Sky Riders

Prologue

"Art! Art wake up!"

Artemis woke to someone shaking her awake, whispering in her ear. Anna Fang crouched beside her bunk, grinning. Artemis knew her grin, even in the pitch-blackness of the slave cages.

"Anna, did you do it? Did you really build a ship," Artemis whispered back, in awe.

"Yeah, come on! We leave tonight." Creeping out of her small cot, putting on her shoes, Artemis and Anna are overjoyed, yet terrified.

They only have one chance at leaving this hell-hole, and if they mess it up, they could be killed or worse. Secretly, Anna was fearful. So many things could go wrong. The airship could not work, they could be caught, or, even if they got out, they could be captured again. Not wanting to let it show, Anna out on a mask of confidence. But Artemis saw through the mask, and slipped a reassuring hand into Anna's. Half a foot taller than Anna, Artemis was deceptively intimidating. Anna was the scary one, who threatened on a daily basis and would either stab you or make you a cake. Artemis would just make you a cake and skip the stabbing bits.

"Hurry! I took the keys from Stilton to get in here, and we have to get all the way to the junkyard without being seen," Anna whispered.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get out of this place," Artemis grinned back. Not letting their hands go from each other's, they crept quickly and quietly out the iron door of the slave cages.

Creeping down the hallway, lit only by the dim argon globes suspended from the ceiling, every sound was terrifying.

Every rattle could be a guard's footsteps, coming to catch Anna and Artemis's escape.

Every whirring noise could be a hidden camera, looking for them.

Every clicking sound could be an opening door, leading someone right to them.

At long last, though only a few minutes had passed during their journey from the overstuffed room Artemis slept in with almost twenty other girls through the dim hallways of the great predator city, the girls reached the entrance to the junkyard, full of the skeletons of captured cities, scrap metal from small towns, and the occasional bit of an airship.

Artemis and Anna had slaved away for countless days at this same junkyard, and this would be the last time they would ever step foot here. Anna had significantly easier jobs, due to the infatuation Stilton Kael had with Anna.

"Here we are, the Jenny Haniver! She's not much yet, but she's our ticket to escape!"

That was how Anna was able to build this beautiful red airship that would lead them to escape. Stealing pieces away, one by one over the years, the ship was ready to fly. Using Stilton's feelings as an advantage to get longer showers, easier jobs, and bigger rations. It was not much, but Anna was significantly better off than most of the slaves aboard Arkangel. Artemis worked late every day in the junkyards, and had the scars to show it. Artemis was tall and scrawny from years of not having enough to eat, and her long, dirty-blonde hair was always tangled. Messily cut bangs got in her face more often than not, and her hair usually hung down her back, unbrushed.

Whippings happened nearly every day in the yard, and Artemis has been at the receiving end of many. Random cruelty and early death was expected on Arkangel for the slaves, even if they weren't called slaves. Anna and Artemis and everyone else who was kept were called Thralls. Artemis supposed that the citizens of Arkangel supposed it sounded nicer than 'slave'. Still, it was no different. Life was hard in the bottom level of Arkangel, wether you were called a Thrall or slave.