Devil’s Spit (short story clip)

You didn’t consider the darkness.

Now, here you are, laying on your back with your arms stretched out. You feel like you’re floating, like you could rise into the sky.

You could be laid flat on the black ice of Devil’s Spit, an asteroid in the dark side of the Kuiper Belt. Or you could be home on Earth, crocked from space lag, night swimming in Lake Pontchartrain.

There’s no sound but your own breath, coming in short bursts. Maybe you’re wheezy because your rebreather crapped out in the middle of nowhere, 7.5 billion klicks from Earth. Or maybe it’s because you’re doing the polar bear thing, going for a chilled dip in December.

The cold bits scraping your skin, yanking on your hair could be the viscous ice that slimes every surface of Devil’s Spit. Or they could be mangrove leaves floating in the water.

Only one thing is certain. You’re lying there, trying to answer the question that’s vexed you your whole life. Can a living organism be in two places at the same time?

If you opened your eyes you’d have the answer, but a voice in your head is telling you to keep those eyes shut.

That voice is me.

From  “Devil’s Spit”, part of the Visions III, Inside the Kuiper Belt anthology.