Kostravis: Saber 36th, 32516.
"Come on, Chandler! It won't be here for long!" My best friend, Harper shouts at me. She talked me into doing this last night, apparently. I was drunk, so I don't remember anything. I guess I'll stay sober at the next flight party we go to.
What's a flight party? You ask. Well, it's a party that only flyers and their guests can go to. Harper is a flyer. She had wanted to be one her whole life. She was just the risky type. I, on the other hand, barely ever used a different font size. And to top it all off, I'm afraid of heights. And yet, Harper somehow talked me into going flying with her today.
The bird (Yes, the flyers ride birds. What else would the fly on? There's a major lack of spaceships on Kostravis) is perched on the edge of a branch, which is conveniently over a gaping chasm. So, if I fall, I die. Yay!
Harper is now talking to the bird, trying to get it to wait for me. I reach a toe out, and touch the branch the bird is on. It shakes, and the bird startles. Great, as if I needed more of a chance to fall. Then, I put one foot on the branch, holding onto the tree it comes from. Creak. Ohnoohnoohnoohnohnoohnoohnoohno... That's it, I'm going to die. Goodbye, world, I think as a put my other foot on the branch and start climbing toward the bird. There's no going back now.
Now, I'm right in front of the ginormous bird, and I have no idea what to do next. Harper calls up to me, but my fear drowns her out. Then I realize: I have to jump. I have to jump onto the bird, and if I miss it, I die. No pressure, right? I send a little prayer up (or down, or sideways, whatever) to whoever's listening that I won't miss.
I bend my knees. I heard somewhere that the more you bend your knees, the higher you jump. If that's true, then all I have to do is aim. I take a deep breath, and my knees start unbending, as I get higher into the air. I see the bird just below me. Perfect, I think. Now just the landing. I spread my legs, hoping it won't hurt as much as it looks like it will. And... I land on the bird perfectly. Ow, I think. No wonder all the flyers are girls.
So... now I'm on the bird. And I don't know what to do next. I guess I was so sure that I wouldn't survive getting on the creature, that I forgot to ask what I did after that. Oops. Fortunately, the bird seems to have noticed that it finally has a rider, so it takes off. Or maybe I should have said unfortunately. What do I hold onto?! How do I steer?!
Then I realize that, when the flyers ride birds, they normally have saddles and reins on. A cold feeling of dread washes over me, and I look back to the tree I mounted this bird from. My suspicions are confirmed. I got onto the wrong bird. I see Harper bended half over, clutching her chest and laughing. Fuck you, too, I think. Then, the bird I'm riding decides to go back to the cliff where Harper is laughing.
As soon as we land, I jump off. The bird squawks at Harper, which only makes her laugh harder. But then, realization (or something) hits her.
"That squawk... Chandler, you just rode on a Millennium Falcon! No one has ever survived that before!"
I'm panting from fear, and brushing off my clothes. "Yeah, well, I almost didn't survive it either. I'm staying sober at your next flight party, Harper."
