FTRS Short Story

Ride Gone Wrong

Guys, I'm sorry!!! I completely forgot to post this chapter and didn't come up with a chapter name until today so it's been posted lateeeee. I'll need another week to finish up the next chapter sorryyyyyyy. BTW I'm sorry if this chapter's short because I couldn't figure out how to continue ;-; SINCEREST APOLOGIES DEAR READERS

Gilly's P.O.V.

A smile creeps onto my face as the pod slowly starts to move, it almost feels like the good old days, when we ran around causing chaos (for the greater good, I mean, without trashing that ball, Jax and I would've never had gotten back into FTRS). Never thought I'd be feeling nostalgic about that.

The inside of the pod was a shimmering, silver-grey color, lined with gold-rimmed edges and plush, navy blue cushions. It was very fancy for a transportation vehicle, looking more suited for royals than ordinary citizens. Too decorated and prissy for my taste.

"The money could've been used for better things," I hear Devin mutter.

"Sorry?"

"Oh!" Devin looks startled, "Sorry, didn't realize I was speaking out loud. I was saying that the money could've been spent better instead of making the pod look fancy."

I'm starting to like her more and more. She's the second royal who's broken the mold, first one is Jax, obviously.

Slowly, we speed up, it doesn't go as fast as carriages or pegasi, but it goes at a running pace. Giving us time to admire the scenery around us. I look down below, little human dots are running about, ant-sized horses pulling tiny carriages. FTRS looks like a toy from up here.

Devin points at a large building, I can barely make out the intricate patterns and a gold and red banner. "That's Royal Academy." She tells me.

"It doesn't look as bad as I thought," I admit.

"You'll change your mind as soon as you see the inside." Devin says, "The classes are ridiculous, we have to learn how to be saved by princes, not sure how that even works." 

I make a face, "That's a class?!"

A loud bang sounds from outside, I whip my head around. "What was that?"

"It's just a couple of kids playing with fireworks." Devin announces, looking through the window beside me. There's another bang and bright colorful sparks shower the carriage. Up close, we can see the little vibrant specks jumping about as if the firework has fireworks. 

"Why would they play fireworks during the day?" Devin wonders, "It's hard to see, and looking up at the sky would just hurt their eyes."

I shrug, "Maybe they didn't know any better. My-" I cut off, "I know some people who set off a whole shop of fireworks just to make trouble."

There's another bang as another bunch of fireworks explode into the sky. All of a sudden, there's a lurch, and then an agonizingly loud snap! The left side of the pod drops, throwing both me and Devin into the wall. I gasp in shock, scrambling to get back onto my feet.

I reach my hand out and help Devin up, the two of us clambering to stay on the right side.

"I think the cable snapped," Devin says, "So much for safety."

I inch my way toward the door, maybe I could find a way to reattach the cable? Or maybe find a way out?

"What are you doing?" 

I don't answer, unclasping the latch on the door, gravity pulling it open. Devin seems to catch on as she asks, "Any luck?" I shake my head. Scanning the cables above, trying to find a way to get to safety.

"Do you happen to have a bow and arrows on you?" I ask, "I could try to loop it around the other cable and... maybe we could swing across?"

Devin shakes her head, "Even if I had any, that would be a bad idea. There's a chance that you'd shoot through the string and we'd both go down."

"I don't suppose there's any chance that there are invisible steps here too," I mutter to myself, peeking over the edge of the pod.

"Why don't we just call for help?"

"Do you happen to have a communication device on you?" I ask.

"No... but I'm sure they would've installed some sort of call option in here. Knowing most royals, they would need one." Devin slowly slides on foot down, using the seats on the opposite side as a stand. She starts searching the walls.

"You do that, and I'll try to figure out if we can get out." I say, before slowly shuffling towards the open doorway. 

I scan the scene in front of me, trying to find a solution. "What if I..." I slowly reach across and pull the door back. I take the striped ribbon in my hair - part of the FTRS uniform - and use it to tie the door to the doorway. The gap between the doorway and the door is small. "Hey, Devin, do you have any ribbon or string on you?"

"Umm..." there's a pause, "Yeah, here." Devin hands me what looks like a sewing string.

"Thanks," I untie one end of the ribbon and attach the string to it, then tie the string to the doorway. The gap is much wider, perfect.

Cautiously, I lift my leg up and place it on the door. If I'm careful, it should hold. I hoist myself up, quickly grabbing the ledge of the roof. As long as I didn't look down and imagined that we were grounded, I should be ok.

I grab onto the ledge with my other hand as I push myself up, my heart racing.

Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down.

I manage to crawl onto the roof, probably not one of the best ideas I've had since I'm nearly 300 meters above the ground. I scoot my way into the center, before realizing I didn't actually think this far. I pause for a moment, trying to figure out my next move.

"Umm, Gilly?" Devin's slightly panicked voice sounds from inside. "Where are you?"

"I'm up here." I call back, "I've got things covered," Kind of. "How are things going for you?"

"Haven't found anything yet. Still searching, how about you? What are you gonna do?"

"I'm trying to see if we can shimmy our way across or something."

There's a long pause. "Alright, be careful up there. Come back inside if it doesn't work, ok."

"Yes," I reply. Gingerly, I apply pressure onto the cable holding us up, it seems pretty strong. Slowly, I sit on it lightly, not wanting to risk anything. It's sturdy, but very painful to sit on.

All of a sudden, it dawns on me that we're 300 meters above ground. If we weren't careful, we'd fall. And the thought of being so high above the ground doesn't help it either.

There's a loud thump from below and the carriage shakes, I drop to the roof almost immediately, standing up has a higher chance of losing balance than staying down does.

"Devin?" I yell.

"Sorry!!!" Devin shouts, "That may have been me!"

"Found anything yet?"

"Actually, yeah! I found where they keep the communication device!"

"Call for help!"

"Already on it."