The Ranch

Trial Committee (4)

I can tell this trial was already supposed to be physically demanding in the first place. Carrying this extra baggage is starting to take its toll on me. Damn..should have worked out some more.

I push myself and we manage to reach the last ten percent of the course, but I think this is the end. My arm are about to give out and the ground is almost at a ninety degree angle, and it's still turning. It'll probably flip us over if I waste any more time. Should I ditch the kid? I can probably push myself a little more if I concentrate my power on my legs...

As I was in thought, a hand stretched out in front of my eyes. I see Tih hanging upside down from a tree with his arm reaching towards me.

Does he expect me to grab his hand? What, is he going to pull me up the tree with that skinny body of his? ...how did he get up there in the first place? He wouldn't be able to touch it even if he jumped.

As if telling me my thoughts were wander, a heavy clicking noice sounded. Sh1t, we must be at ninety degrees now.

Feeling rushed, I take the childish hand and before I realize what's going on, I'm whooshed into the tree. H-how...What is this kid.

The ground doesn't give me time to digest the child's unusual strength. This time, I watch as the boy jumps twice his height and clamps around a tree in one swift motion. I'm once again helped up by a child.

It's now a race against time as the gravity is slowly pushing us toward the cliff. Reaching the top ledge, Tih pulls me up and we look at the scene in front of us.

The floor is like a giant plank, spinning on an axle in the middle. The underside of the ground is completely smooth. There's about a football field of space between where we're standing and the cliff in front of us. The space below us is not nearly as tall as the cliff we are trying to escape from, but it's definitely higher that the sides of this cliff, meaning I won't be able to safely jump down in my condition. Looking down, about three-fourths of the football field away, is a small, but deep looking pond.

"...looks like we'll have to jump." I'm gonna have to tune this perfectly. We can wait till the floor turns enough, and use it as a ramp to run down, before jumping off the end. To do so, one needs to find the time it'll take to run down the floor and calculate the best angle to jump or something. I've never been good with the super brainy stuff.

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There is actually another way to escape this scenario, and that would be running to the other side of the floor again. Before the angle gets too high, they can jump to the lower wall of the three cliff-faces.

Although this is another option, Major Jax would not have the stamina to run the entire two football fields in that time limit. If he had continued to train his body instead of sleeping all day, this option would be more feasible.

Making do with Major Jax's plan, they wait until the ground flips to a one-hundred and forty degree angle, explaining his plan to Tih as they wait," I don't have enough strength to carry you, so you'll be on your own. Remember to aim for the water."

Once the time is right, they let themselves slide down the underside of the floor. Luckily, it's completely smooth, otherwise they would have had to worry about dodging trees and the like on their way down.

Their speed increases the longer they slide, the wind blows Tih's curly hair into a mess. As soon as they reach the end of the floor, they use their momentum and jump, skydiving towards the pool of water. They free-fall down, powerful wind blows in their faces. They use the wind to push themselves in the direction of the water.

Major Jax, who's not used to the weightless feeling, thrashes around in the air as he tries to control his movements. He can be seen doing messy flips in the air as he struggles to balance himself. His arms flap wildly in the air, catching wind, and reducing his overall speed.

Tih is below him, falling at a much faster speed. In an almost elegant posture, his hand are at his side and legs are together, limiting the drag that slows a person down. He shoots through the air like a bullet, throughly leaving Major Jax behind.

Tih reaches the body of water much faster. Shooting through the water in an arc, using the speed from the fall to get closer to the surface. The momentum disappears before he can reach the surface, forcing him to swim the rest of the way.

As Tih starts an insanely fast dolphin kick, Major Jax finally hits the water. Although he managed to make it to the water, it was not pretty. He hit the water face down, a stinging sensation could be felt running along the front half of his skin.

As Major Jax is feeling the pain of an incredible belly flop, Tih already reached land. He gets out of the water and starts shaking his head like a wet dog drying to dry itself off. Beads of water fly off his soaked curls. The brown of his hair has deepened a level, but it's no longer frizzy. Tih's clothes stick to him as he looks around his new environment, inspecting everything from this rock to that bush.

It's not until the physically drained Major climbs out of the water half an hour later. He crawls out of the water, collapsing on the dirt floor. He had already exerted all his energy on his drop down and only managed to crawl his way out of the water from fear of drowning.

The late midday sun had already mostly dried Tih's clothes. The dry child watches the pitiful-looking man, sopping wet and wheezing as dirt clings to the back of his clothes.

Major Jax falls asleep from overexertion. The warmth of the sun makes him all toasty. Tih explores the area, letting him become burnt toast.