Anvard hoisted himself onto the top red bar. Corinth looked up at him from the middle bar leaning forward. "I'm sorry I almost trampled you," Andy twisted his lips slightly into a grin, but he was really embarrassed by his behavior. He was supposed to be the rock of this group.
"It wasn't that bad," Cory tried to sound friendly. "I remember feeling like I couldn't breathe either when I fell down in the auditorium. It's not a fun feeling."
Anvard wanted to agree, but his pride took him in a different direction. "Yeah, but if I'm not able to protect you then..." he paused, because he didn't want to think of the possibilities.
"You'd be surprised how I react under pressure. I'm not a baby. I'm small, a little more scarred, but overall I have a lot of courage too." Corinth realized how surreal he sounded while touching his chest like that's exactly where the courage existed inside of him. "Well ... it's somewhere down in there," he said, trying to clear up his explanation.
Anvard knew that to be the truth. He felt a glimpse of that stark courage Corinth possessed when he touched his leg, but really his soul. He felt it, true, but -Anvard couldn’t possibly imagine on his own how much depth there was to this feeble boy's soul. Corinth had a deft way of dealing with emotion. That's why he is the one the Nexus connected with over all others.
"But someone's got to be the rock of the group. You think that guy's going to do it!" He gestured to Lindle, who was tapping on one of the carts, like that would identify whether it was still functioning properly or not. "He can't even figure out where the switches are." He pointed to the switchboard just a few feet from the bars they sat on. It was positioned in front of the carts Lindle knocked on, but he didn't notice. "Somebody has got to be the rock, the stable one, you know?"
"Well, okay, Rocksteady!" Corinth laughed in his face. "You really showed how stable you can be back in the tunnel."
Anvard smirked, but really his pride was in the toilet, and Corinth had no problem flushing him out. Andy felt like Corinth was supposed to be impressed by him, not mocking him. But he figured he deserved it after he nearly broke the boy in two.
"Okay, let’s get going!" Anvard clapped his hands together and hopped off the top bar. "Come on in, Curly," he called out to Lindle to stop trying to turn on the machine by strategically banging on it.
The blue-gray carts that sat on the rusted tracks seemed completely inert. But Corinth was determined to make it, despite the obstacles that came already and could possibly stand in their way if they venture forward. Corinth pushed Anvard aside, and took control of the switches he was reluctant to touch. He pushed the most obvious button first. The big red one that was labeled,“ON”. After he pulled his hand back, the line of carts directly in front of the switchboard sprung to life. The static sound of the electromagnetic propulsion systems coming to life shocked all three of them. There seemed to be an electrical field that wasn’t quite flowing right, which gave way to Anvard’s new wave of reluctance. The lights above the track began flashing red, green, and yellow. There were four tracks. They boarded the second track from the right. Well, at least Corinth and Lindle did.
"Wait!" Anvard called out to them, but they continued to step inside. "The lights! They're still flashing. This thing can't be operable," as the last word left his lips, the lights stopped. On yellow no less.
"See, its fine," Corinth pointed to the screen onboard the fourth cart in the railcar row. "Everything's fine," he said again impatiently.
"It's yellow, Cory!" It wasn't the right time to break that nickname out again. Corinth shot him a steely glare, but Anvard ignored it. "That's a caution light. See, red means no. Green means go. And yellow means slow, or something else that makes more sense ... and also rhymes?" Anvard insisted while scratching the back of his head.
"Okay, Rocksteady, we'll trust you to handle this one the way you did the tunnel situation," Corinth countered sarcastically.
He threw his hands up. "You know what, whatever!" He was beyond frustrated with the roller coaster emotional ride he and Corinth were on. Why not just hop on a real roller coaster while they’re at it. One that was likely out of order. At least according to the sign at the gate that they continued to ignore, like it was never there. "Let's just go!" Andy summed up firmly.
He got in and pressed the button he recalled seeing the guide press all those years ago on his family hiking trip. Meanwhile, static electrical currents slowly kicked in, making the hair on the back of their necks stand tall. Just then, the boys sat down. They positioned themselves on one of three benches against the sidewalls of the cart. Not even the slightest hint of hesitation crept through Corinth or Lindle’s minds. They were ready. The automatic bar locks descended from over head. They were all now strapped in and on their way.
The cart slowly crept up the track with soothingly smooth propulsion. The structure had no wheels, so the ride wouldn’t be bumpy unless the technology failed them. The row of linked carts hovered just a few inches from the surface of the -flat glass track with metal stripes defining either edge. Propelled and repulsed by magnetic forces that held it in tight suspension with minimal friction and maximum velocity. The switch-track function operated via the individual cart’s resonant traditional engines. Facilitated by the magnetic levitation that garnered resolute torque for slowing and accelerating the coaster’s carts. When these forces combined, they provided the dynamic dexterity needed to perform the shifts from one side of the nonlinear track to the other. As it traveled through the mountains, it resembled a spiraling roller-coaster in more ways than a straightforward train.
Anvard didn't trust such advanced technology that already looked like it had endured much wear and tear. When he and his family boarded the coaster years ago, it wasn't so high-tech. It was still attached to the track by way of wheels and motor that moved it forward. The ride was clunky and uncomfortable, yet the carts looked newer and much better kept than tonight. Obviously, the coaster was still in working condition, but still he had a bad feeling about the not so joyous ride they were taking.
The coaster reached the summit of its incline. At the top of the hump, they looked out over the grounds of the school to the side of their peripheral vision. They saw the pillars and the pixie dust lighting up, and fading away back down there. The school grounds looked pretty close, even though it felt like forever walking from there to the tunnel of the coaster. They weren't nearly as high as Anvard remembered or expected. He looked forward passed the control board, and the sight ahead cleared up his confusion. This was only the first of many climbs and descents. They still had to get over the mountains. That's why the coaster was built in the first place. After the smooth ride over the Central Lake, they'd have to ride upward to traverse the dangerous series of craggy peaks. Just beyond those craggy crevices lay the eerie North Lake. They had to travel over that water body as well. Then they could finally relax as they descended to the valleys between the higher mountain ranges that lay even further north of Hyperborean and Aurora Boreal school.
The coaster dropped like a streaking eagle swooping down to collect its unexpected prey from the fields. The buzzing sound radiating from beneath and inside the group of open blue-gray carts sounded volatile, but that didn't seem to bother Anvard. It was the ride that made him feel uneasy. Very queasy in fact, as he grimaced with a pained look on his face. The decent was just as much an event as any other roller-coaster that was built for fun instead of traveling means. The railcar carefully glided off the incline into a straight and even ride, just a low forty yards above the Central Lake. The mist off the water dashed their faces as the force of the speeding coaster whipped it up.
It was a refreshing feeling to Corinth. Gliding from one side of the World of Hyperborean to the other made him feel free. Unbound from the worries he normally and naturally possessed within himself. The silvery moon shined off to the left of them, lighting up Corinth's eyes beyond that of their usual shine. He loved the sight of the full moon. He thought it drifted so gracefully across the night sky. The m
oon used the shine of the sun to reflect light down to the earth, so that we wouldn't all be completely blinded when our home star wasn't in sight. It reminded him that even the smallest of objects could have a huge impact on the grand stage of life.
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, Anvard’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. "Do—mountains—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 forward—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 won’t matter—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 it’s my brain telling me this," Corinth angrily shouted. "You're killing us—”
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 bar
s 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.
Original Souls (A World Apart #1) Page 42
