The Crimson Sky Part 1

The wind howled like a hungry beast, tearing at my hamster onesie as I stood precariously close to the edge of the floating ship. My tiny fingers clutched Nutmeg so tightly against my chest that he squeaked in protest.

Far below, the world stretched into darkness, endless and empty, the sun long gone, replaced only by the eerie glow of artificial lights dotting the ruined cities. And here, on the highest point of the ship, Volkov and Noah worked, their movements precise, methodical. They were building something. Something that would change everything.

Diego leaned casually against one of the metal support beams, a plume of acrid smoke curling from the cigarette dangling between his lips, as if my presence, my silent observation, was of no consequence.

Franny frowned, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her gaze fixed on Diego with a mixture of irritation and something akin to weariness. “Could you not do that in front of a child, Diego?”

Diego exhaled lazily, a cloud of smoke momentarily obscuring his features, his eyes fixed on the turbulent sky as if he were waiting for some ominous sign. He completely ignored her.

I clutched Nutmeg even tighter, my small voice trembling slightly against the howling wind, but holding a core of unwavering defiance. “Why did you pretend to be our friend, Franny?”

Franny blinked, her dark eyes flickered with something I couldn’t quite decipher. I saw a brief hesitation, a flicker of what might have been regret, cross her face before she quickly masked it. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, then closed it again, a silent internal battle raging behind her guarded expression. Then, finally, her voice soft but firm, she said, “I do care about you, Lumina.”

I scoffed, a small, disbelieving sound, squeezing Nutmeg even tighter against my chest, his tiny body a fragile source of comfort. “Friends don’t hurt friends.”

Franny sighed, her frustration palpable as she brushed her fingers distractedly through her dark bangs. “This is about making a better world, Lumina. You’re too young to understand.”

I frowned, my brow furrowed in confusion. “A better world doesn’t need hurting. Sissy always said that the best way to fix things is to build, not break.”

Franny didn’t answer, her gaze drifting towards Volkov and Noah, her silence a tacit admission that she had no real rebuttal. Then – the device whirred, a low, ominous sound that vibrated through the deck. Volkov stepped back, his eyes calm, almost serene, a chilling satisfaction radiating from him. Noah adjusted the final dial with a decisive click, his expression unreadable, a cold mask of unwavering loyalty.

My stomach twisted with a sickening premonition, as if my small body sensed that something was terribly wrong, that the very fabric of the world was about to be irrevocably altered. The sky – already a bruised canvas of black from the sun’s absence – began to shift, swirling with unnatural speed, pulsing with a deep, malevolent energy.

Then—crimson light cracked across the sky. Red lightning rained down, striking the distant remains of Earth, illuminating the ruins in violent flashes. Nutmeg squeaked, terrified, burying his tiny face against my hands. I felt the storm rumble beneath my skin, felt something awaken in the air.

And suddenly – I wanted Sissy more than anything in the world. Her fierce protectiveness, her unwavering strength, the way she always made everything feel like it would be okay, even when it wasn’t.

Noah’s voice rang out across the ship, eerily calm despite the chaotic spectacle brewing overhead. “The device will reach full optimization in approximately one hour.”

An hour.

Then—the world would change permanently. The sky continued to darken, swirling in unnatural shades of crimson, the red lightning growing more violent with each passing second. I felt the storm pressing against my skin, thick and heavy, wrong in ways I couldn’t explain.

And then – the entire ship shuddered violently, a deep, groaning tremor that ran through the steel like a dying beast.

A massive explosion erupted from the lower decks, rumbling through the steel, making the ground beneath us tremble like an earthquake. Volkov and Noah paused their adjustments to the device, eyes narrowing as they tried to register what had just happened.

Diego, still leaning with a deceptive casualness against the railing, flicked the ash off his cigarette, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features.

Before anyone could react – a barrage of tiny, brown spheres rained down from above. Hamster pellets. Seemingly harmless, utterly ridiculous, they pelted the deck in bursts, rolling across the metal, scattering in every direction. Then – a sudden, almost imperceptible surge of kinetic force activated within them.

Guards barely had time to react before their weapons short-circuited, their legs gave out, and chaos erupted around them. Franny yelped, grabbing my wrist, pulling me back behind her, eyes darting wildly. Diego cursed, kicking away a few pellets, realizing too late that they weren’t just ordinary projectiles.

Then – his eyes widened, his gaze fixed on something above us. “Look up!”

Instinctively, I lifted my gaze, my breath catching in my throat. And then – I saw it. A massive, glowing hamster ball, impossibly large, spinning wildly through the turbulent sky, defying gravity with a ludicrous grace – a gravity-defying engine powered by the impossible science of perpetual motion energy.

And inside the transparent sphere – Sissy. Aiden. Daddy. They were here. They had come for me.

Franny’s grip tightened around my wrist. Noah and Volkov turned sharply, their expressions shifting from calm certainty to something colder—something calculating. They had expected resistance. But they had never expected this. And for the first time since I had been captured, hope crashed through my chest like a burst of electric light.

The floating ship shuddered violently as the massive, hamster-powered pod crashed onto the deck with a deafening clang, kicking up a swirling storm of dust and debris.

Before anyone could react – Dad jumped out first. He landed hard, his knees bending to absorb the impact, his breath controlled but fierce, his eyes locked on Diego. Diego grinned, cracking his knuckles with a menacing sound as he stepped forward, his hulking frame radiating a dangerous confidence.

“You know, Doc,” Diego muttered, rolling his shoulders, his eyes glinting with cruel amusement, “I feel kinda bad about this. Hate hitting an old man. But don’t worry, I won’t make it too painful… in front of your daughters.”

Dad didn’t flinch. Didn’t waver. His gaze remained steady, unwavering.

Even so, it made Diego’s grin widen, a flash of predatory anticipation in his eyes. “Guess I gotta make it quick, then. I was the best damn boxer in the whole damn military, after all.”

Without warning, Diego swung, a heavy fist aimed squarely at Dad’s jaw.

But Dad blocked effortlessly, his movements surprisingly fluid and agile. Then – he retaliated, his own fist connecting with a solid thud against Diego’s ribs. Diego staggered back, his eyes wide with surprise and a flicker of pain before he quickly regained his balance, a low growl rumbling in his chest. I gasped, watching them move, a strange mix of fear and burgeoning hope churning within me. Dad was older, years slower, decades removed from the brutal, relentless training Diego had endured.

And yet – he was holding his own, his movements precise and surprisingly powerful. Better than anyone could have expected.

Diego growled, his frustration mounting, and tried again, throwing a series of heavy punches, sharp and fast, but Dad countered each one with a surprising strength and agility, his movements just slightly stronger, slightly faster than they logically should have been. Diego squinted, a flicker of confusion crossing his features as he noticed the subtle anomaly.

Then – Dad grinned, a flash of the old, confident smirk I remembered. He held up his fists, the reinforced fabric of his makeshift onesie gauntlets catching the crimson light of the storm.

“All thanks to Aiden’s…modifications,” Dad said, a hint of wry amusement in his voice.

Diego’s face twisted with frustrated fury. Sick of getting outmaneuvered and hit by an “old man,” he lunged forward, his hand reaching for the gun holstered at his side. But before his fingers could close around the weapon’s grip – Dad’s fist shot out, knocking the gun flying from its holster. The weapon clattered across the metal deck, spinning precariously toward Franny, who still held my wrist in a tight, unwavering grip.

Diego snarled, his eyes blazing with fury, darting forward with surprising speed. “Franny, grab it—!” he roared.

But I reacted without thinking, my small body fueled by a surge of adrenaline and a desperate need to protect my family.

I squeezed Nutmeg tightly against my chest, my tiny fingers instinctively activating the hidden hamster squeak function that Aiden had ingeniously woven into the fabric of my onesie. A piercing, high-pitched chirp, amplified by the suit’s internal speakers, rang out across the deck, echoing through the wind and the chaos of the storm. Then – the hamsters responded.

From every unseen corner of the floating ship, from ventilation shafts and storage compartments, from cracks in the metal plating and even the folds of discarded tarpaulins, they came. A stampede of tiny, unstoppable creatures, a furry, brown wave surging across the deck, swarming toward Franny. They skittered past her legs, a chaotic, wriggling mass, their tiny claws scrabbling for purchase on the metal, knocking her off-balance, pushing her away from the discarded weapon before she could even reach for it.

Diego stared in horrified disbelief as the furry deluge overwhelmed his ally. His face, moments before contorted with rage, now registered a comical blend of shock and utter bewilderment.

I giggled, a small, triumphant sound amidst the wind and the chaos, squeezing Nutmeg even tighter. “Sissy said hamsters were useless,” I whispered under my breath, a mischievous grin spreading across my face. “She was so wrong.”

Dad, seizing the opportune moment created by the unexpected furry intervention, drew back his fist and threw one final, powerful punch, landing squarely against Diego’s jaw with a resounding crack.

Diego’s eyes rolled back in his head, a groan escaping his lips as his massive body collapsed onto the metal deck, his reign of brute force brought to an abrupt, ignominious end by a swarm of rodents. Franny scrambled backward, her eyes wide with disbelief, barely able to process the sheer absurdity of what had just transpired.

And in the ensuing chaos, as the red lightning continued to crackle across the sky and the wind howled its mournful song, the hamster-powered pod landed with a final, shuddering thud behind me. The door hissed open, and Delia and Aiden stepped out, their faces grim, their eyes determined.