A group of youths sat in darkness, some still too young to understand the ways of the world, while others neared adulthood. The eldest boy, Jordan, sat with his legs dangling off the side of the building. He stared down, marveling at how high the structure was. The lights of
Juliet were hidden, muffled by the ruins of this planet wide city.
The others talked among themselves, waiting for the night's activities to begin.
Jordan stood up, turning to the group. "It's Rhey's turn."
The girl named Rhey smiled, and stepped forward. She spent all week rehearsing for this moment, but now, with all eyes on her, she faltered. The smile faded. She struggled just to begin.
"Don't worry," Jordan said. "We have all night. Take your time."
She replied with a nervous laugh, "Sorry. I've never done this before."
Jordan shook his head. "We've all been there. Did you find something?"
Rhey nodded, pointing at a particular patch of sky. Everyone looked up, trying to see what she did. Jordan looked as well. The stars rested just beyond the eagle nebula, a patch of sky nearly void of stars save for those dimly shining through the clouds of gas.
Rhey stared as she spoke, "I see a cat. I named it Calstine."
"An unusual name," Jordan replied, his eyes fixed to the sky. The colors faded in, a mixture of yellows, greens, and reds. "I like how her eyes are different colored stars. What's her story?" Before Rhey could reply, she heard a familiar voice.
"What's this, Little Mouse?" Her father said. She turned and saw him stepping onto the roof. He climbed up the rope cascading down to the lower levels. He looked upset, at first. When her mother appeared behind him, his face softened.
Rhey couldn't speak, stumbling over every word. She couldn't form an excuse. They were not allowed outside the walls, especially at night. A few of the kids moved, as if to run away, only stopping when they realized there was no where to go.
Rhey turned to Jordan. "I didn't know they were following me, I'm so sorry."
Jordan smiled, looked to Rhey's father and motioned for him to join them. Rhey stared, tilting her head as her parents sat on the hard metal beneath their feet.
Her parents stared into the sky, and Rhey saw something she'd never seen before. As their eyes adjusted, taking in the sight of the nebula, they reached for each other's hand. Their hands trembled, violently shaking still when they made contact.
After a sigh of relief and never taking his eyes from the sky, her father spoke, "Go on. All that rehearsal, and you're not going to tell the story?"
Jacob Billings
Ok. You write ridiculously fast. It's like you published this just as I finished looking through your other article. I may not be able to keep up with a commenting pace with this many articles, but I'll read them and definitely leave comments when something awesome stands out. You're going to be hitting the goal for World Ember in no time at all.
R. Dylon Elder
I am VERY fast, yes. The Typos are a pain though XD No worries man. Im just going and going at this point. LOTS of articles to do. I hope you enjoy them!
Don't burn yourself out!