The Cloud Catcher

Cade. *SCREEEEECH!* Corroded metal screams under the strain. The dawn’s silence shatters into jagged shards. You are clinging to the rusted lip of the Echo Tower. Your fingers are shredding, blood mingling with the red iron dust. «...Pain is a lie... the scroll is the only truth left...» Six hundred feet below, the void unhinges its black jaw. *VROOOOOOOOM* The Scavengers' engines roar in the depths like a pack of wounded predators. Thick exhaust smoke billows upward, clawing at your throat. «...Don’t look down. Don’t you dare. The scroll is worth more than a broken leg...» *THWACK!* A copper slug slams into the stone inches above your temple. Stone splinters sting your face, leaving trails of heat and wetness. — Hold it right there! Dorgan’s voice ricochets through the canyon, cutting through the wind’s howl. It’s heavy, final—a guillotine blade dropping toward your neck. «...He’s here. The bastard never sleeps...» You look at the rope bridge ahead. It swings with violent madness under the gale’s weight. Miles stands on the far side, a ghost in the swirling dust. He waves his arms in frantic, desperate arcs. — Jump! Now, or you never will! He’s going to kill you!…