Chapter 2 of Dream Flyer

Trying to get myself back in gear for writing and I figured I'd post this for anyone to look over for more feedback.  The chapter is titled "First Encounters".

Dina had no idea how long she floated through the clouds. Time was impossible to tell. There was no day or night, only a softly-lit swirl of mist. She couldn’t see the sun or stars. She never ate or slept, but she never felt tired or hungry, though she knew what those concepts meant.

To break the monotony, she began to play and experiment with her ability to fly. With only a thought, she dove downward through the sea of white, feeling the rush of wind through her hair. Turning upward, she went into a loop while twisting in circles. She imagined she was a bird, spreading her wings and banking left and right. There were no landmarks for her to gauge how fast she was going, but the wind whipped through her hair and made the hem of her dress snap like a flag on a windy day.

­This was freedom!

Up and down were difficult to determine but she discovered that when she stopped focusing on staying aloft, she began to fall. She let gravity fully take hold and found herself caught in the weightlessness of free-fall. She tumbled and spun through the air until she tucked her arms in at her sides and plunged downward even faster. A cry of excitement flew from her lips as she reveled in the sensation until, suddenly, she felt something shift.

Slowing her descent, she scanned the area around her. She couldn’t tell what caused the change. The lighting had dimmed slightly and the air felt cooler. She was still surrounded by clouds, but something felt… different. A faint sound crept around the edges of the silence, a high-pitched whine and a rush of air. The noise got louder and louder until Dina thought it was going to tear her apart. She felt like she should recognize the sound and though it was familiar, she couldn’t remember.

Suddenly a huge metal blade sliced through the clouds only a dozen yards away from her, causing her to scream with fear and surprise. Her scream was was instantly drowned out as the noise became a deafening shriek that made Dina clamp her hands over her ears. The blade rushed downward at a frightening speed but she was also able to make out a larger shape through the clouds. It was long and narrow and she saw the glow of white-blue flames and blinking red lights. Whatever it was, it seemed to take no notice of her.

Panting and shivering in the clouds, the sound slowly faded. She hugged her arms around chest and tried to slow her breathing. Was it a sword, swung through the air by some flying monster? It didn’t look sharp enough to cut anything, but the size was incredible. The blade was at least ten feet across and she had no idea how long it was. The shadowy shape she saw deeper in the clouds had to be hundreds of feet in length.

While she was trying to make sense of the encounter, the clouds below her suddenly erupted with light and an explosion ripped through the chilly air. After blinking in shock for a few seconds, Dina launched herself toward the flickering flames below. The air rushed over her and as she got closer, a dark twisted shape suddenly flew by her. She only got a brief glance but it looked like a piece of metal, larger than her and scorched by fire. She could smell smoke in the air while she whirled around the area. More burning, mangled pieces of metal hurtled through the air and began to fall away from her. On one piece she saw some letters and numbers and on another she could make out the word “Delta”.

Then she heard a scream. The feeling of complete terror that accompanied the sound sent chills up her spine. It was fading quickly so without another thought, she flew in that direction. The unending shriek got louder and louder until she could make out a shadow of a person falling through the clouds.

Without warning, the sky cleared and she could see a sea of twinkling lights in the darkness below her. The lights formed crisscross patterns on the ground and when she looked back over her shoulder, she saw a clear night sky filled with twinkling stars. The clouds had vanished, but she could still see the burning debris plummeting around her.

Shaking away her confusion, she focused again on the falling person. “No! No! Please, God No!” a female voice cried out between terrified screams. Dina got closer and made out a few details, long black hair streaming away from a woman with pale skin. Her eyes were huge and filled with panic. The woman blinked in confusion as she spotted Dina zipping toward her.

The woman let out another shriek of terror as she turned to look toward the ground. Dina screamed too when she saw how close it was. Dark earth filled her view but she ignored it and reached out again for the woman. Dina’s fingers brushed her arm but the woman became hazy and indistinct. Her screams faded abruptly and the world around dissolved into cold white mist once more. The ground, the lights, the woman, even the twisted fiery wreck were all gone.

Dina was alone again.