The Rift

Chapter 1

Drops of ink. Rivulets of ink. Dark as the heavens.

All that is seen. All that is.

The cataclysm awaits Elsewhere.

Far beyond that divide.

Where the rift has no hold.

Chapter 1

The sol began to rise over the seemingly endless deserts of Aten. I pulled myself up off my cot and watched the sol rise above the horizon through the cracks in the rock. An eerie orange glow was cast over the planet. Shadows cast out along the rolling, barren hills. Heat began to creep into everything chasing off the coldness of the night.

Slivers of light filtered through the cracks as the sol crept higher and higher across the sky. Day was breaking fast. The lines of light danced across the small cavern that we called home. I kicked the blankets off my legs and sat the rest of the way up. I heard the shift in the wind. I snatched the fraying towel from the ground and stuffed it into the crack in the rock.

The wind howled as it banged against the rock around us. Grains of sand and dirt still managed to find their way inside the cavern. The wind shifted again; pounding right into the rock face. The rocks around us hummed as the wind pummeled against the rocks. Everyone was stirring now, except for Gabriel next to me. They remained asleep, curled up without a care of what was going on.

I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm. I glanced over at my brother, Jaymes. His eyes were filled with worry. The others began to move around. The fear of the cavern caving in was always in our minds when the winds changed. Samirah hurried to the back of the cavern, waiting in the little tunnel that leads down into the aquifer. Kannan followed after her. He wrapped his arms around her as she shivered. Rockslides were an ever-present fear of hers.

There was an ear-splitting crack echoing around and off the rocks bringing Gabriel sitting straight up on their cot. Thunder rolled all around us. Echoing off the rock face, echoing down through the aquifer and across the water. Echoing across the sandy hills. In the night, a storm had formed and the rising sol warmed the air enough for the storm to explode around us.

Samirah slipped down the tunnel; Kannan following along behind her. Zeb jumped up grabbing Jaymes' arm and dragging him off his cot. I rolled off my cot into the small space between it and Gabriel's.

"Briel," I whispered to them, "Come on." I pulled at their tunic sleeve. I leaned down and grabbed the heavy leather gloves from their backpack and tossed them on their lap. I pulled at their sleeve again. "Briel, come on. There's a storm."

Gabriel shook their head slightly and pushed me away. They jumped off the cot and ran with me after the others. I ducked down and slide into the tunnel. I managed to keep my feet under myself this time and not go face-first into the gravel lining the tunnel all the way down. The others were waiting for us along the rim of the aquifer pool. Samirah was sitting there with her feet dipped in the cold water. Kannan sat next to her; his hand resting on her shoulder keeping her calm. Zeb was waiting at the end of the tunnel, no doubt gaging the atmospheric conditions.

Thunder continued to rattle everything around us. There were fewer vibrations down this deep. All the rock that surrounded us dove deep underground. Jaymes was leaning against the cavern wall. His head back against the rock. I walked over to him. I could feel Gabriel following behind me.

"How long?" I asked my brother. He shrugged before answering.

"A few hours," he said. "The storm isn't at its strongest yet." I heard Samirah groan. She was not thrilled by high winds or vibrating bolts of electricity. Kannan squeezed her shoulder. Jaymes caught my arm. Electricity seared through me as lightning struck the rocks above us. I felt Gabriel's hand on my back. The electricity prickled at my skin. I could feel it tingling in my fingertips. Samirah whimpered as the thunder roared again. I pushed the electricity out and away. The currents shifting and changing outside.