Skyship Academy tpw-1

by Nick James

  “You’re crazy,” he replies. “There is no lab. The Unified Party’s sifted through these ruins hundreds of times. Everything was destroyed.”

  I elbow him in the stomach with my free arm. He stumbles back, allowing me time to break free.

  He’s about to lunge at me again when a soft whimpering cuts through the silence. Both of us pause, listening to the crying.

  “Do you hear that?” Cassius whispers.

  I nod, coughing. “It’s coming from the other side of the alley.”

  Without responding, he walks to the edge of the building and peers out a large hole in the side of the wall. I limp after him and turn the corner into the alleyway.

  The crying grows louder.

  I toy with the idea of attacking him again. His back’s turned, but even without the injuries I’d be no match for him. It’s safer to run.

  And that’s just what I’m about to do-until I step into the intersection.

  I recognize it immediately from my dream. No, not dream. Memory. Everything’s where it should be, each concrete skeleton positioned as if I had stepped back in time. The green mist has cleared. It’s lighter now, but the same.

  Then, crouching on the sidewalk next to a blown-out window, I see her.

  A girl a few years younger than me sits with her back to us, dwarfed by a jagged, barely standing wall. She senses us immediately. She quiets and turns around to stare.

  She wears loose-fitting pants and a shirt, unadorned and simple. Once white, they’re now smattered with dust and dirt from the ruins.

  We approach her carefully. Something about her demeanor demands caution.

  There’s something off about her. At first I don’t see it, but as a faint glimmer of sunshine pokes through the smog and illuminates her skin, I notice the glowing.

  Green. Hazy, but undeniably green.

  The energy pours from her like a beacon. Pearl energy.

  The pieces fit together perfectly in my mind, even though if I sat down and thought about it I’d realize how crazy it sounds.

  I know who this girl is.

  She flew out of a Pearl on the overpass. I freed her.

  43

  The girl staggers forward, looking at us like we’re a pair of strange animals. She squints as she pushes through the mist, jerking her head side to side. Her bony shoulders are hunched over. She’s malnourished, to say the least.

  Cassius and I stand in silence. I watch the girl stumble on bits of rubble. She seems disoriented-out of place.

  The sadness and uncertainty in her eyes make her look like a child. Her wispy blonde hair floats in the breeze, sticking to tear-dampened cheeks. She wipes it from her face and allows herself a faint smile as her eyes meet mine.

  Then she runs, an awkward lope toward me like a baby learning to walk.

  Her first words are unrecognizable-strings of sounds like the ones I heard coming from the Pearl in the trailer. But as she falls forward into my chest, there’s one distinct word buried in the clutter. “Key,” she says.

  Before I can react, she wraps her arms around me in a tight embrace. At first I try to pull away, but as her skin touches mine my body buzzes with warm electricity. My knees scab over and smooth. The throbbing in my ankles retreats. Every last drop of pain fades into a memory. She’s healed me.

  After a few seconds, she lets go. I fight the urge to grab her again and hold her close. It’s addicting, the energy.

  “The. Key.” Her words come out fractured.

  “Oh.” I fumble with the chain around my neck, pulling the key from under my torn shirt. “You mean this?”

  She glances down at the silver key for a second before looking back up at me, brows furrowed. She shakes her head.

  I pull the chain over my head and cradle it in my hand. “The key, right?”

  Her eyes narrow and she points her finger into my chest. “The. Key.”

  Cassius steps up behind her, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around forcefully. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?”

  She pushes away from him immediately, pulling her arms up around her shoulders. She glances back at me before scanning Cassius from head to toe. Then me again. Then Cassius.

  I place the necklace around my neck again. “Do you know anything about a lab?”

  She cocks her head, eyes focused on a point far off in the distance.

  “Do you understand me?” I continue. “Do you speak English?”

  Her eyes shoot back. “I… learn… English. Learn. Ed. Learned.” Then it all spills out like I’ve flipped a switch inside of her-a jumble of words thrown together so fast that they become a single sound. “Carbon-bench-green-supervisor-episode-age-sea-setting-plenty-s mall-escape-crunchy-umbrella-orbital-police-future-run-”

  “Okay,” I try to interrupt her, “that’s enough.”

  “-radius-church-shiny-given-convict-rhythm-lost-lecturing-abhorren t-”

  Cassius glares at me. “Shut her off!”

  “Don’t you think I’m trying?” I grab her shoulder, hoping to shake the crazy out of her.

  “-silverware-dance-shipping-amaze-cry-”

  I grip onto her other shoulder and spin her around so we’re face to face. Her eyes roll back, gazing up at the sky. All I can do is watch for a moment as her lips move effortlessly to accommodate each new word-faster and faster until I have to shout to be heard over her voice. “Have you seen a lab?” She ignores me, eyes still far away, so I repeat myself. Louder. “Did you come from a lab?”

  The girl stops. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the string of words becomes a tense silence. Her eyes drop to meet mine, her voice soft. “Came from energy transport.”

  “From a Pearl. I know.”

  “Key should know.” She reaches up and rubs her chin, clenching her teeth. “Before transport, there was a lab.”

  I drop her shoulders and clench my fist. “I knew it! Where is it? I think this key might open something inside. If we can just find-”

  “Wrong.” She grimaces. “Incorrect.” I watch as she moves her tongue around in her mouth, opening and closing her jaw. “Untrue. Transport laboratory is many moons away. You should know.”

  My fingers fall loose at my sides. I run through her words again and again in my mind, trying to convince myself that there’s another explanation.

  Cassius scoffs. “This is ridiculous. I’m supposed to believe that this girl came from inside a Pearl? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in my life.”

  She turns to him. A hint of green still lingers around her.

  He shakes his head. “Pearls are energy. Electricity. They’re not people. They’re resources!”

  “Transport energy,” she replies, eyes dissecting him. “Body and soul broken. Electrons, neutrons, dancing inside… waiting… waiting to reform. Waiting for sanctuary.” She reaches her fingers out to his arm. “Your wrist. Bare.”

  Cassius pulls back his hand. “You don’t seriously believe this crazy chick-”

  “I saw her fly out of the Pearl,” I reply. “And it’s not the first time. Back in Portland… ”

  Without turning around, the girl lays her hand on my shoulder. Again with the pleasant, almost tranquilizing buzz. “More of us. Where are they?”

  I shake my head.

  “Key,” she continues, “Key unlocked them. You know.”

  Cassius moves forward to grab her arm. Before he can do anything, her hand darts up and he’s forced back by an invisible energy wave.

  “The others,” she whispers. “Thousands. Where?”

  “I don’t know,” I stammer. “I… didn’t know.”

  “Key. You know.”

  I stumble backward in realization of what we’ve done. I breathe deeply. “All of them. Every single Pearl we’ve used to power a Chosen City or a Skyship, they’ve all been people, haven’t they? We’ve been killing people.”

  The girl’s eyes bore into mine.

  “I… I was never anything special,” I continue to back away. �
��You’ve gotta believe me. I was just an ordinary guy until-until I met Cassius.”

  Her eyes widen with a sickening realization. Her fingers fall limp at her side. “Trigger. Trigger never happened.”

  Cassius steps closer, careful to keep his distance. “What trigger?”

  Her path wobbles and she lunges at him, grabbing his hand and running her fingers along his palm in circles. He struggles, but her grip is too strong.

  I watch sparks shoot from his hand as she continues to touch his skin. They pop into the air like mini fireworks. Then, after circling his palm half a dozen times, she conjures a tiny flame. It flickers half an inch above his skin. He doesn’t cry out in pain, doesn’t even wince. Instead, his brows furrow and he pushes her away with his free hand. “No, no! You don’t know what you’re doing-”

  She stumbles back but quickly regains her balance. “Only several days old. Power should be strong.” She shakes her head. “Not right.”

  He closes his fist. The flame extinguishes. “You know something about the fire?”

  “Displacement of energy,” she mumbles. “Conduits. Reaction. Not right.”

  “Slow down.” I move to her side. “You’re not making any sense.”

  “Separated,” she continues, paying little attention to me, “separated immediately. No trigger. Everything ruined.”

  “ What’s separated?” Cassius moves in.

  “Thousands of us,” she crumbles to her knees. “Gone. So many. Separated.”

  I grab her arm to prevent her from crashing to the ground. The right side of my body hums with energy. “I think she’s going into shock.”

  She shakes her head, tears streaming down her face. “Failed us. They failed us.”

  Cassius crouches down beside her, swearing. “ Who failed you?”

  Before she can answer, her eyelids flutter and she loses consciousness. I set her on the ground.

  Cassius sighs. “Well, that’s just great, isn’t it? Babbling like a crazy person… ”

  I glance over at him. “I don’t think she’s crazy. She knew about your power.”

  He clenches his fist. “It’s impossible. She drew it out of me without an explosion. She controlled it.”

  I pause, hearing footsteps behind us. Cassius notices it too. He darts up from the ground.

  I stand, just in time for Avery to bound at me, nearly knocking me off my feet. “Oh Jesse, thank god you’re alive!”

  “How’d you get down here?” I struggle for breath through her monster hug.

  Instead of responding, she releases me, and stares into my eyes. Then she kisses me.

  It takes a moment for my mind to register what’s happening. After so much stress, so many missed opportunities, I can’t bring myself to believe that this is how it’s happening. Now.

  Still, I don’t pull back. Her lips tug mine. She draws me forward and it’s like breaking the Pearls all over again. Mass powerful. Buzzing.

  I hug her shoulder, wishing that I’d never have to let go. Wishing we weren’t in the middle of a war zone.

  In that moment, any remaining doubts about Avery shatter inside me. Then she pulls away, eyes wide. “They’re coming. Unified Party ships pulled into the city just as I started running down.”

  Before I can respond, the sky rumbles. The outline of a cruiser cuts through the mist overhead, bathing us in shadow. Then another, from the opposite direction. We’re surrounded.

  “How charming,” a woman’s voice echoes from the alleyway behind Avery. “It’s comforting to see that teenage hormones are alive and well in these trying times.”

  Avery spins around to watch the woman enter the intersection. Her tailored jacket is spotless, like she’s managed to dodge all the dust in the air that’s clogged up the rest of us. Her hair blows softly in the breeze, framing an intense expression of down-turned lips and narrow, mesmerizing eyes. She wears long gloves over porcelain skin and an expensive suit beneath the jacket-completely at odds with her surroundings. I recognize her immediately from pictures at the Academy.

  It’s Madame.

  44

  Madame marches through the intersection, kicking a scrap of metal out of her way as she approaches us. Shadows of cruisers dot the vacant street, growing larger as they find breaks in the rubble to settle down.

  She glares at Avery, hand at her side. “What a terrible disappointment you’ve turned out to be.”

  Avery grips my shoulder. I grab onto her arm, never wanting to let go.

  Madame stops and smiles. She grips a small rectangular control pad. A tiny red dot flashes below a thin antennae. I watch her finger caress the buttons on the front end, then flip a switch at the bottom.

  Suddenly Avery jerks away, cradling her forehead. Her eyes close in pain as she crouches to the ground and bottles up a scream.

  I drop to her side, keeping my eyes on Madame. “What are you doing to her?!?”

  Madame holds up the control pad, smiling. The flashing dot is now a constant light. “Correcting behavior.”

  “You’re killing her!”

  “Again with the adolescent dramatics.” She outstretches her hand and cradles the controller in front of her. “Here. Come and take it from me if you’re so concerned. Be the hero.”

  “No, Jesse.” Avery grips onto my wrist. “It’s a trap.”

  “Preposterous.” Madame moves her thumb along the side of the pad and presses a silver button. Avery’s body falls limp. “Too late. Better be on the ball next time, young man.”

  “No!” I crouch by her side, running my fingers over her cheek. Her eyes are shut-arms lifeless at her side.

  “Relax,” Madame says, “she’s not dead. Yet.”

  I gently set Avery down on the ground, take one last look at her unconscious face, and stand to confront Madame. “If you hurt her… ”

  She laughs. “You’ll do what? Tackle me? Mr. Fisher, I’ve been tracking you since the minute you left the Academy. I could have had you dead a thousand times over by now. There’s a chip in her head capable of disrupting brain patterns. With the press of a button I could reduce her to a vegetable. You will do nothing unless I tell you to.” Her eyes shift to Cassius. He stands behind me, fingers drumming nervously on his thighs. Her voice softens. “Cassius. What a job you’ve done. A test, and you passed it brilliantly.”

  “Why did you send me on this mission?” His voice comes out quiet and meek. “If you knew where Fisher was-”

  “Ah.” She raises a hand to silence him. “Your brother survived the fall from the building in Syracuse because the two of you triggered your abilities. He was bathed in Pearl energy. It protected him. But it’s a process, Cassius. Your bodies needed to adjust in order to accommodate your new abilities. You were both dangerous, but not to each other. Not directly, at least. You were the perfect person for the job.”

  “Wait,” I start, “did you say brother?”

  Her eyebrows raise. “Didn’t you know? Two children without family, drawn together by Pearl energy. Etcetera, etcetera. I thought it was becoming quite obvious.”

  Cassius glances at me, then frowns at the realization. “You… you sent me to kill my own brother?”

  “Not kill,” Madame replies. “ Recruit. I sent you to find your brother and bring him back where he belongs. I couldn’t have done it without you, Cassius.”

  “She’s lying,” I say. “You’re expendable. Just like Avery.”

  She chuckles, voice calm and steady. “Now what would give you that idea? On the contrary, you’re very valuable to me. One half of a very exclusive set.”

  I glance at Cassius. He doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t try to stop her either.

  She steps forward, gripping the controller pad. “The two of you are going to help me save the planet, ensuring the continued strength of the Unified Party.”

  I scoff. “Like I’d ever help the Unified-”

  “Twelve years ago I found you, Cassius.” She ignores me. “Our radar picked up an anomaly over Seattle.
I came to investigate. I didn’t know there was another until I took you back to the Lodge. By then it was too late. Fisher had already been rescued.” She sighs, continuing to step forward. “By Jeremiah Alkine, no less.

  “You were wearing a curious bracelet, Cassius. The rest of your attire was so simple, but the bracelet… I’d never seen anything like it before. Deep and dark and endless. I nearly got lost staring at the seamless material. It was cold to the touch. Didn’t want to part from your arm, either, but I had my methods.”

  I stare at Cassius, watching him squirm as Madame approaches. Like usual, he tries to control his expression. But it’s not working very well. He’s crumbling.

  “It wasn’t from Earth,” she continues. “Neither were you, for that matter. But I didn’t discover that until two nights later, when the bracelet began to glow by my bedside. I watched as text scrolled across the band-illuminated characters unlike any known language. Seconds later, the writing translated itself into English, as if it knew that I was reading.” Her eyes fall on me. “And that night I learned about you, Jesse Fisher.”

  I look to the side, trying to avoid her eyes.

  “For many years I was convinced that you’d been knocked off course, sidestepping Earth altogether. I was relieved. As long as Cassius didn’t develop his powers, our planet would be safe.” She sighs. “And then I got word from Avery. Just fragments of information-strange little orphan child that all the teachers were whispering about-but enough for me to connect the dots. The mystery boy was alive.” She frowns. “He was a Skyshipper.”

  She shrugs. “As it turned out, we’d still dodged a bullet. The Hernandez Treaty kept the two of you separated for a handful of years, but it was bound to happen eventually. I only wish I’d acted sooner.” She pauses. “The rooftop changed everything. Pearls are treacherous now. They are capable of being unlocked. By you. We’re in danger of being overcome by your people.”

  “Our people?” My voice comes out as a whisper.

  “That’s right,” she replies. “Alien. Extraterrestrial. Invader.”