Breeze nodded as he eyed Maribelle pouring food onto a plate. His stomach began to growl.
Gil swiveled to face his wife. “Darlin’, what’s the name of that fella we used to know out there in Conception?”
She put the spoon down on the counter with a definitive clink as she looked out the window. “I believe Jacob was his name. Jacob Corinth.”
Breeze’s eyes lit up. “That’s my father!”
Maribelle visibly stiffened.
Gil pushed his book away and placed both of his hands upon the table. “Why, isn’t that something? We’ve known Jacob for…quite some time. Isn’t that right, darlin’?”
Maribelle was straightening her apron. She still had her back to them. “Yes.”
Gil continued. “You’re quite a ways from home, son. What brings you this far east? I hope you’re not like those other young folk passing through here seeking adventure in the Bad Lands. Dangerous territory you know.”
“Well, I...” Breeze stopped. He wasn’t sure if he could come out and tell them the truth. They seemed like nice people, but he didn’t know if he could trust them.
He looked at Gil. The old man’s eyes were sharp and bright. He smiled at Breeze in a way that a concerned grandfather would look at his grandson.
Maribelle was still at the stove with her head turned to the side to hear them better.
“Well, I got into an argument with my father, so I hopped a transport to get away. Kept wandering until I got here. Then I found your barn and spent the night in it.”
Gil nodded as he reached for his cup of coffee. He slowly sipped it with an audible slurp and grimaced. “Good coffee,” he called out to his wife and then turned to Breeze. “Son, I don’t want to sit here and poke holes into your story. I’m sure you have something to say, but don’t want to. That’s fine. We all have something to hide for one reason or the other. But I have to say, your tracks that lead into the barn show you coming from the east.”
Breeze flinched.
Gil pressed on. “It’s more than that. I didn’t find any tracks coming out of the woods. It’s like you just landed from the sky and walked straight into the barn.”
Breeze’s heart began to beat so hard he could feel his chest ache.
Maribelle walked over to them. “What my old goat of a husband is trying to ask you but takes forever because he so does like to beat around the bush, is how did you really get here?”
“I flew,” Breeze blurted out.
“Of course!” Gil exclaimed. “Makes perfect sense. You’re from Conception. Your father is Jacob Corinth. He was a well-known flying machine builder back in the day. You must have landed here after testing out some contraption he built and then took refuge in the barn. That’s it, right?”
Breeze shook his head. “No sir. We run a scrap yard. Father buys the waste metal, and we sell it to the builders in the area. I never saw him build anything. Especially aerocraft.”
“Oh, well, fair enough.” He looked over at Maribelle. “So how about some breakfast?”
She waved him off. “How did you get here?”
Breeze looked into her intense, brown eyes. He could feel himself wilt as he looked away from her.
“You flew, didn’t you?” she said softly.
“Maribelle, don’t go stirring up trouble. He is not familiar with such nonsense and doesn’t need to know about it.”
If she heard him, she didn’t seem to care. She leaned toward Breeze and whispered. “You flew. All by yourself.”
Breeze nodded.
She gasped as she placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on her chest.
Breeze looked up at her with surprise. Her hard and crusty persona cracked as her eyes began to well up with tears. “Thomas,” she whispered.
Gil’s smile faded. He closed his eyes and gripped the edge of the table.
“Thomas?” Breeze said.
“He was our son. A good boy. He-,” she stopped to clear her throat and wipe her eyes. “Where are my manners? Let me fetch you that plate.” She turned back to the stove.
Breeze looked to Gil.
Gil smiled faintly. “Tommy was a good boy. Only child. Gifted, to say the least. He’s no longer with us.”
Maribelle put a plate of food before Breeze. “You will spend the night here in the house. I’ll fix up the spare room for you. Gil will see to it that you get to the land port here in town and get you a ticket for the next liner back home. Best for you to be with your father.”
“Ma’am, it’s no trouble. I can find my way back. I don’t mean to be a bother,” Breeze said.
She dismissed him with a wave. “We’ll need to get you some clean clothes. Those rags of yours are a mess. Need to get some clean sheets for you to sleep on also. I have a lot to do today.” She wiped her hands with her apron. “Gil, you best get that old truck of yours up and running. You’ll have to get the young man into town today to get his ticket.”
Gil nodded. “Yes ma’am.” He winked at Breeze. “I like to let her think she’s the boss.”
“No time for playing around, you old goat. You best finish up here and get your creaky bones to work.”
“I don’t have any money for the ticket. Look, I can make it back on my own,” Breeze protested.
Maribelle ignored him. “Gil, see if you can find any old clothes of yours that he can wear.” She shook her head. “Now that I think about it, take him into town and get some new clothes for him instead. All you wear are those pants and shirts that stretch. The young people these days don’t care for that style.”
“I can pay you back,” Breeze offered.
“You can start by finishing your food. I haven’t been cooking all morning to see it go to waste,” she said.
Gil chuckled. “Best to do as she says.”
Breeze nodded as he sheepishly pecked at his food. He took one bite of the creamy potatoes, then another. Soon he was wolfing down his food with abandon.
Gil looked on with a smile.
Maribelle stared with a hand to her throat when she realized Breeze had finished and was looking at her. She shook her head. “Well, best get to work. Gil, show him his room later, and don’t forget to go to town!” She wagged a finger at him, and then stepped out of the kitchen.
Gil mumbled as he continued eating.
Breeze leaned toward him. “Was Thomas different?”
Gil reached for his coffee and drank the last of it. He got up, shuffled over to the stove to grab the pot, and came back to the table. He filled Breeze’s cup and poured the rest into his, then sat down slowly as he ran a wrinkled hand through his gray and white hair. “Tommy was different, yes, you could say that, and special. He was the greatest thing that ever happened to us. His…disappearance was devastating to my wife and me.”
“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to pry.” Breeze felt horrible.
Gil waved him off. “No, it’s best to come out and say these things. Can’t keep them bottled up forever.”
“Was Tommy a flier, like me?”
Gil took a long hard look at Breeze, and then said with a smile. “Yes. Yes, he was.” His smile grew brighter by the moment. “He would do exactly what you do. Go flying around without his folks knowing about it while trying not to crash into the field. And he was always covering his tracks. That’s how I knew what you were up to. Landing out in the middle of our field and walking straight to the barn. Tommy would do that too!” Gil said as he laughed long and hard.
As Gil continued to tell stories about his son, Maribelle sat in the living room next to the kitchen listening to every word he said. She did so while holding a picture in her hands. It was of a young boy with a glowing smile and piercing blue eyes. She clutched it to her bosom and sobbed quietly.
The following morning, Gil drove Breeze in
to town. Before they left, Maribelle handed Breeze a small bag as he stepped down the porch and into Gil’s truck.
“A little something for you to eat while on your way home. Seeing that you like my cooking so much, I gather you would rather eat my food than that awful slop they serve aboard those liners.” She pushed the bag into his hands over his protests.
Gil chuckled. “Still haven’t learned, have you? Don’t try to win an argument with her. Best to agree and move on.”
Breeze held out a hand to her. “Thank you for everything. It was nice meeting you.”
Maribelle looked at his outstretched hand with a blank stare, then brushed it aside and hugged him tightly.
Breeze was shocked as he gingerly patted her back.
She looked at him with her fierce, dark eyes. “Be good. Be strong. Be brave.” She touched his face, then abruptly turned and marched up the porch and into the house.
Gil motioned for him to step into the truck. He fired up the engine and threw it into gear as they jostled down the dirt trail and onto the main road that led to town.
Breeze looked around the cab of the truck. It was old and beat up. He glanced at the roof above Gil’s head. It was dented upward.
“Maribelle,” Gil said, “is a woman of great passion. Don’t be fooled by her hard exterior. Believe me, son, she is as soft and weak as they come.”
“I just feel bad. It’s like my being here has brought up a lot of terrible memories for you and your wife. And you both have been so kind to me. If I just slept out in the woods, or was able to find some other farm to land at, I wouldn’t have caused such a fuss.”
Gil braked hard and steered the truck to the side of the road. He shut off the engine and turned to glare at Breeze. “Don’t you dare say that. Ever.”
Breeze shrank back in his seat. Gil’s demeanor was always a mixture of happiness tinged with sadness. Seeing his face contorted in rage frightened him. He looked at the old man’s hands gripping the steering wheel as they began to swell and throb. In seconds, Gil’s body grew. His shirt and pants stretched as muscles bulged from his body. His eyes glowed an incredible deep blue as his head pushed up against the ceiling of the cab.
Breeze lunged for the door handle and yelled when a giant hand grabbed his arm. He turned to look as the old man was beginning to shrink.
“Forgive me Breeze. Please, don’t be frightened of me.” Gil took in several deep breaths as his body returned to normal.
Breeze kept one hand on the door handle.
Gil chuckled. “No need to bail out on me son. I won’t hurt you.”
“What was that?!” Breeze shouted.
“That was me showing that I’m no different than you. You’re not the only one who can do extraordinary things, you know.” Gil fired the truck back up, then threw it into gear and drove onto the road.
“Son, you are a blessing, don’t ever forget that. And don’t say that you wish you had never met us. You’ve awakened my wife and me. Remember Breeze, all things happen for a reason.”
Breeze was still leaning up against the door.
Gil looked over at him with a smile mixed with sadness. “Now look at what I’ve done. I’ve gone off and scared you with my little freak show. If you’re willing to listen, I can explain.”
Breeze pushed up against the door a little more.
“There have always been folks like us. There was a time when our numbers were many and there was no need to hide what we were. Ordinary folks knew about us. They knew we were superior to them, but they weren’t afraid. Oh, no. They were appreciative, you see. They knew we were different, but we never abused our gifts. We made it a point to use those gifts to help folks in need. We served for the better, not for the worse.”
“I never heard of such a thing,” Breeze said.
Gil nodded. “Before your time son. Well before your time,” the old man said as he stared down the road, never once blinking.
“So what happened?”
Gil didn’t answer. His hands gripped the wheel as the truck picked up speed.
“Gil?” Breeze said as he reached for the door handle.
The old man shook his head. “It’s okay son, I heard you. Just had a flood of memories hitting the old brain, that’s all.” He sighed deeply. “What happened, you asked?”
Breeze nodded.
“There’s not enough time to explain. Usually never is. And it can be hard to believe anyways though it was such a fantastic era. But who would believe such a story?” He shook his head. “What happened is that there were those amongst us who turned against the very people they swore to protect by using their gifts to stir up trouble. We would track them down and deal with them, you see. You’re always going to have a few bad apples in every barrel. It’s just the way it is.”
He turned onto a wider road. Up ahead, the outskirts of a town appeared on the horizon.
Gil continued. “But it got out of hand as they eventually banded together and became marauders. They went from attacking innocent people to working up the courage to attack entire towns, and then bigger cities. The people were angry and frightened, and rightfully so. They demanded action as they wanted it to come to an end. They turned to the territorial governments and demanded justice. We were a menace, you see. We couldn’t be trusted anymore. We couldn’t even manage our own kind, they said. And they were right. They brought us all to an end. We went from being the champions of humanity to refugees in our own lands. We were hunted down and brought to heel. It all happened so fast.” Gil pounded the steering wheel and he began to mumble while traffic was building up as more vehicles appeared on the road. A sign reading “Welcome to Respite” appeared on the side of the road.
“Gil, you wouldn’t freak on me if I told you I don’t really believe in any of this?” Breeze said.
The old man laughed. “You shouldn’t believe in anything I say. That was all so long ago, well, I guess you could say that it just never happened. And no, I won’t freak out again. I’m sorry about frightening you.”
“If everything you’re saying is true, how come I never heard about it? How come I didn’t learn about this in school?”
Gil snorted. “History, my boy, is what people want to make of it. You may not be able to change the history for those who are living now, but you can always change it for those yet to be born. They will grow up believing what they are told. That’s how easy it is to erase the past, no matter how fantastic it was.”
Breeze eased away from the door and settled back into his seat. Up ahead were signs leading them to the land port.
“Is that why my father is so hard on me? Is he worried something is going to happen? I never felt like anyone wanted to hurt me when I would fly at night. I’ve been doing it for so long now and yet nobody has ever come to my home and said something.”
Gil looked over at Breeze. “Son, it’s been quiet out there. Too quiet, I’ll give you that. You don’t hear too much about folks like us popping up in plain sight. But that doesn’t mean we’re not out there. You know about me. My wife and I told you about our son. You know he…disappeared on us.” He choked back a sob.
“Is Maribelle—”
“Gifted? Yes, she’s just like us. The thing you need to understand is that we’re not all alike. Some of us have more power than others and can do extraordinary things. There were many amongst our kind who understood that it was meant to be this way, though others refused to acknowledge this truth. You can say it was this inequality that made them go astray, and to seek other ways to accumulate more power than what they were already blessed with.”
Gil exited onto a road that took them to the land port. The outer edges of the facility were jammed with hovers, trucks and buses dropping off and picking people up. In the distance, Breeze could see the huge prairie liners skimming across the tarmac as they slowed to appr
oach the terminal.
Gil parked the truck in between two heavy load haulers. They got out and stood by the tailgate.
Gil reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic tab and handed it to Breeze. “Your ticket son, don’t you lose this. Keep it tucked away someplace safe, don’t go off and let someone steal it from you. It’s your way back home.”
“Not really, I could always fly back,” Breeze quipped.
Gil held up a hand and shook his head. “No, not even as a joke. Not here. In safe company, maybe. There is still a lot of superstition and fear about our kind.” Gil reached into the back of the truck and grabbed Breeze’s bag, then headed to the terminal while Breeze raced to catch up. He couldn’t understand how the old man moved so quickly and effortlessly.
“You are familiar with the Bad Lands, they at least teach about that in school, no?” Gil asked.
“We’re just told that no one goes there and that there are no real settlements or towns. Only strange people and even stranger animals. Even my father doesn’t talk much about it, other than to tell me never to go near it.”
“Do you believe this to be true?” Gil stopped to look at him as the terminal intercom chimed. A woman’s voice announced the arrival of a liner from the North Eastern territories. A group of well-dressed travelers began to chatter amongst themselves excitedly as they grabbed heavily ornamented luggage and walked into the terminal. A young woman, beautiful and impeccably dressed, looked back and caught Breeze’s gaze. She smiled at him as she brushed her hair back, then turned away and continued into the terminal with her group.
Gil cleared his throat. “Is there something about that group you find to be interesting?”
Breeze shrugged. “Just a weird feeling about that girl. Like I’m going to meet someone from the North Eastern Territories. I’ve never been there.” He turned to face the old man. “I’ve never really been anywhere.”
“You’re somewhere now. You’re seeing the world.”
“Yeah, on my own. My father never really took me anywhere. Do you know I saw a real forest for the first time just these past couple of days? And that’s only because I can’t control my flying. I flew so fast the ground beneath me was just a blur and the air was hitting my face so hard I couldn’t breathe. I started to black out and the next thing I know I’m plowing into the ground and everything goes dark.” He described to Gil how he walked out of the trench he created and into the forest.
Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter Page 5