Skye City: The Darkness of Emmilyn

Storm is Coming

Arturo and Kyan vanish into the trees and the rest of us struggle behind, not quite reaching running pace, thanks to our supplies. I glance over my shoulder and the mutant could hardly have pursued with no legs, yet that fails to ease my fears. I hurdle a fallen log, barely getting my feet high enough and landing heavily. The light is so low that obstacles are unclear until they are dangerously close, forcing split-second reactions. We could probably slow to walking speed now, but the sooner we escape these woods the better.

We catch up to my brothers and walk miles from the lake, resting in a mutant-free zone and delving into our rucksacks. Our backsides crunch on frosted leaves as we eat cheese pasties and sausage rolls and salami, washing them down with fizzy pop. Arturo whispers something into Kyan's ear and my little brother stares around the group.

'Everyone was quiet and it was boring so I went to explore the lake, but then the monster came out of the water and tried to eat me. I told it not to. I said it better not dare and it didn't because it was afraid of me!'

'You can't assume monsters will be afraid of you. The next one might be a little braver, and then what would you do?' Arturo says.

'I'd fight it like you would, Arturo,' Kyan says and I despair at the thought my little brother has inherited the same crazy gene as our big brother. So much for the fear catching up to him...

'You're still a small boy and even I would struggle to fight a monster that size. These woods are very dangerous. Don't sneak off again, okay?' Arturo says.

'Yes, Arturo, I'm sorry.' Kyan lower his head and Arturo ruffles his thick brown hair.

The temperature is falling fast and Kyan's lips are trembling. He is not wearing a coat and I feel ashamed we failed to consider him earlier, but all this activity has kept us warm. Arturo reaches into his rucksack and removes a weird shirt which resembles an animal skin. 'Hold your arms up, Kyan.' Arturo places the shirt over our little brother's head and when he slots his arms through the holes, it seems more like a dress. Otess unzips his padded jacket and offers it to our mother, but she wraps it around Kyan, pulling the zip up. He is completely swamped now but should feel warm enough.

'We must buy appropriate winter-wear as soon as we get the chance,' Mother says.

'Could've bought some in East Shields if we weren't in such a panic after the gun battle and the telepath encounter. I swear there's nowhere safe in this Goddess-forsaken country. Escape one threat, you run straight into another,' Arturo mutters between chews.

'Yes and we've had too many close calls for one day. It's a miracle my baby wasn't hurt by that monster.' Our mother hugs Kyan who frowns and squirms as crumbs spill from his mouth.

'Kyan has an energy, that's why I was immediately drawn to him.' Dynah casts a fireball which rises from her palm, lighting the shadowy forest. It settles before Kyan to provide a little warmth and highlight his awed smile. 'His aura shines brightly and it's not just I who can sense it. Many animals have strong empathic abilities. The creature did not want to eat him, it wanted to keep him safe.'

'I can sense it too. The boy's spirit connects with those around him. In my tribe such children grow to become spiritual leaders.' Otess slowly nods at my little brother.

'What are you talking about?' Kyan breaks free of our mother's arms. 'I don't have a spirit. I don't. I'm just a boy.'

'Your spirit defines who you are, Kyan. It represents your lifeforce – your thoughts, memories, emotions. The hydra could sense you're special, just like we can. That's not to say it couldn't have hurt you. A creature that big, well...' our mother trails off as though afraid to complete her sentence.

'I would've beaten that monster if you hadn't showed,' Kyan insists.

'Yup, totally non-spirited, this kid.' I smirk as the fireball fades to nothing.

We pack our uneaten food into the rucksacks and haul them over our shoulders, pressing on before the temperature drops too low. Boots crunch over ground-frost as we travel through the forest with Kyan sitting on Arturo's shoulders on 'mutant watch', but visibility is limited now. The forest is so dark we consider building another bonfire and resting until morning, but we persevere because no-one is keen to take a chance with the mutants.

Soon the shadowy trees give way to a vast glittery wasteland before the sprawling cityscape of Abana. This comes as a relief, but a bitter headwind slows our pace and we seem to be getting no closer to the city's iconic metallic pyramid. The wind is both draining our energy and preventing us from resting so we form a line with Arturo at the front. Otess carries Kyan to the rear to shelter his shivering body.

With Arturo acting as a windbreak, we make swifter progress and our eventual arrival at Abana seems merciful, but then I remember we must contend with soldiers. Arturo somehow detects tanks and mechanoids which are out of sight and leads us in a safe direction through Abana's version of old town. We stumble across a shady hotel in a Level Three zone which seems reasonably quiet; the sound of gunshots being faint and muffled.

A bell chimes as we enter a door with six glass panes wobbling inside the frame. The lobby is lit only by a desk lamp and its meagre rays barely reach the dusty window blinds. Our mother approaches a man with huge nostrils and pays for two double-rooms with her Citicard, collecting the door key. The entire group head into one of the double-rooms which is basic but reasonably clean and tidy. We place our rucksacks on the carpet and our mother wraps Kyan in a quilt then turns a radiator to maximum heat. The rest of the group sit on the beds and a leather sofa, opening bottles of pop and drinking after our gruelling journey.

I sneak into the bathroom which is not the cleanest so I hover to pee, then return to the bedroom to see Arturo sitting at the holoscreen. Otess is rubbing his hands before the radiator, shivering, Mother and Dynah are staring at the worn carpet, looking exhausted, and Kyan is gawping around at every object, finally discovering what poverty looks like. Everyone seems too drained to talk.

The holoscreen flashes brightly, drawing our attention and the display switches to the face of a beautiful sleeping woman with plump lips and caramel skin. She looks like the statues of the Goddess Katona which stand around the hubs of Medio City. The eyes of the woman open wide, bulging, and then her face vanishes into static. The words STORM IS COMING flicker in white lettering as the display cuts out and then I notice a hissing.

Rain pours torrentially and a howling wind rattles the metallic window frame. 'What the...' Arturo approaches the window as lightning flashes. 'Well, that's not weird...'

'The holoscreen must have a virus or something. Funny coincidence with the storm though,' Vytali mutters and I frown as Arturo draws the curtains.

'Jezmund's just outside of town. We must leave early if we're to make it. We don't have much time to sleep so we'd best get to bed now,' Mother says and I assume the guys made travel arrangements while I nipped to the bathroom, but I feel too exhausted to ask.

'What about everyone else?' Vytali says.

'The best you can do is contact friends and family to let them know the situation. Tell them they can travel to our location once we reach safety. Any attempt to reunite people now would fragment our group and put everyone at risk,' Mother says.

'Dynah, Otess and myself will rescue as many as we can, but we can't save everyone. Let's send the messages now, advising of our plans,' Arturo says.

'But I can't leave yet. We need to find my father urgently, Dynah said so,' Vytali says.

'Dynah and I can track your father down. There's no need for you to be there. Just explain our situation then update us with his reply,' Arturo says.