The Penumbra Paradox - ONC 2023

Chapter -12, I saw something.

"I saw something." Arya paused, almost forgetting that she was co-piloting the air cruiser with Benji.

"Um. Must be hailstorm, Ari." Benji watched the harsh hitting of what looked like ice rocks hit the shields in random directions. He nonchalantly pressed some buttons to manoeuvre the cruiser through the thin gap which looked clear enough to let the cruiser escape further hail-damage.

"No, it's not the hailstorm, I saw something!" Arya almost yelled.

"Jeez, Arya!" Benji snapped, "we are co-piloting, I almost slipped passing through that window. Alright, what is it, a dinosaur Archeopteryx?"

"No, I can't explain the phenomenon. It was weird. It felt like something flashed, or morphed, like some sort of transparent beehive of a lightning."

"Look, it wouldn't be weird if I said I saw the aurora borealis here. We are T-minus 13 into the eclipse. Gravitational conundrum remember? It makes us see all sorts of things." Benji tried to console Arya. Arya usually didn't get into her nerves, but when she had them, it was never easy to calm her down.

"I saw it. I swear." Arya nodded, sweat beading slowly over her brows. "Or is the cruiser cabin low on oxygen or something?"

Arya pulled down her thermo-suit's zipper and checked casually behind to see if Fiana was doing fine.

Fiana met her gaze and said, "saw."

"Aha!" Arya chuckled, banging her hand over Benji's seat. "Told you so, Fiana saw it too."

"I don't understand what you guys are talking about. Come on, Fiana can barely see my fingers, forget about that lightning you are talking about." Benji turned some buttons down. "Either way, we are almost into the Zoramaic dunes."

There was a bright light as they shot right out of the stormy clouds into the clear sky. The cruiser glitched due to the gravitational conundrum, they could see the daylight moon with ugly acne face slowly rising to block the sun for the next few hours.

"Prepare for the descent, AVAH has spotted the location of the valley. Zooming in and go." On Benji's cue Arya toggled some switches and moved the joystick for descent.

The cruiser moved jaggedly, owing to both of their crude training. Fiana held on to her dear life as the anti-gravitational stomach flips began.

The cruiser staggered down to pause before free falling again. Within no time, it had reached the sandy open grounds ahead of the valley. Fiana was the first one to unbuckle her seatbelt, even when she had struggled to put on one earlier.

"Home!" Fiana screamed as she jumped out on the sand, she took a long breath of dry and dusty air and smiled. She took an enthusiastic step forward, and with the next one she was already running toward her home.

"Surprisingly, the valley is quite this time. No acrobatics, no jump scares and Oja stares so far. Interesting." Arya squeezed her eyes to protect herself from the dust that had risen due to the landing of their air cruiser.

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"No!" Fiana screamed, scanning all around the valley. Only other voice she heard was her own echo inside the valley. "No. No."

"Where is everybody?" Arya looked around, AVAH scanned every crevice possible to pick up on any human sign.

"I don't understand, by now Oja would have pounced from nowhere with Syf and her other guardsmen." Benji ran over to the cavern they used for suppers, the community hall.

"What in the world...?" Benji gasped, looking at the disheveled place. All the clay platters and bowls, along with stew was broken into pieces and thrown all over the ground.