Cataclysm

The Meeting

The aircraft soars through the clouds and over fields. I keep my eyes locked on the parting clouds until Brenan's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"We are nearing Dumani." He says with a warm smile.

"I have never seen the city in person, but I have heard countless stories of how beautiful it is."

"It's nothing special, but I guess to a girl who has lived her whole life in a small town, it will be extravagant." He says before pointing ahead. "Look, you can see it from here."

I push myself to the edge of my seat and squint at the passing clouds. Then it becomes visible and I feel my mouth drop open in amazement. A mammoth city sits beside an ocean and giant skyscrapers reach up and touch the clouds. The sun shines over the city and casts all the metal buildings in a reflecting sheen. I can see a calming beach placed on the side of the city with a vast ocean lapping at the sands. Everything is just as I had imagined. It is beautiful and the city seems huge from up here. The tall buildings must house hundreds of people. The streets must be constantly full. Everything has to be compact down there. How do they fit the population?

"We can land in the landing dock so I can have a look at my fried engine." He says while pressing more buttons on the panel and leading the airship downwards.

I keep watching through the window without blinking and Brenan laughs at my astonishment. I ignore him and continue watching in awe as he flies the craft smoothly to the outskirts of the city. I open my mouth to ask where we were going, but I notice a giant building with a gapping door in the distance. Brenan presses more buttons and slows the airship into a landing simulation. I watch in fear as the doors close slowly behind us when we enter the building, but Brenan looks to me with a casual straight face.

"Come on." He says while waving his hand and I hesitantly follow him down the ramp and out of the airship.

"Good to see you returning home, Brenan." I watch as Brenan walks up and shakes hands with an older looking man. The man must be patrolling the landing dock.

"Good to see you too, Fallon."

"Who is this lovely lady?" The seemingly handsome man asks while turning his ice blue eyes to me.

"This is my friend, Nora."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." The blue eyed man says while taking my hand in his and kissing my knuckles. "Call me Fallon."

"It's nice to meet you." I say in an attempt not to blush at the cute man's gesture.

He looks to be in his early twenties and has bushy blonde hair that sweeps across his forehead. He is wearing a loose jacket that is unzipped to show off his dark red undershirt. His smile is next to perfect and fits the form his thin lips take when he sheds his pearly white teeth.

"Where did you meet her?" He asks and I can see Brenan tensing with the question.

"We met at his lookout post. I was passing through and decided to talk to him. He offered to take me and show me the city, so here we are." I explain while keeping my eyes on Brenan to make sure that the explanation is believable.

"Yes, that's exactly how we met." He quickly chimes in.

"Well, you better report to Lieutenant Amadron. You weren't supposed to return without Commander Hope." Fallon says.

"The other soldiers are working on his capture as we speak. I was dismissed from duties to check in on Dumani, so I decided to take Nora with me."