Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (4 page)

He continued on, determined more than ever to get out the trench. After another hour of walking, the floor sloped up sharply, and he knew he reached the impact point. He trudged his way to the top and turned to survey the trench. It was a gash in the earth that stretched as far as the eye could see with toppled and broken trees on either side of it.

He turned away, not being able to believe what he just saw, or that he was even capable of doing it. He was tired and worn down. It was a time to head home, if only he knew which way to go.

He tapped the nav-compass on his wrist to activate it. It was unresponsive.

Disappointed, he stumbled forward with no real plan in mind except to try to find a road or a path, anything that would lead him to a town. He needed to find transport to get back home.

He walked through a forest in a daze. Though he had never seen such tall trees before, he was too exhausted to look up and admire them. The forest gave way to a field and he stopped to survey the land. He spotted a road that ran along the field and he crossed over to get to it.

When he arrived he stood alongside it and looked both ways. He had two options. Go to the left or to the right. What seemed like such a simple choice felt so incredibly difficult.
For once in your life,
he thought to himself,
make a decision and stick with it.

He turned to the right and walked down the rock strewn road.
The beginning of a journey starts with a single step
, he reminded himself. He smiled weakly as he remembered that pearl of wisdom his mind had conjured up during his time in the trench.

Up ahead, he could see a town nestled in a valley below. He picked up his pace.

Later that day, an object high in the sky streaked over the area of the trench. It came to a stop and hovered for a moment, and then with a sudden burst of acceleration, descended rapidly without a sound and came to an abrupt halt just inches above the deep end of the trench. The object was a man, covered head to toe in a sleek black pressure suit. His face was expressionless, as there was no discernible mouth, eyes, ears, or nose, just a reservoir of inky blackness. The light that surrounded him seemed to fade as if he absorbed it.

He hovered for a moment, and then slowly descended to the bottom of the trench.

He tilted his head to the left then to the right as points of light appeared on his face. He reached out to touch the earthen wall where Breeze had tried to climb earlier and recoiled upon contact. He leaned in and noted the blood that was caked on the dirt. He slowly reached out again, but this time with a finger. A needle protruded from the tip of the finger. He vacuumed a small quantity of the blood-soaked dirt through it before retracting it.

He held the finger up to his face and stared at it as the points of light on his face become a maelstrom of swirling stars. They spun faster and faster, growing in intensity until his head glowed a brilliant white, then ceased and his face returned to an expressionless pit of darkness. He shot toward the sky and disappeared.

BREEZE WOKE UP IN
a terrible fright. He looked about wildly and was overwhelmed by the unfathomable darkness that surrounded him. His back was pressed against something hard and jagged. He stood up and turned to touch the rough surface he slept against all night. It felt cold and damp. He backed away and his heel snagged a sharp object. He fell back with a yelp.

Lying on the ground, he looked up and saw a sprinkling of stars through a narrow gap. He got up slowly, taking ragged breaths as he spun in a circle, hoping his eyes would lock onto anything familiar. He looked up again at the stars for guidance and saw leafy branches blocking his view. He tapped his nav-compass. Its glow faintly illuminated the area where he saw tree trunks everywhere he turned. He realized now he was in deep in the forest.

He tried to remember the events that led him here. After he had plowed the trench into the ground, he didn’t trust himself to fly home on his own accord. He found a road that led to a town but upon arriving, discovered the entrance to it was blocked by a fortified gate and guarded by hulking men covered in heavy armor and carrying swords and axes. He hid amongst the trees, while daring himself to approach them but thought better of it after spending hours watching disheveled men, women and children entering or leaving the town being harassed or even assaulted, by the guards. He had never seen anyone who looked or behaved the way the citizens of this town did. They reminded him of books his aunt read to him as a child about kings, queens and knights, and the peasants they ruled over. He also noticed there were no signs of hover vehicles or aerocraft anywhere. The townspeople seemed to get by on horse-drawn wagons. He had never seen anything so odd. He waited for night to arrive so he could skulk away.

He spent the next several days walking down roads that cut through forests, eating berries he found growing on wild vines, and the occasional apple from trees he stumbled across along the edge of a field. All the while he hoped to find a town that was less hostile and strange than the one he had left behind.

He stopped often to admire the trees. He had never seen so many clustered together and so great in height. They were in short supply back home in the desert. What few trees they had were ragged and dry. Rarely were there ever more than two together. They stood out as oddities in the flat desert landscape. Even the surrounding mountains were barren of any significant growth of vegetation.

He traveled by day along roads and paths made of dirt and stone, occasionally checking his nav-compass to ensure he was heading west. He stopped several times to look at the tracks he saw on the ground. Wheeled vehicles did travel here, but he never once saw one or heard a motor.

At night, he would sit and lean against a tree close to the road. He was too afraid to go into the forest. The wind would blow and make the leaves on the branches rustle loudly as the trees groaned and creaked. He wasn’t used to hearing so much racket. He was accustomed to the serene desert nights.

Some nights he would wake up to the sounds of rustling along the forest floor, accompanied by a pair of glowing eyes hovering off in the distance. He would then scramble to his feet and run down the road in the faint moonlight until he collapsed from exhaustion.

But tonight he awoke and found himself surrounded by incredibly tall trees, their canopies swaying back and forth with each gust of wind. He wondered how he got this deep into the forest. He remembered hearing a howling noise that chilled him to the bone as he slept along the roadside when something dark streaked past him and barreled into the forest. A flash of light erupted seconds later, which brought the howls of the creature to an end.

That was enough to send him running down the road until it came to an end. His fear of the howling creature overwhelmed his reservations about the forest, and he leapt into it. As he crashed through the thick branches, he remembered checking his nav-compass to obtain a bearing, figuring if he ran to the west, he might reconnect with another road. His hopes were dashed when he saw the needle spinning wildly, and the display flashing random numbers. He continued running until his legs burned with pain and he collapsed from exhaustion. He crawled along the forest floor in the dark until he bumped against the trunk of a tree. He leaned his back against it while struggling to keep his eyes open in the overwhelming darkness of the forest. He eventually surrendered to fatigue and fell asleep.

All of these events led to this moment. He knew he had to leave the area and quickly. He didn’t want to try to walk out of the forest to find a road. He didn’t know what direction he entered it, and his nav-compass was still behaving strangely.

The trees groaned and creaked louder with each gust of wind. The forest was unfamiliar territory for him, and he was feeling claustrophobic. This was nothing like the wide open expanse of the desert. Then he realized there was a way out and it didn’t require waiting for daylight to arrive.

He looked up and focused on the brightest star he could find through the thick branches. With his arms outstretched, he willed himself to rise.

He felt his body become light as a feather. He rose slowly, carefully weaving his way through interlocking branches as they rustled and scraped against one another yet his eyes never wavered from the bright star he was focused on.

He broke through the leafy canopy and hovered over a forest that stretched out endlessly in all directions. The moon was beginning to rise, allowing him to see in the distance a narrow gash that snaked its way through the forest. He knew that was the road he needed to follow. He looked up at his guide star and almost fell into the forest when he saw it drift away.

He hovered until he felt confident enough to nudge himself forward. He glided over to the road and followed its course. He snuck a glance at his nav-compass to confirm he was heading west and was relieved to see it was working again.

He felt his stomach grumble and his mouth was dry. He knew he had to land and eat soon. He drank from whatever creek he came across and foraging on berries he found hanging off branches and vines. He was careful to sample each one by eating it slowly, waiting to see if he felt sick before eating the rest. There was so much about the forest that he didn’t know, and he was determined not to die here in the wilds.

The moon rose higher, giving him a better view of the road below. He ascended to achieve a higher vantage point and spotted a large swath of open land in the distance. He made a slight course change and headed for it. Along the way he came across a lake with its surface glinting in the moonlight. Relieved to see water, he descended, only to stumble and fall face first into the sand when he tried to land along its shore.

He got up and squatted along the edge of the lake and began hastily scooping water into his parched mouth while glancing around nervously for any wildlife. He didn’t like the forest or the creatures that inhabited it. Most of the kids in his school rarely, if ever, traveled outside the desert country. What little they knew about forests was only what they saw in books and in vid-images.

He continued to scoop water when he saw his wavering reflection in the lake. He leaned in closer and could see his face and the stars above him. He felt dizzy as the stars began to rotate. He dug his hands into the sand, feeling as if he were about to be ripped off the ground and flung up in the air. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, struggling to overcome the dizzying sensation that overwhelmed him. No sooner than it began, it came to an end.

A sense of relief swept over him as he took short, ragged breaths. He lifted his head to gaze at the stars above.

He always wondered what was to be found out there in the infinite blackness. Every star to him was a pinpoint of light that kept the gathering darkness at bay. There were rumors around Conception of aerocraft fabricators building ships that could pierce the upper levels of the atmosphere and achieve orbit, but they were often dismissed as myth. He once tried to ascend to a higher altitude, but the extremely cold temperatures and blasts of air from the jet stream would force him to turn back.

His trance was shattered by a horrific roaring sound. He spun around as a tree from the forest lining the shore toppled with a mighty crack, falling to the ground.

His heart raced. He could see his breath come out of his mouth in sharp bursts in the frosty air. The roaring was followed by fierce shrieking as more trees snapped and fell, each one toppling faster than the other with a sickening crack, their sturdy trunks snapping like twigs.

Breeze backed into the lake and was immediately bitten by the iciness of the water, but his fear of whatever was heading toward him overruled his discomfort.

The tree falling ceased abruptly and a creature stepped out from the forest with the radiance of the moon casting a spotlight on it. It was tall. Taller than any man he had ever seen. Its eyes flickered, alternating between shades of red and white. It stood perfectly still as it stared at Breeze.

Breeze was knee-deep in the lake and breathing heavily. The icy water was making him shiver, but he was too afraid to move. He could see the creature breathe heavily too. Each exhale it made was laced with a low, guttural growl. It was menacing and frightening to behold, with its tangled and unkempt hair covering its body from head to toe. Then it began striding towards him.

Breeze reflexively stepped back deeper into the lake. The water was up to his waist and the cold was unbearable. His heart was beating hard, making the blood roar through his ears that he could barely think straight. Then the smell hit him.

The creature emitted a foul odor that reeked of sulfur. It was a smell he was familiar with, spending many a summer recess and weekends helping his father in the foundry. But the odor from this monstrosity was so powerful it made him gag.

The creature took a few more steps towards him with its eyes flashing a throbbing red when it came to an abrupt stop.

The fierce red eyes gave way to a white glow as it stopped growling and cocked its head.

Breeze felt a wave of calm sweep over him. Whatever terror he experienced earlier was replaced by a sense of serenity. The creature had glowing eyes that illuminated its face, and it stretched a long and hairy arm towards him. It made a beckoning motion. Breeze absentmindedly took a step forward, and then stopped.

In the back of his mind, he heard a hissing noise. The hissing grew into a powerful static that drowned out all other sound. He glanced at his nav-compass, and the needle was spinning wildly.

He covered his ears in a desperate attempt to block the noise when he caught a sudden flash of movement from above. He looked up and saw the bright star that he used to guide himself out of the forest was now hovering above him. It morphed into an orb and pulsated with radiating light in a staccato pattern.

The creature’s eyes exploded into a fiery red as it pointed to the orb with a piercing howl. The orb pulsated with a rainbow of colors in response, then shrunk into a black ball and streaked towards the hairy creature, striking it in the chest and sending it tumbling into the forest. The creature shrieked and howled as the black ball expanded into a larger sphere and began absorbing it.

Breeze had seen enough. He needed to leave. Now.

He struggled to get out of the icy lake, shivering mightily as he waded out of the water. The static hiss was more powerful than ever and he couldn’t concentrate to try and fly. He ran away as fast as he could along the shoreline.

He ran until the sound of static dissipated and the creature’s horrific shrieking subsided. He came to a stop and dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. His shivering became more intense as he felt the cold air on his drenched pant legs. His boots were soggy and squished with every step he took.

He knew he had to fly up to find the road. If he could find it again, he would follow it and hopefully it would lead to a town.

He looked at his nav-compass and was relieved to see that it was working again as the needle spun casually until it came to a stop and pointed north.

He stood up and tried to overcome his shivering as he stretched out his arms and closed his eyes. If there was ever a time he needed to achieve flight, it was now.

He felt the familiar rush of air across his face as his feet left the ground. He opened his eyes and saw he was hovering over the tree tops next to the lake. He willed himself forward and floated upright across the lake. He looked at his nav-compass and carefully shifted his direction until he was on a westerly course. He reached the opposite shore, and in the brilliant moonlight saw a road cutting through the forest like a winding ribbon. He followed the road, daring himself to tilt forward to fly parallel to the ground below, mindful about how this position made him accelerate without warning.

He flew this way for hours, even though he was overwhelmed by his desire to land and get some rest. He could barely contain his shivering, but was determined to put as much distance between himself and the creature by the lake.

The moonlight ebbed as it sunk slowly to the horizon. The sky was at its equilibrium between the advancing sun and retreating moon.

Breeze’s eyes fluttered as fatigue drained him. He looked down and saw the forest gradually thinning out into open fields. He spotted homes and farms dotting the landscape. The road he was following split into a fork, and he followed the one that lead to a cluster of lights on the horizon. Lights meant civilization. Civilization meant a land port where he could find out not only where he was, but what transport he would need to take to get home. This wasn’t the first time he had flown far away from home; he had always been able to fly back, or hitch a ride if he felt too tired to try. But he had never flown so far and so fast as he had after the air show, and he had never flown out of his territory and into the forest lands.

He spotted a barn next to a field and could smell the freshly turned earth as he approached. It was the same smell from the trench he plowed several days before.

Not far from the barn was a farmhouse that sat on the edge of the field, its sole porch light was like a landing beacon for him. He knew he needed to rest, and this would be a good place to do so. He didn’t want to land in the town for fear he might be seen. He didn’t know how people would react if they saw him dropping from the sky and landing in the streets.