Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (21 page)

If Ray heard, he didn’t seem to acknowledge or care. He gripped the helm tightly while staring straight ahead, his eyes narrowing as if he was searching for something.

“Ray!” Sally shouted above the roar of the wind. “Let’s head back to port. The weather is getting ugly.”

Ray waved them off angrily and pointed to a starboard winch. “Tighten up that sail, let’s pick up some more speed!”

The trimaran hit a wave that washed over the deck with violent force. Sally was sitting close to the railing and took the brunt of it. She screamed at Ray, but he didn’t seem to care, which immediately touched off a shouting match between them.

Breeze watched as they argued. He knew a bad storm when he saw one as dust storms and torrential rain were no strangers to the desert. He couldn’t imagine that it would be any different on the ocean.

He headed toward the cockpit where Ray steered the boat, and made the mistake of looking down through the mesh of the trampoline at the fast moving water that flowed past the center hull. He looked away and swallowed his fear, he had to concentrate and get to the cockpit.

As he drew closer to Ray, he knew by the look on his face there would be no reasoning with him. He had seen his father deal with enough pilots to recognize arrogance when it presented itself. They could not be told what to do and were unwilling to accept any meaningful advice, no matter how valuable it was. The need to go faster and higher was a drug that altered their perception of reality and they would not allow anyone to get in their way to acquire it. Breeze saw that in Ray, with the thousand mile stare on his face, and the white knuckled grip on the helm, oblivious to the danger he was bringing upon himself and others.

Breeze arrived at the cockpit just as the trimaran hit a wave that sent the bow pitching up wildly, then crashing back down with a vicious crack that raised a wall of spray that drenched everyone. The visibility was rapidly dropping as peals of thunder grew in intensity.

“Ray, we have to turn around now! This is getting really bad!” Breeze shouted.

Ray jabbed a finger at him. “Get back to your station! Now! You follow my orders.”

Another wave sent the bow of the trimaran high into the air as a sheet of water flooded the deck. Ray laughed maniacally as he leaned over to winch the mainsail in even tighter. He roared in triumph as the vessel heeled hard to starboard, causing the port outrigger to rise up dangerously into the air. At mid-ship along the starboard side, Sally was clutching the trampoline and shrieking in fear as water rushed past her dangling feet.

“Ray, turn back now!” Breeze shouted and lunged to grab the helm.

Ray punched Breeze in the face, sending him sprawling to the deck.

He shook off the sting to his jaw and looked up. Ray was looming over him.

“My ship. My command. My responsibility. Do as you’re told and get back to your station!” Ray said menacingly.

“So much for a team building exercise,” Breeze quipped as he grabbed a railing and pulled himself back up.

Ray gripped the helm. “Yeah, team building. And I’m the leader. Who else is it going to be?”

The trimaran hit a wave that sent the vessel pitching up to an extreme angle. Breeze could see a wide expanse of the storm filled sky as the mast was virtually parallel to the water. The bow came crashing down hard and plowed into a wave, forcing the stern of the vessel to lift up slightly. The bow quickly rose up after being submerged and the trimaran leveled itself out.

Breeze strained to find Sally amidst the chaos. He could barely make out a silhouette of her sprawled out on the trampoline. The storm had completely enveloped them as lightning grew in intensity accompanied by the booming thunder.

Breeze knew nothing was going to get done unless he took control. But he wasn’t sure of himself as he never steered a sailing craft before and didn’t want to get into another fight with Ray over the helm, and there was no radio on board the vessel to call for help. That’s when the inspiration hit him.

Jumping out of the cockpit and back onto the trampoline, he picked his way across the cluttered deck toward Sally. Salt spray flew everywhere while the trimaran raced at incredible speeds as the port outrigger rose up to a sharp angle, making it easier for Breeze to slide down to get to her. Over the booming thunder he could hear Ray shouting commands. He ignored him and slid down the trampoline where he found Sally shivering and crying while hanging onto a rope that was meshed into a cleat on the deck with the fast moving water dangerously close to her feet.

“Sally, it’s okay, I’m going for help,” Breeze said as he crawled to her and pulled her close.

She shivered in his arms. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. I’m scared, Breeze. He won’t listen.”

“I know, I already tried. He’s lost it.”

Lightning flashed followed by an explosion of thunder. Sally cried out as she buried her face into Breeze’s chest. He leaned over to shield her.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said and cradled her face in his hands, “I’m going to fly back to shore and get Oslo. I’m sure he has another boat to rescue you.”

“Don’t you leave me!” she wailed. “Take me with you!”

“I can’t. I’ve never flown with someone before. I don’t even know if I can take off in this weather.”

The bow of the trimaran crashed into another steep wave sending them both sprawling across the trampoline towards the bow. Breeze grabbed Sally’s hand as she almost plunged into the fast moving water.

Breeze hauled her close and held her tightly as whatever sore feelings he had for her seemed to melt away.

She threw her arms around him. “Just stay! Don’t leave me! Something will rescue us,” she said.

No sooner did the words leave her lips, the trimaran smashed into a wave that was too immense for the high speed vessel to cut through. The center hull and the starboard outrigger submerged beneath the water and forced it to flip forward.

They were all flung out of the vessel. Breeze couldn’t tell the difference between the sky and the ocean as they flew through the air amidst a tangle of rope and sail. He could hear the hull of the trimaran groaning and the mast cracking from the sudden force of impact.

He hit the water and quickly sank. As he descended into the blackness of the bay, he found himself in world that was eerily quiet and far removed from the flashes and booms of lightning and thunder above.

He looked up and saw the remains of the broken trimaran on the surface briefly illuminated between arcs of lightning. The image of it grew smaller as he sank.

He knew he was drowning, yet he couldn’t overcome the sense of tranquility he felt as he drifted to the bottom when the pain in his throat and lungs made him to snap out of his trance. He flailed wildly with his arms and legs as he fought to get to the surface.

He broke through and gasped for air. He treaded water furiously and spun around until he spotted the capsized trimaran. Through the flashes of lightning he saw one of the outriggers jutting out from beneath the surface and swam to it. He grabbed the edge and hauled himself out. Pausing to catch his breath, he looked around hoping to see Sally. Instead, he saw Ray not far from him sprawled out on the remains of the center hull and struggling to breathe.

“Where is she?” he shouted at Ray.

Ray didn’t answer. Breeze yelled at him again, only to be drowned out by an explosion of thunder as rain began pouring down in torrential sheets.

He looked around in a panic, hoping to spot Sally anywhere, perhaps clinging to a piece of debris. He saw nothing.

He dove back into the water and swam to the center hull. Scaling up the side, he crawled over to Ray and flipped him over.

“Where is she? Did you see Sally?” Breeze hollered as he shook Ray violently.

Ray looked at him with a faraway stare. Words came out of his mouth, but made no sense.

“Ray, focus! Where is Sally?”

He shook his head slowly. He looked at Breeze, and then turned to survey the wreckage around him. “What happened? We were making such great speed. Everything seemed fine, what went wrong?” he muttered.

“You did,” Breeze replied as he flung him back in disgust. He stood up and scanned as far as he could see through the torrential rain. He yelled for Sally in vain as thunder drowned him out and the wind picked up, lashing the wreckage with waves. Lightning was his only ally as it briefly light up the area, giving him the extra distance he needed to see. Still no sign of her.

Terror overwhelmed him as the thought of Sally lying at the bottom of the bay became all too real. He looked down at the shivering lump that was Ray who was rocking back and forth and muttering. He was in shock and of no use.

Breeze crouched down before him. “I’m going to find her. Stay here and don’t do anything more stupid than what you’ve already done. I don’t want to have to rescue you, too.”

If Ray heard, he didn’t acknowledge it as he continued to rock back and forth.

Breeze dove into the water and was enveloped by silence as if he had just stepped off a noisy city street and into a cathedral. The booming thunder was muted and the water was intermittently illuminated by the flashes of lightning. The warm salt water bathed and soothed him, erasing the chill of the rain off his skin.

He swam down as far as he could, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He could only dive so deep until his lungs began to burn, forcing him back to the surface to gasp for air. He made several more attempts, but to no avail. The weakness that was beginning to overwhelm him cut short every dive he made.

He broke through to the surface after several more attempts and gasped for air as he angrily thrashed at the water. Frustration was mounting, yet he refused to concede defeat.

He treaded water for a while, tiring himself to the point where he didn’t realize he was beginning to sink beneath the waves as a sense of calm crawled over him. He looked down and could see the bottom of the bay illuminated from the flashes of lightning. He felt like he was back home in the desert and hovering in the skies over his father’s foundry as everything below appeared like a miniature model world.

He glided to the bottom as the sensation that he was flying gave him the courage to push forward. He stretched out his hands and sensed the water pushing against his face and around his body, but he could no longer feel the warmth or wetness of it as a thin membrane had enveloped his body and formed a barrier between him and the water. His lungs didn’t ache and he breathed with relative ease.

He flew through the water, struggling not to break the calm and serenity that allowed him to do so, but fully aware he was in a race against time to find Sally.

As he peered through the darkness, he was able to make out various shapes that littered the bottom from the illumination created by bioluminescence, the natural light given off by living things, that emanated from the mounds of coral and the fish that swam around them.

And that’s when he spotted a faint glow that surrounded a body lying on the bottom. His heart sank once he realized it was Sally.

The glow that surrounded her was weak and fading. He angled down and in his anxiousness to retrieve her, lost his concentration and rocketed to the bottom. Slamming into the sand, the membrane that surrounded him dissipated and he ingested salt water into his lungs.

Though he was drowning, he refused to head back to the surface without her. He spun around to find her and saw that she was slumped over a rock with blood bubbling out of a gash on her head in tiny drops. Her long hair drifted up and revealed the deathly white skin of her face.

He tried to reach for her, but was too weak. He looked at his hands and saw his own bioluminescence fading. He gazed up at the wreckage of the trimaran above, and then blacked out.

“
B
REEZE
.” A deep and disembodied voice called his name as he struggled to fend off the oncoming rush of darkness.

“
D
EEP INSIDE YOU
,” the voice continued, “
IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO CARRY ON WHEN OTHERS CANNOT.
S
WEEP AWAY YOUR FEARS AND DOUBTS, AND FIND THE INNER CALM.
I
T IS HERE THAT YOU WILL FIND NO DISTRACTIONS AND NOTHING TO CLOUD YOUR JUDGMENT.
I
T IS HERE THAT YOU WILL DISCOVER THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK AND THE PATH YOU MUST FOLLOW.
”

Breeze began to stir as the thin membrane returned. The bitter salt water that filled his lungs flowed out of his mouth and passed through the membrane in a shimmer.

He stood at the bottom of the bay with a sense of calm that filled him completely. He reached down to pick up Sally and gently cradled her in his arms as the membrane stretched out to incorporate her. Immediately, her bioluminescence glowed brighter.

He lifted up and together they rose to the surface. The flashes of lightning above were replaced by a steady glow of searing white light as they drew closer.

Breaking through to the surface, they were greeted by the whine of turbines as a transport hovered over them and the distressed trimaran. The rear cargo door was open, and he watched as Oslo and Excort hauled Ray out of the water on onto the ramp.

Excort spotted Breeze and shouted. Oslo turned to look as Breeze floated above the water and into the transport with Sally in his arms. He collapsed onto the deck as Sally fell away from him.

He crouched on his hands and knees coughing and gasping while Excort scooped up Sally and rushed her to a bench that lined the side of the transport.

Breeze weakly looked up as Oslo kneeled down next to him.

“Sorry about wrecking your boat,” Breeze mumbled. He closed his eyes and passed out.

“
BREEZE, STEP OUTSIDE,” a
soft, feminine voice whispered into his ear.

Breeze sat up and looked around his room to find the source of the voice. Several days had passed since the trimaran mishap. Training sessions were put on hold as Oslo, Excort, and Kera tended to Sally’s injuries.

Breeze hardly ever saw Ray. There were a few times he saw him wandering the campus grounds alone, sometimes walking erratically or mumbling aloud. Upon seeing Breeze, he turned around and disappeared around the corner of a building, or ducked into a darkened corridor.

Breeze spent the next several days hanging around and watching the RF in the hangars repair aerocraft as he always did on his down time between classes and training. It helped to alleviate the boredom and to learn more about the strange flying machines while escaping from the rays of the sun. To him, the summer humidity was unbearable and the heat was intense. He was used to desert heat, but the humidity of the tropics left him weak and exhausted.

But tonight he woke up with a strong and compelling feeling to go out into the breezeway. Though the whisper sounded like Sally, he knew she was in the medical wing of the campus and Oslo had restricted access to her. He wasn’t sure if she had been released yet.

He hastily put on his jacket and pants, stuffed his feet into boots and stepped out.

There, framed in the moonlight and against a backdrop of brilliant stars, was Sally.

She rushed to him and planted a kiss on his lips, then hugged him tightly.

“Thank you,” she said.

Breeze was too stunned to say anything and didn’t want to let her go, but she abruptly stepped back and folded her arms across her chest.

“Are you…okay?” Was all he could think to say.

She sniffed and nodded while looking down at the limestone floor. “Good. I’m good. Just never had the chance to thank you for rescuing me. Oslo told me everything. About Ray losing it and flipping the boat, that I sank to the bottom and you dove down to find me. You of all people,” she looked up and smiled, “the guy from the desert who supposedly can’t swim.”

“Yeah, that’s me, full of surprises,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “It got a little crazy out there, but I did what I had to do. No big deal.” He casually looked away.

She leaned in and caressed his shoulder. “Well, thank you again. Have you seen Ray? I’m really worried about him.”

Hearing those words made his ego deflate. Whenever he thought of Ray, the image of him on the trimaran with the maniacal look on his face was the only thing he saw. Sally asking for his whereabouts was like a knife to the heart.

He tried to be stoic. “Not really. He’s been avoiding me the past couple of days. Doesn’t seem to want to talk. Why do you ask?”
He almost killed you!
He almost shouted at her.

“Just want to know what he’s up to. I can’t seem to find him and he’s not in his room.”

“How do you know, did you knock?”

“No, just projected inside and looked. That’s how I woke you up,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Look, I wanted to tell you in person that I’m leaving. That’s why I need to find Ray. I want him to go home with me.”

Breeze felt his legs buckle. He let out a sharp breath as if he was just kicked in the stomach. “Leave? Why?”

“I’m sorry, but are you awake? Have you been here the past couple of weeks? I came here for a summer session because my parents wanted me to. And it’s been horrible!” she hissed.

Breeze walked over to the balcony railing and leaned against it, then looked back at Sally, who stared at him like she was expecting an answer. He didn’t know what to say to her, so he started rambling. “Well, we are here to learn more about our powers. I know I could use more control over my flight.”

She stomped up to him. “Have you learned anything new? Are you flying better? Take off for me right now without hesitation. Show me what you can do. Come on, show me!”

Breeze leaned back with a sheepish grin. “Sally, come on, you know I’m not as good as you or Ray—”

“Exactly. So what are you doing here? Better yet, what are
Ray and I
doing here?”

The question felt like a stab into his back. “Sally, what are you trying to say?”

“Oh, Breeze, stop it with the nice guy act. It’s not getting you anywhere.” She turned her back on him and looked down the hallway.

He was grateful she wasn’t looking as he leaned against the railing and trembled like he had just been kicked in the gut.

She whirled around. “What is Oslo doing putting someone less proficient like you with Ray and me? What was he trying to prove? I’m going to tell you something; we’re being kept here on purpose. I don’t know why, I just do.”

“Sally, we’re here to learn, and…” sensing how feeble his words sounded made him trail off into silence.

If she noticed, she didn’t seem to care. “Have you spoken to your father?”

Breeze shook his head.

“Well, I haven’t heard from my parents. And Oslo keeps saying the comms are down for repairs. That was weeks ago!” she shouted. “We’re just being kept here. I feel like…I’m in storage.” She looked around with a look of disdain on her face.

“I sort of like it here,” Breeze said. “It’s different for me. I never really been anywhere, until now. Yeah, it’s pretty humid here and the bugs are something else. But for me, it’s a chance to get away from home.”

“You don’t like your parents, is that it?” Sally said as she put her hair into a ponytail.

Breeze was stunned at how beautiful her face was with her hair pulled back that it took a moment for the question to sink in. “Parent. My mother died a while back. I’m the only child. I told you this, remember?”

Sally tilted her head back and sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. But come on Breeze, we’re from different worlds. Ray and I have so much to go back to. But you’re just passing the time before you have to go back to that place you call home. Where are you from again?”

Breeze shook his head. “Sally, I told you. I’m from a town called Conception.”

She snapped her fingers. “That’s it. I kept on thinking it was called Contraption or something like that. I can’t believe I was going to go back home and tell all my friends about you, and I can’t even get the name of your town right!”

“You must have a lot of friends. I mean, you know a lot of people.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “Of course, why would you ask?”

“No reason.”

“Oh, come on, of course you do. Let me guess; there’s a girl back home waiting for you, but you feel a little guilty about it because of the way you feel about me. Is that it?” she said with a smile and wink.

He looked away from her. “No. I mean yes. I mean-what makes you think I like you?”

She laughed. “Oh, Breeze, you’re so cute. Come on, it’s so obvious.” She sighed as she put her hands on her hips. “You’re a really good friend. You know that right?”

Breeze stared at her. He didn’t what to say. The only thing he could hear in his head was the sound of a door slamming shut.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I want to go look for Ray. Are you coming?” Sally said as she straightened her jacket and pulled up the zipper.

He blurted out. “You know there is someone else here. A girl. She seems pretty young.”

“Oh sweetie, are you talking about your first day here, when you almost drowned and you said you saw some little mermaid who rescued you? That was a good story. But my advice? Keep it to yourself. It sounds a little weird.”

“Sally, I’m not joking. She’s for real.”

She patted his face. “Okay. Sure. I believe you. Just don’t tell your girlfriend back home about her.”

“I don’t have, I mean—”

“Shhh, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Are you coming or not?” She held out a hand to him.

He ignored it as he felt his skin burn and was grateful for the faint moonlight. He could only imagine how red his face was. “Let’s go this way. While you were in Medical, I wandered around the grounds. I saw him lurking round the Science and Engineering building. Let’s go there first,” he said

“Okay” she replied.

They walked the length of the breezeway and down the crumbling limestone steps, and then strode across the grounds as the rising moon lighted their way across the courtyard and to the boulevard that ran the length of the campus. They went past empty buildings that appeared as silent and brooding hulks that lined either side of the boulevard with heavy ficus obscuring their entrances.

Breeze felt his hand being squeezed. He turned and Sally was holding his hand and walking next to him. He smiled, and then forced himself to sober up.
Stop grinning like a fool. Just a friend, remember?

The Science and Engineering building was just ahead on their left. The building stood out from the others with its immense size. Interior lights filtered through the misty windows, and it didn’t have as much vegetation growing around it, giving the impression that it was somewhat maintained.

They climbed up the steps and saw the heavy metal doors were slightly ajar.

Sally pulled her hand away from him. “Let’s go, I don’t like it here,” she said with a shiver. “Maybe Ray is someplace else.”

Breeze sighed. “Sure, let’s go check the other buildings. You know, cut away the jungle that’s grown around them. That would be easier.”

“Don’t be mean. That’s not you.” She swatted his shoulder.

He pushed against the door and it groaned and creaked loudly, creating an echo that reverberated deep into the building. “Well, so much for the silent approach. Ladies first?”

She shot him an icy look and stepped inside.

He followed right behind her and was hit by the smell of mildew mixed with ozone.
Electrical equipment,
he thought to himself,
and lots of it. But where?

Sally covered her face with her hand. “What is that smell?”

“Electrically charged air. I’m used to it. We get that a lot at my father’s foundry. We use powerful electrical discharges when purifying metal that can also burn the air. I’m just not used to the smell of mildew added to it.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stared at him blankly.

“It doesn’t matter.” He began exploring the room as the light bulbs haphazardly strung up overhead provided meager lighting, but it was enough to see huge machines that were covered in tarps and plastic. He grabbed an end of a tarp closest to him and gave it a hard yank. It fell away to reveal an oversized piece of electronic equipment with gauges and dials on it. Once again, he was hit by the feeling of seeing machinery far more advanced than what he was used to, yet it all looked so old in appearance.

“What is that thing?” Sally asked. She hugged herself tightly while looking around nervously.

“Can’t say. I just know,” he said, as he ripped off another tarp that exposed an even more bizarre machine, “is that everything I see here is pretty different than what I’m used to.”

They walked aimlessly through the rows of machines. Most of them were covered, some partially exposed. They came to the end of a row and stood before a hallway that ran perpendicular to them. They leaned in and looked down either side as a row of exposed bulbs strung overhead lit the entire hallway.

“You’re telling me you’ve seen Ray come in here? I wonder what he’s up to,” Sally mused.

She was answered by the sudden and abrupt hum of electrical machinery kicking into action. On the wall across from them, a lighted panel appeared and was ticking off a series of numbers when the screen displayed the letter, “L”, and a sliding door opened before them.

Ray stepped out into the hallway, lost in thought and oblivious to their presence.

It was Sally’s voice that broke his trance. “Raymond Verhesen! What on earth are you doing?”

Ray let out a yelp as he stumbled back.

Sally stepped toward him. “What are you up to? Why didn’t you come visit me in Medical? I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Ray rubbed his face and his eyes looked like he had been awakened from a deep sleep. “I was just looking around. Got bored, you know,” he said with a shrug.

“Without Breeze? All by yourself?” Sally placed a hand on his chest. “He tells me you’ve been avoiding him these last couple of days.”

Ray looked down at her hand in surprise, and then shot a glare at Breeze. “Yeah. Guess after the trimaran accident I kind of wanted to keep to myself.”

“You had no one to talk to?” She gazed at him with soft eyes.

“Well, you know, it was hard to see you. Oslo restricted access while you were in Medical.”

“Could you lie to me and say that you tried?”

Ray held her hand. “Sally, I’m sorry about everything and I promise it won’t happen again. I’ll do better next time, you’ll see.”

She beamed at him. “I know you will!” she said and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Breeze stood dumfounded while Ray snuck a look at his crestfallen face and winked at him.

Breeze sighed and turned away. He wasn’t sure what was worse; seeing Sally behave this way around him, or not being thanked by Ray for saving her. He was beginning to wonder what was preventing him from wanting to leave Perihelion.

He left the couple behind and went to the next row of machines, where he found one whose tarp was off and was humming with electrical power. Breeze strode over to get a closer look at it and saw several of its vid-screens were on and displaying data. He crouched down to get a better look, and then took hold of a joystick that protruded from a panel and began scrolling through the data.

With a flash, the screens changed and began displaying maps of continents as areas of interest were highlighted with pulsating circles. He could see his hometown in the Desert Country was lighted, along with other locations through the Pacific Northwest, the North Eastern Territories, and a triangle over the island of Perihelion. He looked up at the top of the screen and recognized coordinates and transmission frequencies. Growing up in a scrap yard made him very familiar with navigational equipment that was salvaged from various aerocraft.

“Comm transmitter and diagnostics. What else could this be?” he muttered to himself. Oslo had said the comm units were down and still in repair, but they appeared operational.