G.U.A.R.D. Book #3: Recusant

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Ally's back! I don't know about you guys, but I missed her. Welcome to Recusant, the third book of the G.U.A.R.D. series. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any critiques, I'm happy to take them. As always, please don't swear or use God's name in vain. Enjoy!

~RobynAster

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    Darkness. Darkness was all I could see. Screeching on both sides. Screeching that sounded like... wind.

I snapped my eyes open, and a scream left my lips. My arms flailed, as if they could save me in some way. As if they could stop my inexplicable freefall. Long, black hair curled around my head, blocking my sight a little, and I struggled to push it away. In the back of my mind, I could vaguely remember crying out the word "knife," but at that moment, I didn't really care.

My voice came out in a breath and high-pitched tone: "Help... someone, help me... please..."

A small, electric current ripped through my body, and I gasped, back straightening. My eyes widened. The air suddenly became warm. Considering wind was still colliding with my back at 60 miles an hour, though, I was freezing. It roared like a chainsaw in my ears.

And yet I barely noticed any of this. What I saw captivated my full attention. From every direction, I was surrounded by white, puffy clouds.

"Hey!"

That was most definitely not my voice. It sounded like it came from somewhere below. I tried to turn around, but as soon as I started, I felt an arm clamp around my back, another slide in the crook of my legs, and a broad chest touching my right side. We tumbled in the air. Explosive pain ripped up my stomach, and I shouted in agony. My eyes squeezed shut.

Another electric shot through my body, and suddenly everything was cold again. The air was thinner. Opening my eyes, I gasped in surprise. The clouds were gone, replaced by the most amazing, yet terrifying view I had ever seen. I fell in a pale blue sky, clear of any condensation, and holding a golden sun in its peak.
Oh my gosh... I thought, staring at everything with unblinking eyes and a gaping mouth.

My rescuer adjusted his grip as we fell. I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to make myself as small as possible. The man shot his legs towards the course we tumbled towards, and suddenly, we were traveling in the opposite direction. Another electric sting, and the clouds reappeared.

The man's back crashed onto a solid floor, and I clutched to him tighter, closing my eyes. My abdomen felt like it was on fire. But we were safe. We were okay. I trembled from the relief of realizing that. I felt my rescuer's chest go up and down. I could hear his heart thump against his chest.

"Danny!" a concerned voice cried out. It had a British accent tinting it.

"I'm fine," a strained voice answered, sounding tinny and a little electronic. It took me a moment to recognize it was my rescuer's.

Slowly, with shaking arms, I set my hands on his chest and pushed myself up. Instantly, the pain in my stomach doubled, and I gave a strangled gasp. My head pounded, and my vision turned fuzzy.

"Good," the same British girl said. Her tone turned exasperated. "Now I can ask what were you thinking? You could have overloaded the boots' main power frame! Do you have any idea how much money, time, and effort was put into this project? Just look at the state they're in. they're smoking!"

With a pained frown, I grasped the side of my head in an attempt to clear everything up. Everything caught up to me then, and I realized something. I had no idea who I was. I didn't remember anything before the moment I fell from the middle of the sky.