Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter (56 page)

Sally rushed after him. “Breeze, wait!”

Ray called out over the intercom. “Breeze, whatever you’re planning to do, don’t. I’m going to look for a safe place to land.”

If Breeze heard, he gave no indication. He reached the exit hatch and looked out the narrow window and saw they were still circling.

He grabbed the lever to open the hatch. It wouldn’t budge.

He swore ferociously and hit the override button on the panel next to the hatch. An alarm began to ring as blast doors rolled shut to prevent the ship from depressurizing.

“Breeze, wait!” Sally cried out just as the doors closed.

The hatch opened once the blast doors closed and Breeze grabbed on to a railing as he could feel and hear the slipstream roar past him. He steadied himself and looked out but saw nothing but wreckage below as the smell of burnt wood and debris hit his nose.

Without a second thought, he leapt out. The slipstream hit him like an anvil as he grunted and dove to the ground.

He leveled out and glided over what was once his home and as the scout ship’s flood lights peeled back the darkness, he could make what was left of the foundry. He hovered over it and surveyed the damage, then descended and came to a landing at a pile of smoldering timbers. He grabbed the end of one and flung it away; it flew in the air and came to a landing on another pile of debris. He grabbed more lengths of timber and madly flung them about. He kicked and yelled as he wildly tore through the wreckage, then dropped to his knees in exhaustion.

Ray landed the ship on the perimeter of the property. Sally immediately ran down the gang plank before it could fully extend and looked for Breeze, calling out his name, when she saw him in the glare of the ship’s floodlights. She put hand to her mouth as she took in the scope of the destruction that surrounded him.

Breeze stood up, then lifted off the ground and glided to a landing before her. “It’s over. There is nothing to left to see.”

She reached out to touch him, but he brushed the hand away, then turned his back to her and broke into a run.

She crossed her arms and shivered against a gust of cold air that swept through when Ray and Achilles came around a pile of debris and stood next to her.

“Where’s Breeze running off to?” Ray asked.

Sally rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know.”

“It’s going to be okay.” He took her in his arms and pulled her close.

She nodded and patted his chest. “I’m all right. Let just go and be with him. We’re his friends and he needs us now.”

She turned to follow Breeze’s path and Ray walked behind her.

Achilles hung back. The robot’s eyes glowed as it scanned the area when it looked down at the ground, then lurched forward and dropped to one knee to touch the earth. Its eyes shined with intensity and after a moment, it stood up abruptly. It watched as Sally and Ray went after Breeze and the robot followed the trail of their footprints.

Sally and Ray arrived at what was left of the work shed as Breeze was sifting through the wreckage.

He hovered over a piece of twisted metal, then lifted and flung it away. It careened through the air, hitting other pieces of wreckage with a clang. He repeated it several more times, grabbing and throwing pieces of twisted metal harder and faster than the one before. He stopped abruptly and floated in the night sky.

Meanwhile, Ray had raised a glowing hand to highlight the mangled remains of the building when Breeze spotted a crumpled box amidst the smoldering remains and descended to grab it. Despite the raging fires that had consumed the property, it was still intact.

He opened it and inside were the tattered remains of photos, and the only remaining evidence that anyone had ever lived here. Breeze pulled them out and dropped the box, then thumbed through them like a deck of cards, dropping each one to the ground as he did.

Sally saw him amidst the smoking ruins and stepped over to stand next to him.

He turned to her. “This is all that is left that proves anyone was ever here.” He held the last picture in his hands.

She peered through the darkness to look at it. It was a picture of a man and a woman smiling. The woman held a baby in her arms.

“Breeze is that…? Of course it is. You were just an infant.”

The two stood there looking at the picture when Ray approached them. His whole body was glowing and casting enough light for everyone to see. He caught Breeze’s eye and nodded. “It’s no different than what happened to Sally and me, they just destroy everything.”

“No, Ray, not true. They destroyed our town. Here, they destroyed Breeze’s home just like mine,” Sally said.

Ray choked back a sob. He turned away and stomped his foot into the ground, then walked off with clenched fists as he muttered loudly.

Sally reached out to him. “Raymond, stop it!”

Breeze grabbed her arm. “No. Don’t. Let him grieve.”

Sally shook her head. “Breeze, we’re here for you. This is not about him. He needs to stop.”

“We’re all in this together.” Breeze surveyed the wreckage, and then turned to Sally. “Ray is able to do something that I can’t.”

Sally shook her head and shrugged.

He leaned into her. “He can feel.”

She smiled and touched his arm. “You can too. You’re just in shock.”

Ray returned and his body glowed an intense red while his hands were covered in blue flame.

“Ray, please don’t do anything crazy,” Sally pleaded.

Breeze held a hand up to her. “No,” he said to her, and then faced Ray. “Look at what they did to you. They turned you into a puppet and made you spy on us. They destroyed your city and your parents are nowhere to be found, assuming they’re even alive. And Sally, you’re in the same situation. Now, you can add me to the list.”

Breeze took one last look at the photo, and then dropped it to the ground. “I never really cared much about anything. Now, even less.” He looked Ray in the eye. “Ray, get crazy. I want you to shatter the sky and let the whole world know we exist. Cut loose. Just fire at the stars and torch the monsters above us. We’re going to let them know we’re coming after them.”

Ray trembled as blue flame began to flicker out of his eyes until it consumed his body, then he threw his head back and yelled with the ferociousness of a beast.

Breeze grabbed Sally and pulled her close, raising his shield just as Ray fired upward with all his might with a column of pure energy that erupted from him with a deafening roar. Breeze held his ground as heat and blue flames buffeted his shield while the night sky above was turned into day.

Breeze was transfixed by the column of energy Ray unleashed at the heavens. “Not even the greatest darkness can hold back the light,” he murmured.

Ray exhausted himself and collapsed to his knees. Beneath their feet, the ground was fused into a smooth glass that beautifully reflected the stars above.

Breeze dropped his shield and Sally breathed heavily as she put her hands to her chest.

The sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence as a pair of glowing red eyes floated toward them, moving up and down in tempo with the footsteps. The eyes widened and stopped upon the sound of glass shattering and breaking. They looked down, then up again as they changed from a red glow to white and resumed their approach.

“Well Achilles, how was that for a stealthy approach?” Breeze called out.

The robot stepped into view as it looked at each of them. Behind it, the moon had risen above the distant mountain range, framing the robot in a mystical light. “My assessment would be succinct and to the point; a foolish display of emotions.”

Breeze chuckled. “You told me in Appalachia you were fascinated by us humans. Well, here we are. Think of what just happened as our battle cry. We’re not afraid of anything anymore.”

“Indeed, master. You have made that perfectly obvious.”

They all jumped at the sound of metal scraping against metal. Just outside the periphery of light cast by the scout ship’s floodlights, a pile of wreckage tumbled to the ground.

They turned to face the source of the sound. Ray’s hands began to glow while Breeze hovered above them and Sally’s eyes shimmered in white.

Achilles scanned the area and was unable to detect anything. It turned to report its findings and froze at the sight of them.

They are the Helios, rising from the ashes like the mythical bird of fire.
Achilles shook its head rapidly as servos whirred loudly.

Breeze called out instructions from above. “Ray, get ready to fire when I give the word. Sally, start projecting and let me know what you see.”

He began to fly toward the source of the sound, but stopped when out of the darkness came an old man pushing a cart with a hand raised in a salute. “Hello there, pay no heed to me. I’m of no consequence. I will visit no harm or evil upon you.” The old man laughed raucously as he reached into his cart and rummaged about.

Ray pointed a glowing hand at him.

“Ah, there you are! Oh, sweet nectar, come to me.” The old man pulled a bottle from the cart and drank a long and steady draft from it. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “quite the thirst quencher, indeed!” He cackled as he placed the bottle back in the cart.

“Who are you?” Ray challenged.

“I’ll tell you what he is,” Breeze said as he descended and lowered his shield. “He’s a desert rat. A scavenger. The area is loaded with them. Always looking for scrap metal. They steal it from my father, jumping the fence and snatching the easy to get pieces from the outermost stacks, and then sell it back to him. He knew what they were doing, but he would still buy from them. Charity, he told me.”

“Breeze, I’m not seeing him at all. There is nothing there,” Sally’s body said in a monotone voice.

The old man waved to the space before him. “Right here sweetie, hello there,” he cackled.

“Sally, pull back,” Breeze commanded.

Her body stiffened, then lurched back as her astral form re-entered. Breeze was there to catch her as she almost fell.

Ray didn’t take his eyes off the old man and kept a glowing hand pointed at him. “Breeze, should I blast him or what?”

“No, there is something about him. He’s no regular rat. I want to hear what he has to say.”

“My, my, what do we have here on display? Paranormals?” The old man shuffled away from his overburdened cart filled with junk and scrap and wobbled over to them. “Why yes, my eyes do not tell any tall tales. Oh, what a wondrous sight to see.”

Achilles stepped into his path. “Identify yourself.”

“Ahh! Call off your watchdog young ones, I mean you no harm.” The old man then stared hard at Achilles. “By the stars above, are you what I think you are? A Robot Fighter? Oh my, you are. I haven’t seen one of your kind in so long.” He lowered his voice into a whisper. “So sorry, but I was under the impression your entire line was sent off to the scrap yard.” He looked around, then back to Achilles. “This must be your cemetery.” He threw back his head and laughed wildly. “You must be the undertaker here!” He laughed even harder before breaking down into a coughing fit. He reached into the cart to retrieve his bottle and with puckered lips, he took another long drink from it. “Ahh!” he exclaimed loudly as he screwed the cap back on and wiped his face with the back his sleeve.

Breeze stepped up and stood beside Achilles. “Answer the robot’s question.”

The old man staggered back, and then squinted his eyes to peer at Breeze as the moonlight highlighted his ragged face. “The bold leader, whose words are sharp and to the point, much like a dagger.”

He then leaned to the side to see behind Breeze. “I see a young lad wielding the power of energy transmission, along with a young woman who can snoop upon the unaware.” He repeated again. “
The unaware
.” He looked Sally right in the eye as he said it.

She sniffed and took a step back.

“Old man…” Breeze warned.

“My identification? Better yet, my name? Yes, of course.” He held out a hand. “John Agam.”

Breeze didn’t shake the hand. The old man turned and offered it to Achilles, who also refused it.

“No takers on the handshake? Is my hand that filthy?” He held it up to his face. “By all that is holy, it is!” He laughed again as he wiped it on his jacket.

Breeze walked up to John and stood inches from his face. “What are you doing on my father’s—” he stopped and closed his eyes while he clenched a fist, ”—on my property.”

“Your property?” John leaned forward and his eyes narrowed. “Breeze, is that you lad? Welcome back! The prodigal son has returned.” He clamped his hands on Breeze’s shoulders.

Breeze pushed him away. “How do you know me? I don’t recognize you from the other scrap yard rats my father would buy from.”

“Oh, my boy, I have known your father for ages,” he said with a sigh as he looked down at the bottle in his cart. “Many ages, in fact,” he muttered, then took in a deep breath and waved a hand. “Never mind that. So your father told me you went away to see family, which seemed odd. I didn’t know you had kinfolk beyond Conception. Was he telling the truth?”

Breeze looked around and laughed, then turned to Achilles and shrugged his shoulders.

The robot blinked its eyes, but said nothing.

He whirled onto John. “My father is dead! My home is destroyed!” He shoved the old man. “I’ve lost everything, and you are asking questions about where I’ve been?”

John stumbled and fell onto his backside. After a moment, he stood up with a groan and dusted off his jacket. “You proclaim young man that you have nothing,” he said, “but from what I see, you have everything you will ever need to build an empire.”

Breeze shook his head. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

John made a circle in the air with his hand. “Look around. Look deeper. Focus on the here and now, and then project into the future. You have friends. You have a ship. You have a mission. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such purpose in my life.”

“How do you seem to know so much?”

“My dear boy, I’ve been around far longer than I care to admit, and I can safely say that I have seen enough.” John shuffled over to his cart and leaned against it. He sighed deeply. “I know Jacob. Your father is a good man.”