Wayward Son

Chapter 10

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHH!"

So far the shorter of the two didn't seem to be enjoying the ride.

"Hey, Edward?" Aerrow said calmly. "If you wouldn't mind deploying the wings...?"

Edward finally stopped screaming and through his screwed up eyes he caught sight of the appropriate switch, and his trembling hand found it and pulled it. His grip on the sidecar tightened as the Sky Knight pulled up above the layers of volcanic smog and into the towering clouds.

"There," said Aerrow. "That wasn't so hard."

"Speak for yourself," Edward whimpered.

When Aerrow looked, he saw that this boy who was an entire year older than him was clinging for dear life to the sidecar with his eyes closed so tightly, one could wonder why he even needed goggles.

"You know," said Aerrow, "seeing as we've levelled out and we don't have to go down to the Wastelands for a while yet, you could try opening your eyes."

Edward moved a hand to one of the handlebars, his knuckles probably white under his gloves.

"Are you sure?!" he yelled. "'Coz you should know I'm trusting you with my life right now!"

"I've done this a million times," Aerrow told him. "I should know if it's safe to have your eyes open or not. What're you waiting for?"

As if it weighed a tonne, Edward lifted his head and the wind rushed into his bangs and blew them right back against his scalp. He slowly cracked open one of his eyes.

And then the other, and his jaw fell slack.

Aerrow hadn't ever thought it possible for a single person to look so happy until he saw Edward's face light up like the sun on a Solaris crystal before he threw his hands into the air and whooped and yelled with joy. The Sky Knight couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Edward screamed, his coat billowing out dramatically behind him as he threw out his arms.

"You think so?" asked Aerrow, moving his thumb towards a button. "Just wait until I activate the afterburner!"

"The WHAT?!" Edward seized a handle just in time for the skimmer to suddenly explode with speed, and only just managed to hold on as the pair sped through the clouds, leaving bizarrely shaped holes in the clouds they moved too fast to avoid.

When the afterburner finally wore off, both boys were soaked to the bone and had rather different reactions to it as the water was blown away.

"Why did you have to do that?" Edward asked, plainly terrified.

"Why else?" Aerrow asked back. "To see the look on your face, of course!"

He laughed as the look in question shifted from terror to annoyance.

"Hey, relax!" He gave the alchemist a friendly tap on the shoulder. "I'm one of the best flyers in the known Atmos."

"Thanks for the reassurance," said Edward, and it was impossible to tell if he was sincere or not, "but I'm not much of a flyer, especially on giant motor-powered bicycles! In fact, th-this may or may not be my very first time flying open-air!"

"Huh? You've never flown before?"

"Not in a manner of speaking, unless being thrown around by my teacher counts as flying!"

Aerrow laughed again.

"I'm not too sure about that," he said.

"I would be!" Edward insisted. "I'm pretty sure I got a good view of the planet's curvature once!"