Nick James - Crimson rising

And when he does, it’s clear and confident. “So what do we do?”

Ryel turns back to the console. “The only thing we can do. Free an army of Drifters and hope that we’re not too late.”

I stand from my perch on the floor and stretch. “Tell us more about Haven. What was it like?”

Ryel’s brows raise. I haven’t been able to get much out of him this far, but now that Cassius is here, he seems more willing to talk.

“I suppose it wasn’t completely unlike Earth,” he starts. “At least in the beginning. Rural towns and cities, usually separated by vast fields and forests. It wasn’t until the first Shifter was born that things really started to change. It’s unclear exactly why those on Haven began to evolve with the ability to manipulate Ridium, but the gift was bestowed upon only a few. A recessive gene, I suppose.” He glances at Cassius’s bracelet. “Before Shifters, Ridium had been a natural part of Haven’s crust for hundreds of years. It didn’t have much of a purpose… or so we thought.

“Shifters ushered in a new era. Those who could harness Ridium changed our planet. They were revered. Before long, the element supported our buildings… developed our technology. It was everywhere. Small farm towns transformed into vast metropolises of dark uniformity in a matter of years. In fact, many in the Resistance would argue that the harvesting of Ridium was what destroyed our planet in the end. Without it, the planet’s crust began to decompose. All of our cities were built on a collapsing world. Like laying a rock on top of a tower of paper.”

He sighs. “In its dying decades, Haven became a dry, lifeless planet. That’s the only way I’ve ever known it to be.”

“Like the Fringes,” Cassius says.

“I suppose. In the beginning, the majority of us supported the Shifters and the dynasty they’d built for themselves. It was all we knew. In fact, up until the last few months, I was a pilot in Matigo’s army against the Resistance myself. But I defected. Thankfully.”

I run my hand across the cold, black bracelet around my wrist. “I can’t believe-”

A flash of red overtakes the windshield as something darts in front of us. The bracelet shudders, then shakes uncontrollably. Cassius’s too. Our ship lurches.

It’s over in a second. The sky clears and the cruiser levels out.

“What was-” I stop myself as I notice Ryel’s body, slumped over on the console.

The cruiser dips.

Cassius springs from his seat and places a hand on Ryel’s neck. After a moment, he glances at me. “He’s unconscious.” He reaches to take hold of the steering. “Whatever that was, the sight of it knocked him out.”

I move to the front of the cockpit and stare out the window, searching the blue sky for a hint of crimson. “I know what it is. It’s from the red Pearl. He followed us all the way from Siberia.”

“Red Pearl?”

I grab my hair. “I don’t know… It wasn’t this bright last time.”

Another flash, and this one is twice as blinding. The Drifter soars right in front of us, lingering long enough that I see the outline of his body.

Just as he moves out of sight, my bracelet yanks forward and throws me into the windshield.

Cassius manages to hold onto the steering, even as his bracelet pulls to the side. “I’m taking us into the swarm.” He struggles. “Nothing would be stupid enough to follow us there.”

I don’t have time to argue before he begins the descent. The nose of the cruiser dips until what’s left of the sky outside is replaced by the dark, moving cloud beneath us.

I swallow, watching the swarm grow closer. Within moments, I can see the individual bugs. Locusts, mostly. Flies. What had started as a blob of movement is now an enormous hive of buzzing wings. Clicking, scratchy legs. And eyes. Thousands of them.

We plunge into the darkness. Torrents of insects slam into the windshield, popping into splotch after splotch of brown, goopy liquid. Cassius pulls up on the steering, trying to level us out so we can land, but we can’t see a thing outside. The cockpit lighting works overtime to compensate for the instant shade thrown over the room. The buzz, even muted by the cruiser, is all-encompassing. A surge of activity bashes the ship from every angle. When we hit dirt and settle down, I hardly notice. The engines die, but it’s still noisy. A chaotic pulse. Constant.

The cruiser suddenly seems ten times smaller-a tiny toy, easily broken.

The door behind us opens. I hear Eva’s voice before I see her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She notices Ryel’s unconscious body and recoils. “Is he okay?”

Cassius rubs his bracelet. “We’re being followed.”

“So you brought us into a swarm? You think this is a good idea?” She points behind her. “With Unified Party boy tied up back there?”

“We didn’t have a lot of options,” Cassius responds. “At least we lost him. I think.”

My bracelet rattles. Cassius and I exchange glances. Neither of us has to say a word.

The maelstrom of sound outside intensifies. Avery steps into the cockpit, rubbing her arms.

“I hate bugs,” she says. “You guys better have a good reason for this.”

Eva frowns. “It was a hair-trigger response. How’s Theo?”

“Still unconscious.”

I hold up a hand. “Wait. Do you hear that? Is it just me, or is the buzzing getting quieter?”

We fall silent, listening to the sounds outside begin to fade. It’s still there, but more distant somehow-muffled. I rush to the console. “How do you clean the windshield?”

Cassius moves to my side and slams the top of a diamond-shaped button. I watch as a mist sprays over the outside of the glass. Four wipers slide across the glass, one from each corner. I peer through as the Fringe heat dries what’s left of the cleanser.

Then I see him. The man from the red Pearl, standing mere yards from the front of our cruiser. My bracelet hums, shaking against my thigh.

The others notice him too. Everyone freezes.

The sight steals my breath. The swarm is pushed back in a dome around him as if an invisible force is keeping them at bay. The entire cruiser’s surrounded by an air bubble of clear space, half a mile high and equally as wide. The swarm waits, pushed back against the sky like a living, moving Bio-Net.

The Drifter stares at me. Even from his distance, I meet his eyes. Connect.

I know what I’ve got to do.

Cassius pulls on my shoulder. “Back in the cabin. Now.”

I allow him to guide me through the door, but I don’t take my eyes off the Drifter the entire time. Not until the panels close in front of me and block the view of the cockpit. He blocks the way, forcing me to meet his eyes. “What do you know about that thing?”

Eva moves past Theo’s slumped-over body toward the weapons cabinet. “That’s the guy who pushed you out of the Academy, isn’t it? What do you think we need… blasters?”

I shake my head.

“We’re not going to be able to hide back here forever,” Avery says. “What about Ryel?”

She’s answered by a loud scrape along the wall, right behind her. She bounds forward, startled at the sudden noise.

Eva freezes. “What was that?”

I rush to the side of the cabin. A second scrape pulls along the hull outside, filling the cabin with an eerie squeal. I lay my shaking palm against the wall and close my eyes to see if I feel anything. My bracelet hums.

Cassius grabs his wrist. “Say something, Fisher.”

I turn. “He didn’t kill me.”

I’m greeted by incredulous looks from the others. “When we were falling from the hole in the side of the Academy, he could’ve killed me, but he didn’t. He saved me.”