Sky Jump

by Anastasia Bolinder

  “La’ket has one of the largest magically kept atriums in the world.” he had said knowing my love of the outdoors was almost as much as my love for the camera I kept on hand almost all the time or my guitar that sat safely in its case in the truck’s back seat.

  I had my hands before me as I rubbed the Skyjump bracelet of gold and black beads that my father had given me, that was known only to other Skyjump’s as a sign of what we were.

  Looking down I realized my eyes drooped and though the worry filled my chest. The tired ache in my body helped me to move past those thoughts as I got to my feet.

  I looked down about to try and transform again when I took a lung-full of air and just started walking. With so many worries about this prep school I was to face in the morning the idea of clearing my mind was like asking a hoarder to empty a mansion.

  With a soft shake of my head I was walking back to the truck, my eyes tired but my mind keen to the realities I was to face in the morning. If only It would never come I considered as I started into a run.

  Chapter 5

  “Prep School”

  My eyes fluttered as sun bathed my closed lids. A soft rumble I had become accustomed to the truck’s engine as we moved soothed my soul like running through the glade as a Skyjump beast had done.

  Yawning, I blinked and slowly stretched out of my father’s warm jacket that he must have put over me before he got us moving again. Looking out the window I found we were on a downhill decscent through a green valley that felt much more like we were in the mountains than heading to any prep school like La’ket.

  I smiled softly at the lush rolling hills that were a deep, welcoming green and beyond them, mountains seemed to be on the horizon wherever you turned. Wait; The prep school. How long did I have before I would be left inside walls I had never seen or lived in?

  Turning swiftly, my father had a softer slant to his lips and his pale green eyes scanned the horizon as we drove. A smaller red car passed by us on the road rolling, not hovering as it went.

  I opened my mouth but my father was quicker.

  “We’re almost there.” he said, I saw the soft downward slant of something when he said those words pained him.

  Deep down I wanted it to pain him and make him reconsider, but after all he had been through, was I the one being selfish about fighting so hard to stay with him?

  My brow shifted up as my head flashed to the dash looking ahead to try and see the building that would hold me captive. I could find nothing yet, so my head moved back to my father more than twice before I looked down at the floor and the reality of it all seemed to be staggering to know it was really happening.

  “It will be nice for you to be around other kids your age for more than a month at a time and I know it might sound horrible Quil, but it is for your best chance in life.” He said stoically, his eyes not looking over to me but I knew by his words it hurt him more than I would ever know to leave me somewhere without him.

  For that I was grateful, I was not alone in my feelings and held my mouth shut from arguing and simply turned to look ahead. Pulling my father’s leather coat around me tightly as if it was colder than it seemed, I fought within myself. I did want to settle down for more than one month at a time, if even that, but the open road was as much like a home to me as was the sound of the truck.

  I woke to find we were traveling past the ocean or through a tunnel on our way to new places.

  Letting out a soft breath I spoke up,

  “How long before we get there?” I asked, there was a hesitation in my voice that spoke to how much I hated to have to know the answer.

  Glancing to the side my father smiled softly and raised one eyebrow.

  “Excited for your first day, are we?” He asked sarcastically.

  I laughed out a breath and nodded, rolling my eyes.

  “Of course! I could not be more excited if I tried.” I said and the moment felt happy but seemed to dim as the silence that was left spoke the truth of both our thoughts on the matter.

  Turning my head back to the outside I reached down for my camera and opened the window making the rush of morning air feel like a wonderful present. Holding up the camera, I took a photo of the rolling hills as we started the decscent that led up a large hill as if on a rollercoaster.

  “It should be over this rise and down the road a bit.” My father said from the side.

  Turning, I looked to him stunned as the photo I had taken slipped to the floor of the cab while my mind tried to comprehend what he had just said.

  We couldn’t be that close, could we?!

  My mind tried to calm as I shut the window and sat motionless as we started our climb up the large hill, I wanted another three hours at least with my thoughts to control how I would act and what I would do in this situation, but now I was minutes from what would be my prison.

  Pulling over the top of the rise I held my breath and looked down into a quaint mountainous valley where few trees lived because of the elevation but the hills looked inviting with the mountains surrounding us.

  My eyes widened and I sat forward in my seat. The buckle cut into my chest as I looked dumbfounded to the only thing that looked like it did not belong in such a photo-worthy landscape.

  A large, one-level building made entirely out of cement save the middle that looked to have an enormous glass dome. The building was set in the middle of a large, grassy hill top that looked huge and unwelcoming; it had to be La’ket.

  My mouth hung open in a frown. I had hoped it would look something like a real prep school might, with flags along the exterior and a white or red outside or maybe even copper like the buildings in Zeppelin. But the atrocity I saw before me was like a giant brick had been thrown into a masterpiece painting.

  “That’s it, and the large space in the middle that looks like a glass dome is their atrium that is open to the students most of the time.” My father said, oblivious to the look on my face or the way my head shook softly.

  Could this be real or was I in some kind of cruel joke? I questioned, yet the pain in my chest from this new development was far too real to be some dream you could escape. This was my fate for the next year, living in a brick on a mountain far from my fathers long drives.

  If disaster could even be considered a fitting term in that moment I have no clue what else could have given light to the bleak chasm I now saw as La’ket.

  Glancing aside to my father as we approached the building, cars were not lined up or waiting in the parking lot- in fact, almost none looked to be at the school.

  “Dad, it looks awful.” I said almost laughing as I felt crying.

  Glancing to me and then back out the window he looked at the building and tilted his head.

  “I must admit it looks rather strange in the landscape, but once inside I’m sure you’ll like it.” he said stoically and with calm clarity.

  I looked to him and then back to the building as we started down the last little hill towards it.

  “Sure. If they have bars for doors to our dorm rooms and black and white jumpsuits as the clothing standard, I’m sure I’ll like it.” I said non-emotionally as I shook my head, again feeling like it could fall off.

  My father looked to me sternly and then sighed deeply as if it was his only way to not let a wave of words leave his lips.

  “Quil, I’m sure it will be nice, please just try and look around before you choose to hate it all. Life is not what we look at…”

  “But how we see what is around us...” I finished and looked to the ground as his words tugged within my chest as the war of rebelling and optimism fought for control.

  Looking back up to the building that had few cars in the large parking lot making it look deserted if not for the two cars a ways off.

  I rubbed my arm and held to the black and gold bracelet, trying to find strength in its power from my ancestors.

  “I will try...” I breathed out at last as if the words had been wrenched out of me.

  My fat
her nodded as we pulled into the parking lot of the prep school thats large exterior looked as if it could be two floors, but no windows faced us anywhere on the wall.

  Gulping down a lump in my throat, my heart thumped within me like a rock being hit to the ground over and over again as I tried to steady my breathing.

  I had never gone to schools like this and to think of going in a place as large as the space before me was staggering. My father pulled the truck into a parking spot and shifted the gears into park.

  “Here we are.” My father said as he too leaned forward as I did and looked up at the large building.

  “How am I going to do it?” I said softly, my head swaying of its own accord.

  “Because you’re a Skyjump and that means you were born with the ability to do hard things.” He placed a loving hand on my shoulder that carried weight and truth.

  I smiled softly and felt his courage seep through and settle within me; how long it would last I wasn’t sure yet.

  “Now come on, were going to sign you in and bring your things to your room.” he said, as he pulled the keys from the ignition and opened his door, sliding out to the pavement.

  Pursing my lips, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

  “I am Equila Deshion De Skyjump, I can do this.” I said softly as I held my wrist as if the words could buoy me up through the water I was going to tread, I only hoped I could stay afloat.

  The back door opened and my father looked in,

  “Come on and get your things Quil.” He said kindly as my eyes flashed open and I prayed he had not heard me.

  I wanted to be strong like my father, he had raised me on his own with a full-time job that dealt with Skyjumps and keeping watch of the Earthen Brethren, though I knew little of what he really did, to be honest, besides that.

  Jumping out of the truck I kept his jacket over my shoulders. As a soft warm breeze shifted by I considered taking it off, but the truth of the matter was that I felt if I took off the coat I would be leaving it all for good. And that was just something to daunting to even approach moving past.

  Pulling open the door to the back of the truck, I grabbed two of my bags and a box of items I always kept in my room and my guitar case protectively under one arm. Coming around to my side as I held the items trying to be optimistic and feeling both nervous and only a small flutter of excitement when the box under my arm slipped as I lamely grabbed for it.

  “Whoa, let me take that, Quil.” my father said as he grabbed the box before it slipped from my side.

  I nodded, letting go of the edge I held as he stood up, I only had a bulletin board, a set of bed sheets and a blanket left.

  “I’ll take my bed sheets and you take the bulletin board and blanket.” I said nodding as a smile crossed my lips as my father looked over to me slyly.

  “This is payback, isn’t it?” He asked as he pulled out all the items and looked like he had robbed a store.

  I smiled and shook my head forgetting for one moment.

  “No, if I did I would have made you bring my lamp and couch that I loved back in Delfean.” I said with a laugh and my father shook his head to the sky as he closed the back door.

  The couch and lamp were both things of my mother’s but they were old and were made of steel though the couch was as good as a bed because it was covered and stuffed like a mattress.

  I stepped back and went to the front of the truck to pick up my cloth bag and camera as my father grabbed a rug from the back. I had not noticed before another box I must have forgotten.

  “You’re right, if we had brought that plush couch you loved here I don’t think I could take moving it again. It almost killed me to move it down those three flights of stairs.” he said with a shake of his head and a huff.

  I smiled, trying to keep him talking, I did not want to accept the present just yet.

  “Getting too old for apartments? Or just the couch?” I asked with a sly smile as he clicked a button on the truck keys picking the rug and bed sheets back up that he had put down.

  “I think I’m too old for a wild child like someone I know.” he said, looking down at what he now held as only a loving father could manage.

  I laughed softly and shrugged as we headed for the door. I ran up and pulled on the swishing glass doors that beeped softly as I held it open for him.

  “Must be that same kid you love with all your heart, right?” I asked as I held my camera protectively in my hands.

  He stopped before going in and smiled.

  “Must be, because no matter what, I can’t ever forget about her.”

  I smiled as he walked in and waited for me. I looked back outside to the truck and the feeling I would not be seeing it again tugged at my heart as my father called me to come down the hall. I only hoped as I came to his side that he wouldn’t forget about me.

  Chapter 6

  “Rooms, Walls and Halls.”

  Coming inside La’ket was like walking into a world that was much like the outside in its demeanor. The walls were cement yet the etchings on them made them feel softer, almost like a cave painting.

  I saw my father look to the wall and nod before I had even glanced down the hall.

  “Those are ruin markings, they carry magical protections within them and seal the ground as safe as if magic was cast over it.” my father said, his voice lower but its deep tone reverberating down the empty hall.

  Looking up I realized the hall seemed to go on forever with hallways leading off in all directions.

  “How am I not going to get lost here?” I said, as I looked down a hall way on my right that went on for what seemed forever.

  My father chuckled.

  “I’m sure they have a map for you if you want, but if you feel like being adventurous I don’t think you could get too lost.” he said with a half-smile.

  I glared over to him as he smirked and looked ahead, his smile softening I started to wonder why we seemed to be the only ones walking around in such a massive building.

  “There is the administration office.” he said and nodded to a larger intersection of hallways that split into three different paths with the left corner being a glass walled room that had “OFFICE” etched into it’s frame.

  Looking to the floor that was smooth under foot, I realized a soft sparkle emanated from the floor as if it was lit from within.

  “Quil.” My father said.

  I looked up to find him standing in the middle of the intersection and realized I had stopped. Rushing, I caught up to his side as we turned left and moved towards the door to the office.

  “The floor almost looks like it’s glowing.” I said as we came to the door.

  “That’s because it is.” I looked up, stunned to hear the voice that spoke with a calm certainty a feminine wisp to her words.

  The woman that stood in the doorway stopping us both in our tracks looked somewhere in her forties. Wearing a principal’s grey shirt and dark business slacks. Her black hair done in a side bun, her eyes a light blue.

  “Sorry to startle you but your question about the floors needed an answer. La’ket is one of the last places moon-sand floors are still in use for schools or otherwise. They glow softly in the light of day and light the way by night. Quite clever, don’t you think?” she asked kindly, her tone was smooth and felt welcoming.

  Maybe it would not be a horrible jail after all; I considered as I nodded and looked down to the floor again, thrilled by the idea.

  “That is amazing.” I said, now wishing it was night so I could see the glow of the floor for myself.

  “So what can I help the two of you with? I see you may be here to sign in, though it does seem early considering all the students arrive tomorrow.” she said as if thinking more to herself than us as I looked back up to find my father nodding.

  It suddenly made sense why so few cars were outside and that the halls felt empty.

  “We came early so I could speak to the principal.” he said.

  I felt ut
terly embarrassed by the idea he would be talking to the principal as I looked to him with a stern glare and in return he furrowed his brow in a way that told me to wait.

  “Ah, well… at the present principal Septum is out, but I am his aide. I’m sure I can help with whatever needs to be sorted out.” she said, though I could tell she was curious of my father’s answer.

  Glancing to my father, he nodded,

  “That would be fine.” he said, though I could tell he wanted to speak with the principal. What was it about the principal that was so important?

  I racked my mind as we followed the woman into the office for answers. Inside the room there was an old oak desk and chairs lining the opposite wall for students and parents to sit before they met with the principal, whose office was through a dark wood door that read, “Blaum Septum.” That’s when his name clicked within my mind, he was a descendant of one of the ten head mages as I was partly through my mother.

  Suddenly, I wondered if my father knew him before this for the fact he had arranged a meeting with him and it seemed his secretary had no notion of it.

  Sitting down at the old oak desk that I assumed was the assistant’s. She nodded and motioned for us to sit down while she picked up a phone and dialed a number. That odd part of me that came from living on the run worried who she was calling, but as she spoke, all my fear ceased.

  “We have a young woman here early with her things, would you please come and pick them up for her and take them to room... What is your last name dear?” she asked, looking to me.

  My father nodded as I glanced to him.

  “Deshion.” I said and the woman nodded.

  “To the room assigned to Miss Deshion. Yes, perfect. Thank you, Harold.” she said kindly and hung up the phone.

  My father put the last of my items to the ground in a little pile by the door and I protectively stayed close to my guitar, it was one of the few items I had convinced my father I would die without so he let me bring it.