Sky Child

by Brenner, T. M.

  "We could try out Lagan's new spear. I bet it could take one down," says Jet.

  "I don't think you could kill a dragon with a sky spear if it was tied up and sleeping."

  "But you don't know that for sure."

  "Yes, I do. Remember, I tried fighting a dragon before. It was only by the will of the Sky Gods that I'm still alive. I used to think like you, before I met one. That maybe there's a way to kill a dragon. And I tell you, Jet, that it's impossible."

  "Maybe someday I will prove you wrong," says Jet.

  "I pray to the Sky Gods every day that you never meet a dragon," I reply.

  "Maybe someday I will go off on my own and hunt a dragon."

  I turn, grab Jet by the collar of his armor, and bring his face close to mine.

  "You better hope that dragon kills you when you find it," I say.

  "Why?"

  "Because if it doesn't kill you, I will."

  I push Jet backward, hard, to get my point through his stubborn head.

  "Do you understand?" I ask.

  Jet looks back at me with anger.

  "Do you understand?" I yell.

  All of the other hunters have turned to look at us. Jet looks around like a sheep, not knowing what to say or do. Finally he speaks.

  "Yes, Sam. I understand."

  "Good. And Jet, don't ever look at me like that again. I will end you if I have to."

  "Yes, Sam."

  Because of the argument, Jet has lost some status with the other hunters. They realize he was acting like a child, and that I treated him like a child. There was no other way to keep him from going after a dragon, though. He has a hard time listening, and you have to be strong when telling him what he shouldn't do.

  Jet isn't very good about staying safe. I try my best to keep him and Flot from getting hurt. At some point I will have to let them live their own lives, and hope and pray for the best. But for right now, it's my duty to protect him from himself.

  6

  "I need a few volunteers to carry sky spears during the hunt," says Lagan.

  Everyone's arm goes up, even Jet's and Flot's. Even mine is in the air, and I hope that Lagan lets me use one of the new weapons. Now that I know how to use it, I could easily take down a deer.

  But Lagan doesn't pick me. He picks a few of the gray ones, and a few of the others; mostly people I don't talk to and don't know very well. Lagan hands out the sky spears to them. He looks over at me, and can tell by the look on my face that I'm not very happy about it.

  "Those of you with sky spears have earned it. I've seen with my own eyes that you are the best at throwing them. If you did not get one, try harder next time. Until then, I will not hear any complaining. Not everyone can carry a sky spear. We still need hunters to carry slings, and hunters to protect us with big spears," says Lagan.

  I notice a few of the people with murder in their eyes during training look back at me. My stomach turns when I see the vicious smiles on their faces. They think that they are better than me now. That is fine. Now I might be able to sleep in peace tonight, without having to worry about dying at the hands of jealous hunters.

  Lagan is very wise to do what he did. He protected me without being obvious about it. I realized it, but the same people that would have killed me don't seem to understand that they are being fooled.

  The other smart decision that Lagan made was to call the old spears 'big spears'. The word 'big' in the Crag is very important. If you are called 'big' in the Crag, it means that you are strong, and can protect yourself. People won't try to kill you if you are big, because they are afraid that you will kill them first. It makes using an old spear still seem honorable.

  I don't know that I could be as wise as Lagan if I replaced him. He always seems to know how to keep people from fighting and killing each other. I'm good at keeping people from killing me, but I don't know if I'd be able to keep things peaceful between the others.

  Distracted by my own thoughts, I finally look up and notice Lagan staring at me. I give him a nod of thanks to let him know I realized he's saved my life. He doesn't react to my nod. Instead he looks away. He picks up the last sky spear and carries it in the direction that the sun rises from. The rest of the hunters pick up their weapons then turn and follow behind Lagan.

  When we hunt, we form a square of people, with big spears at the front, and rock throwers like me in the back. This protects us from a direct attack, but it isn't very good when we're attacked from the sides.

  One time a pack of wild wolves came at us from the side. A lot of good people died that didn't need to. If the hunters were smarter, more people might have survived.

  But the hunters are likely to kill anyone that has too many good ideas. So to keep fights from starting, Lagan has been forced to keep things the same way they have always been. It surprises me that he took the risk of showing the hunters the sky spears. Someone might try to take his life tonight because of it.

  Our square of hunters moves slowly for a few reasons. The first is to stay quiet. If animals hear us, they will run away. The other is to keep hunters from accidentally hurting each other. If you walk too fast with a sharp spear then trip, you might accidentally kill the person in front of you. And if you do, you'll never be allowed to hunt again.

  We walk for a long while, searching for animals to hunt. Off in the distance I can see a few wolves attacking a deer. I ready my sling and wait. Wolf meat is filling, but it doesn't taste very good. Deer tastes very good, which is why we keep hunting them. It is disappointing that the wolves will have eaten most of the deer by the time we get to them.

  Lagan also notices the wolves and puts his arms out to stop us from walking further. He points to the hunters that carry sky spears, and has them move away from the group. He also makes sure that they are all side-by-side, where none of them are closer to the wolves than the rest.

  Lagan holds up his own spear, like he is ready to attack, and the sky spear hunters do the same. Once he is ready, he gets a running start then throws his sky spear toward the wolves. The other hunters do the same.

  I can only imagine the fear that the wolves must have felt just before the sky spears came raining down on them. The group of wolves are all struck by the spears. Some of them die instantly, while others will soon die from blood loss. Lagan waves everyone to move closer to the wolves.

  We only make it part of the way to the pack before Lagan orders the rock throwers to hit the wolves with our slings. I load up a stone from my bag, spin my sling a few times then launch the stone. It comes down from the sky, crashing into the head of an injured wolf. The good thing is that it isn't awake anymore, and will hopefully be with the Sky Gods soon.

  Once all of the throwers have had a chance to hit the wolves with their rocks, Lagan brings us even closer. He tells the people with big spears to stab the wolves that are still moving. The big spear hunters do their jobs, and then all is quiet.

  There are as many wolves in the pack as there are fingers on both of my hands. It should be enough food for the Crag for a few days if we clean and cook our kill quickly enough. We also want to leave the killing field before other predators arrive, because we are at our most vulnerable when we are collecting our kill.

  When we hunt, we each bring a bag along to carry the meat we have gathered. As I fill mine, I look across the field. I can feel the wind pressing on my face as I see a thick fog coming toward us. It moves like a frightening blanket of hands; fingers of white crawling across the grass.

  "Lagan," I yell.

  Lagan looks up, turns his head and sees what I see.

  "Everyone, quickly, we must get back to the Crag," says Lagan.

  I pull the strap of my wolf-filled sack over my head, so that if I fall, I wont lose my kill bag. I'm worried, because in a thick fog it is easy to lose what direction you're walking in. I go over to Flot and Jet, and help them put their kill bags over their heads too. I push them ahead of me, making sure they move in the right direction, and so I don't lose t
hem in the mist.

  We take a few steps forward before we're swallowed by the fog. The air turns white around us. I can still see Flot and Jet, but it is hard to make out any of the other hunters. I hear Lagan yell out to us.

  "Everyone, stay calm and follow my voice. I will talk so that no one is lost."

  I am glad that Lagan is thinking well. He seems to be at his best when things are at their worst. He continues talking, giving us a way to keep the hunters together.

  I notice that Jet can't seem to walk in the right direction; I have to grab him and push him toward Lagan's voice every few steps. I can tell that he hates me doing it, but I don't care, because I'm not going to lose one of my brothers to the fog.

  It seems like I am always trying to push Jet in the right direction, like all he ever wants to do is walk toward danger. He just doesn't understand what will happen if he does. That he could end up dead, or maybe even worse. This time though, I think he just can't hear Lagan. It makes me wonder if his ears don't work well. It would make sense, since he doesn't seem to hear my warnings, either.

  We continue walking. Things seem to be getting worse. It doesn't feel like we're walking in a straight line. The sky is so dark with clouds, and the air so thick with fog, that I cannot tell if we are heading toward the Crag. I don't say anything to Lagan, because I trust him, and I know that he would never lead us in the wrong direction.

  But as we walk more, I worry more. It seems like we should have reached the Crag already. I hear people talking to each other; whispers in the fog. I think that they are worried too. Both Jet and Flot look back at me, trying to see if I'm as worried as they are. I turn them back around toward Lagan's voice.

  I can hear the worry in his words. He doesn't sound brave and strong like he normally does; he sounds like he is lost. I think he's still trying to act brave so that the other hunters will stay together, and continue following him.

  I speak to Flot and Jet through the fog.

  "Ready yourselves," I say.

  They both look back at me. Flot nods his head, and Jet just turns away. He does listen to me though, and raises his spear as well. I place a rock in my sling, just in case we run into predators.

  After many more steps, Lagan finally speaks.

  "Everyone, ready your weapons. We do not know what we will meet in the fog."

  The fog has only grown thicker since it met us, and I reach out to Jet and Flot to make sure they are still ahead of me.

  I stop walking. Off in the distance I hear a familiar sound. It is the sound that has haunted my nightmares. It is a sound I haven't heard for many snows, but I will always remember. It is the sound of a dragon.

  7

  "Lagan, stop!" I yell as loud as I can.

  I don't mean to scare the other hunters, but they need to know what they are up against.

  "Hunters, do not move," yells out Lagan. "Sam, is that you?"

  "Yes."

  "Come to me, quickly. Follow my voice."

  Lagan continues talking as I bring Flot and Jet with me. The fog is clearing some, which makes things more dangerous. We could have hidden, buried deep within the fog. But now we will be out in the open, and the dragon will see us. There are no rocks to hide behind, no caves to run to, for we are in the middle of a grassy field.

  We reach Lagan as the sound of the dragon gets louder.

  "What is it, Sam?"

  "Can't you hear it?" I ask.

  Lagan stops talking. I can see fear on his face as he listens. His skin pales, and his hands shake.

  "We're losing the safety of the fog," he says. "And there's nowhere to hide."

  He looks around, unsure of what to do. I stare into his eyes, but it seems like he has disappeared. I try to shake him, but he won't look at me, won't talk to me.

  I do the only thing I can think to do, and hope that the others will listen to me. I yell out orders to the hunters.

  "Everyone, I need you ready to face what comes. We have no choice but to fight. You need to move away from each other, and set down your kill bags. Those that throw rocks, as soon as you see our enemy, I want you to try and hit it. Do not stop throwing rocks. Those with sky spears, as soon as you think you can hit the enemy, throw your spear. Pick it back up then throw it again. Do not hit your fellow hunters. Those of you with big spears, I want you to form a circle outside of the rock throwers and spear throwers. Make sure that no other predators break the circle while we fight our enemy."

  "What is our enemy?" yells one of Lagan's protectors.

  "A dragon," I growl.

  Most of the hunters follow my orders. A few panic, and stay exactly where they are.

  "Now, hunters; you must move now!" I bark.

  The hunters that were frozen now move, as does Lagan. He realizes that he's a soldier now, and not a leader. He turns and looks at me with tears in his eyes, asking for forgiveness for his weakness. I have to turn away, because he was the person I looked up to most. He is still a good man, but he let his fear overwhelm him.

  I look at our circle, and I see that both Jet and Flot have their spears ready. I did not send the hunters that carry big spears to the edges of our group to protect us. I spread them out so that the dragon won't kill them as easily. They will be useless in the fight, for the dragon moves swiftly, and will rain fire down on us from above. The hunters with big spears will not be able to throw them high enough to hit the dragon.

  Those of us that carry stones will not do much better. We will be able to hit the dragon, but its skin will protect it from our rocks. The only chance we have is with the sky spears. I have to hope that some of the hunters that Lagan gave sky spears to can hurt the dragon.

  The decision that Lagan made, to give the sky spears to people who are dangerous, was done to protect me. I pray to the Sky Gods that Lagan's good deed does not cost us.

  8

  The ground shakes beneath us as the dragon approaches, as if it were living sky fire. I can make out its glowing eyes, casting light through the thinning fog. My breath catches, and my knees weaken. The rock I have resting in my sling falls out, and I hurry to put it back in place.

  "When the dragon gets close enough to breathe its fire, I want everyone to run away from the path it's flying in. Dragons move fast, but cannot turn well," I shout.

  As the dragon draws nearer, one of the rock throwers launches a stone from their sling. The rock flies straight at our enemy, but misses because it's still too far away. Thankfully, there are many good stones under foot that can be used to battle the dragon.

  Its eyes grow bigger, searching the ground for something to kill. That's when it sees us. I spin my sling, while a few more hunters fire rocks at the dragon. One rock flies way below it, another strikes it in the chin and bounces off. Knowing that it's now close enough to hit, the other rock throwers launch their stones at the dragon.

  It is breath-stealing to watch; seeing so many rocks flying together. The rocks land against the face of the dragon and bounce off. Now I fire, hoping that my shot will count. I aim, and it hits one of the dragon's eyes, blinding it. The eye no longer glows, but more fear enters me as I realize that the dragon seems unhurt by it.

  I start to move out of the path of the dragon, as do the other rock throwers, and the hunters that carry big spears. The hunters that carry sky spears throw them at the dragon, and I hold my breath, hoping that one of them is lucky and finds a weakness. I watch in disappointment as they just bounce off the dragon's tough skin.

  The dragon flies upward, avoiding the few sky spears that haven't been thrown. As it passes overhead, I can feel the heat pouring from its massive body, and feel the ground shake from its roar. We watch as the dragon dives deep into the fog. It becomes harder to hear the dragon, as if it's flying away.

  "Quickly" I yell. "Find your sky spears if you have thrown them. I want everyone ready for when it comes back!"

  The hunters hurry to gather and ready their weapons. We look around, but the fog still makes it impossible to see very f
ar. Half of our people are still hidden from me. But we can hear. Thankfully, that frightening sound has all but disappeared.

  I look around in every direction, trying to see through the fog, but find nothing. Holding my breath, I listen, waiting for the rumble that will mean our deaths. We wait. Silence. None of the hunters speak. Finally, once everything seems calm again, one breaks the silence. A young man named Beacon yells out.

  "Maybe it's gone!"

  I hear it before I am able to see it. It is the dragon, and it is now very close. It had dropped through the fog from high above, its roar almost silent as it cut through the sky. It pulls up at the last moment, just before it would have crashed into the ground, and flies into the middle of our group. Its roar hurts my ears, and makes everyone panic and run.

  Some of the sky spear throwers try to run away from the dragon, but aren't quick enough. It flies through a group of them, burning them to the ground.

  "Regroup around the fallen!" I yell.

  The giant circle reforms as the dragon passes overhead. I run as fast as I can to the dead and wounded. That is when I see Lagan's lifeless body on the ground, along with more hunters than I have fingers on one hand. Tears start to form in my eyes, but I can't cry now. I need to be strong, and brave, and lead these people.

  Before, I was the Leader of the Hunt because I had to be, because Lagan was not leading us and someone needed to lead. Now, with Lagan's death, I am the true Leader of the Hunt. I would give anything to have Lagan back.

  I realize that Lagan's sky spear is on the ground, outside of the circle. He'd managed to throw it during the dragon's first pass, but he did not injure the dragon.

  "Hunters that carry big spears, can you see any sky spears around you? If you find one, bring it to me," I yell.

  I watch a few hunters break the circle and then come back carrying sky spears with them. I send a hunter back to the circle, keep his sky spear, and have the other big spear throwers ready the sky spears instead.

  "This time, try to stay away from where it breathes fire. Aim for a place you think is weak on the dragon. And if you find a weakness, yell it out so that the rest of us can aim for it next time", I say.