Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter

by Olson, Michael John

  Breeze was transfixed by the column of energy Ray unleashed at the heavens. “Not even the greatest darkness can hold back the light,” he murmured.

  Ray exhausted himself and collapsed to his knees. Beneath their feet, the ground was fused into a smooth glass that beautifully reflected the stars above.

  Breeze dropped his shield and Sally breathed heavily as she put her hands to her chest.

  The sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence as a pair of glowing red eyes floated toward them, moving up and down in tempo with the footsteps. The eyes widened and stopped upon the sound of glass shattering and breaking. They looked down, then up again as they changed from a red glow to white and resumed their approach.

  “Well Achilles, how was that for a stealthy approach?” Breeze called out.

  The robot stepped into view as it looked at each of them. Behind it, the moon had risen above the distant mountain range, framing the robot in a mystical light. “My assessment would be succinct and to the point; a foolish display of emotions.”

  Breeze chuckled. “You told me in Appalachia you were fascinated by us humans. Well, here we are. Think of what just happened as our battle cry. We’re not afraid of anything anymore.”

  “Indeed, master. You have made that perfectly obvious.”

  They all jumped at the sound of metal scraping against metal. Just outside the periphery of light cast by the scout ship’s floodlights, a pile of wreckage tumbled to the ground.

  They turned to face the source of the sound. Ray’s hands began to glow while Breeze hovered above them and Sally’s eyes shimmered in white.

  Achilles scanned the area and was unable to detect anything. It turned to report its findings and froze at the sight of them.

  They are the Helios, rising from the ashes like the mythical bird of fire. Achilles shook its head rapidly as servos whirred loudly.

  Breeze called out instructions from above. “Ray, get ready to fire when I give the word. Sally, start projecting and let me know what you see.”

  He began to fly toward the source of the sound, but stopped when out of the darkness came an old man pushing a cart with a hand raised in a salute. “Hello there, pay no heed to me. I’m of no consequence. I will visit no harm or evil upon you.” The old man laughed raucously as he reached into his cart and rummaged about.

  Ray pointed a glowing hand at him.

  “Ah, there you are! Oh, sweet nectar, come to me.” The old man pulled a bottle from the cart and drank a long and steady draft from it. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “quite the thirst quencher, indeed!” He cackled as he placed the bottle back in the cart.

  “Who are you?” Ray challenged.

  “I’ll tell you what he is,” Breeze said as he descended and lowered his shield. “He’s a desert rat. A scavenger. The area is loaded with them. Always looking for scrap metal. They steal it from my father, jumping the fence and snatching the easy to get pieces from the outermost stacks, and then sell it back to him. He knew what they were doing, but he would still buy from them. Charity, he told me.”

  “Breeze, I’m not seeing him at all. There is nothing there,” Sally’s body said in a monotone voice.

  The old man waved to the space before him. “Right here sweetie, hello there,” he cackled.

  “Sally, pull back,” Breeze commanded.

  Her body stiffened, then lurched back as her astral form re-entered. Breeze was there to catch her as she almost fell.

  Ray didn’t take his eyes off the old man and kept a glowing hand pointed at him. “Breeze, should I blast him or what?”

  “No, there is something about him. He’s no regular rat. I want to hear what he has to say.”

  “My, my, what do we have here on display? Paranormals?” The old man shuffled away from his overburdened cart filled with junk and scrap and wobbled over to them. “Why yes, my eyes do not tell any tall tales. Oh, what a wondrous sight to see.”

  Achilles stepped into his path. “Identify yourself.”

  “Ahh! Call off your watchdog young ones, I mean you no harm.” The old man then stared hard at Achilles. “By the stars above, are you what I think you are? A Robot Fighter? Oh my, you are. I haven’t seen one of your kind in so long.” He lowered his voice into a whisper. “So sorry, but I was under the impression your entire line was sent off to the scrap yard.” He looked around, then back to Achilles. “This must be your cemetery.” He threw back his head and laughed wildly. “You must be the undertaker here!” He laughed even harder before breaking down into a coughing fit. He reached into the cart to retrieve his bottle and with puckered lips, he took another long drink from it. “Ahh!” he exclaimed loudly as he screwed the cap back on and wiped his face with the back his sleeve.

  Breeze stepped up and stood beside Achilles. “Answer the robot’s question.”

  The old man staggered back, and then squinted his eyes to peer at Breeze as the moonlight highlighted his ragged face. “The bold leader, whose words are sharp and to the point, much like a dagger.”

  He then leaned to the side to see behind Breeze. “I see a young lad wielding the power of energy transmission, along with a young woman who can snoop upon the unaware.” He repeated again. “The unaware.” He looked Sally right in the eye as he said it.

  She sniffed and took a step back.

  “Old man…” Breeze warned.

  “My identification? Better yet, my name? Yes, of course.” He held out a hand. “John Agam.”

  Breeze didn’t shake the hand. The old man turned and offered it to Achilles, who also refused it.

  “No takers on the handshake? Is my hand that filthy?” He held it up to his face. “By all that is holy, it is!” He laughed again as he wiped it on his jacket.

  Breeze walked up to John and stood inches from his face. “What are you doing on my father’s—” he stopped and closed his eyes while he clenched a fist, ”—on my property.”

  “Your property?” John leaned forward and his eyes narrowed. “Breeze, is that you lad? Welcome back! The prodigal son has returned.” He clamped his hands on Breeze’s shoulders.

  Breeze pushed him away. “How do you know me? I don’t recognize you from the other scrap yard rats my father would buy from.”

  “Oh, my boy, I have known your father for ages,” he said with a sigh as he looked down at the bottle in his cart. “Many ages, in fact,” he muttered, then took in a deep breath and waved a hand. “Never mind that. So your father told me you went away to see family, which seemed odd. I didn’t know you had kinfolk beyond Conception. Was he telling the truth?”

  Breeze looked around and laughed, then turned to Achilles and shrugged his shoulders.

  The robot blinked its eyes, but said nothing.

  He whirled onto John. “My father is dead! My home is destroyed!” He shoved the old man. “I’ve lost everything, and you are asking questions about where I’ve been?”

  John stumbled and fell onto his backside. After a moment, he stood up with a groan and dusted off his jacket. “You proclaim young man that you have nothing,” he said, “but from what I see, you have everything you will ever need to build an empire.”

  Breeze shook his head. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  John made a circle in the air with his hand. “Look around. Look deeper. Focus on the here and now, and then project into the future. You have friends. You have a ship. You have a mission. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such purpose in my life.”

  “How do you seem to know so much?”

  “My dear boy, I’ve been around far longer than I care to admit, and I can safely say that I have seen enough.” John shuffled over to his cart and leaned against it. He sighed deeply. “I know Jacob. Your father is a good man.”

  “Was.”

  He shot a glare at Breeze. “Is. Do not
be so quick to dismiss him.”

  “How do you know he’s still alive?”

  “Your father is a builder. An innovator. What couldn’t he do to survive an attack like this?”

  “My father ran a scrap yard and sold metal to aerocraft builders. That’s it.”

  “Your father was so much more. What did I just tell you? Look around. Look deeper. The answers you seek will not always be found on the surface. Isn’t that right, robot?” John turned his attention to Achilles.

  Its eyes lit up. “Your pardon, sir?”

  “You can drop the domesticated robot act. I know what you are, Robot Fighter. Tell me, what is your serial code?”

  Achilles cocked its head. “5150,” it replied. “May I ask the reason for your inquiry?”

  John ignored the question. “Only four digits? You were bound for the scrap heap to be melted down, yet you escaped the AI purge. Someone took a fancy to you an erased most of your serial code. That makes your date of origin difficult to track down. Who rescued you?”

  “I am under no obligation to respond your request.”

  “It was Oslo then. Why am I not surprised? He was always clandestine and sneaky while running that operation of his in the sub-basements of Perihelion. Who were the other two he was always with?” he mused. “Ah, how could I forget, Bram and Raza? Oh my, she was a beauty in her time!” John chuckled.

  Sally spoke up. “How do you know Oslo?”

  “Ah, yes. The ghost girl. I knew you had a voice.” He narrowed his eyes. “Who do you remind me of?” He tapped his finger against his yellow teeth. It made a clicking sound that echoed in the cold desert night. “Bram! He was a ghost just like you. From what I’ve gathered, the best Perihelion ever recruited. I wonder whatever happened to him.” He chuckled. “The real drama was that love triangle between Oslo and Bram. Both of them vying for the attention of Raza.” He leaned his head back to look up at the night sky. “Are you still alive, or are you amongst the stars?”

  “Of course she’s alive! We arrived here from her farm—”

  “Sally!” Breeze cut her off.

  “It’s quite all right young man. I had suspected as much. The gears are grinding. Plans laid down long ago are beginning to progress forward.” He surveyed the three of them. “You are all that we have now. I know there are others, but it begins with you.”

  Ray’s hands glowed fiercely and lit up the area around them. “So what do you want from us?”

  “Go to the White Mountain. Breeze knows what I speak of. They will give you the assistance you need for your journey. Don’t make the mistake I made many a moon ago. Take on your adversaries, do not shrink from them; better to die in battle as a free man…than to live like a frightened scavenger in the dark.”

  He grunted, then turned away and began pushing his cart. The wheels squealed in protest from the excessive weight of the scrap he collected.

  Breeze hovered into his path. “Wait, I’m sorry. Maybe you can help us.”

  John kept pushing his cart. Both he and the cart dematerialized as it passed through Breeze.

  Breeze gasped as he felt himself being sucked into whirlpool of light as the horizon began to bend and shift. Through the distortion, he was still able to see John in the distance. He called out to him. “John, wait!”

  John turned and smiled. He was much younger and wearing a uniform with the symbol of a triangle with a circle inside it. “Now is not the time, Paul Corinth. Go back to your friends and follow your destiny. Remember, it is set in stone and cannot be changed. Only your fate can be altered, but never destiny.”

  Breeze felt himself being pushed back as John faded from view.

  He looked up to see Ray pulling his hand to help him to his feet. Sally and Achilles were by his side.

  “Where did they old man go?” Sally said.

  “I don’t know. He just…left.”

  “What now?” Ray asked.

  Breeze looked at his friends. “There is only one place to go. They are the only ones who can help us.”

  “White Mountain,” Sally said.

  Breeze turned to her and nodded. “Yes. We’ve come this far. We have nothing to lose.” He started walking toward the scout ship, and then stopped to look back. “Come on guys, I can’t do this alone. Are you with me?”

  Sally strode to him and took his hand. “Always.” She turned to Ray and Achilles. “Guys?”

  Ray shrugged. “You know I’m in.” He took Sally’s outstretched hand.

  She giggled. “Achilles, I don’t have another hand for you.”

  “Do not distress yourself mistress. You lead, I will follow. Always.”

  Breeze beamed as he surveyed his team. “John was right. Everything I need is right before me. Come on, let’s go.” They headed toward the scout ship.

  Achilles hung back and scanned the desert floor. Its servos whirred as it knelt down to touch the sand.

  “Achilles, come on!” It heard Breeze shout.

  “Of course, young aviator. Right away.” It stood up and followed them.

  Minutes later, the gangplank retracted as the hatch closed and sealed itself with a hiss and the ship began to pressurize. The whine of the engines spooling up broke up the stillness of the desert night.

  Inside, Breeze and Sally were buckling themselves into their seats when Achilles came down the aisle and stopped at their row.

  “Master Corinth, are you sure of the coordinates? This White Mountain you speak does not reveal itself on any of the charts.”

  “It’s okay Achilles, call it a hunch. I know your robot brain doesn’t care much for that, but that’s what it is. Head west to the Great Salt Sea, then bank hard to the north and continue until you see a lone mountain on its northeastern shore. It’s there. I’ve flown that route for many years.”

  “Are you positive they will render the assistance we need, master?”

  “I don’t know. Don’t really care. I made a promise to Raza to bring back Oslo.” He turned to Sally. “I also promised to help others find their families.”

  Sally smiled and took his hand. “We’ll help find yours.”

  “I’m not worried about my old man anymore. I know he’s out there somewhere. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but he’s hiding somewhere. I’m starting to understand why he kept me hidden for so long. Just wished I had listened, tried to understand him better.” He bit his lip.

  Sally touched his face. “Breeze, you said earlier that you can’t feel. Do you think that’s still true?”

  Breeze stared at her as his face turned red. “Sally, that’s not what I meant.”

  She smiled. “I thought so.”

  Ray’s voice broke out over the intercom. “Ready to get airborne. Achilles, to the pilot house.”

  “I have been summoned. I believe the human thing to say would be good luck?”

  Breeze shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a start.”

  Sally squeezed his hand.

  Within moments, the ship lifted off with a lurch. It hovered over the scrap yard for a few seconds, and then gradually accelerated into the moonlit night.

  Breeze looked out his window as the cabin lighting was subdued to a soft green hue. He could see the distant lights of Conception fade from view. He leaned his head back into the seat, and the gentle throb of the engines made his eyes flutter.

  Sally leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as they both fell asleep.

  Outside the perimeter of the scrap yard, a lone figure stood and watched the scout ship lift off into the night sky. The wrinkled outlines of his face were briefly highlighted by the ship’s floodlights, then plunged back into darkness as the lights switched off and the ship flew away. He stood until it faded from view over the mountains.

  “He’s a good boy. He will grow into
the man you want him to be, Jacob,” a disembodied voice spoke from the distance.

  “If you say so, John.”

  The air crackled and shimmered. John Agam appeared and drifted over to him.

  “He is in good company. They will succeed. They must succeed,” John said.

  “But why does it have to be my son? Haven’t I sacrificed enough already?”

  John placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know that you lost your wife many years ago to the Elephim.”

  “And a son,” Jacob added.

  “Aye, I know. You haven’t spoken about them in so long; I did not wish to dredge up the memory.”

  Jacob pulled out a disk from the satchel slung across his chest and handed it to him. “Take this; it is time to begin your journey. Begin assembling as many teams as you can. Wake them up. Let everybody know we will not go quietly into obscurity. We all must make sacrifices.”

  John nodded as he took the disk and flipped it over. They were twelve symbols that radiated around the outer rim with an engraving of the sun in the center. He put it into his jacket.

  “Very well, Jacob. I suppose it is time for me to retire from my burgeoning career as a scavenger of scrap,” he chuckled, and then shook his head. “No need for humor to hide the darkness of our reality. It is time to bring the light to cleanse ourselves.”

  John began to walk away, then stopped suddenly and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a picture and handed it to Jacob, then turned and disappeared into the desert night.

  Jacob looked at the picture. It was of a man and a woman smiling as she held an infant in her arms.

  Jacob wept, then stopped abruptly and placed the picture into his satchel.

  He took one last look around at the scrap yard as the light of the full moon reflected off the piles of metal. He settled his gaze at where the house once stood, then turned away and headed into the desert.

  He stepped up into the sky as if he walked on invisible steps when a door appeared and opened before him. Behind the door was a soft glow. He stopped and took one last look over the yard, then stepped inside. The door closed and disappeared as the night sky reclaimed its place.