Skyglide (discontinued?)

Chapter I- First Flight

Chapter I- First Flight

"This is your captain speaking," A voice boomed over the P.A. system in the mini airship. "Strong winds are coming from the south. Temperature in the tropopause is 20 degrees. Altitude is 17km above sea level. You all know the rules. First one to make it to to the finish line safe and sound is the winner. T-minus 2 minutes to jump. Good luck. Oh, and watch out for the windrunner."

This is my first annual Skyglide race against other people from all sectors and provinces of the nation. Competing with them in seven races for the Skyglide Cup and prize money of $5 million dollars. And fame. I need the money to help my people back home in Iphyria Sector. I guess the other racers want the same thing. I am inexperienced in gliding and skydiving, but am the only person alive in the sector able to do so. Nevermind what happened to the other people in my sector with skydiving qualifications. I am their only hope. Companies in my hometown have paid for my wingsuits and equipment, praying that I'll win and pay them back in kind. I'll try not to let them down. At this very moment, my family (or what's left of it) would be watching my performance on television.

A green light blinked. The doors of the airship opened, blinding us with the strong sunshine outside. Getting up from our seats, we took our positions, each racer making a beeline for the doors. We placed our helmets on and zipped up our sleek-looking wingsuits into place. I took my dose of aqua-coloured breathing fluid as the captain's words played over and over in my head. Wait. What windrunner? Just as I was about to ask the racer beside me, a buzzer sounded, signalling us to jump out. All the racers, including me, took our leap of faith and spreaded out our arms and legs. The race has begun.

As we soared in the sky, I began to gain speed. Even with the thickness of the wingsuit, I could feel the cold air stabbing my body like a knife. "What's my status?" I said to the computer built in my helmet.

"Your vitals are up to check. Body temperature is 36.8 degrees. Speed: 70 kilometers per hour and increasing. Your current altitude is 16986 metres above sea level." a female voice said, calming me down.

On my visor, a hologram of me in a wingsuit appeared to the left and flashed green, showing no problems with my body or the wingsuit. Other racers started to emerge in my view. Immediately they were marked on the visor, and their names, and current distance away from me were below them.

Now soaring at 100 kilometres per hour, I took in my surroundings. It was a beautiful sight. The highest of clouds were still below me, trying to pierce their way through the troposphere. The horizon was curved due to our high altitude in the air. The sky above was a cerulean blue and the sun, a majestic orb of light shining in the heavens. Some of the racers in their brightly-coloured wingsuits too were soaring effortlessly and flipping through the thin air, with the strong winds propelling them. The tiny airship has long since disappeared into the horizon.

The computer's female voice instructed me to take another dose of breathing fluid. I placed my mouth on the nozzle at the chinguard of my helmet and 'drank' another gulp of the liquid. I shook my head. Thin air, with lesser oxygen, makes your head spin.

Reality check. I turned my gaze towards a racer in a black and gold wingsuit, with the number 6 imprinted on it's back and a skull insignia in front. He was swerving precariously left and right, apparently trying to intimidate another racer clad in a grey wingsuit. "Visuals indicate that Racer No.6, Ceres, is trying to knock Racer No.14 dangerously. I suggest you execute a manoeuvre to stay a safe distance from the conflict." the computer said.

"Is that even allowed? Pushing other racers like that," I asked.

"There are no rules pertaining to flanking an opposing racer."

"This sky race is more dangerous than I previously thought," I said, giving an anxious sigh as I executed a flip towards the right. Other racers around me did the same thing; getting out of the way.

Meanwhile, the racer, known as Ceres, went under Racer No.14 and gave a hard shove, making him lose control and altitude. The skinflap on the right side of his wingsuit was torn! He lost flight power and in turn, started to fall into the clouds below. Before that, he kicked his legs together, sending out a contrail of yellow, glowing smoke that appeared to be a distress signal. I lost sight of him as he deployed his parachute and disappeared into the cloud layer.

Suddenly, a racer donned in a sea green wingsuit with the number '18' and a hummingbird-shaped insignia imprinted swooped beside me. I started to breathe rapidly as I thought this could be another good-for-nothing racer trying to take me out. I swerved, trying to distance myself from him. Instead, he waved his hand at me. Maybe he just wanted a talk. I gave the command to switch on the communication line. I heard a blur voice getting clearer by the second.

"Lovely morning, isn't it?" I heard his voice crackling in my built-in headset. I heard him sipping more breathing fluid. "You're a rookie, aren't you? I haven't seen you before."

I nodded reluctantly. "How many times have YOU been racing?"

"I've lost count, but enough to gain a respectful name in the league. Basically, I'm experienced enough. Any questions, I'm your man."

"I guess I could use your help," placing my trust on him too early. "This is the second time I'm gliding in a race; first one was a little race back in Iphyria."

The racer cleared his throat. "You're from Iphyria Sector?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Yea. Why?"

"Nothing."

Words appeared in my visor, stating that team formation phase has started. "Wanna team up?" Racer No.18, identified on my visor as Jay Walker, said.

"Uh... Why not?" I said, heaving a sigh of relief.

Immediately a panel showed on my visor, showing a list of the racers' names and their live face cam in Jay's team. There's Jay's rough-looking face making a smile, and mine. A few seconds later two more faces showed up; one of a fair young-looking female, and a gruff bald dark-skinned male. Names appeared below their faces. Racer No. 22, Coralia Sandez, and Racer No. 8, Waldo Wayne. I looked as they, clad in violet and crimson red wingsuits respectively, started to bank left closer to Jay and I. Our individual insignias on our chests simultaneously changed to that of Jay's. We flew together in a V-shaped formation. As I switched the view to the back camera mounted on my helmet, other racers are already forming teams of five, in the V-shaped formation. Their individual insignias too were changed to that of the team leader's. "Wait, why are there only four of us?" Coralia asked, her voice ringing in the headset. Judging from her voice and looks, I assume she's 17, like me. Waldo and Jay should be much older.

"The other racers have gotten into their teams already. Seth could've been with us, but jackass Ceres wants to be the aerial ace and knock people off to show his supremacy," Jay responded with a tinge of fury.

"Imma give him a piece o' my mind when I touch the ground later," Waldo said with a stoic look.

"It's a long way down for Seth," I said anxiously. "Better not mess with Ceres."

I checked my vitals again. "Vitals are good. Body temp is 36.7 degrees. Speed: 160km/h and increasing still. Current altitude, 14758 metres above sea level. Approaching cloud level," the computer said.