Prologue

“Charles I’m coming! Goddamit, why are there so many of them?!” static ripped through the message that i heard shouted in my ear over the ever-present howling of rushing air that surrounded me. I looked up through my endless spirals and thrashing body parts to see an angel soaring down from the heavens to end me. Not one of light though, one of darkness, a true angel of death.

And as I fell at an amazing speed through the air, my body stained with scarlet liquid and riddled with cuts, I couldn’t stop myself thinking that no matter how cool flying was, falling would always suck.

Chapter one

18 hours earlier

I opened my mouth, breathing in the cool night air and letting it tickle the insides of my lungs. In front of me lay the busiest street in the town of Claywood, illuminated by hundreds of lights. Things on the ground don’t normally interest me, but from my nineteen-year-old eyes and the viewpoint of a small rooftop it looked beautiful.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea.” The voice of Hanzo Miyami came from behind me. Short with black hair, Hanzo was. I slowly turned to see him standing next to a figure that was surrounded by a cloud of smoke.

“Stop being such a girl about this Hanzo, it’s gonna be freaking awesome.”  Will Davis declared after taking a lit cigarette from his lips.

Will towered over Hanzo and his spiked up navy blue hair only served to increase his height. He looked and acted like a typical punk, and that wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t profess to hate all punks.

“I mean it doesn’t even look like Scott’s coming anyway.” Hanzo continued ignoring Will’s insult.

“If Scott doesn’t show up then it’s off.” I said in an attempt to stop the debate. A growl tore free from Will’s throat before he spoke.

“That bastard better show up soon.”

Right on cue, a series of multicolored balls of energy shot into the air and exploded sending what looked like fragments of a rainbow down over our heads. I instantly found myself mouthing one word,wow.

I knew only one guy who had the control and the balls to create such an extravagant picture in the black canvas above me. After all SkyWalkers weren’t just good for flying,

“What bastard?” A voice came from behind us, prompting three simultaneous 180° spins. Scott Quill floated in midair, his fashionably disheveled blond hair unaffected by any flying he had done to get here. Scott spread his arms majestically as he glided down toward the rooftop.

“Show off!” Will shouted, I couldn’t help but agree with him. He did piss me off but at moments like this I just couldn’t stay mad at him. Skywalkers made for a smooth landing but this was just plain ridiculous. It wasn’t surprising though, Scott had always been the best flier.

“Don’t be jealous Will, it’s unbecoming. So, did you guys like it,” he gestured upwards at his handiwork before continuing “oh and don’t worry guys I brought masks, see as always I’m thinking one step ahead.” A theatric brandishing of four ski masks followed the shameless tooting of his own horn. He pulled one over his head before passing the rest out. Will grabbed one before Hanzo started to speak.

“Come on, masks! Guys seriously, if we get caught it’s gonna be bad. I really don’t think we should do this.” Everyone stopped, killing their motions before staring at me. At times like these, I’m the deciding vote and it should suck, but I’ve gotten used to it. I sighed before speaking.

“I kind of agree with Hanzo, if we get caught this will be bad,” The life seemed to go out of Scott and Will like air leaving a balloon, whilst a smile began to form on Hanzo’s face. “But tomorrow is our final exam, and I think we should do something to commemorate this, so I’m in.” as I finished my sentence I guiltily took a mask from Scott knowing that I had sealed Hanzo’s fate.

“You guys are gonna keep dragging me into stuff right till the end, aren’t you?” Hanzo muttered letting his head slump down, before reluctantly taking a mask of his own.

“Okay boys lets fly, Charlie if you would.” A gesture towards the edge of the rooftop followed those words, and within seconds, I found myself on a slow march in that direction, as my heart took on a machine gun like rhythm.

“Follow me.” I whispered, my words just about audible, as I let my body tip forward, off the concrete and into the night.

The race had begun.

A rounded metal plate ran down the length of my spine, and as I fell a series of electronic devices located within it activated at my will, taking energy from me and doubling it a hundred times before releasing it in a soundless process that forced by body to defy the laws of gravity, it forced me to fly.

I surged forward, head first and just above the ground. Taking the lead in a contest had never looked so cool. The crowd in front of me scattered to a chorus of yelps and screams, and only impulsive sways at breakneck speed kept me from painfully crashing, I was living an adrenaline junkies dream.

Without warning Scott drifted past me, his movements deft and precise as he swept through the street, extending the distance between him and me without even trying, the Bastard. I could feel Hanzo right on my tail and knew that the ever-sluggish Will wouldn’t be far behind him, I had nothing to fear from them, so why not do it? Why not push on? Why not try and win this thing? All I had to do was beat Scott.

Ignoring how hard my task was, I pushed myself harder than ever, spinning away from every potential collision one second slower than I would have usually done. My adrenaline levels hit an all-time high as I giddily thought to myself,I’m gonna die here.But I somehow kept it together and the seemingly never-ending distance between us began to fall apart. The prospect of hurting myself became more real with each level of exhilarating speed that I breached, but the smile etched onto my face did not fade, this was way too fun.

My arm stretched out in front of me, he was that close. And in a few seconds I would be able touch him. As the people and buildings that surrounded us blurred at a faster rate, time still seemed to slow.Just a little bit more,I thought as my whole body strained towards him. But I would never pass Scott, my fate laid elsewhere.

I could see something in the corner of my eye, something red lay just within the realm of my vision. My head whipped around to see strands of long scarlet hair disappearing into an alleyway just to the right of me, and then I realized the truth, that maybe we weren’t the only people flying out there tonight.

Curious thoughts headed by the words “what” and “why” started breeding at rabbit like speed inside my mind. Suddenly continuing this race was out of the question for me, I had to know what was going on here. I swerved into the alleyway and was halfway down it before I realized that this just might be trouble. Not everyone who could fly was one of the good guys.

A flick switched off in my brain, and once again, I was upright and a slave to gravity. A turn lay in front of me, and then my heart speed up as liquid began to coat my palms.What the hell was I doing here?I thought, but I had started this, so I had to go through with it. This was the moment of truth.

A weak sounding “Ha!” came from my mouth as I leapt around the corner, realizing far too late that in my current pose, a little girl selling cookies would probably be more intimidating than me. So my overactive imagination was wrong again. Instead of the assortment of huge men with guns, only a crimson haired girl was waiting around the corner for me.

“It took you long enough.” She said.

The urge to facepalm hit me as I realized what a messed up first impression I had given, but forget that, I came here for a reason, it was time to interrogate. “Who are you?” I shot off, my composure regained. “You’re not a bad flier you know.” She said as if I had never spoken, just before she began to turn and walk away from me. “Thanks.” I said warily as I began to follow her, and understand that I probably wouldn’t be the one directing this conversation.

“Don’t thank me; I didn’t say you were good.”Ouch, I involuntary winced at her cutting remark. A dead end lay out in front of me, and she had reached it she put the palms of her hands to the red brick before spinning around and speaking. “Let’s fly for a while.” She said before she started to float upwards, without waiting for my reply.

My feet remained firmed planted to the ground in a silent protest, my old man always told me to be nice to girls but this one was really pushing it. “What? Aren’t you coming?” she said as she turned around, noticing my rebellion. “Why should i?” I retorted, but she seemed to have an answer for everything “What do you have to lose?” she sighed before continuing “I don’t care, come if you want.” She spun back around before levitating skywards.

Damn, I hesitated for a second torn between two minds, between two words, between one that I knew and something else…her. I made my choice. “Wait up!” I shouted before speedily zipping up to her level. We wordlessly soared skywards, above the people, above the noise, above the city, to view that only gods occupy.

The Meldrum was made out of a council of six members, three of them were elected civilians and the other three were the three admirals that ruled the Military. And Claywood was the pinnacle of what the Meldrum had given to us. It had no slums, no crappy neighborhoods and a nonexistent crime rate.  As I looked at the uncountable cobbled streets that coiled like snakes around the white buildings below me, I could only think of two words.Pure perfection, I loved this place.

“You’re on the SkyWalker Program, right?” her words brought me back from within the corridors of my mind. “A flyboy, right?” she continued as a wry smile formed on her face. It was at that time that I remembered something that Scott had once said to me.Dude I just realized something. I’m actually the most awesome guy you know. Damn, wrong memory, I think it went a little something like this.

You know how lucky we are to be members of the program, almost every girl is looking for a flyboy these days. Seriously dude, a couple of days ago a girl made out with me not just because I’m totally charming and handsome. No, it was just because I’m a genuine flyboy.I remember then calling him an idiot and threatening to punch him in the face, but at this moment, those words came back to me. And I couldn’t help myself from thinking, what if he was right.

My heart took on an uncontrollable machine gun like rhythm as that thought struck me. I mean she was good looking and all but she did seem to hate my guts, and that was a definite negative. Wait, what if it was all an act? Crap, how long had I been thinking? It was time to answer. “Yeah, I am on the program. Why?” I said right on cue.

“Well the thing is…” she started as I flew in closer, utilizing all of my self-control in an attempt to stop myself from begging her to continue. “The thing is that you’re going to die tomorrow at your final SkyWalker exam.”

My mouth opened and closed goldfish style, whilst my once rapid heartbeat slowed to a crawl. “w-what do you mean?” the words finally stumbled clear of my lips.

“Geez, do I have to spell it out to you? If you go tomorrow, you’ll leave in a body bag.”

The inside of my mouth was suddenly stone dry but I forced myself to speak. “I know you’re not on the program like me, so how’d you get a SkyWalker?”

“Thereareother ways you know.”

“Yeah but none of them happen to be legal.” The words came out dripping with unfamiliar sarcasm that I couldn’t explain.

“Whatever, I just wouldn’t go if I were you.”

I hesitated before I spoke, dodging the issue once more. “Why are you telling me this?”

Dead silence ruled over us for a couple of seconds before she sighed and began to speak“I guess I’m just tired of watching guys like you die.”

My jaw involuntarily clenched, while my eyes were fixated downwards without really seeing anything.

“Whatever, do what you want. At least I tried this time.” I knew she was close but right now, she sounded so far away. It felt like a black hole had made my stomach its home. There I was, lost until I saw it, lost until I saw what I had to do.

I steadied myself and then lunged arms flailing at the scarlet haired girl, but my arms only grasped at air that had taken up residence where I thought she was. Damn, I cursed. Just when I gave up hope of finding her, a familiar voice let me know that I wasn’t alone. “What the hell was that Charlie?” I spun around on my heels to find a disapproving frown on her face. I pushed questioning thoughts of how she got there out of my brain, and I began to explain.

“I’m sorry but I can’t let you leave here, I need to figure this out and I’m only gonna be able to do that if you’re there. i need to take you in.” I said my voice clear with conviction. This was the only way I could do it. The only way I could figure out what the hell was going on here.

“I don’t care, try that again and-” she didn’t even get a chance to finish before I flung myself at the finger wagging figure in front of me. But once again she had disappeared into the night, and this time I knew that she wouldn’t be coming back.

And as I stood over the city alone and confused, my mind was dominated by one thought.You’re such an idiot Charlie, such an idiot. 

 

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