James Scotson - Planets Falling

By lunchtime, we are milling through the burning husk of Thresh’s camp. There’s no sign of the evil woman, her husband, or my daughter. Wenn’s absent as well. I run from building to building calling Eliza’s name. I’m greeted by the groans of the dying or already dead.

Theo finds me in the rubble. “Amy, where’s the witch?”

I’m distraught. “I’ve no idea. I can still feel her. She’s not far away, but I don’t know where she’s hiding.”

Theo looks at the lake. “What about in there?”

“But how?”

We spend the afternoon cleaning up the stragglers and the poor conscious corpses. We’ve done everything but accomplish our goal.

As I consider the setting sun, it occurs to me that the answer may rest in the Raven. The ship allows me to expand my reach and see deep within the lake and the surrounding mountains. If Thresh and Jonah are hiding, I may be able to find them. Etch agrees to join me.

We step into the Raven just as the sun goes dark and the moon rises in full brilliance. “Hello Amy and Etch, what a nice surprise.”

“Hello my sweet ship.” I pat the hull and settle in my chair. “We’ve got some searching to do.”

Etch closes the hatch and straps himself into a passenger seat. The Raven lifts and glides over the center of the lake. I look down, searching the swirling portals for any sign of my nemesis and my daughter. I can see thousands of worlds out there, beckoning to me. How can I find them in this infinite expanse? I can feel them, though. They’re not far away.

We continue searching through the night. Etch brings me a cup of hot tea and pats my hand. “Amy Marksman, you will find them. Be patient.” I sip the hot liquid and let my mind rest for a moment. Then I see it. A large pocket of air is trapped on the bottom of the lake, engulfed by something strange and impermeable. I shift the image to the screen. “Etch, look at this.”

“Well I will be. I have never seen anything like this. I gather that Thresh, her nefarious friends, and Eliza are sitting there? There is an old story from earth’s history about a man named Moses.”

I look at him blankly.

“This human, Moses, possessed great abilities. He was a pilot, like us, I think. The fable goes that he was able to part a large lake, allowing his followers to escape their persecutors. In this case, I suggest we part the water to extract our enemies.” He chuckles.

“Tractor field?” I ask.

He nods. “The Fuerst and Raven, working together, can easily part the waves. We send our troops in and extract our adversaries.”

I land the Raven gently by the ruined camp. Theo and Bets greet us. Theo hugs me. “What’ve you found Sprouter?”

“Hope.”

Pillars of fire belch black smoke into the dawn light. The flames are beautiful, cleansing. I walk to the shore and see hundreds of tracks — both human and animal — leading into the water. Thresh has an entire army submerged beneath the choppy surface.

Bets leads our troops to the water’s edge. Many of the villagers are skeptical. Ricard, standing next to Theo, addresses the assembled column. “My brothers and sisters. This is finally our chance to purge the threat that has terrified us for a generation. I know some of you doubt that an entire army of death lies beneath these waves. But how is this any different than the foul breath of demons that is exhaled by this lake every day? For us to taste victory, we must look into the mouth of evil. Be brave, be strong. Follow us to victory.”

The crowd yells in agreement. Theo nods at me and I send the Raven into the sky. Within a few moments, the Fuerst joins me. “Amy, are you ready to unleash hell?”

“Etch, I thought this was hell. It’s time for us to make it stop.”

We position our beloved ships at either side of the submerged bubble and concentrate our tractor fields. The yellow water froths and boils as a trough appears, leading up to the troops at the shoreline. The men and women stand there watching in awe as the sandy lake bottom is exposed. Bets is perched in front of the column with one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead, a strange smile smeared across her face. Minns and Theo ride back and forth on horseback, making sure that the awestruck soldiers are ready to fight.

Etch and I continue pulling at the water, the Fuerst and Raven showing no signs of strain or struggle. The trough is now a deep crevasse. The edge of the bubble appears as a fibrous, skin-like mass adhered to the sand and cobble on the lake bottom. The bodies of thousands of fish and worms wriggle in the unearthly mesh.

“Looks like they figured out how to make the fog work in water,” I say to Etch.

“Agreed. Let us hope that Fromer’s weapons can pierce that material. I have never seen anything like it in all my days.”

Ricard and Theo order the troops to move the catapults into position. The first metal ball streaks through the air, only to bounce off the fleshy barrier with no effect. Ricard shouts more orders and a column of soldiers moves forward into the trough, looking nervously at the walls of water. They hack at the bubble with their swords and axes, with little impact. Theo stares at me in the Raven and shrugs.

I close my eyes and relax, trying to penetrate the barrier. I feel Fromer and he’s grinning. I tunnel forward and am sitting in the head of an enormous creature with fleshy, muscular tentacles and surprisingly good vision. This is not a creature of earth, but strangely it is in the lake. It’s as curious about its plight as I am. “Where am I?” it asks in a language that I have no business understanding.

I answer. “A place called earth and I suspect a mutual friend has brought us together. I need your help if you don’t mind. We can then find your way back home.”

I travel with it to the bubble and its tentacles grab onto the fleshy wall. The soldiers run back toward shore. With great effort, the tentacles tear a seam in the fabric of the barrier. Air escapes with a terrific hiss and the rip expands to a huge rift. “Thank you,” I say to the creature. “I’ll return soon.”

An eerie green glow emanates from the hole. Ricard yells and our troops advance into the trough, weapons gleaming silver-yellow. A grub-like creature with enormous hands that look oddly human skitters out of the seam. A catapult ball arcs overhead and hits the thing on the head. It falls forward and a tentacle pulls it into the surrounding water. It dissolves instantly.

Our troops yell and whoop as they disappear within the vast space under the lake, with Theo and Bets in the lead. “Etch, what are we to do now?”

“Patience, my dear girl. Have some faith that they will be victorious.”

I cannot be patient however. I search the landscape for a bird or insect to inhabit. I find a hummingbird that has just returned from its winter home, happily feeding on wildflower nectar. “Sorry buddy,” I whisper as I direct it into the rift.

The interior of the bubble is filled with shouts and the metallic smell of blood. Thresh’s goons are struggling against our forces, but holding their own. The few grubs that have survived are taking their toll on our fighters. Several torn bodies, some who I recognize, litter the sand.

At the far side in the greenish light, Thresh and Jonah are perched on Silius and Phineus. Eliza holds on tight to Thresh’s waist. They’re surrounded by dead men with swords. In the center of the line stands Wenn, his eyes vacant and a portion of his skull missing. Jonah is terrified and Thresh looks anguished.

The bird flies closer and Thresh swivels, looking straight at it. I swear she knows it’s me. I fly the bird behind a large shuffling body. Thresh throws a dagger at it and the cadaver falls. I fly the hummer up and out of the rift.