James Scotson - Planets Falling

We watch the ships hover silently above the city. One of the ships suddenly bursts in flames as the building shudders, knocking us all back on our butts.

“That didn’t come from the surface.” Minns points to the sky.

A second blast concusses the air as the silhouette of another massive ship blacks out the stars overhead. I recognize it as my friend, the Raven.

The Fuerst rises from the cityscape and fires at the ships from below. Within moments, all five are charred and burning. Three leave orbit, one hangs vertically in the artificial moon air, and the fifth crashes into a nearby building with a sickening crunch. Flames burst forth and the ship and building are joined in fire and smoke.

The Fuerst approaches our building and hovers above us. The door opens and we climb into the ship. “Welcome friends,” Etch exclaims jubilantly. “We must go. More FRT dogs will be here soon.”

“To where?” Bets asks.

“Yellow Stone.”

The Fuerst flanked by the Raven rises above the city and the moon shrinks. And then I see earth for the first time. It is absolutely breathtaking in its dizzying variations of white, green, brown, and blue. I know that I must place it in my care at any cost.

As we descend toward the planet, I crouch down next to Etch in his pilot’s chair. “Thank you.”

“For what, my dear one?”

“You helped my knock out the drones.”

He looks confused — or at least that’s my interpretation of the expression on his insect face. He tilts his head. “Drones? I provided you with directions to the tower telepathically. But I did not tell you about how to defeat the drones.”

“Then who was that talking in my head?”

“Mysteries never cease Amy Marksman. This makes the fight worth fighting do you not think?”

The Fuerst skims through the air. The Raven trails behind us like a puppy following an older dog through the yard. The sky’s clear and the mountains extend forever. We glide past a sharp, snow-dusted mountain peak.

“There it is.” Etch is eating something that looks like an enormous pickled spider.

Below us stretches a huge, orange-yellow lake, tendrils of steam rising from tiny, angry white caps. It’s impossible for me to gauge its size from our perch in the sky. The lake’s encircled by a wall of crumbled rock, as if it is tucked away in a giant pie crust.

“The lake is in the crater of a recent magma bubble. Look closer Amy.”

Etch drops the Fuerst lower and I can now see the waves and steam clearly. Between the humps of swirling water and sea foam, I see something else, difficult to process, but very real. There are stars in the bottom of the lake.

“A good pilot will be able to navigate the waves and find passage to many places.” Etch grins. “It is something to behold is it not?”

“How to navigate it, though? It seems so complex.”

Etch points to his head and then points to my forehead. “You know you can do it Amy Marksman. This is what you were born to do.”

The Fuerst and Raven proceed to the north bank of the great lake. On the edge is a large village with lumbering stone walls. At turrets along the walls, men and women with a mix of leather armor and Institute-issue clothes point at us. They carry swords and staffs — no rifles or other weapons are apparent. There’s no telling how long the Phobos has been in contact with them. But obviously some trade has occurred. I hope that they don’t have stronger weapons at their disposal.

Etch lands the Fuerst at a cozy clearing on the edge of the walled town. The Raven sets down nearby. A group of villagers approaches the ships as we climb down. I recognize one of the men in the lead — Wenn. He’s smiling and waving at us. I look at Theo nervously, while Theo rushes forward and embraces his friend as if nothing happened between him and me.

“Well, I’m thankful to see you.” Wenn hugs me tightly. “We were afraid that you were FRT ships. Captain Leo warned us that they’d come and destroy us. They want the portal — the lake — to themselves.”

Etch and Minns introduce themselves as we walk toward the city’s main gate. An odd looking metal fence with a yellowish hue surrounds the entire stoned edifice.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Fromer had us build it. It keeps the things from the fog from getting into the town. We use the same material in our weapons. He pats his scabbard. So far, the fence seems to work for the town. No more ghouls or ghosts roaming the streets at night. The open coast — well that’s another story.” His face goes dark, briefly revealing the Wenn we saw at the lodge. “No one travels alone out there during the night. You won’t come back, alive that is.”

“Eliza?” I gaze at him hopefully.

His face falls into darkness again. “No. We need to talk. But first, let’s get you comfortable and safe. Did you all see Leo?”

We exchange worried glances. Etch speaks. “Leo tells us to give you his best. We are in command for now until Institute reinforcements arrive.”

Wenn nods in approval.

Yellow Stone is a city built for battle. An inner wooden wall protects the tiny houses. Strange weapons that Wenn calls catapults face the outer cobbled walls. The smell of grilling meat permeates the sulfuric stench wafting off the lake. I wrinkle my nose. “You get used to the smell,” Wenn laughs.

We settle into our modest dwelling near the central city square. A life-sized, bronzed statue of Fromer stands among newly blossomed daisies and black-eyed wildflowers. I groan in disbelief. Etch chuckles.

Wenn has arranged a feast for us. Etch eats heartily, while the rest of us pick at our meal. Theo sets down a mug of grape wine and wipes purple froth from his mouth. “Wenn, you must tell us how you arrived here.”

“I expected you to ask. I thought I’d better get a few pints in me before telling my story. The day after leaving camp, I knew I’d made a mistake. I’m man enough to admit it. I slipped down the hill and picked up Thresh’s trail. Not such a hard task given how sloppy she and her beasts be. The weather got worse and I thought I’d surely perish from exposure. However, I managed to find a small empty town, where I hunkered down and waited out the storm.”

I rise and pour him another glass from a cask. He touches my rear — not so subtly. This time, Theo notices.

“Thanks Amy, my dear. Once the snow cleared, I started tracking again. Figured the weather would slow the woman as much as me. Sure enough, I picked up a fresh trail fairly quickly. Then, I found the village. Twas awful, it was.” His eyes grow vacant.

“This village was not like the one I’d just been in, which appeared to be abandoned on the peoples’ own accord. Instead, this village experienced the wrath of that demon. She killed everyone in the town and impaled them on sticks.” He grows quiet.

Bets is enthralled and appalled. “Why’d she do something so — unthinkable?”

Wenn gulps his ale. “To scare us, I suppose. Or maybe just because she could. It gets worse. She revived them with that damned fog. They were dead but conscious on the spikes. They pleaded for help from me. There were hundreds of them. Children too. They wanted me to help them down and let them go.”

I realize that Eliza probably witnessed this horror, making me want to gouge me eardrums out. Anything would be better than hearing this story. If I ever do rescue my girl, will I be able to save her soul? I find it strange that Wenn betrays no concern for our daughter in his story. It’s all about Thresh.

Bets squints. “So, what’d you do, Wenn?”

“I spent the day being merciful. That’s all I’ll say. I was too shaken to rest so I continued tracking Thresh. I found them the next day as the snow started turning to rain and mud — again. Excuse me.” He leaves to relieve himself.