Meltdown Ophilion - Book One

15_JENNA

Orion woke before dawn. He tried to fall back to sleep and found it impossible. There were things outside the tent that wanted him. He quietly slipped out of his sleeping bag and out of their shelter without waking his companions. There was light coming from the east. Hanthran would soon return. There was a kind of vibrant expectancy in the air. The boy took a deep breath and tasted the sweetness of the remainder of the night. The air was filled with strange particles that entered his lungs – became part of him. Plants, herbs, animals, snow from the distant mountains: the currents brought them and Orion breathed them in.

He latched his boots and donned his jacket, buckling it up to the top against the morning chill. He looked to the rock where the banjute had taken up its vigil. There was no one there. He stood and reached out and touched the place on the rock where he supposed the animal had slept and thought that it felt warmer than the rest of the rock, but admitted that it could just as well be his imagination.

Orion turned his attention to the Keptals. A radiance lined the peaks; their central star prepared to breach the horizon.

There! A burst of white light between two razor-sharp summits. The sun slipped upwards, hugging the crest of the largest mountain, casting the snow-capped peak as a silhouette of deep black. The ball of fire balanced on the top of the mountain for a few seconds. It seemed to be tethered by a cord of light, but then it broke free and fell into the sky, bathing the entire landscape in brilliance.

This was not the same as watching Hanthran rise over Kypro. Orion had not imagined that a sunrise could be like this. The experience touched him deeply. I wish I could see this every morning, he thought. It's like... this is a gift that is being given to me. "It's priceless." He whispered. His own voice startled him. I've never heard such silence. He slowly moved toward Hanthran, his feet carrying him forward of their own volition.

He soon found himself on the edge of a steep cliff. He stopped and gazed at the valley below. He was familiar with high places, living on the three hundred eleventh floor of his apartment tower, but the free zone was different. He felt so vulnerable, so insignificant compared to the greatness that surrounded him.

He spread his arms out and threw his head back. "Who are you?!" He shouted to the wind. His voice echoed out across the cliffs and into the forest far below. "What's the meaning of all of this?" He said. "Why is it all here? Why am I here? Does it make any difference? How did we find that safe by following dreams?" Hs stood in silence. "This doesn't make any sense." He accused the morning sky.

Unexpectedly, he saw movement to his right down along the cliff. He turned to get a better look. He glimpsed something that looked like fabric; clothing. He walked along the top of the cliff to get a better view. It was just below him.

Someone was down there.

"Hullo?" he called out on impulse, "is someone down there?" He waited a few seconds. To his surprise, a girl, about his age, came into view. He was struck at once by her beauty. Her clear hazel eyes peered cautiously up at him. Her skin was light brown; her hair honey-blond. She had the oddest dermal markings: they were like the rays of Hanthran, bordering her face – in a very dark blue.

"Do you need help?" Orion asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she answered, "I'm alright, but I can't get up to the top." She spoke with a strange accent.

"Let me help you," He said.

She vanished from view for a few seconds then reappeared. "How can I climb up?" She asked.

Orion quickly scanned the top of the cliff. "Over there," he said pointing to the right, "you should be able to get up over there... hold on, I'll make sure it's safe." Orion ran along the edge of the cliff for about thirty meters till he found the place he had seen. Here a small pathway cut along the side of the cliff from the top. Orion carefully walked along the path hugging the wall of the cliff. There was a section where the path almost disappeared completely, but holding on to the protruding rocks he was able to cross to where the path became safer. Just ahead of him stood the girl. She was beautiful.