The Sky Realm

Chapter 3

    The bloodcurdling scream that had hushed the villagers into silence was the scream of her grandmama, who had called out her granddaughter’s name. Aaliyah turned her head in the direction of the scream but stood there frozen—her feet glued to the ground.

    The whole village seemed to have turned to her for directions, but when she just stood there, paralyzed, they started racing towards the hut, without her.

    Aaliyah could see the Lunars gesturing towards her, their mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear them—not the words nor the panic in the field. It was as if everything had gone quiet—very quiet—and although chaos rampaged around her, time had gone as still and as cold as death.

    She felt like she was submerged underwater. The voices around her were distorted; her vision clouded and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

    The scream sounded again, but this time it was the sound of a terrorizing screech that forced the villagers to stop abruptly and press their hands flat against their ears.

    Aaliyah felt herself jolt back to life as she blinked furiously. She forced her feet to move and hurriedly scrambled down from the stage. There were too many people on the ground, and they were all running in different directions. The more she looked around, the harder it was becoming to breathe. The villagers were everywhere, and she was suffocating. Horror crawled up her spine, and she started hyperventilating. She didn’t remember how to get to her hut. She didn’t know how to get to her grandmama. Tears threatened the back of her eyes as she focused, desperately searching for a path home, but she couldn’t remember.

    “This way,” Mika yanked her arm from the crowd. “I know a shortcut.” She didn’t give Aaliyah a chance to respond before she pulled her away from the crowd and dragged her through the forest.

    Aaliyah concentrated on the rhythmic sound of Mika’s breathing as she took her through a path that Aaliyah didn’t recognize. She was about to ask Mika if she knew where she was going until she saw the familiar rooftop of her hut. She wrenched her hand away from Mika’s grip and ran as fast as she could towards her hut.

    “Move out of the way,” she yelled as she pushed her way through the mass of people. “I need to get through. You need to let me through!”

    The villagers moved out of the way to let her through. Grateful, she ran her way to the front door but halted before she stepped in. “Please God.” Her voice shook. “Let her be okay,” she whispered her prayer.

    The room was quiet when she entered. She could hear the rustle of Mika’s dress behind her and wondered how Mika could maintain her gracefulness with such ease. Aaliyah shook her head; she didn’t know why such trivial things mattered at a moment like this. She eased herself into her grandmother’s room and braced for the worst.

    “Grandmother,” she called out softly in the dark room. “It’s me, Aaliyah.”

    The room was ice-cold, and it was too dark to see anything, but Aaliyah had a feeling that they were not alone. Something dark and sinister was lurking in the shadows, and Aaliyah did not like the way it made her feel.

    “Stop,” said the calm and authoritative voice of Mika. “It is not wise to walk into the unknown unarmed.”

    “Unknown?” Aaliyah bit out. “This is my home.”

    “Yes,” Mika replied. “A home that has been victimized.”

    That stopped her. Aaliyah let Mika scour the premises and stood waiting. One moment it was dark, and the next there was a blazing fire in the fireplace. Aaliyah gasped and took a step back.