Original Souls (A World Apart #1) (61 page)

Though the Central Lake was the largest, the high-speed coaster zipped over it in mere minutes. The cart geared up to fly back into the sky. Meanwhile, Anvar
d’
s stomach hunkered down, trying not to project its insides all over his two companions beside him strapped down beneath the silver bars.

"When is this thing going to end?" Andy shouted from the third seat.

Corinth sat beside him in the center. He shouted over the noisy ride and the swooshing waters below. "I figured a Rocksteady guy like you could handle an itty-bitty coaster ride!"

Anvard's stomach did another back flip. This time in rage over Corinth throwing down that title again ... and again.

The track elevated on a steep incline toward the crest of its wave through the night sky. Not so far away from the rigid edges protruding from the mountain ranges. This worried Lindle, and of course, Anvard. Why, he thought? Why would they have built this newer version so close to the rocky bits?

They felt unsafe, but Corinth didn't have a care in the world. Once he embraced the terrifying velocity, he couldn't get enough of the ride at large. He knew an architect couldn't be stupid enough to measure the distance between the track and the mountains wrong. They had to at least do a test run, or something, before turning on the power that juiced up this thing. More so, he was overjoyed that he found no sea monsters near the lake. His dreams had him convinced there'd be some kind of white-fire breathing reptile out here, lying in wait for him. But fortunately, no such thing came about.

The railcar picked up speed as it rounded the top hump, about to evasively traverse the Angora's insides. Anvard didn't like the sight ahead one bit. "D
o—
mountain
s—
grow?" he sounded like he was choking on a peanut as he spoke.

The other two looked to one another with raised brows. They wouldn't have thought that the boy who took the leap to achieve Thunder would have heights issues. Corinth tried to grab his hand for comfort, but the gear locking in the protective bars from overhead wouldn't budge. They were strapped in there tight.

"Hey, it will be over soon. Just this last run through the mountains it seems, and then we'll be home free." Corinth donned a supportive expression.

"It's the twist. That's what gets me, not how high we are. And we're headed right for the worst part. The mountains seem like they've grow out, not up-p-p-p!"

Once the tail end of the last cart in the row leveled off. The entire thing pulled off! Shooting forwar
d—
to Anvard's surprise. The railcar tilted to the left, then to the right. It pushed itself along the designated path, maneuvering between rocky outcrops. To build the coaster ABOVE the peaks of even the smaller mountain ranges would have been impossible. The magnetic track would have been unstable with arches that high off the ground. The only alternative was to make a path THROUGH the openings in mountains.

It was a treacherous ride, one that freaked them all out. They were locked in stiffly as the cart twisted 360degrees around without slowing the least bit down, from their perspective. Unlike them, a machine didn't need to catch its breath. Or did it? They were seated in a middle cart amongst the row, but it seemed like another cart closer to the front was malfunctioning. The apparatus started to stall, just as they narrowly passed by a sharp dangling edge of an eroded outcrop. The terrain was fiercely incongruent. They'd switch from one side to avoid smashing into a dead end. Only to shift back a few moments later because an outcrop dropped too low for the coaster to evade from its current angling.

The machine seemed in order, but then again smoke is never a good sign. A plume of fiery byproduct clouded the areas in between the craggy mountains. The gas clogged all their lungs. They coughed viscerally as the coaster chugged on. The traditional engines gave no more signs of failing, but there was no doubt that something had combusted in at least one of them. Because where there's smoke, there's definitely fire.

Unexpectedly, like a scene from one of Anvard's favorite action movies, the first compartment burst out into flames.

"
Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!
" they shouted collectively. As they knew it was only a matter of time before the flames reached them.

"Lindle!" Andy yelled, "Lindle! Stop this thing!"

He was closest to the control board to the far left of Anvard. "No!" Corinth shouted. "We might be able to make it!"

"It wo
n’
t matte
r—
if we burn to a crisp before we get there. We haven't even started over the North Lake yet. The ride's too long!"

The wind force and smoke made it difficult for them to hear or see one another. Usually, tourist enjoyed being that close to the mountains, without the hood over the carts. But tonight it was a complete hindrance. If not a death sentence.

"Undo your straps, Lindle!" Anvard commanded.

In the mildest tone he could un-courageously muster, Lindle spoke out against the plan to unfix himself while on a moving, rocking, 360degree twisting killer train
.“
No," he meekly stated. He had tears in his eyes that neither of the other boys could see, because of the smoke.

"Lindle!!!" Anvard shouted into the air with his head tilted back. He made a snap decision after he realized there would be no farther response from the scared boy closest to the controls. He pushed both green release buttons on the side handles of his safety bars.

"Cart currently in motion. Please remain seee-aaat-tteedd." The computerized voice lost communication after Anvard shot an electrified burst at the control panel with his llave gripped in his right hand.

"What are you doing?" Corinth shouted, kicked, and screamed. "We can make it, we'll die here if we don't try!" he cried out in a terrifying pitch.

Anvard looked to him as the safety bar continued ascending from the protective shell it formed over his chest and stomach area to keep him locked in. "Your quest is over, Corinth. This isn't just about your obsessive needs anymore. I have to stop this cart," Anvard was cool, calm, and collected as he spoke. He was ready to do what he believed needed to be done.

"You idiot! You'll fall! We need to get out over the lake! That's our only chance!" Corinth fought the urge to detach himself as well. He knew it was certain suicide.

While Corinth shouted like a maniac from his seat. Anvard drifted into his zone. That athletic zone that he passed over to when on a Levantarse field. This zone enabled him to focus his mind like a missile locked onto its mark. He hoped that the shot to the control panel would have brought this set of hot wheels to a screeching halt, but it didn't. The coaster sped on, as he lifted himself by pulling on the bars above his head that once kept him strapped in and safe. He held on tight as he pulled himself forward, using the series of overhead bars built into the cart. Ordinarily, on a ride this late, the hood would rest on them, but there was no hood there tonight. Just open air, and the infinite possibility of falling to ones death, if not secured. Which Andy wasn't!

An outcrop ahead hung lower than any of them could tell. The smoke and flames at the very front of the row of carts astronomically obstructed their view. The track called for the railcar to dip and then twist to the side, putting their faces parallel to the infinite drop below. Anvard prayed to every mythical deity he'd ever heard of that he wouldn't fall. He figured the bigger the pot, the better his chances that one would have mercy on his poor soul. Just a wide step or two away from slamming his fist down on the large red button ... when Corinth shouted out again.

"Anvard! We can't get stuck in here. We'll have nowhere to go!" Anvard passed on by Lindle and shot him a dirty look. Lindle -could barely see him, but he felt the tension. "This isn't my obsession i
t’
s my brain telling me this," Corinth angrily shouted. "You're killing u
s
—”

The cart was in position now. It shifted down, lifting Anvard off his feet from the sudden decrease in altitude. Then as it switched over to the other side of the large crevices in between the mountains, it slammed his body against the bars that normally held the hood. If a hood had been there, he'd be relatively safe, but his body now hung out off the sides of the bars. Dangerously dangling outside, waiting to be struck by the next rocky ledge that came by.

He wrapped his arms around the thin black cushioned bars. His grip was entirely too weak. Every time the cart jerked, he nearly let go, dropping to his death from the tilted left side. The cart was rocked back and forth on its trek down the clear track. It had to stay on its side, in order to reduce its width. The pathway was clear as far as the eye could see, but it was entirely too narrow.

"Anvard, hold on!" Corinth did the unthinkable. He detached the bars by pressing the two green buttons on either side of his security brace. The barred brace lifted off his chest, allowing more space for his chest cavity to expand outward. He collected as much air as he could then pushed out for release. He took another deep breath, and then scaled the sides of the cart. It was much easier when Anvard did it, because the cart was upright as he walked across it. But now Corinth slid down the sides of what used to be the floor, now vertically angled as the wall of the machine. He feared that h
e’
d go right over the edges if he did
n’
t create some friction. His sweaty palms were the only thing between sticking inside the cart and tumbling out over the side. When he reached the bottom, he quickly grabbed hold of Anvar
d’
s folded arms around the third bar in the row of seven.

"No!" Andy shouted. "Get back into your seat!" Which was quite impossible at this point, but Anvard couldn't think of anything else he wanted more in the world than Corinth's safety.

"Shut up, I'm thinking," Corinth said it with an air of calmness that diffused with the winds and carried over to a completely blinded Anvard. He'd gotten a lot of smoke in his lungs and eyes. The tears and burning sensation kept him from opening up. He didn't want to see what was in front of him anyhow, so it wasn't really that bad.

Corinth may have been developing the courage of a warrior-like man, but he certainly didn't possess the strength of one. He tried pulling Anvard up, but it was no use. The big boy was too heavy for the weak kid. They held onto each other tight, as the coaster dropped slightly. The bump in the road freaked out Andy, but they were positioned secure enough to withstand it. Physically at least, though the mental toll was starting to become more of a relevant factor.

"It's a good thing you're here," he told Corinth. "Or that would have been it for me." With a foreboding wince, he kissed Corint
h’
s hand attached to his own. Anvard didn't seem very auspicious about the tough odds they were up against.

Anvard stared into Corinth's turquoise eyes like they had reached the end of time together. While they looked at each other, the first cart in line popped off the track, sending a blaze of debris and sparking flames everywhere. A piece a metal from the destroyed cart ever so slightly grazed the loafers on Anvard's hanging legs. It knocked his body further to the side, almost off the bar. Though Corinth was no weight lifter, he did provide him with enough leverage to stay attached to their cart.

“
Endure
,
” Andy whispered to himself. Corinth saw Anvar
d’
s golden llave light up in his hand when he spoke the simple word. That bit of magik would help their arms to withstand the tugging pressures of the speeding coaster, but for how long?

Corinth looked forward to a revolting mess. The carts began rebelling against the magnetic forces of the track. Individual carts ahead of them lost touch with the rail and simply plowed into the walls of the crevices, falling down to their dooms just over the vertical sides of the glass track itself. Sending minuscule, but no less flaming shards of material that cut the skin of all three boys. Corinth and Anvard were smart enough to close their eyes, lest they be permanently blinded. But Lindle had completely given up hope. He sat strapped down to his chair wide-eyed, staring out into the hard mountain ranges.

Corinth squinted, trying to open his eyes without letting in any of the debris. What he saw sent a jolt to his system. The row of carts sparked with high-octane flames swirling around. If they had chosen a cart closer to the front, they'd already be dead. To Corinth, the wreckage seemed so fortuitous. His dream showed a large dragon flying toward him in the sky, melting his face with its lightning. But Walker and another mysterious force got in the way of this. No Walker and no mysterious forces were around, but the coaste
r’
s resemblance to a dragon flying through the sky gave him an idea. In his dream, he always fell from the coaster, and that's what woke him up.
The fall.