon until sunset everyday, only doing his work in the evenings. He would stay all day and night, but Vivian's survival depended on him working as much as possible while balancing visits, keeping their connection alive.

As David spoke to Vivian, he would glance to her face every so often, then back at the light- the beacon that proved she was there. Some moments he would get lost in it, the light blurring his vision and making his eyes water. Flinching, he would look back at his daughter. He loved how she resembled her Mother, with hair black as oil and skin vibrant as steam. He laughed at the analogy but it was apt. After all, these were the things that kept the gears turning and- "Vivian!"

"No, no, no!" David yelled as he sought Vivian's pulse. Leaning in, he whispered to her, "Not yet, my love, not yet."

With his cheek pressed against hers, the sun set for another day.

"Stay," is all David could utter, lifting his eyes from her face.

Pressing her hand to his, a tear smudged the blackness down her fingertips; David brushed her hand against his cheek. Glancing at the core of the crystal, he recognized its fading heat. As the glow dimmed, he imagined seeing his girl retreat into the mist.

It had been less than week since Vivian left, but without his daughter and his wife, what else was there for David to do but work? His work had already shown those charlatan doctors and priests they had no clue about this world. He was the one who made the machines they now used to give people more time in this world. It was his inventions that provided families with hope that all was not lost. How many had come back from being stricken just because he had given them more time?

"Not to mention those damn Priests from the Order peddling their 'beyond mortal control' dreck!" David yelled as he threw a spanner at the opposite wall. Slamming both fists onto the workbench- gears, screws and all manner of mechanical components flew into the air with his rage.

With each person returning from being stricken, David learned more. Some doctors had taken the risk and adopted the use of his contraptions. Hospital rooms with hissing steam and airpumps slowly became the norm; Because at the end of it all, there was always the light.

Grabbing another spanner from the toolshelf, David continued his ruminations, "If they had let me prove it sooner, they both might still be here now." His thoughts continued as he fastenened the bolts, locking them into place.

He sat quietly for a moment, staring at the metal toolbox. He thought about what he was trying to accomplish, and what he was seeking. He did not know.

"Neither do they," he growled. "Neither do they. At least I am not letting people die because of some unknown will."

Getting up, David took the metal box and tools, placed them on the cart, and pushed it to the core of the new machine. The core was essentially a high-powered light with one of the largest crystals he had yet been able to cultivate. For the machines he used to indicate soul activity, a small crystal would do.

Thinking back to the day Vivian left, he had imagined her fading but it had been edged in stone- so to speak.

After the funeral, David had gone back to remove the contraption and store the precious crystal. Each one was difficult to cultivate and could be used indefinitely.

At that moment, he noticed a likeness so faint that it could have been mistaken for the shaded part of a cloudy sky but it was there nonetheless.

He had spent the day going around to every hospital where his machine was being used, feigning maintenance. Instead, he collected over a hundred crystals, replacing them with the last he had- some as clear as the day he brought them and others as darkened as storm clouds.

David placed the metal box inside the cabinet beside the wall of crystals he had laid out. For a moment, he mused. The box appeared deceivingly simple, but it was something brilliant and new. It would amplify the power he generated from the steam engines by a thousand-fold.

Until now, he had not even tested it. David was concerned the crystals would fracture or explode, but he couldn't shake the newfound sense of hope.

"What if it doesn't?" he whispered before securing the power box down, and connecting all the wires leading to the rows of crystals on the wall.

As anxiety rushed in, he inhaled deeply, shutting the door to the power cabinet. Striding to the opposite wall, he initiated the sequence for the steam engines. The clear crystals started to flicker, just as they would when connected to a patient, but the cloudy ones remained unresponsive.

As the powerbox regulated the output, David waited until he noticed some of the duller crystals brighten. He watched specifically for Vivian's first crystal - only she had ever used it. Looking away for a moment, David shut his eyes.

Opening his eyes momentarily, he glanced back at the wall. Almost all the crystals were glowing as bright as he had ever seen them and getting brighter. A curtain of light was before him, and in the folds there were shadows like people moving past the sun.

"Vivian! Papa is here!" David screamed as he stepped closer. "Viv," he started to say, as the curtain fell away and calmness came over the crystals. The light seemed to spread out, quiet like mist. In it, David saw a young girl, turning away from him and he rushed forward to take her hand.

It felt as though David had lost all of his senses. Everything felt black like oil. Then, vibrant like steam.

"She is really here? I found her?" David thought as he let go of the girl's hand, retreating slightly. He studied the crystal wall, noticing how they had all died, each now black as oil. "It is still so bright in here," he mused, still continuing to step back, flinching from the light.

"It is her."

Realization dawned slowly. He could see the girl completely now.

"You aren't Vivian..."

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