A Wider Sky Ch. 02

A Wider Sky:Beyond Eclipse Series

by Talyis Bagley Ellison

Copyright first edition 2013, 2015

Chapter 2

My mouth was filled with cotton from the arid air. My eyes burned from the harsh sunlight that bounced brightly off the unnatural sleek earth. Even though there was nothing as far as my eyes could see in front of me and behind be and to my right and left I felt trapped and repeatedly attempted to swallow but my parched tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I must have been walking for almost two hours towards an endless horizon. All I can see was flat, unnatural stone ground so smooth like gold. My eyes were blurry as the heat pelted me with its sizzling rays. I couldn't see anything but blue sky touch the sad ground as if mother earth, nature, were weeping at its own destruction. Vaporization or whatever unnatural thing that had occurred to create so a vast wasteland.

I finally saw was seemed light flashing lights in the distance that were quickly approaching, then I realized the flashing lights were actually a reflection of the sun bouncing of face visors of what appeared to be a battalion of armed officers charging towards me.

Maybe my mom was right, they only brought me here to destroy me. I was too smart for my own good. Panic drowned my face with sweat as I ran in a desperate circle. I was miles away from home and there was nothing but endless slab plain with no where to hide.

The officers reached me in a heartbeat, screaming and pointing their weapons-I just coward to the ground into a tight ball ducking me head between my wobbly knees. I really didn't expect to receive a warm welcome, but being charged at with weapons in the middle of a vast emptiness of what was left of the world was far from what I could have guessed.

Their weapons were trained on me. I further prostrated myself, as if to bury my face first into the gold-orange shell of earth, my hands in surrender stretching awkwardly behind me. Two officers yanked my large cumbersome bag from my body and started rummaging through it. My things fell to the ground hard things bouncing off the ground with a metallic sound, others rolled away which revealed what seemed like an endless slant of the earth. Is it possible that the earth was no longer round but all that was left were slanted planes, I thought?

A picture of my mother fell from my bag a small breeze picked it up into the air and started to grow stronger with strength. I had to chase after it, I set out to run after it but a heavy boot landed on my back pushing me back into the ground. I had been brave the entire day, but watch as my mother's picture became weightless and flipped and curled in the air, traveling further and further away from me, that I finally released tears and sobbed.

It may have been the fact that my body wracked with tears caused me not to hear a transportation vehicle or it was the fact that the vehicle was so advance it didn't have a loud combustible engine that gobbled up the world's resources.

Two officers grabbed my arms to haul me to my feet, I saw in the distance the picture still floating carefree like a dancer in the air. I know I promised my mom that I would keep a low profile and hide my talents but I didn't want to lose what I had left of my mother, either.

I was quick, relieved that I was able to go unnoticed as the picture shot quickly across the plain and plastered itself to my bag, like a punishing gale of wind was pushing it against my bag. I was escorted into the hovering vehicle surrounded by my six captors and my bag which was dropped in the middle of were we stood as the craft took off.

No one said anything to me, they just stood circling my duffle bag stoically much like I would think caveman did when they first discovered fire. I just reminded myself of my mom's advice to just be as peaceful as possible, don't give them any reason to think I should be an antagonist.

With a large sigh that was as loud as a stone dropping in an empty hallow quarry, one of the officers took off his visor helmet revealing the kind of creatures they were underneath the protective gear.

I held my breath and willed my eyes to not close tightly when my eyes first came in contact of flesh of the officer as if he was removing the offending helmet in slow motion. First neck, then the top of his head crowned with a sweaty mop of rusty red hair and then a sweaty human looking face. I shook my head slightly baffled how human They looked and I think they all seemed to realize what I had feared because a rondo of chuckles skipped over me and circled around my duffle bag.

One by one all of the officers removed their helmets revealing sweaty, blotchy with fatigue faces that were not unusual human faces.

"We are human, Kiowa Walker." The red headed officer said. I crossed my arms protectively across my chest to ease my quivering stomach sparking a lighter of anxiety. I didn't understand why humans were on this side of the realm and why did they attack me as if I were a terrorist.

"What do you know about the war Kiowa Walker?"

I pressed my lips into a tight line knowing better than to tell them what I knew. I knew many versions the school version which I knew was filled with propaganda, my mom's version which was what she knew from what my father had told her and what she suspected the military was hiding before and after my father's death and then there was the version of history that was filled with uneasy truths and possible lies but it was what most in the colonies understood - all humans were exterminated or allowed to live as refugees on their own planet.

"Some humans and Y'vroi are able to happily coexist. It was your kind that revolted against the Y'vroi but perhaps you can join and be one of us."

My mouth dropped in surprise, this is something I had never heard before: humans and Y'vroi living together on this side of the realm. My stomach turned flips, maybe because of surprise but possibly because I had eaten since my mother's meager farewell dinner the night before.

"How?" was all I could muster.

The officer next to me snapped his teeth with his tongue and his lips curled into a wolfish smile showing off his perfect row of white teeth. He had to have been in his mid forties which meant he was my age when everything had changed.

"Sweetheart, it's simple. We decided to join not revolt. Are you planning on revolting?" Perfect Teeth said and I shook my head emphatically.

"Good, then you will be fine." Perfect Teeth leaned back against the wall of the quiet craft and the others followed suit, relaxing their stance.

I thought it would be the best opportunity to pluck my mother's picture and tuck it into my jean jacket for safe keeping in case I was ambushed again and my duffle rummage through for god knows what signs of revolt.

"Let me see," Perfect Teeth said in more than a command than a request, his black glove hand reaching out towards me as I crouched down near my bag. I didnt know what to do but comply. "I handed my mother's photo over and he seemed to inspect it for a while, his brilliant blue eyes taking her beauty as if to admire her or to catalogue her as a possible enemy. It made me uneasy. He then simply handed her picture back.

"What did she do before Eclipse."

I stood up and unconsciously brushed my jeans out of nervousness, "She was a lawyer."

Perfect Teeth arched an eyebrow of speculation, "And she revolted?"

"I wasnt born yet."

"I know. Well that is too bad. I am sure you had a hard life. Well, if you are accepted here you will not have to return to the colony ever. You have pulled yourself up from your bootstraps my dear, Kiowa."

I'd hardly call it pulling myself up from my bootstraps, I was lucky to have been born with a high IQ but I wasn't going to tell him that, "May I ask what did you do before Eclipse?"

"I was an investment broker for my father's Fortune 500 Firm."

"Fortune 500?"

He chuckled, "Yes, I guess they don't teach you much about before Eclipse history in the colony ghettos, especially fields such as mine."

"And now you are an officer?" I asked and I saw him stiffen slightly, his eyes seemed to burn into me, I had said the wrong thing. My heart began to pound hard against my ribs nearly bursting them.

Perfect Teeth cracked his neck to the side and chuckled pushing whatever dark thought aside that I had spark. "It was my father's work. I never liked it anyways."

And with that, I decided to keep quiet the rest of the trip. But it was odd that these accepted humans who had lives before were still subjected to work assignment. Something was off.

*****

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your comments on chapter 1. I love your feedback. Next up what will happen to Kiowa next? Will she actually attend a Y'vori university or are there more nefarious plans for having her leave her home.

Cheers and Happy Reading,

Talyis