A Day in the Clouds (Chapter 13) - The Hours Between 1700 and 1800 (Part 1 of 2)

in #fiction7 years ago (edited)

This is a continuation of the Steemit-exclusive, original novel A Day in the Clouds. Be sure to check out the previous chapters to catch up with the story. Enjoy!


<< Chapter 12


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The multi-talented @verbal-d has bestowed a wonderful gift for this story. To enhance the reading experience, play this on loop in the background as you read this chapter. Please be sure to follow and donate to @verbal-d!

My vision blurred. Spending countless of hours in front of the computer had caused my eyes to become hazy. I tried to scratch out the fog, but it only made it worse. Instead, I closed my eyes and focused my viento to heal myself.

Dadier lifted me up, then set me down on the ground. He tapped on the kibo and seemingly commanded the whole contraption to shut down.

I reached for damaus, lifted it up and discovered that it, too, powered down. The parts of the computer not only functioned together, but it somehow depended on each other to live. That is, if "live" was applicable in reference to machines. Interesante.

Unbeknownst to me, Dadier swapped his armor for a black-colored, sleeved tunic. He slipped on footwear that extended up to his Achilles, and stomped on the ground.

    "Come on, Ledd," the giant urged, nodding his head slightly. "Let's go down."

He didn't even attempt to lift me up. Instead, he motioned towards the stairs and commanded me to follow him. This was a surprising development. Far be it for me to not take advantage of this rare occasion.

    "Lead the way," I replied, as I glided through the wooden floorboard.

The staircase was steep, and the steps were far apart from each other. It was a perilous descent, but the giants always seemed to make short work of the narrow walkway. The design seemed intentional, and it appears as if it's purpose was to prevent us from exploring on our own. This fortress had its secrets that us prisoners weren't privy to.

I bent my knees as I traversed one rung to the next. It wasn't the first time I made the descent on my own, as Mamie usually allowed me the opportunity. But, the experience didn't make the journey less harrowing. The wooden steps creaked beneath my feet. I peered down the side to catch a glimpse of the lower depths of the fortress. My eyes were only met by a fathomless pit of whispering shadows. I shuddered at the thought of stepping over the edge. My stomach churned and my head felt hollow.

    "No, don't look down," warned the giant. "Watch your step ha, anak."

It was good advice, and completely uncharacteristic of him to say such. Considering that these giants had a grander plan for me, it made sense that they wanted to protect me from harm. That is, until the moment that I served my purpose.

And, what did that mean? "Ha anak." Such an odd word. Was that in reference to my escape, and eventual recapture? Was that a term used for fugitives or recaptured prisoners? It certainly had a ring to it. I could definitely spin that into an honorable title. "Ha anak, the spark of the uprising!" Yes, that'll work.

For every step I took, Dadier made two. He made sure to keep a close eye and not let me stray away again. Little did the giant know that not escaping fell in line with my new strategy.

We made our way out of the fortress and into the prison yard. Dadier woke Coche up, while I strolled lightly toward the other prisoners.


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Cloud Source

They all stared at me, with different reactions plastered across their faces. Some were at awe of my feat, while others seemed to mock my recapture.

    "I don't see any of you doing any better," I shouted. "I may have been recaptured, but at least I escaped, unlike you miserable lot."

    "If it were me, I would never allow myself to get sent back here," one prisoner claimed.

    "Well, why don't you?" taunted another on my behalf. Others joined in and shared their sentiments. Muted arguments littered the air, as the tension started to rise.

    "Yes, please," I interrupted mockingly. "If you can escape and evade capture, then do so! Teach us how to properly do it."

Other prisoners crowded around as I walked slowly towards him. The prisoner stayed silent, but didn't avert my gaze. I pressed on until we were face to face. The other prisoners continued taunting him.

    "Or, just shut up, and let us doers do. It's way too easy to throw around claims. Talk is cheap. Back it up and prove that you that you could do better. I dare you, comenzar el plan."

Clenching my fist, I could feel his breath on my face. Even without my viento, I felt like I had enough fighting prowess to take him on. I could see him seething, trying his best not to come at me. The other prisoners were prodding us to fight. I was waiting for him to throw the first punch, before I would unleash a barrage and destroy him.

    "You're not worth my time," he dismissed before turning his back and walking away. "Golpe fuerte."

    "Don't you turn your back on me," I commanded. "If you could do better than I did, then show me. Show us!"

The other prisoners jeered. His posse surrounded him as they made their retreat.

Somehow, I understood where they were coming from. It was easy to claim something that you have yet to perform. Time and again, I often thought that I could topple the giants in a test of strength and skill. Even before I first attempted it, I foresaw the outcome swinging in my favor. No one could ever convince me otherwise. When I finally decided to try, it didn't go my way. Attempt after attempt, it all ended the same.

From a distance, I could see the giant Nehney carrying Eddie. He looked at me with those unnerving doe eyes of his. It was apparent that he was able to observe the whole confrontation. The little mongrel offered none of his thoughts regarding the matter. Not that it held any weight.

    "Hey, Ledd," Nehney called out. She manipulated Eddie's hand to make it seem that the wretched little creature was waving at me. He can't even lift his arm by himself!

Coche purred, and Dadier walked towards me as he beckoned. The giant lifted me up then strapped me inside the hollow, metallic creature.

As soon as I stepped inside, Coche instantly blew a glacial breeze my way. The gentle beast knew that I was a Sachaphoyan. It took it upon itself to always make me feel right at home whenever I boarded it. It was the special bond that we shared. If I were to be honest, it might just be the closest thing I have to a friend here in the prison.


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Dadier sat just behind Coche's head, right before we began our journey. It was only the three of us this time. Usually, Mamie, Teten and the pudgy little creature they called Eddie accompanied us. I didn't know where we were going, but I trusted Coche will bring us there safely.

The giant steered left, then steered right as he held on to Coche. The tender creature followed every command without hesitation. Dadier would sometimes slap Coche when there were giants along our path. In turn, the delicate critter would scream in pain. There were many times when I wanted to strangle the giants when they hit it. Fortunately for them, my restraint prevented me from inflicting them pain. I asked Coche if he was alright after the abuse, but he refused to show any signs of pain. Perhaps, that was a show of force to let the other giants know that they were in complete control of their beast.

Coche slowed down until it halted completely. It had been a quick journey, but I wasn't quite sure where we were. Dadier released me from my restraint, and stopped for a second to see what I would do. The giant was wary that I would attempt another grand escape. I looked back at him and grinned.

    "Not this time," I quipped.

The giant breathed a sigh of relief, as if he was half-expecting my attempt at a getaway. If I needed to take these giants by surprise, I needed to throw curveballs like this, time and again.

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<< Chapter 12


Thanks for reading! You may have noticed the (Part) in the title :o


You know the drill ;)

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I love the imagination you bring to this, with him believing that Coche is a sentient, feeling being. Lovely!

Real life made it easy. They gave their vehicle a proper name, so I thought that I might as well make a character for it haha! (I love naming my stuff as well btw) For someone who doesn't know how a radio or airconditioning works, I thought that it would be fascinating to see all of those things in action. Since he's not familiar with the outside world all that much, I might as well associate those things with things that he knows (talking and breathing). Admittedly, he's not a big talker, but I'm hopeful to have a conversation regarding this story with him when he grows up :D

Oh that would be interesting, to see his perspective on the story later!

Right?? I'm so ready to be that awkward uncle that he's embarrassed about haha! It would definitely be an interesting conversation for sure :D

@sift666 and I are the odd aunt and uncle, for sure!

Woohoo! Only a couple more years and I'll be joining your ranks. I'm so happy to be in league with awesome people :D Let the embarrassment commence!

Yes, being an oddball feels much more comfortable once you've found the other oddballs ;-)

A group of oddballs haha nice! Personally, I just feel like I didn't appreciate oddball grown-ups when I was growing up. I felt embarrassed by their actions, and didn't know that years from now I would be doing the exact same thing. I can't turn back time and appreciate them then, so I'm just doing the next best thing and making my nieces and nephews experience the silliness :D

Just like @meesterboom, this was one of my favorite sections to read. "The giant lifted me up then strapped me inside the hollow, metallic creature.

As soon as I stepped inside, Coche instantly blew a glacial breeze my way. The gentle beast knew that I was a Sachaphoyan."

It just read so well off the page and had a genuine sense of fantasy connection to it in the eyes of Ledd.

"Dadier would sometimes slap Coche when there were giants along our path. In turn, the delicate critter would scream in pain."

This actually invoked some compassion out of me because the believability of Ledd's convictions of what he believes to be true is so raw and authentic.

This was a pretty fast read, and so glad I finally have time to settle down and catch up once again. I will read every chapter from now on with the accompaniment music. I can't wait until you send me chapters to work on :) Nice work bro

Thank you, my brother! Your undying support is eternally appreciated :D I know you, of all people, would be the one who would feel for his convictions. As one of the most compassionate people I know, your recognition of that is truly gratifying.

This image actually inspired the dynamic between them:

I like how ignorance provides compassion sometimes. Warms my heart to witness such things. You're right about the fantasy connection, bro. That was indeed what I was aiming for.

Part 2 is already up, so I hope it's a nice follow up to this! I'm going to read your posts after this comment. Appreciate you, bro!

You are most welcome bro, and I'm glad I am able to tune in on your intentions. You make it very easy for me. Part 2 shall be read very soon! Appreciate you as well, sharing your gifts and talents.

We're wrapping up the first round of edits, I'll get in touch with you on chat for when I pass it on to you. I just realized that you would be discovering the ending to this story way earlier than the others! Haha! I do hope you still stop by from time to time to share your thoughts. Since I'm updating it weekly, the later chapters would include your edits as well :)

Sounds great, i'll be more than happy to have a fresh start on reaching the end before others, what a privilege! I'm ready to edit when you're ready.

Sending it in a bit. Sorry for the delay. I'll explain everything in the email. I appreciate the help you're providing, my bro!

Oh aye, trying to sneak a chapter past me eh!!

Fantastic again. I like that touch about coche breathing the cool air on him because of knowing what he is. Nice additional art in the car too!

I like the little adendum in two days so we know when its coming :O)

Ha! I wanted to catch you off guard time and again so that I could call you out on missing a chapter, but with the increase duration of the payout, it's getting harder to miss haha!

For someone who doesn't know what airconditioning is, I imagine that it would be so fascinating. Sometimes I wish I could return to a time of innocence, but then I open a letter addressed to me, then I have to whip my wallet out and pay some bills :(

I really wish that I could do the art for every chapter, but it's very time consuming haha!

I like the little adendum in two days so we know when its coming

AHAHA! Stay tuned!

Thanks for catching this post unprompted, dude! I appreciate you continually leaving comments :D

No need to thank me, I always try to keep an eye out for friends in the feed and if they aren't there I check up on them when i get a spare moment.

I am very glad I caught this one! Ha, simpler times with no wallets and no clamouring to empty those wallets. Those would be fab!

You're in luck, I have a new post I just uploaded! :D

Thanks for that, dude. My eyes are welling up just reading that you look at me with that regard. I'm the same way with your posts. I hope more people would follow suit and follow the same attitude. Steemit could use more people like you!

And more like you!!! I shall go and check out this so called post

;0)

I really like how Steemit connects like-minded folks like us! :D

Sorry so late in commenting on this one. Yesterday was my anniversary :) So I was away from the land of computers for many hours, then spent the evening hours making a post. Then today...He Returned. nonames is back, and my relief is quite big. Safe and sound, that's just what I needed to know.

Where could they be taking the mischievious and tricky Ledd? I really love that he thinks of Coche as nearly a friend, that in his mind it is alive.
I like the new turn with him strategizing, I think I said that before, but it's a really neat way to move the story.
You do cliffhangers really well, now I'll be wondering all week where they might have taken him.
I also really enjoy the different words you throw in, they all sound so exotic and somehow exciting. I don't think I've heard a better word for an inner strength and power than viento. I've already found myself applying it to different things in life, lol.
Excellent chapter my friend. You have truly made this story captivating, and I continue to marvel that it is all based on one day. Beautiful writing.

Oh, my second part of the anniversary post which I will be putting up tomorrow, will feature a specific location from Reborn. I included excerpts to go with it :)

No worries, my friend :) I was away from the computer yesterday as well. Will be commenting on your posts in a bit. Happy anniversary to you and the hubby! :D

For someone who doesn't know what a car is, I figured that it would be very confusing to hear the radio or feel the airconditioner, so I tried to play on that level of ignorance. It's completely fascinating, and I've had such a blast thinking of ways to spin it.

I've divided the whole story into three main arcs, so this strategizing phase is a crucial part in moving the story forward. I'm glad that you're enjoying it, my friend :) Since this is Part 1, you won't have to wait a whole week ;)

I really wished I could've used the Filipino equivalent of some of the words, but you'll see soon enough how it fits in to the larger narrative. I'm glad that viento is having a profound impact in your life. I hoped that one of the exotic words stuck out, and I'm glad it was the main one :D

Looking forward to reading your posts in a bit, my friend! I already have it in my queue, just sorting some things out. Thanks for your continued support! :D

Oh, Ledd, what mischief are you running off to with Coche?

Yay! Ledd the strong chap! 💪

Right you are, bud! :D

I am simultaneously waiting for Ledd and Coche to make an awesome fantastic fully dramatic escape and banging my head on my kibo in exasperation at him not understanding the situation XD

Ugh! I just noticed a typo! This wasn't the latest version >.< Trust me when I say that I'm banging my head on my kibo in exasperation as well!

There's just something about him that seems very rebellious. It's very bittersweet. On one hand, you're proud that he's headstrong, while on the other, it's hard because he could be a bit stubborn. I really loved exploring the duality of his nature. There's nothing more I would love than to write him and Coche riding off into the sunset. But, there's still half a day ahead of him, so stay tuned to see where the story goes :D

Thank you for the awesome comment, my friend! Always so entertaining :D

His nature seems to be pretty straightforward as far as things go. To me the bittersweet thing is that nobody gets it. He doesn't get that the "giants" actually love him to bits and his poor parents don't get that he thinks they're the enemy of his people. It's thoroughly exasperating and so entertaining to read from Ledd's point of view and always looking forward to how things are going to resolve down the line :D

As always, you capture my intention so perfectly, my friend :) The disconnect in terms of their communication is the real problem, and it's something that is almost quite inevitable. That's why I wanted to write it from his point of view, because we usually just get to read the perspective of the parents who love their children. I really hope that the resolution won't turn out to be disappointing :S

I am experiencing difficulty conceiving of your ability to deliver anything other than a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

(purple prose brought to you by TOO MUCH CAFFEINE BUT I NEED MOAR)

It'll be right :D

Haha! Thanks for the vote of confidence, my friend! I was so tempted to create a giant avatar of me that would tell Ledd that he is being understood, then take him on Coche and ride off into the sunset as the ending. Well, because of the time, it'll be more like riding off into the sunrise haha!

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