Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (55 page)

Ray stepped forward. “I’ve got a lot to prove. I treated you like you were second class since the day we met. I’m with you Breeze. Let’s leave and find out what the world is really like out there.”

They turned to Sally. “I can’t do this without you,” Breeze said and held out a hand to her.

Sally gladly took it. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. And no, I won’t start crying.”

They all laughed. “Well, we’re already making progress,” Breeze said, then turned to face the others. “Raza, Excort, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Raza put her hands to her face and moaned. “Breeze, I don’t know what to do. I’m finally reunited with my daughter, and now I found out that my husband has been kidnapped. To leave Appalachia to go on a rescue mission would be…” she trailed off with a look of despair on her face.

Breeze hugged her. “Raza, you’re like a mother to me, and Nina,” he turned and patted her head, “is like a little sister to me.”

Nina’s smile faded into a frown.

“I know this is tough for you, so I insist you stay here. Besides, Nina needs you,” Breeze said to Raza.

She hugged him tightly. “It’s not that I don’t love my husband. I do. It’s just that after all we’ve been through, for me to leave and risk losing my daughter again would be too much.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re pretty sore at him. Kind of like what I feel for my dad. But I guess we all need to learn the power of forgiveness. Even with all the powers we have, it seems to be the one we lack.”

Nina spoke up. “Mother, what about father? Will we see him again?”

Raza pulled away from Breeze and held her. “Breeze is a brave warrior. He will go and bring him back so we can be a family.”

Breeze felt his throat tighten and he quickly looked away. “Excort, I’m going to ask you to stay here and watch over the girls. Not that Raza needs looking after, she did pretty good on her own for a while, but you know what I mean.”

Raza touched Breeze’s arm. “Living alone and descending into madness is not the best measure of doing well. I want all of the company and help I can get.”

Excort shrugged and jerked a thumb toward Achilles. “The robot seems to be pretty familiar with the ship’s systems. It can make any repairs that you might need along the way.”

“Oh, Achilles helped me rebuild the scout ship,” Breeze said.

“Of course it did. It seems to be capable of a lot of things.” He cast a wary eye at it. “I’ll stay up through the night running preflight checks on it for you while everyone gets some sleep.”

“If I may Excort, I would like to volunteer my assistance,” Achilles offered.

The dwarf shrugged. “Suit yourself. I could use a little extra help.”

Breeze turned to Sally and Ray. “Well, it’s settled then, we go first thing in the morning. One last warning; I traveled across the Bad Lands to get to Perihelion and it can either get pretty hairy at times, or nothing happens at all. I just want you guys to know that.”

“We’re a team Breeze, we’ll manage,” Ray said.

Breeze held out his hand. Ray shook it.

Sally beamed at them and clapped her hands. “We need a name for the team. How about Sun Chasers?”

“No!” the guys yelled in unison, then laughed as Sally pouted.

THE SUN ROSE THE
following morning with its light caressing the trees tops of the surrounding mountains and hills of the valley below.

Nestled along the river valley, Raza’s farmhouse was a beehive of activity as the scout ship was being prepped for its departure west.

Achilles and Excort had spent the entire night finishing repairs on the scout ship and when they finished, they went to the barn to make further adjustments to the comm equipment so Excort and Raza could at least try to stay in touch with the team. They all agreed that the scout ship would return to Mount Pleasant after the rescue, assuming Breeze’s father was alive and had the parts they needed to restore the ship’s space flight capabilities. The plan was to first drop out of orbit over the Pacific Northwest after they rescued Oslo where they would disappear into the vast forests and mountains of that region in case they were followed. Achilles would then signal Excort once they determined they were not being tracked and begin the trek back to Appalachia.

“And what is the plan should you fail to get the parts from Breeze’s father so the ship can reach orbit?” Excort asked.

Achilles raised a hand. “I do believe the human expression is to say we will cross that bridge when we get there.”

Excort grunted, and then continued working.

When morning arrived Achilles was back in the cockpit of the scout ship calibrating the avionics while Excort was in the engine room cursing loudly at the multitude of last minute minor repairs that had to be made.

Breeze and Ray were in the cargo hold loading boxes of supplies they had procured from Raza. They worked quietly and quickly, stacking boxes into every nook and cranny they could find.

Inside the farmhouse, the women were packing clothes and stuffing them into cargo bags. They spoke softly amongst themselves as they placed the bags by the door.

Later, they all sat down for a big breakfast Raza had prepared. The boys ate like ravenous wolves while the girls pecked at their food. Nina would occasionally look up from her plate to steal quick glances at Breeze while Sally toyed with her food and kept an eye Nina. Breeze and Ray were oblivious to the events between the girls as they cleaned off their plates and finished their coffee.

Later, they all gathered on the porch, except for Nina, who remained in the house, while Achilles and Excort grabbed the cargo bags and hauled them over to the scout ship. They had gone for a test flight earlier and had landed the ship in front of the farmhouse.

Ray was the first to say goodbye to Raza. “Ma’am, just wanted to say thank you for all of your help. I promise I will repay your generosity by returning with your husband.”

Raza laughed as she threw her arms and hugged him tightly. “Oh, my dear Raymond. My military man. You do so remind of Oslo.” She took his hands into hers. “Listen to me young one; you are the captain of your soul. Never forget that. When the anger arises, don’t push it down. Channel it. Use it constructively. You have so much to offer Raymond.”

Ray nodded as he stole a quick glance at Sally. She looked away.

“And don’t call me ma’am ever again.” She patted his face. “It’s Raza, or Mom, if you wish. You and Breeze are like sons to me now.” She smiled sweetly as tears welled up in her eyes. “Now go, my brave one. You are doing far more for me than I could ever repay.” She pulled him down by the shoulders and kissed his forehead. “Go,” she whispered.

Raza watched him walk away and took in a deep breath as he strode up the gang plank and disappeared into the ship.

She then turned to face Sally and pulled her close to embrace her. “This had been the greatest moment in my life in such a long time. I used to be alone with no children, but now I would like to think that I have four, and two of them are the best daughters any mother could ask for.”

Sally smiled through her tears. She hugged Raza tightly, then broke away without a word and marched quickly to the scout ship.

Raza and Breeze were alone. They leaned against the porch railing and gazed at the ship for a time without a word between them.

Breeze was the first to break the silence. “You know Raza, when we first met you were nothing but a crazy old lady.”

Raza burst into laughter as tears streamed from her eyes. She nodded as she pulled up her apron to wipe her face. “Yes, my dear boy,” she sniffled, “yes, I know. I never would have believed that three vagabond teenagers would pull me out of the darkness that had descended over my life.” She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Breeze, you are different. But you know that already.”

Breeze shrugged as he tried to avoid eye contact.

She gently touched his cheek and nudged it so they faced one another. “Don’t turn away from me and don’t shy away from what you know to be true. Search your heart, son. You can only deny destiny for so long by twisting your fate. But you will always end up fulfilling what life has in store for you. Never forget that. No matter what path you take, you can never avoid the inevitable.”

Breeze nodded, noticing how her face was becoming smoother by the day. “Yes, I hear you Raza.”

“You better because—” she put a hand to her mouth as she fought back a sob, ”—because I can’t believe in a world without you.”

Breeze’s face turned bright red as he looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

She placed a hand under his chin and lifted it. “Oslo and I spent so much time in the archives at Perihelion. We studied and learned about all the great Helios from the past and their incredible powers and gifts they possessed. Yes, there were those who didn’t have such fantastic abilities, but they contributed in their own way. But as we poured through the records and studied the old vid images, we couldn’t help but notice that greatest ones of all seemed to be the reluctant ones.”

Breeze shrugged.

“Exactly,” Raza whispered, “the quiet ones. The unassuming ones. The ones that your eyes see, but ignore. Your kind has a habit of doing the unexpected and performing the spectacular. All without being asked.”

She pulled him close. “What you are doing for me, for Nina, is admirable. No, heroic. You are a hero Breeze, you understand this?”

He nodded his head.

She cradled his face. “You are heading off into the unknown to help someone from a generation that created this mess you have to live through.” She placed her hands on his chest as her head sagged. “What sort of a world do we live in when it is the children who must do the fighting?”

She lifted her head and took in a deep breath, then straightened her hair and wiped her face with her apron. “Enough, no more tears. You are right, Breeze, we must fight back. Go home and find your father. Do what you can to repair the ship so it can take you to the stars. Find my husband and return him to me, make my family whole again, and I promise you we will begin to put things right.”

Breeze opened his mouth to speak, but Raza held a finger to his lips. “Go, my son.” She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, then gently pushed him away and stepped over to the far end of the porch.

Breeze slung his bag over his shoulder and trudged off to the scout ship when heard the screen door fly open and bang against the frame, which was followed by the sound of feet running across gravel. He turned to look just as Nina crashed into him. She hugged him tightly as he struggled to keep his balance.

She buried her face in his chest, and then looked up at him. “Remember what I told you; never force anything, just move.”

She broke away and ran back up the steps and into the farmhouse.

Breeze sighed heavily as he watched her go, and then stepped up the gangplank just as Excort was descending it. The dwarf was wiping his greasy hands with a dirty rag, and stood in Breeze’s path, giving him a hard stare.

“Breeze,” he paused for a moment, “bring back my friend.” Then he reached up and patted his shoulder before walking away.

Breeze looked at his jacket and saw the greasy hand print. He smiled and shook his head.

Sally was waiting for him at the entrance. “All set?”

He turned to look back. Raza was still on the porch. Breeze waved and she waved back, and then patted her chest over her heart.

The motors of the gangplank whined as it retracted into the hull with a hard metallic bang. The door slid to a close and sealed itself with a hiss.

“Yes, we’re ready,” he said.

She touched his face, then took his hand and led him to the passenger cabin.

The engines were coming to life as they took their seats on the port side of the vessel. The ship vibrated and shook as Ray’s voice broke over the intercom.

“Everyone secure your seats, preparing for takeoff,” he announced. It was agreed earlier that Ray would pilot the ship for the first leg of the trip. Breeze would take over the last leg when they were close to his hometown. Achilles would be the co-pilot and handle navigation.

Breeze turned to Sally, but said nothing.

She leaned over. “What’s the matter?”

“Just when I think I’ve found a home, I have to leave.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly when the ship lifted off with a lurch and hovered.

Breeze looked through his window and saw Excort standing stoically in the front yard. Raza was on the porch with a hand over her heart, while Nina was leaning out of a second story window and waving goodbye.

The scout ship ascended slowly as it glided past the farmhouse, and then accelerated out of the valley and towards the rising sun.

“And off we go,” Breeze said.

“
THEY’RE BACK,” RAY ANNOUNCED
over the intercom.

Sally and Breeze were buckled in their seats and dozing off when the sound of Ray’s voice stirred them. They quickly unfastened their belts and peered out the windows and into the night.

Orbs of light were circling the scout ship, some brighter than others, and each one exploded into a dizzying array of colors before disappearing, then re-appearing, swooping toward the scout ship, then darting and zigzaging around it at dizzying speeds.

Sally’s face was pressed against the window, her eyes reflecting a mixture of fear and excitement, when she turned to Breeze who was in the row behind her. “Are you seeing this? It’s amazing!”

Breeze leaned away from his window and shrunk back in his seat. “Reminds me of my first trip to Perihelion.”

The orbs began to circle faster around the ship as they pulsated with an array of colors ranging from red to violet. The cabin lights began to flicker and fade as the radiance from the orbs seeped through the hull. No sooner than it began, it stopped.

The cabin lights slowly came back on and the monotonous drone of the engines replaced the excitement of the light show.

Sally climbed over her seat and sat next to Breeze. “I’m scared,” she said as she cuddled next to him.

“Don’t be. I used to see these things all the time.”

“You did?”

“Remember the story I told you back at Perihelion? I used to sneak out at night and fly away from home to get away from my father.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Funny to hear me just say that ‘cause here I am now risking other peoples’ lives just to see him again.”

Sally grabbed his hand. “We’re all taking a risk, remember?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I know. Anyway, I would fly out to the White Mountain, that’s just a name I gave the place, but it was strange how I always knew how to get there and come back, without using this.” He tapped the nav-compass on his wrist.

“I…don’t remember you telling me this.” Sally bit her lip as her hair obscured her eyes.

Breeze brushed it back so he could see her face. “I don’t think you or Ray listened to anything I had to say back then.”

Sally leaned away from him and looked down at her lap.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

She shook her head. “No, you’re right. So much has changed since we first met. You know, I didn’t think much of you then.”

Breeze laughed. “Yeah, I kind of picked up the vibe.”

She laughed with him. “Oh my gosh, I’m realizing just how horrible I was.” She leaned over to him and whispered. “Was I really that bad?”

“Well…”

She hit him playfully on the shoulder. “Come on! You can’t hurt a girl’s feelings. You have to tell a little white lie and say ‘Oh, no Sally, you were more gracious than a queen,’ or something like that.”

He stared at her as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “Well, I just thought you were the prettiest girl I had ever seen,” he said and his face immediately turned red. He looked down and fiddled with his nav-compass.

She placed a hand over it while the other gently touched his face. “That is the sweetest thing ever, even after how badly I treated you.” She started to sniffle.

“Oh, no! You’re not going to start crying again, are you?”

“No! Come on, I’m not
that
emotional.” She saw a smile creep across his face. She giggled and put her hands to her mouth. “Am I?”

“Well…”

“Breeze!” She threw another playful punch he easily ducked.

They were interrupted by the sound of heavy metallic footsteps coming down the aisle. They peered over their seats and watched as Achilles came lumbering towards them.

The robot stopped at their row. “I trust all is well with the passengers?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?” Sally said.

Achilles tilted its head. “Were you not concerned regarding the recent display of orbs just outside the ship?”

“Oh that,” the teens said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, and then laughed.

“I beg your forgiveness, master and mistress, but I cannot fully fathom the reason behind your levity.”

Their laughter slowly subsided into a trickle of giggles. “It’s okay, we’re fine,” Breeze said.

Achilles’ eyes narrowed to slits.

Breeze stood up and tapped the robot on its head. “Come on now, don’t have a malfunction.”

Achilles dropped its jaw. “I was merely processing the events that have just transpired. I find human reactions to moments of stress to be interesting.”

Breeze stepped out into the aisle and stretched his arms. “Feel like an animal in a pen,” he muttered, then turned to the robot. “Achilles, look, it has been the same thing the past two nights. Nothing is happening out there. The Bad Lands are pretty quiet. Except for the escort we seem to be getting from the orbs over the past two days, I don’t think anything is happening at all down there.”

“You guys always make it seem like it’s a horrible place. First time for me flying over, and it has been pretty uneventful,” Sally said.

Achilles’ eyes fluttered as one of its hands twitched. “Your assessment of our safety and security is premature at best, mistress.”

“Look Achilles, you’ve done a great job fixing up the ship and the generators are creating a pretty good distortion field so nobody can see us. I say we increase speed so we can get to my town faster,” Breeze said.

Sally nodded. “I have to agree, Achilles. We appreciate your concern, but this is not like when we first left Perihelion to return home. We understand how dangerous times are now, but you have done such a spectacular job with the scout ship that no one seems to be able to detect us.”

“You are not concerned that the orbs find us regardless of our defenses?”

“Oh, them. Well…” She turned to Breeze.

“I was just telling Sally that I would see them all the time when I would fly around in the desert. They never appeared aggressive or hostile. If anything, I see them as old friends.”

“Interesting assessment of such phenomena,” Achilles responded.

“Come on, let’s all head up to the pilot house, I want to switch places with Ray. It’s my turn to fly the ship, and he’s been stuck behind the helm for the past couple of days,” Breeze said.

They made their way down the aisle and up the short flight of steps into the pilot house.

Breeze was the first to step into the cockpit where he found Ray adjusting the throttles and the helm was locked on auto pilot. “I was just telling everybody how hard you were working flying the ship, but I can see you got the auto pilot working just fine.”

Ray looked back and grinned. “Yeah, took me a while to get it through my thick head that I don’t have to be hands on all the time and it’s given me chance to learn more about the ship. You should see this, I just found it earlier.” He tapped a screen off to the right of the helm. “It’s called Limp Home. Apparently if the ship is badly damaged, it goes into auto mode and flies itself back to a set of pre-programmed coordinates.”

“What’s it set to now?” Breeze asked.

“You mean where to go back to? Let me see.” Ray scrolled through various screens, and then stopped. “Here are the coordinates. Let me punch them into the nav-station.” He typed in the coordinates and immediately a map of an island appeared on the screen.

“Perihelion,” Achilles said.

They turned to look at the robot as it peered over Breeze’s shoulder.

“The ship will automatically return to Perihelion, perfectly logical,” Achilles continued, “in the event of catastrophic damage to the ship or crew, or valuable cargo that must be protected. The ship will return to its point of origin, or self-destruct to protect whatever secrets it may contain.”

“Sounds great,” Breeze said, “but Perihelion is not on my list of places to run back to. I think we all can agree to that. Ray, just change the coordinates to Raza’s farm. I would rather go back there if things go wrong.”

Ray nodded and reached over to tap the screen when a proximity alarm whooped throughout the pilot house. He reached up to flip a switch that silenced it as the cabin’s lighting automatically dimmed from a soft white to a red glow.

“According to the charts, it looks like we’re approaching a town named Proctor that sits just outside the Bad Lands.” Ray turned to Breeze. “I can’t believe we crossed it so quick. We weren’t traveling that fast.” He toggled a switch on the console and the blast shield covering the canopy retracted to give them a better view.

Cutting through the darkness was an eerie orange glow on the horizon. As Achilles took its place in the co-pilot’s seat, Sally stood behind Ray and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He reached up to pat it. “It’s going to be all right.”

As the ship drew closer, the orange glow gave way to a raging fire encompassing a vast area while the town of Proctor just below them was engulfed in a raging inferno.

Sally turned away. “Not again.”

Breeze leaned into the windscreen to get a better look. “I was wondering why everything was so quiet and why we’re still getting nothing but static over the comms.”

“Raymond, may I suggest we skirt the outer perimeter of the town? Security is paramount,” Achilles said.

“What?” He turned to look at the robot with wide eyes. “Oh, right, good call.” He gripped the helm and shook it, which canceled the auto pilot, then banked the ship to starboard.

Breeze addressed them all. “There is no point in trying to approach my town with stealth. Whatever is out there knows about us and I can’t wait any longer.” He turned to Ray. “Hit the throttles, I want to get home now.”

Ray hesitated for a moment, then saw the steely determination on Breeze’s face and thought better of disagreeing with him. He banked the ship to port and pushed forward on the throttles. The ship rumbled and shook as it gradually picked up speed and left the burning town of Proctor behind them. The landscape below became a blur as they rushed over it.

Achilles, in its co-pilot seat, turned to Ray. “Master, may I suggest we reduce our rate of acceleration? My calculations are showing we cannot maintain this speed and still produce enough power to maintain the distortion field.”

“I have a better idea,” Breeze said. “Ray, kill the power to the field and reroute it to the engines, then hammer down hard on the throttle.”

Ray took a quick glance at him, and then complied. The ship vibrated as it accelerated faster.

The vibration grew in intensity. Breeze reached up to grab an overhead rail as Sally sat down in the jump seat behind Ray.

Ray deftly flew over mountains and hugged ravines as he kept the scout ship close to the ground to evade detection from above. Outside the ship, trees buckled and shook violently as it rocketed past with a deep rumble following its wake.

“Master Verhesen, any attempts at a stealthy approach are being negated by the sonic boom that we are generating at these speeds,” Achilles said.

Ray looked at Breeze, then back at Achilles and shrugged.

The landscape below changed from lush forest to scrub land, and then eventually to desert as the scout ship streaked through the night, trailing an ear splitting sonic boom.

Inside the pilot house, another proximity alarm went off. “The town of Conception is just up ahead,” Ray announced as he reached up to silence it, then reached for the throttles and gradually reduced speed.

Breeze shot him and angry look.

Ray held up a hand. “If I don’t, we’ll overshoot it.”

Breeze nodded and took in a sharp breath, then resumed looking out the windscreen with a deep intensity.

Ray pulled up on the helm to clear a mountain and the ship arched up and over its peak, then pushed down and the ship glided into a valley.

Sprawling before them was the town of Conception with its night lights on full display spread out across the valley floor. As the ship descended, they could make out the outlines of building and homes.

“Nobody is here,” Breeze said.

“What do you mean? Your town is safe.” Sally got up from the jump seat and stood next to Breeze.

“No, there is always something going on here. It might be a small town, but there is always someone on the streets, or a transport crossing through town, or maybe someone on a hover bike. Look at the sky.” He pointed ahead. “I always see someone testing aerocraft. Lots of new designs and prototypes are flown at night to hide from spies and other competitors. I should know, I would fly around at night just to get away from home.”

Sally rubbed his back.

Breeze pointed north. “There, go that way.”

Ray complied and rolled the ship to starboard.

They crossed over the length of the town. Its night lights gave the valley a soft glow that cocooned it from the encroaching darkness that hung over the mountains. They couldn’t see any movement on the streets below as they skimmed over.

They crossed the border of Conception’s city limits and into a sparsely populated area. The monotony of the ground below was broken up by a few scattered lights attached to isolated houses and work sheds.

Breeze pointed out to Ray where to go and after several minutes of travel, they reached his home.

Breeze pressed his face against the windscreen and peered into the darkness. “Nothing. It’s gone.”

“How do you know this is your home? I can’t see in this darkness.” Ray toggled a switch as flood lights emanated from the belly of the ship and illuminated the ground below.

Ray moved his hand over a console that controlled the floodlights and shifted the multitude of beams over the area in a random pattern. As the ship orbited overhead the powerful lights revealed the burnt out remains of structures and buildings.

“Land the ship,” Breeze said softly.

“What? Are you sure? Look at this place—”

“Land the damn ship!” Breeze roared at him.

Ray shrunk back into his seat, and then turned to Achilles.

“Master Corinth, may I suggest we adopt a wait-and-see strategy before we go any further?” Achilles said.

Breeze didn’t hear. He was already running out of the pilot house and sprinting down the passenger aisle heading for the stern.