Ather (ShawRocketPrize Entry)

Chapter 1

I shuffled my feet to the edge of the cliff and stared down at the vast amount of water tossing overtop itself only to fall to the massive wall of rocks. "You want me, to jump down there?" I asked to no one in particular. "If you say so." I gulped down the salty air and noted the taste for later when the water would envelop my lungs.

The rocks slipped from under my feet cascading down the cliff into the smashing depths.

Luckily I had backed up in time to hear the sound of shouting coming from behind me as I suspected they would be coming from. Fifteen men dressed in halfway 21st century and clothes from the 1500ds strapped about them came with the intention to take me back to that dastardly building.

"Corun!" I spat as the men surrounded me with an array of weapons.

They had, unfortunately, stepped out of the Athan ring, if they had just stepped a little further they would be wabbling with a variety of other weapons less lethal then they currently had. I had no choice but to fight against guardsmen with firearms bigger than my longsword.

"You're not getting out of this one, Coral." He clicked his gun and left just enough of his smile peeking into view. His smile made me want to melt and leave with him.

I recoiled when I realized what type of thoughts I was having about my ex-husband, Yeah not happening again.

A shot rang from his gun and the dart whizzed past my cheek the streaking in the wind made my cheek tingle. "That's some really potent stuff," I coughed waving the smell away from my mouth.

"Yes, Marshel whipped up that batch especially for you...My dear." With another click of the guns, I decided I wouldn't be able to withstand those darts, they were already making me dizzy.

A few more swept past me and I covered my mouth in an attempt to keep the nasty stuff away from me, it was in vain. The dizziness increased with every shot I dodged until one made contact with my cheek. I tumbled backward the sound of rocks tumbling off the cliff gave me an idea.

With a smile, I regained my balance and stared at Corun. "Looks like I won't be seeing you anytime soon." I kept my face towards him but my idea had already come into action without me even lifting a finger.

Another shot rang from an unsuspecting guardsman the shot landing in my forearm. The push from the impact was just enough to lean me over the edge and let me fall. Corun screamed in disbelief as I slipped over the cliff.

The wind rushed around me so fast that my stomach rose with the falling and with a sudden feeling of water rushing over my whole body I scrambled to swim but before I did anything more I sank just enough to realize that I wasn't in deep water. I grabbed onto the edge of something smooth and pulled myself out of the water with a sudden gasp.

I felt around the darkness to find that the only sound was of my own slashing in water. I spat out the water in my mouth but immediately noticed the lack of salt. I hadn't been expecting to hear the sound of a creaking door and a boy dressed for the 21st-century enter...His bathroom.

The light flicked on and I found I was in a bathtub of the poor young man in front of me.

He gasped and took a step backward and then regained his composure. 

"Afternoon." His voice was trembling much like myself after having been dumped into an extremely cold bathtub. 

"Sorry," I paused examining his now soaked bathroom floor. "About your floor," I added.

"The name's Coral." His mouth gaped wider as his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. 

"You're," He paused and considered his words carefully. "Your Coral Wrights, from the shield jumpers?"

He gulped as if I was about to kill him for seeing me. "Yes, but I rather not let anyone know that." He nodded vigorously. "You must be cold, would you like a towel and a fresh pair of clothes?" He must have been trying to satisfy me, not many good rumors had been circling about me.

I sighed but it sounded more like a raspy yawn than a sigh. "Please."

He nodded and ran out of the room and returned with a few towels and a new pair of clothes. "You change here I'll go make you something to eat." He left again to leave me to my privacy.

"This kid..." I sighed and sounded a little better than before. But I still felt the tiredness of the darts vapors around me and as I pulled myself out of the bathtub I saw black spots. I could hear the panic of the young man but after that, I remembered nothing.

When I woke up next I found that I was laying in the living room of the young man. My clothes were actually changed without my notice and I wasn't mad but the man seemed to be staring awkwardly at the fire in front of him.

"Did you change my clothes?" I asked him eyeing the back of his head. "No, my sister did. I was afraid you would catch a cold so I invited her over to change your clothes for you." He turned around the firelight bouncing off his rosy cheeks.

He was handsome but still seemed more unkept then most. "Is your sister still here?" I pushed the blanket off of me and crossed my legs.

He nodded. "She's making soup in the kitchen." He pointed to a door behind the couch I was on. I assumed that was the kitchen.

I smiled at him and wondered if he was doing this for a reason. I mean helping a Jumper can be dangerous sometimes. I may have been only 21 but I knew a thing or two about the danger that came with helping a Jumper.

"Since I already know your name I think it would be appropriate to tell you mine. I'm Gabrel." He turned back to the fire and chuckled. "Trust me I know what it means to help you. My father was a shield Jumper too. Although he didn't believe in what the Jumpers thought where common law. So they killed him."

I was surprised most shield jumpers that I knew of where already immersed in the work they were given I hadn't heard of anyone besides me who went against the law. "What did your father do to earn his death? If you don't mind me asking."

I didn't see his face but I could already tell his eyes where threatening tears. "He didn't like how they took advantage of the 1500s. He said it was bad to kill people back then just so we could hold peace now."

I only felt a warmth from this man. He had a past that was much like my own. "Your father must have been brave to defy such vicious people." 

The tears must have dried up because he turned to me with something more of anger flashing in his eyes. "I help you only because you are the only Sheild jumper I know that has defied them If not I would have killed you."

My eyes widened. "You hate them that much?" I shook my head and stood up from the couch. "What did your father believe should happen then?" I asked I felt close to him somehow it made me want to cry.

"He wanted to rebuild the shield jumpers, make them better people that help and not hinder those around them." 

I nodded. "That is what I wish too. But I would like to know why your father changed his heart to this."

Gabrel turned his back to me and this time the tears flowed freely down his face. "My mother was from the 1500th sentry. My father tried to save her from the shield jumpers. Supposedly she was against the law of the shield jumpers when she married my father." I saw his fist clench and his knuckles turned a pale white. "I still don't know if she's alive."

My empathy toward him increased. I knew this feeling extremely well. It was the same thing that happened to my family. But now I had nothing and I hoped I could help Gabrel.

There was a knock on the kitchen door and then a woman entered the looked younger then Gabrel but she seemed a little more defined then he was but other than the strangely different colored eyes they looked like twins. "I'm glad that you're awake. My name is Tayla I'm Gabrels's sister."

She shut the kitchen door behind her and smiled at me, she was another shield jumper. Although her powers weren't active and it seemed they hadn't been active for about 10 years.

"Nice to meet you Tayla."