The voice did not come from the beast’s mouth, yet somehow James knew it was his words that he was hearing. There was something about the ripple of the voice through his mind that felt uncomfortably like the beast’s eyes. It wasn’t until the voice boomed again that James realized it only existed within his mind.

“Leave the girl, and I shall spare you. Climb to your land above the clouds. I shall not stop you.”

James breathed out and became aware of his shaking limbs. This was no mere animal. This was a force of nature that was baring down on him. The beast’s jagged teeth sent shivers down his spine, yet James met the beast’s eyes with every fiber of courage that he could muster. He would not run away. He would not leave this girl—irritating as she could be—alone and defenseless.

“I ask again, child. Why do you not run?”

“Because…” James struggles to find the words. He could feel the reason why, but James felt there just weren’t enough words in the world to describe that feeling. It just sat in his stomach as a warmth, unexplainable yet somehow able to support the weight of his decisions. “Because it’s wrong. Because living at the expense of others isn’t living at all. I’d never forgive myself if the only reason I was living was because I let someone else die.” The beast sneered at James.

“Then what of her mother, child. Did you not leave her to save yourself?”

James’s body went cold. “How…?” he mumbled, the image of the woman’s violet eyes threatening to overwhelm him.

“I see all, child,” the beast said, shifting its snout down so that its eyes were all that James could see. He saw reflected in them the choice that he had made. The truth that he had been shoving to the side. James shut his eyes and looked away. It was a weight too heavy for him to carry. She was gone because he had left her. James opened his eyes and found himself looking at the girl. Her fingernails still shimmered blue and he could see her breathing. She was breathing. She was alive. James turned back to the beast. Liquid filled his eyes, threatening to pour down his face, but his voice remained calm.

“I didn’t leave her to save myself. I did it to save her,” he said, gesturing to the girl. He blinked, causing a tear to fall down his cheek. “I wish I could have saved them both.” All the emotions that had been swirling inside of him suddenly stopped. He felt a deep calm wash over him. Not even the beast’s gaze affected him. “But she gave me the task of saving this girl, and I plan to see it through. You can’t have her!”

The beast’s snout lowered, and James steeled himself for whatever may come. The beast’s entire head dropped, putting it in height with James’s. Even with the snout mere inches from his face, James looked the beast directly in the eyes. The beast moved, sending a jolt of expectance through James’s body. Though, it was not the bite that James had anticipated. Instead, the beast sniffed him. It breathed in and then out, and then in again. James expected the beast’s breath to smell bad, but it smelled good, like the concentrated scent of the forest. The beast raised his head.

“Protect her, child of the sky,” the beast’s booming voice said in his mind. The beast moved his massive head to the side, staring out into the forest. “The fires approach. Take her with you. Protect her.”

Before James could respond, the beast turned its back to them and began walking back across the water, each footstep sending a tremor through the earth. James watched it go and didn’t look away until it disappeared beyond the trees. Even then, he waited for the tremors to stop before looking back towards the girl. She was unharmed. His gaze shifted to the same direction that the beast had been looking. A dim light not caused by the trees could be seen in the distance. The beast was right. They needed to go. He looked to the rope, and then to the unconscious girl. He shook her. She didn’t wake. He shook her harder and she still didn’t wake. He groaned, throwing her on his back and taking her to the rope. James thanked himself for making the rope longer than necessary as he wrapped what had been coiled on the ground around the girl’s waist. After tying it tight with as many knots as he could, he tested its strength. It didn’t budge. James looked up at the rope and followed its path until it disappeared into the clouds above. His legs yelled in protest at the idea of climbing it. The run from the fire had left his body sore, and the run in with the beast had left him mentally exhausted. But he couldn’t rest now. There would be time for that later. Though, the lack of knots at the bottom of the rope would have to be addressed now. James looked around and rested his eyes on the tree to his side. The same tree that he had fallen from before. He looked up and found that it nearly reached the clouds. It would have to do. Though climbing the tree was a workout in its own right, it paled in comparison to climbing the rope. He let his urgency carry him to the base of the tree. He certainly wasn’t eager to climb the tree that he had fallen from earlier that very day… or at least he hoped it had been earlier that day. He could explain a few hours to Celeste, but a whole day would be a different story entirely.

He stared up at the tree. Perhaps he was just imagining things, but he thought it was giving off the faintest pulse. Regardless, he needed no encouragement to climb the tree. The thickening smell of smoke was encouragement enough. James leapt up onto the first branch. He took a moment to steady himself before leaping up to the next branch. After several minutes, he looked down and internally mocked himself for mistaking the water for a magical doorway. It seemed so obvious to him now that it was simply a reflection.

He sighed and started for the next branch, but a light suddenly caught his attention. He was high enough now to see the blazing fire. It was still a moderate distance away, but it was no small fire. It fed on the forest like Celeste fed on whisps. He needed to hurry. Throwing perhaps more caution to the wind than he should have, James bounded up the tree, reaching the upper branches in a mere few minutes. He sat breathing for as long as he dared, watching the blaze burn in the distance. After a few moments, he stood up and looked towards the end of the branch where the rope dangled. He approached the edge of the branch, his heart pounding nervously in his chest. The branch swayed slightly under his weight, sending a jolt of fear up his spine. He took a few steps back. His footprints glowed darkly in front of him and then slowly disappeared, as if to mock him. The rope was too far away to just grab. He was going to have to jump for it. He had known that it would most likely come to this, yet still he had hoped during his climb that it wouldn’t. He took a step forward and found that his legs were shaking.

Not now! he thought to himself.

He needed to act, not to be gripped with fear. His mind flickered back to the reoccurring image of his dad, an expression of determination on his face. He legs felt stronger. The tingling that had been running through them lessened slightly at the thought of him. His mind then flickered to the beast’s eyes, a void of nothing and everything. James thought this should have terrified him, but instead it drove him forward. If he could look into those eyes, then he could certainly lunge for this rope. His fear almost seemed laughable as he steadied his balance, surged forward, and leapt for the rope. He seized it in one hand and then immediately clenched his other hand onto it, wrapping his legs around it in the process. He felt a small jolt beneath him as the rope swayed with his momentum. He looked down and watched the girl’s unconscious body drag a foot or so across the ground. He cringed at the movement. He would have to apologize to her about that later. He paled slightly, thinking of the other things he would have to apologize to her for.

The ascent wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. After a few minutes of climbing, he emerged from the clouds into the bright sun-filled sky. He peered around once he had reached the first knot in the rope. The clouds stretched in all directions, like a horizontal wall to hide what lay beneath. He still couldn’t believe what he had found. He had been right. Life existed—no—life thrived beneath the clouds. This would change everything. And he didn’t even need to convince Captain Shamran. The Divers had seen it all as well, after all. James looked up, groaned internally at the amount he had left to climb, and got on with it. It didn’t take long for the monotony of the task to put him in a daze. He was actually surprised when his fingers touched the metal of the lower platform’s railing. He started to hoist himself up but froze as he heard something. Heavy breaths and sniffles. Was someone crying? He peeked his head up and found Celeste huddling into a ball leaning against the platform’s railing. An uncontrollable and intense feeling of guilt washed over him.

“Uh. I’m back,” he said.

Celeste’s head snapped up, her red eyes meeting his. He tried to give a weak smile but immediately knew it was the wrong move.

“Get on this side of the railing. RIGHT. NOW,” she growled. The thought of not doing what she said didn’t even occur to James as he leapt over the railing to face her. As James straightened his back and looked her in the eyes, he could tell that her anger was diminishing. With her eyes still watering, she grabbed her younger brother and hugged him. After a few moments, she released him and inspected him. She gasped as she looked at his leg. “Are you okay!?” she asked leaning down to get a better look. James looked down and realized for the first time that his pants were soaked with blood. How bad had his injury been?

“Yes. I’m fine. It, uh, looks a lot worse than it is,” he said with a sheepish smile. She eyed him with a flat expression and then stood up level with him.

“Good,” she said with a smile. And then she punched him.

James reeled backward up against the railing. He instantly tasted blood in his mouth.

“What was that for?” he asked, rubbing his rapidly swelling lip.

She pointed to the sky. “I gave you a deadline,” she said through gritted teeth. James looked up and paled. Based on the sun’s position, it was well past noontime.

“I can explain,” he said. Celeste eyed him skeptically. “Really, I can. But first you have to help me lift this rope.”

“Lift your own rope,” she said, turning towards the ladder.

“Celeste, please. It’s important.”

Celeste eyed him for a moment and then sighed. James turned towards the rope, knowing that sigh was her way of agreeing. The two started to pull on the rope.

“Why the heck is this thing so heavy?” she asked, straining against the weight of the rope.

“It’s tied to something,” James said flatly.

“Tied to what?” Celeste asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Uh… Proof of life beneath the clouds.” Celeste raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ll see soon,” James said, putting an end to the questions.

She would, after all, see soon. He just hoped that Celeste wouldn’t throw the girl back over the railing when they finished pulling her up.