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.
I’ll just touch down in the field, then sneak into that barn for a few hours of rest, he thought to himself, then come morning, head into town.
He felt his heart race in nervous anticipation of his landing. He willed himself down until he touched the ground, then stumbled and fell face first into the dirt.
He rolled over and looked up at the sky as the stars began their retreat from the sun’s rays. Time to hide, he thought.
He trudged across the field and slipped between the partially opened doors of the barn where the smell of manure hit him hard. He covered his nose with his jacket in a futile attempt to block it. He couldn’t tell what was worse, the odor from the hairy creature or the smell of the barn.
He pulled his sleeve back to expose the nav-compass. Its faint glow weakly illuminated the interior of the barn when he spotted a ladder leaning against a railing. He walked over to it and looked up, and was relieved to see it led to a loft full of hay. He climbed up the creaky ladder and gratefully laid down in a fetal position as he buried himself with hay to acquire some warmth. He took one last look around, and then closed his eyes. He fell asleep immediately.
“Get up son.”
Breeze groaned.
“Son, you have to get up.”
“I will Dad,” Breeze grumbled, and rolled over.
“Barn is no place to be sleeping off whatever the previous night’s adventure brought you. Now get up.”
Breeze mumbled. “How do you know I flew last night?”
“You’re not making any sense now. I suggest you get up.”
Breeze sat up and rubbed his eyes as hay fell off him, then recoiled at the sight of an old man staring at him. He had piercing blue eyes and splotchy skin from long days in the field under the sun. His hair was gray with streaks of white slashing through it. His large hands gripped the top of the wooden ladder and never blinked as he stared at Breeze.
Breeze slid back against a hay bale. He was trapped. He figured he would have awakened by now and been on his way before anyone from the farmhouse woke up.
The old man nodded at him. “You can come to the house if you like. Wife’s got the stove going, be more than happy to fix you something to eat. You must be hungry, right? You look like a young man who’s traveled quite a ways, and has much more to do.”
Breeze blinked at him.
The old man snorted. “I’ll take that as a yes. Make sure your boots are clean. The wife hates it when I track mud into the house. Especially the kind that comes from animals, if you know what I mean.” The old man chuckled as he descended the ladder. Each step he took made the ladder creak loudly.
Breeze leaned over and peered down. He was stunned to see the old man was already out of the barn and into the sunlight.
He crawled over to the ladder and gingerly placed a foot onto the top rung. It creaked and flexed beneath him, and he began to wonder how he even climbed up without breaking it.
“Think light on your feet, son. This way the ground will never break beneath you. How do you think a big man like me does it?” The old man called out from the doorway. He appeared to Breeze like a giant as the sunlight lit him from behind, almost like some otherworldly being sent from the heavens.
“Come now, don’t dawdle. Never waste the light. Always make good use of it ‘cause the darkness is always waiting to overcome it.” The old man turned and walked away as the sunlight rushed in to fill the space where he had stood.
Breeze carefully made his way down the ladder. He reached the bottom and saw no one else was in the barn, not even a single animal.
He stepped out into the brilliant sunshine where off in the distance he could see the farmhouse with the old man standing in front of it. Breeze wondered how he got there so quickly.
He took a step forward, and then stopped when he saw the foot prints in the ground. Expecting to see deep marks from where the old man stepped, he was stunned to find shallow footprints instead. He looked up and saw the old man walking up the steps and into the house. The screen door banged to a close behind him, but it took a moment for the sound to reach his ears.
Breeze trudged his way through the field, the soft earth collapsing with every step he took. He realized now just how far away the farmhouse was. He grumbled and continued on.
He eventually arrived at the front steps of the house and sat down, when he was startled to hear the voice of a woman bellowing from behind the screen door.
“If you plan on entering our humble abode, you best take off those filthy boots!” An image of a woman wiping her hands on an apron came into focus from behind the screen.
Breeze was transfixed by the sight of her. His mother died when he was young. He wasn’t accustomed to the sight or sound of a woman in his home. Father wouldn’t even hire one of the local women to help around the house. Instead, he insisted that he and Breeze do all of the household chores. “Builds character and strength,” he would say. Breeze wondered what sort of strength he was building while washing dishes after dinner, night after night.
The screen door opened with a loud squeal, and then banged to a close against the door frame as a diminutive woman stepped onto the porch. If the old man was as tall as a giant, his wife was as tiny as a mouse. She was short and wiry with her hair pulled back into a pony tail.
She placed her hands on her hips and spoke to him. “Either my useless lump of a husband found himself a deaf mute, or you’re just plain slower than watching paint dry.” She turned to the screen door and shouted. “Gil, this boy might need some help with his boots. I don’t think he speaks or understands.”
A loud chuckle emanated from inside the house. “Be nice Maribelle, he has traveled far and is just bone tired.”
“Bone tired, indeed! Sleeping in dirty old barns would make anyone that way,” she said, shaking her head disapprovingly. She turned back to the screen door again and shouted. “And when are you going to clean out that barn? I can smell horse dung on this young man! I could smell him even before I saw him!”
“Now, let’s not be dramatic woman. You watched him from the window as he walked across the field and made rude comments about him the whole time. And I’ll clean out the barn once I’ve had some breakfast.”
She turned to Breeze. “Sure he will. That was several thousand breakfasts ago. That’s all I’m good for around here. Fixing that mountain of a man something to eat.” She adjusted her apron and tilted her head. “Well, what are you waiting for? Those boots won’t come off by themselves, and I don’t aim to help you with them, on account I don’t want to get dirt on my hands.” She opened the screen door. “You best hurry before the old goat eats your share.” She stepped back inside as the screen door slammed shut to punctuate her point.
Breeze sat with his mouth open. He had never met anyone like her.
He went up the steps, unlaced his boots and placed them next to the door. He grabbed the rickety handle of the screen door and opened it with an obnoxious creak. He stepped inside and took in his surroundings.
The floor was wooden and buckled with every step he took. The walls were faded with picture frames hanging from them.
His hunger began to swell from the smell of food wafting out of the kitchen. He headed toward the sound of pots and pans banging together and into the warmth of a small kitchen with a little table pressed against a wall where Gil was already seated. Breeze couldn’t help but wonder how the chair even supported the weight of such a big man.
Gil
looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. “Remember son, be light on your feet. Then nothing gives way beneath you.”
“The boy must have a name Gil! I swear you have the manners of an old goat that hasn’t been fed in a week. You can’t even ask him for his name because you’re always thinking with your stomach.” She turned to Breeze. “That’s how we met. He was eating his usual daily slop down at the local eatery when I walked past him. I had to pretend to stumble and spill my glass of water on him just to get him to look up and notice me. I figured a man like that would be better off with a wife fixing him something to eat as opposed to eating that gruel that’s served in town.”
Gil chuckled. “She tells that story all the time. It keeps getting further from the truth every day.”
Breeze sat down in a chair and pulled up to the table. “Breeze,” he said quietly.
Maribelle stared at him and then looked out the window. “No, don’t think so. Seems awful calm out there. Not much in the way of wind.”
His face reddened. “No ma’am. That’s my name. Everyone calls me that.”
“Oh my heavens, child! That’s no name. Tell me the name your parents gave you the day you arrived into this world.”
“Paul. Paul Corinth.”
Maribelle stopped wiping her hands with her apron as she froze in place.
Gil looked up from his book. “Corinth? Interesting. Haven’t heard that name in quite a while. Where did you say you hail from?”
“I didn’t sir. I come from the Desert Country. From a town called Conception.”
The couple quickly glanced at one another.
Maribelle cleared her throat and turned to the stove. “Let me fix you a plate, you must be starving.” She grabbed a plate from the cupboard and bustled about the kitchen.
Gil put down his book, then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “Haven’t heard or thought about that town in quite some time. I know it’s an aviation town. They build all sorts of flying machines and other contraptions out there. Talented folk.”
Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter Page 4
