Sky Forever

Chapter 22: Marching at Dawn

It was 4:50 AM. In ten minutes, the march would begin. The sun wasn't even up yet and the sky was a weird purple colour. But the rain had stopped.

Commander Woodlock had suggested that only one of us stay on the ship, while the rest of us walk with the army. The reason being if the ship was spotted and got shot down then we wouldn't all be in the crash. A morbid yet understandable reason. We nominated Ryder to stay on, as he was the pilot. He reluctantly agreed.

I got dressed and met everyone in the control room.

"Alright, guys." Amber said, "This is it."

"Enjoy your march." Ryder said.

Lonely Soul had decided to stay on the ship to keep Ryder company. The army didn't know about him and, even if the ship did go down, it wouldn't matter because...well, he's a ghost.

Amber, Janey and I all exited the ship and joined the army assembling themselves into rows. Woodlock spotted us and came over.

"Morning, comrades." He boomed, cheerfully.

"Someone's in a good mood." Amber said.

"War is what I was born for." He replied, "And I love the smell of military action in the morning."

"I'm not sure this counts as morning yet." I muttered, looking up at the dark sky.

Woodlock chose to ignore my comment, and, instead, beckoned us over to the lines of soldiers.

"You three will join the back of this row." He ordered, "Try to keep up."

We stood where he told us, Janey, then Amber, then me at the back. Janey's colossal figure stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the uniformed men. I noticed every soldier was holding a sword and they all had bows and quivers of arrows on their backs. Suddenly, Woodlock walked back over to us with two more soldiers, one of which was carrying a box.

“Choose your weapons.” He said.

The soldier put the box down and opened it. Inside was an array of daggers, swords and bows. I instantly went for the bow and arrows. It was the only weapon I could use properly. As a child, my father had taught me archery.

Amber grabbed a sword and Janey grabbed a big club. Amber had also brought her diamond dagger along, the one she used to free me from the Beehive.

“Good choices.” Woodlock said, stroking his moustache.

He led the two soldiers back to their line and headed for the front of the assembly.

"It is time!" He boomed, "We must now march for the City of Ashes and Gold!"

He turned to face the front and started walking. Everyone followed. There was a rumble of engines behind us as Ryder took off in the System Uncontrollable.

"This is exciting!" I heard Amber say from in front of me.

We all trooped for about an hour across the Ash Plains before the sun started to rise; an orange smudge slowly creeping over the horizon. The sky had turned a swirly pink colour. It was odd seeing the ship flying above me rather than being on it.

The Ash Plains were uneventful. Just miles upon miles of flat land with an occasional dead tree or shrub sticking out from the ground. We must have marched 2 miles at least. Each step was started to hurt.

"Amber, are your legs getting tired yet?" I asked her.

"Yeah, a bit." She replied, "Do you know how long we've got to go?"

"Not a clue, but I hope we've passed halfway." I said.

Suddenly, the dirt underfoot became more stony. We had reached The Trayl, which meant we were getting closer.

We marched for another hour. The sun was up now, but still low in the sky. A few clouds danced around it, hiding it, then revealing it, then hiding it again.

"There it is!" Someone suddenly shouted.

I looked up to see a shape protruding over the horizon.

The Beehive.