He woke up still hurtling through the air, believing he was dreaming of flying again before screaming as he realized falling off the Ark wasn’t just in his head. He was off balance, spinning and turning in every direction in an uncontrolled dive through empty skies, the dark Veil growing ever closer as the Ark above him shrank away steadily, moving on a pre-coordinated path around the scarred earth.
He tried reaching around him, desperately searching for the ripcord on his pack as he hurtled further down. He could feel heat on his body as the cold air rushed past him, friction beginning to set against his clothes.
The first thought he had was that he would end up like the ancient spacefarers when humans were first learning about leaving the world. How one of them had come back down to earth with barely anything to note they were ever there. Just cinders and ash would be all that remained of Ren by the time he hit the ground.
He furiously began searching for the ripcord again, determined today wasn’t the day he was going out. Finally finding the cord dangling free of his chute, he gives it a might pull and prepares for the whiplash of his chute catching air.
It never comes. Nothing deploys as the cord doesn’t pull completely. Something causing a jam in the mechanism, damning Ren to continue his fall.
“No! NONONONO!” Ren was screaming to an empty sky now, approaching the Veil as it came up to meet him, blue lightning forking through the black clouds rolling across the cloud’s upper layers. Ren took a deep breath before falling completely through the pollution, knowing that breathing could spell his end in the Veil.
The world went dark as he was enveloped, dark, stormy clouds beating against him, leaving oily beads on his skin as he passed through the manmade disaster. The permanent cloud cover trapped everything from the surface now, with any dust, smog, smoke, or dirt mixing with the already thriving pollution to hide the sun from those below.
The abyss of the Veil was warm, snapping crackles of lightning all around him. He couldn’t tell which direction he was facing or if he was upright. Clouds and lightning whirled by, he could swear he brushed against something in the darkness, his foot knocking against it in his madcap descent. He tried looking back in what he assumed was the right direction, lightning illuminating a serpentine figure against black clouds. Ren tried to scream as pollution filled his lungs.
He felt suddenly cold again as the Veil gave way to the lower atmosphere air, with the darkness of the surface being an alien world to him, always living his life above . He had only heard stories of life below the Veil, how the people who lived on it were savages and monsters, mutated by years of pollution and chemicals. Now he could see massive oceans below, he couldn’t understand how anyone was still living down here. Falling through the clouded darkness, Ren was pressing for survival, desperately trying to pull the ripcord again and open his chute.
“Open! OPEN DAMMIT!” It was like trying to shout underwater against the rushing wind subduing his frantic screams and pleas.
“Come! On!” Another forceful pull and the chute suddenly deployed, snapping him upright as it caught air. He let himself dangle for a moment, relieved by the slowed descent before starting to desperately scan the horizon line for somewhere solid to land. While he was still far above the surface, he could make out something not too far ahead to his north, lights glowing like a lighthouse between sunless seas.
“Better than landing in the water.” He mumbled, words being swept away by the wind. He pulled one of his cords, tilting the chute toward the small island. Destination set, Ren returned attention to his brace, trying to bring up any kind of GPS data.
“NORA, where am I?” He said, activating the AI assistant. A small map came up on the screen, spinning as it tried to triangulate his position.
“Error.” the screen flashed red as the voice came back, “Signal Data corrupted by Veil interference, please retry in a few minutes.”
“Of course.” Ren groaned, looking at the far off dot of light he wouldn’t reach for another ten minutes, at least. He took a moment to ponder before finally deciding, “NORA, call mom.”
“Calling Mom, one moment please.” the robotic voice came back at him through the earbud that managed to stay in through everything. His headache was going strong now from where it hit the Ark, but he couldn’t take time to worry about that. He was conscious, that’s what mattered. The dial-out sound began.
“Clarence where the hell did you go?” The immediate snap upon answering. Same as it had ever been since he was a kid. The times she was there, at least. “I heard some people shouting at you then it went dead, what happened?”
“I um… I kind of got thrown off the ark.” Ren said, trying to sound nonchalant about it and shrug off his mom’s rage. He heard the rage well up over the rushing winds, waiting for the explosion.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE THROWN OFF THE ARK?” There it was, the screams he had come to know so well. He tuned out, disassociating and focusing on the island ahead, letting his chute take him where he needed to go. Right now though, he was having second thoughts about letting the chute deploy instead of smacking into the ocean hard enough to disintegrate him.
“I literally got thrown off the ark. Some guys in class decided I was their target today, they held me over the rails, and apparently someone decided they couldn’t hold on any longer.” He was rushing everything out now, trying not to let the tears of anger and fear through. He didn’t know what to do. He had never been out of the Strat, much less below the Veil. Every terrifying story of creatures that roamed the endless oceans he had heard as a young kid came rushing back to him, making him shiver in the cold wind that was already cutting him to the bone.
He could hear her breath catch over the line, betraying her cold uncaring exterior for a brief moment before authority returned to her voice.
“Where did you land? I’ll send a drop to pick you up as soon as I can. Are you hurt?” She started to sound a little panicked over the line as she looked up his coordinates on her end. “It’s not showing you? Ren, where are you?”
“Beats the hell out of me.” He replied, giving a small laugh to keep himself together, “I’m floating under the Veil right now and it won’t give me a coordinate. So… not really sure where to go from here. There’s an island ahead though.”
“Listen to me, Clarence. Do not speak to anyone down there, do you hear me?” Her voice was quiet, threatening… and scared? That was new to hear from his mother. “You don’t tell anyone who you are or what you’re doing there. Hide your chute when you land and I’ll track your GPS when it gets a signal.”
“Rather fall in the ocean to be honest…” Ren mumbled, the words being swept away by the wind before she could hear them. The wind covered up everything. He wouldn’t be able to hear her if she hadn’t been talking directly into his ear. “Damn, it’s really dark down here.” he remarked she continued on, not trying to hear anything he said.
“Now once you land, STAY. PUT. I’ll have someone there soon.” She hangs up without a goodbye.
“Well, at least the ride is almost over, I guess.” He said as the island began looming nearer. He could make out a small port on one side, both regular boats and a few smaller airships tied down to floating docks on the dark water.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He scanned the rest of the island, trying to determine the other possible landing points. A small wooded area to the northwest seemed to be his best chance at going unnoticed. He pulled his chute hard, angling down toward the small patch of trees and forest he thought had all been wiped from the surface by flooding.
As he began to dip further, making the move to pull back and slow his descent, the chute was suddenly whipped sideways by engine blast as an airship passed him close enough to taste the exhaust from its port. He saw the rusted silver of the hull fly away, a tattered Jolly Roger flying free from one of the ship's masts.
“Pirates…” Ren had the briefest moment of awe before he realized his chute was twisted, sending him into a freefall once more, “Shit! Shit shit shit!”
He desperately pulled the thick intertwined fibers of the chute cables down, trying his best to untwist everything as his body ragdolled faster down to towering trees, the land beneath their teeming branches a mysterious abyss.
Ren was working as fast as he could, trying to create some kind of drag, anything to slow his fall. His mind flashed back to the safety videos he watched as a kid, showing what would happen to those that stepped on the Ark’s outer deck without any sort of failsafe. It replayed in his mind, showing a watermelon falling from an airship before splatting into the ground, leaving insides in a fine mist everywhere around it.
The chute began to open partially, making Ren feel even the slightest decrease of speed as the ground continued rapidly approaching. He furiously kept going, letting the open part of the chute guide where he should work next.
“Yes!” He shouted as it finally gave, unfurling to full sail before Ren began to hit branches, screaming in pain as each one broke his fall while managing to not break him.
He saw the ground come up to meet him at full before he bounced back up, suspended by his chute stuck in branches. He had broken enough of them to slow him down, and now one of the large lower ones held him up, swinging. He took a moment to breathe in relief before realizing he was in unknown territory.
Looking up at the chute, it wasn’t going to be easy to get down. He was about eight feet above the ground, slowly spinning as the lines twisted and untwisted above him. He tried pushing the retract button on his chute, but the mechanism simply whirred before giving a loud error beep. Trying to scoot the line forward down the branch was a loss too, he was going to have to cut it. He reached into the small zip pack in his chute bag, grabbing a basic folding knife everyone was given as a survival kit. He struggled to pull it open for the first time, trying to grab the knife blade with shaking fingers and extend it out. Twelve years he had this chute and he had only used a bandage out of it almost eight years ago. Even then it was to tape a book together so he could finish reading it.
It finally unfolded, a dull blade barely reflecting in the darkness of the night. He began sawing at the tether right above him, holding the rope above where he was desperately trying to cut. The knife was dull though, and he had to switch arms and keep at it for a few minutes before finally hearing the tether snap, making his stomach jump into his throat before hitting the ground hard, forcing the air from his lungs as he laid there, knife still in hand.
“Solid ground.” He said to himself, looking up at the towering trees above him. He had only ever seen trees in the Arks, through the various parks littered around the more upscale ones where they had grown from vaulted seeds before the Veil’s time. Now, these trees looked like giants in comparison, almost like they could reach up and pierce the Veil above them, reclaiming their own earth. These were different though, changed after centuries without true sunlight. As Ren’s eyes adjusted he noticed small lights floating around him, darting in and out of the dark trees under the flashing lightning of the Veil.
CRUNCH!
Something nearby made a noise, making him wince as he jumped to his feet in surprise. Now that he had a second to rest the aches had set in. His head throbbed, neck stiffening as he looked to the direction of it, seeing nothing in the darkness of the woods.
“Anyone there?” His voice shook. Maybe all the adrenaline of the last hour was finally wearing off. He did feel tired, and hungry, now that he thought about it. He lifted his arm to see NORA’s screen, only to find it had been cracked at some point in his crash through the trees.
He sighed and took the brace off his arm, throwing it off under where his chute was hanging. He tried stretching, looking in his pack again for the small light in his kit and desperately hoping the battery wasn’t completely drained. He noticed the small solar charging panel on the light handle, laughing at the irony of a solar charged device in a sunless world.
A sharp cry cut the quiet, immediately making Ren turn toward it. He still didn’t see anyone, but knew the cry didn’t sound human. It echoed again through the still air, this time letting him pinpoint. Slowly, he skirted around the large tree he had landed on, shining his light around before eventually seeing a small bird trying to walk away and crying in pain on the ground.
It’s right wing was bent awkwardly, almost backwards. The piercing eyes caught sight of Ren, retracting as they did. The bird screeched, raising a talon and showing its sharp beak. Ren raised his hands, moving toward the bird slowly and carefully as he did. trying not to shine the light directly in its eyes and instead changing from the spotlight option to the lantern one. Light flooded the area around them as he sat it down, raising empty palms back to the bird.
“Hey, all good.” He whispered, still holding his empty hands out. It was still wary, keeping the one foot lifted and showing the talons that could easily tear Ren’s skin open. It stopped moving backward though, so Ren pressed on. He reached a hand out when he was close enough, moving toward the injured wing. “Let me see what I can do.”
It squawked and nipped at him at first, before making a lower noise as if to warn him. He inched closer, looking the bird in the eyes as he did as if to communicate the message that he only wanted to help.
The bird must have sensed no ill intent from him, lowering the leg but still keeping a keen eye on Ren as he inspected the wing. He began to run his hand along it, trying to find a break but feeling none. As he reached the joint between wing and body, he noticed it wasn’t in place. The bird pecked him, not drawing blood but warning him that it hurt.
“I know. It’s going to hurt a little, but bear with me.” He put one hand on the birds back while holding onto the wind, quickly forcing it back into the socket and hearing a pained squawk of surprise from the bird as it hopped away angry. It began to come at him, raising both wings in preperation to fly forward before realizing that both wings were working again.
The bird took notice, quickly hopping away from Ren and stretching its wings to their full span, maybe three or four feet if Ren was right. The golden feathers made them look like bright fire in the light before him. It flapped them quickly, gaining a little altitude and gliding low before deciding it was fine and landing next to Ren once more.
“Better?” He asked the bird, admiring its majesty in the forest. He had only heard about surface animals in passing studies, seeing pictures here and there. The photos were all out of date though, and nothing that could have prepared him for seeing something like this in real life. Most of the studies available he had read said much of the wildlife on earth had died during the massive floods, so this one must have been some strange anomaly.
The bird hopped over to Ren, extending another wing as if to say thanks and tilting its head before taking off to roost in a tree, still studying him from above.
“Well, glad I could help.” He felt like an idiot for talking to the bird, but it was better than the dead silence of the forest. He began to turn and walk away, hoping he was going toward the city since he couldn’t see lights through all the trees when the bird let out a loud cry, as if to stop him. He turned, “What?”
The bird was still looking at him, as if waiting for him to move, he again turned and began walking away. It let out another loud cry and he heard the ruffle of feathers before feeling a breeze overhead. It settled in on the ground in front of him, walking forward and pecking at his feet.
“Ow, shit. Okay I’m sorry. What do you want?” He was doing a dance to try and avoid the pecking, but it still got some good shots in.
The bird began hopping toward where it was in the trees, looking back at Ren expectantly when he didn’t move. It let out another cry, impatient this time.
“You want to show me something?” Ren asked, following as it kept moving through the woods. Even on foot it was fast, much faster than Ren could move with his now aching body. He tried to keep up but found himself struggling and stumbling as he went.
The bird slowed its pace slightly, seemingly in tune with Ren’s feelings. He kept following until they reached the edge of the forest, opening up to the port Ren had seen from the air. People teemed and bustled among the buildings and docs, sparks flying as some ships underwent repairs. A dull roar came from the town’s direction, occasionally punctuated by a loud yell or the sound of a weapon firing. Ren couldn’t help but flinch at those, only ever hearing the sound of gunfire from old movies the ark would occasionally show.
“Hey, thanks.” He turned to the bird, now standing next to him on the small hill overlooking the port. A massive sign jutting over everything informed travelers by air and sea where they were. Smokey Mountain Commercial Port was spelled in massive letters, with smaller text underneath denoting it was the only port around for over 800 kilometers.
Ren looked at the bird, noting its sharp eyes studying him again. “Be careful, try not to dislocate that again.”
He started to walk away when the bird squawked, flying over and landing on Ren’s shoulder. He winced as the sharp talons dug in, drawing in a sharp breath. The bird relaxed the grip, balancing on Ren’s shoulder without hurting him.
“Woah, don’t think you can go with me.” He laughed a little at the birds insistence as it started to nuzzle against his face. “Seriously, I don’t even know what’s going to happen to me. I just need to find somewhere to wait for a while.”
It squawked again, flapping a wing as if to smack him in the head with it. He laughed, feeling a little less along on the strange island finally.
“Well, not like I can fight you over it. Let’s go, then.” He said, beginning to move forward again.
The bird let out a cry, sounding joyful if Ren could place it right. It lifted off from his shoulder again and circled in the air, Ren watching in awe as it finally had unrestricted flight and could truly spread it’s gold flecked wings, almost blending into the Veil’s lightning above as it reflected off the dark clouds. It landed back after a couple of circles beside Ren, hopping along as the two walked toward port.
“So, I’m Ren. Do you have a name?” Only a blank stare in response. “You’re a bird. Of course you don’t have a name. Let’s see… are you a boy? Or a girl? How about Hank?”
The bird stopped where it was, Ren stopping with it. It studied him before pecking at his foot.
“Okay, not Hank. Sounds more like a pigeon name anyway…” He looked back, noting the sharp talons and beak again. He kept thinking about how the golden wings looked like they were leaving flares behind. “Hmm…”
They kept walking along, the bird occasionally pecking at the ground they pass for bugs and morsels, managing to snatch up a few here and there before taking off again, scanning the ground for anything bigger it could eat. Drifting again like it was one with the air it glided on. Suddenly picking up on something, it dived toward the ground at terrifying speed, making Ren gasp as it pulled up last second clutching a small rodent.
It circled back, landing beside him and setting down the rodent, bleeding from the talons. It devoured the small creature in nearly a whole bite, making Ren pull back and grimace.
“Disgusting.” He said, taking his mind off of it thinking about names again. A name from an old game he had played on the Ark emulators kept slipping in and out of his mind, but he wasn’t sure. Turning to the bird, now wiping it’s talons on the ground to clean them, he offered a new suggestion. “How about Aeris?”
It squawked again, a happy one. They continued on, the broken bird and fallen boy entering a new world of the unknown for both of them.