Skywalker: Chapter one,
"Fateful Fieldtrip…"
Luke sat on the transport, a smile on his face so large he felt like it might spit his head in two.
He was finally, really on a school trip! Classmates chattered in seats and peered down at the lunches they had been set off with. Luke's own hands lay across his day-pack, two meat rolls and a good amount of juice lay tucked inside along with a small shovel, spike and hammer for collecting fossils!
That morning his Aunt had slipped the permission slip into his pack along with his lunch and sent Luke off like it was any other day.
Luke had been sure all through breakfast that he was going to slip and say or do something to make his uncle suspicious. But everything had gone off without a hitch and now he was on the transport traveling to the Flame cliffs!
The buss arrived a few minutes later and the teachers ushered the chattering students off of the transport.
Luke tried to pay attention to the speech his teacher gave on 'safety' and how not to wander from the group, but his mind was already exploring the cave riddled red and white stone structures that made up the cliffs.
Spit into groups of six the children were led to small rock walls and told they could dig in the soft rock for fossils, and reminded to take notes on their little data pads.
Luke was pleased to note his group had been assigned an especially good hunk of rock and that his 'teammates' were all other kids he got along with well!
Now how to find a fossil? Luke pondered this question while studying the soft-pocketed stone with blue eyes as the rest of his group moved slightly away each picking there own spot to dig.
Luke wanted to get one of the GOOD' fossils and they were hard to find. The teacher had already warned them it was rare for a fossil to be found on one of these trips, and that they were supposed to pay attention to how cool the rock patterns were and have fun just looking.
After making several small holes and finding nothing Luke sat back on his heals and glared at the rock, with a sigh he looked down the cannon a ways to a rock formation that spiraled upwards.
Something about that spot seemed to draw him. Luke was sure he could find a fossil there, he was just sure of it!
But that rock formation was far from the 'safe area' the teachers had set down, and he could hear the teachers calling the students to come have lunch.
Luke's team members passed him, eager to eat and Luke was quickly left behind. It was then he got an idea. He could quickly slip over to the rocks and look for a fossil while everyone was eating lunch, then get back before anyone noticed!
With the brashness of youth Luke didn't give his plan a second thought and sprinted towards the formation. With in moments he crouched behind the stone, hidden from view of the class and students.
Eagerly he chipped away at the soft rock, and was rewarded with the faint outline of a black fossil!
"Alright!" Luke whooped and then clapped a hand over his mouth not wanting to be heard. A few other students were hammering away close to the lunch area and his own hammer strikes blended in as he hammered harder at the rock till his arms hurt from the vibrations.
The fossil was almost out Luke paused to catch his breath and was startled when the sound of his hammering continued without him doing anything and the other's supposedly 'eating'.
"Hu?" he blinked bight blue eyes full of confusion peering around his rock hiding place, a puzzled expression that quickly turned to horror as he realized that the sounds were not hammering, but the banging of something heavy against metal and the sounds of screaming.
A Kyrat Dragon pair was attacking the transport, trying to nock it over while those inside screamed in terror and the engine struggled to sputter into life.
Several bodies lay twisted on the sand, crimson stains spreading from the still forms. His teacher lay near the rock Luke's team had been looking at, her body minus a limb sprawled across his backpack.
"No…" Luke whispered soundlessly, small fingers clenching the stone he hid behind so hard the nails broke sending darts of pain up his arms.
"No, no no" he whispered helplessly as the engine spluttered to life and the damaged transport left him behind speeding off into the desert with it's remaining cargo. Leaving him alone with the dead, and the dragons.
They left me..they left me…theyleftmetheyleftme! The thought screamed through Luke's head as he huddled behind his rock shelter hands clasped over his ears to fend off the defining hunting cry of the Kyrats.
'Move'
It was more a feeling and less an actual sound that somehow echoed in his head, somehow it penetrated his panic and Luke paused for a moment unsure what to do, his terror battling with the internal command.
'Move now!'
The impression came again, stronger this time and backed by the roar of a dragon.
They had smelled live prey still in the area.
The defining roar spurred Luke into action and he found himself running for a opening in the cannon wall he hadn't even known was there
. The ground thudded behind him, shaking with the great thundering steps of the predators coming up behind. Luke imagined he could feel hot breath on his back and the stink of carrion and it spurred his already burning legs to run even harder.
And then he was tumbling into darkness, down an ancient stone lava shoot that was barely wide enough for his body to pass though. To Luke it felt like the terrifying drop lasted impossibly long.
Luke hit the floor with a jarring impact, all the air was forced roughly out of his lungs and Luke lay gasping for air chest burning. Darkness enveloped the boy as the predators blocked any light from above roaring in frustration into the small rock tunnel.
After a few long minutes the shadow of the Dragon moved from the small opening of light high above as the hunters left to return to their bloody kills.
Luke curled up on the stone floor and cried for a long time, hands pressed over his ears, eyes shut tight in denial of what the last few minutes had brought.
Then he stopped and choked back sobs. Luke knew couldn't afford to cry, he would loose water that way and every drop was precious out here.
They had had taught him that in survival class, although Luke was sure THIS was a situation he wasn't expected to ever find himself in.
Walking over to the opening near the top of the small cave he found himself in Luke examined the opening high above, he had to make it out of here.
They would come back and kill the dragons soon, and then they would be looking for him. He jumped once, twice, three times and then sat down with a sigh bruised ribs throbbing painfully.
The ledge was just to high for him to reach, and Luke didn't even know if the tunnel was too steep to climb up even if he DID manage to get the ledge.
Luke stood again and settled his hands on his hips stubbornly. He wasn't going to cry again, and he wasn't going to give up…there had to be another way out!
Sure enough after several minutes of searching in semi-darkness Luke discovered another old lava tunnel that led further into the cannon wall….and into darkness.
Luke sucked on his broken finger nails and tasting the salty tang of his own blood, hopping to relive some of the sting. The boy frowned at the even darker tunnel and pondered his options.
IF he went into that tube It was possible he would just get even more lost and never find his way out.
But on the other hand Luke knew he couldn't stay were he was, they would never think to look for him at the bottom of a Lava shoot and the metal in the rock would stop any scanner from picking him up.
Besides he had this feeling that taking the tunnel was the right thing to do despite the ominous appearance. So far his feelings had proven to be right….so after another moment of thinking Luke slipped into the dark tunnel and crawled on his hands and knees into the unknown….
