The Dark Sky Collection: The Dark Sky Collection

by Amy Braun

  Once we climbed the pile, I sat down and stretched out my legs. I hated being this sore. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I was in worse shape today than I was yesterday. Still, I had to be strong in front of Abby, or she would start worrying and we’d never find anything. Garnet made it clear that I had to come back with something. I was an engineering miracle worker, after all. There was almost nothing I couldn’t make, and virtually nothing I couldn’t fix.

  There was a low indent surrounded by rebar, so we started searching there. I warned Abby to be careful of the sharp metal edges, but she was far more graceful than me right now. Assured neither of us would hurt ourselves, we started tossing rubble aside and began our search.

  Abby was the only one who found anything, her little fingers able to pick out screws and bolts and placing them into my hands. She chatted mindlessly, telling me about everything that happened in the colony while I was out working for Garnet. It was mostly useless information, like how her friend Brittany’s mother was spending her time kissing one of the dryers, who I thought smelled like sweaty feet.

  Listening to my sister eased my mind. I even found myself smiling and laughing a couple times. I soaked it all in, wishing it would last.

  One terrified scream told me it wouldn’t.

  Abby jumped and dropped the bolts she’d been collecting. I twisted around and lowered myself onto the rough concrete, following the direction of the scream. The woman who’d cried out wasn’t under attack, but she was pointing at the sky. I followed her hand, my blood going cold when I saw three skiffs peel out from under the Behemoth and turn in our direction.

  “Everyone get underground!” Ben shouted. He didn’t need to tell anyone twice. We were all running for the closest manhole cover we could find. I moved down the pile of concrete as fast as I could, trying not to slip or cause Abby to fall. We used the mountain of rubble for cover and hit the ground. I looked over my shoulder. They were almost over our heads. I couldn’t believe how close they were getting. The Behemoth had seemed so far away, but now it was all too close.

  While I tugged Abby behind me, the guards used their guns on the skiffs, trying to shoot them down before they landed. All they were doing was creating sparks on the thick metal plating.

  One of the skiffs dipped suddenly, gaining speed as it started to dive-bomb the survivors. At the very last second, the skiff’s pilot tipped the ship upward, the pointed spear on its tip stabbing straight through the chest of one of the guards. Blood sprayed out his back as he was impaled, and Abby screamed.

  Four Hellions leaped out of the skiff, fully dressed in their jumpsuits and respirators, and pounced on the survivors. The impaled man was completely forgotten as the Hellions chased the guards who attacked them. Two of them plunged their needles into the necks of the guards, taking them out of the fight. The other two grabbed the children, dragging them kicking and screaming by their clothes and hair onto the other two skiffs settling onto the ground. Mothers and fathers screamed and tried to get their children back, only to be beaten to the ground, stabbed, and drained. The Hellions from the new skiffs overran the survivors and took more children. Some survivors began pulling up the manhole covers and dropping into them, only to be yanked back out by a Hellion and torn to pieces.

  They hadn’t spotted us yet, but it was only a matter of time before that changed. I turned back to Abby and crouched down, putting my hands on her shoulders.

  “Listen to me, Abby,” I said. “I’m going to distract them with a flashbang. Then you and I are going to run as fast as we can, all right?”

  My sister was shaking under my hands, tears starting to spill down her face. But she nodded. Staying close to the pile of rubble, I took one of my last flashbangs from my belt, unscrewed the caps on either end, and hurled it into the middle of the blood-splattered chaos.

  The glass tube exploded instantly, turning the entire world white. I hoped that the few survivors I’d seen by the manhole cover were able to escape, but I couldn’t wait to see. I grabbed Abby’s hand and dragged her away from the madness. I didn’t know where I was going, and didn’t care. This was our only chance to escape not only the Hellions, but Garnet as well.

  Sharp, angry screeches followed us as we dashed from the main street toward the shadowed alleys. I recognized those narrow backstreets. If we could lose ourselves in them, we’d have a chance–

  A thickset Hellion swung in front of me, grabbed my shoulders, and drove its needle toward my throat.

  I reacted on reflex, twisting my head to the side before I could be stabbed. The needle missed my neck, but grazed the top of my shoulder. I let go of Abby’s hand to try and push the Hellion away, but it reared its fist back and hit me in the chest.

  At first I thought a hole had been punched straight through me. I stumbled back onto the ground, clutching my chest, unable to breathe. I rolled and tried to get up as the Hellion got closer, fumbling to find the pocketknife on my belt. I found it and switched it open. The blade was about as useful as a butter knife, but it was better than nothing.

  As I staggered to my feet, some kind of instinct just kicked in and I knew this Hellion was the one that saw me yesterday. That was the only conclusion I got to before it attacked me again.

  I ducked under the sweep of its claws, trying to rush forward and stab the Hellion in the stomach. I didn’t know it planned to let me get close until its knee plunged into my ribs. I cried out from the pain, damaging already tender organs and skin. The Hellion grabbed my hair when I was doubled over, yanked my head up, and punched the underside of my chin. White spots dotted my vision. I couldn’t see clearly, couldn’t do anything when the Hellion kicked me in the chest and sent me flying onto the ground.

  I landed hard, my head smacking the pavement. The only sound I heard was the pounding in my head, though I thought I heard Abby screaming.

  Abby, have to get to her, have to get up and save–

  The big Hellion loomed over my head. I weakly slashed at it with my pocketknife, cutting the air uselessly. The Hellion swatted my arm away and picked me up by my throat. I slashed again, nicking its shoulder. It didn’t even flinch, dangling me almost a foot off the ground. Somewhere Abby was crying, yelling my name. But I couldn’t see her.

  My eyes were fixed on the bloodstained needle pointed at my throat. One stab would do irreparable damage to me. If it didn’t drain me right here, I would bleed out in seconds. Unless I did something– and fast.

  I had one flashbang left on my belt. I grabbed it. The Hellion pulled its head back. Abby screamed louder than ever. The Hellion lunged forward at the same time I swung the flashbang into its head.

  Unscrewing the caps to tighten the wires inside caused a stronger flash, but the light still sparked and blinded the monster when it connected and shattered. The Hellion shrieked and dropped me.

  But not before its needle sliced through the lower part of my throat.

  Pain flared along my neck and shoulder as the world exploded into white light. I landed on the ground, but couldn’t see it. Coughed, but couldn’t breathe. Moved, but couldn’t stand. When I tried to get up, my head tumbled like an angry tidal wave. The whiteness of the world began to fade, and soon everything went black.

  ***

  “She’s breathing.”

  “Guess that means she’s not dead.”

  “Damn. I wanted her boots.”

  I opened my eyes slowly, squinting against the sharp throbbing in my head while I tried to listen to the three voices over me. I blinked to let my vision clear, and stared at the three strangers crowding me.

  The man on the left was stocky and muscled, his biceps nearly exploding from his navy blue work shirt. Black stubble covered his head and his eyes were nearly as dark as his skin. The snarling face of a rabid dog was tattooed along the length of his right forearm. At first I was scared of him, but there was no anger or ill intent in his face. He was even smiling a little bit.

  On the right was a pretty woman with tanned s
kin and a whirlwind of dark brown hair chopped at her shoulders. She was lean and petite, wearing a brown leather vest that curved to her shape. Around her neck was a slender silver chain with a simple, silver rectangle pendant resting under her clavicle. Her baggy black pants were held up by a leather belt decorated with pistols and knives. None of those weapons seemed to match the sparkling vigor in her dark brown eyes.

  Between them was a man in a dusty leather jacket with tarnished gold buttons and grey piping. Thin grey cords dangled under the right shoulder board, and the outside of the high collar was designed with gold waves and swirls. It was a military frock, yet there were no medals on his chest. Under the jacket was a loose white shirt with the three top buttons undone, revealing smooth, tanned skin underneath. He wore black leather gloves, buckled pirate boots, and black pants with a thick brown belt wrapped around his waist, tying a flintlock pistol to his right hip. On the left side was a leather scabbard holding a cutlass. His chestnut hair was thick and tousled, and he stared at me with roguish, tawny eyes.

  They stepped back to give me space and let me slowly stand up. I was still outside where I had fallen. My head felt ten times too big as it pounded behind my eyes. The lower half of my throat burned. The painkillers had worn off, and now I felt like I had been thrown down a jagged hill. I let out a small groan and put the heels of my palms against my eyelids. Once it went away, I could take Abby and–

  A sharp pain tightened in my chest. Abby.

  I dropped my hands and looked around.

  The skiffs were gone. Nine bodies lay in piles of drying blood. My sister wasn’t among them. She wouldn’t have gotten to the manhole in time, and would have refused to leave me behind. That could only mean one thing.

  No, no! I thought as my breathing became raspy.

  I looked up at the Behemoth, willing it not to be true. But the skiffs were back in their docks under the monstrous ship.

  I stumbled forward, shoving past the strangers and tilting my head up to get a better look at the Behemoth. I tried to tell myself it hadn’t happened. That she made it to safety and was back underground waiting for me. I ran drunkenly to the closest manhole cover, grabbed the edges, and pulled it open. My body ached with the effort, but I had to know she was down there. I had to see.

  “Abby!” I cried.

  My voice echoed into the darkness. There was no response.

  “Abby!”

  “Shh! Keep your voice down!”

  I ignored the angry whisper behind me. I staggered to my feet, heart crashing against my ribcage. I breathed in shakily, then followed my gut reaction, and looked up.

  The Behemoth lingered ominously, spewing thick smoke into the sky. Taunting me.

  She was there. With them. A prisoner, to be tortured and–

  I shook the thought from my head. Couldn’t let it consume me. I had to do something. But what? How was I going to get up there? How was I going to get Abby back?

  “Want to bet she’s lost her mind?” taunted the female voice.

  “Don’t think it’s her mind that’s missing,” came a gruff reply.

  I heard the voices, barely understanding what they were saying about me. I lumbered to the wall close to where the first skiff landed and impaled the unlucky guard. It was gone, leaving nothing but a pool of fresh blood behind. I swayed and crashed into a standing wall, sending a sharp bite of pain through the cut on my shoulder to the slice on my neck. I breathed heavily, looking up at the Behemoth again.

  “Hey lady, are you still with us?” the deepest voice asked.

  “My sister’s taken,” I mumbled. “I need to get her back.”

  “You can barely walk,” remarked the gruff voice.

  I turned around, finding the rogue and his friends had caught up to me.

  The rogue glanced at the Behemoth, then lowered his eyes and stared at me with no expression on his face. His voice was emotionless when he said, “If the Hellions took her, she’s as good as dead.”

  I don’t know why I acted the way that I did. Maybe it was the result of the despair bundled into a lumpy knot in my heart and tied with hatred. Maybe the pain in my body had damaged the rational part of my brain. Maybe I just wasn’t thinking or willing to accept the truth. In the end, it didn’t matter. I still punched the rogue in the jaw.

  It wasn’t an overwhelmingly powerful punch, but it was enough to make him stagger to the side. I shook out the dull throb in my knuckles as his head swung to the right. The brunette woman raised her eyebrows, and the stocky man stifled a laugh. The rogue slowly turned his head to mine, glaring at me with sharp tawny eyes. I glared right back, daring him to make a move. I looked at the flintlock, wondering if I could take it from him before…

  On the butt of the flintlock was a silver skull with a gaping mouth and black gems for eyes. I looked at the cutlass, and saw the same symbol. All the anger and defiance I felt began to simmer away. I cursed myself for not having seen the engraving before I decided to punch this stranger.

  “You’re marauders,” I breathed.

  The rogue crossed his arms. “Noticed, did you?”

  I stared, but didn’t say anything.

  Before the Hellions, marauders had controlled the skies. Daring and deadly pirates, they had staged raids through the clouds, capturing any vessels they could and disappearing before they could be caught. They’d been a threat all over Aon, but were at constant war with the Sky Guards of Westraven where trade was highest. They’d played bloody games of cat and mouse, until the Discovery.

  Westraven was an isolated city of industry and trade, but it was not a large area. Housing became difficult to find, especially since building houses in the sky was impractical. The traffic was too high, the risk of accident too great. So the mayor and his Ministry ordered scientists, engineers, and explorers to find new areas to inhabit. The mission was expensive and required hundreds of workers. Including engineers like my parents.

  Aside from the occasional close encounter with marauders, the mission was uneventful. Until the day the exploration crew discovered a tear in the sky. My mother wrote to me, describing a jagged black slash in the middle of a dark blue night sky that lead to another dimension. Another world. They called it the Breach, and they took their chances and entered the unknown. But so did a group of marauders– Robertson Kendric and his son Davin, two of the most famous and fearsome marauders in all of Aon, who made their home in Westraven.

  Entering this other world, both groups discovered the Hellions. No one truly knows what happened beyond the Breach. My parents never spoke of it. But both the Kendric Clan and the explorers tore out of the Breach. A few years later, the Behemoth ripped out of the sky to steal and slaughter and destroy. No one had the time to ask why they were doing the dreadful things they were doing.

  When the Kendric Clan was killed by the Hellions, every band of marauders took to ground. They built new empires underground, but aside from the former marauders now working as Garnet’s muscle, I had never crossed them until now. With the twenty foot high barricades set by the Hellions to surround Westraven, I should have known I would encounter them one day. Now I had, and I didn’t know what to do.

  “I...” I started, hurrying to find my voice. “I don’t have much–”

  “You have nice boots,” the brunette pointed out again.

  I glanced down at them, not seeing what made them nice. They were scuffed and dirty, but steel-toed and strong. No way was I giving them up. I wasn’t going to run around Westraven barefoot. I looked at her with an expression that told her just that. The brunette rolled her eyes.

  “Then take off your belt,” the rogue stated flatly.

  I blinked at him, certain I’d misheard. “Excuse me?”