[ featured on @beyondsol and @undiscoveredbooks, a youngblood awards 2018 winner ]
In a world divided in two and dominated by lies and truths beyond one's imagination, will peace ever prevail?
The impending war between Solars and Darks threatens the...
The screen along the dashboard allows me to delineate the area of the fracture- a line that tears the screen in half pinpoints its exact location. As I estimate what the coordinates of an area a few feet from the fracture will be, anxiety begins to devour me as I fight the looming idea of all the life being sucked out of my body as the ship tumbles towards the chasm.
The idea terrifies me and I keep my fingers to the dashboard, inserting the final coordinates into a field box. The dashboard chimes to indicate that it has detected the location I require it to journey to. As the ship hovers, a low grumble rumble through its body, scaring me. If it weren't for the fact that I actually had to drive this thing to the ground, I would have demanded for an immediate refund.
Overhead, the silver of colours that burst along the seams of the horizon start to quiver as darkness eclipses them. The glass window allows a smooth glaze of reflective surface to bounce off and the view is stunning. Specks of stars light the sky on fire, their brilliant emission of light flaring along the quilt of the Galaxy. From overhead, the view of the ship gliding along the streamlined marking between the Solar and Dark systems is crystal. It transform my lungs into a vacuum, sucking all air out of it. Even if I die in the crash, it wouldn't be a bad last view.
Knowing that I would have to get away from the authorities with enough time to spare and reach the border of the Solar System, I allow the ship to sail a few miles down from the starting point to create distance between the site and me. A soft ding resonates in the compound, earning a groan of frustration from me.
It's time to crash the ship. Slipping the seatbelt off my waist, I pad to the back of the battleship where tanks of dark energy that kept the ship running were stored. Mustering every ounce of courage from every atom in my body, I peeled the door open and stepped in. The room is dark and musty, filled with a foul smell. Multiple tanks of solar energy are stashed in the corner of the room with a few tanks stacked on top of each other, feeding into the pipeline which protruded out of the ship and allowed it to run.
Quickly snatching the tanks out of their piled up formation as to deter the deluge of regret that I am certain will soon haunt me, I swiftly drain the liquefied dark energy out of them until I am down to the last tank- the tank that is keeping the entire ship in the sir right now.
My wobbly fingers try to smooth out the wrinkles on my shirt, pat my hair down- do anything to hinder the process of emptying the last tank. Even as I try to drag out executing the ineluctable action, I still hear Keith's words replaying in my head, still see Kirk and Ellie tied to the chairs, trapped in a room, waiting for death to be delivered to them.
Shaking hard, I force my hands to unclasp the lid on the last tank as I tilt the flask downwards, siphoning the dark energy onto the floor. The engine starts to choke and sputter, gasping for the rserves of dark energy as I throw the empty tank to the ground and run back to the front as fast as I can. My feet are propelled forward from the yearn to live and I leap back into my seat, jerking the skinny strap tight along my waist, praying for the stars to at least hear my calls.
The ship starts to go down.
A scream bleeds through my throat, the scraping motion harsh against my airways and I grab the sides of my seat, fingers digging along the threaded strings that dot the material. The stars that previously stippled the sky now become a blur as the ship plummets into a descend where air resistance and gravity battle heavily, the concentrated efforts from both combatants causing the ship to be tossed in the air.
As the ship continues to plunge, my fingers digs into underneath the seat, praying that the members on the team for constructing the battleships were at least smart enough to keep a parachute hidden.
There! My fingers come into contact with a soft, thick material and I quickly bind the straps along my shoulders, leap onto the dashboard with my body tucked in and send my fist spinning through the glass which smashes upon impact.
Ignoring the shards of glass that scatter along the dashboard and those the sharp edges that jut out, I squeeze my body through the gap I have created and leap off the ship. My fingers tug hard against the ripcord, releasing the pins within the cone. A large blanket of blue opens up above me as my descend is slowed and the canopy allows my body to dip towards the ground gently.
The breeze caresses my face as a gentle whoosh sings in my ears. Angling my body towards the border, I watch as the ship rushes towards the ground and makes contact with Atlanta's surface. The sound of the metal being torn apart is still defeaning from such a height and I watch as orange flames begin to ripple along the surface.
The ship is engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds.
When my feet finally touch the ground, I briskly detach the harness and fold the canopy up, binding the material with the straps. After I pull the cords into a knot, I toss the material into the chasm and watch as it hurtles down the never ending darkness.
Deciding that I don't have another moment to spare, I break into a run. Keith might think that I am at a disadvantage because I don't have the operation plans but he doesn't know what I do have- knowledge of where the Resistance HeadQuarters are and how to get to there from the Plaza.
Word Count: 1031 Words
A/N: LOL, I keep forgetting to put up my new ranks up in the media section. Not to boast but to show myself how much I have progressed (:
Feedback is strongly encouraged and highly appreciated!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
