The Pastel Lady

Chapter 3

"What?"

"Ember... That's where we are."

"I must be dreaming... Why am I on top of a big wheel?"

"Why not?"

I glare at him, frustrated that he's not taking this seriously.

"How do we get down?"

"We jump."

"Okay, let me rephrase that: How do we get down alive?"

"You're funny," He says with a chuckle, clapping his hands.

He's only slightly mentally insane.

"Rover. Get us down from here!"

"Okay, damn."

Without any hesitation he threw me over his shoulder and leapt into the sky, hurdling towards the ground.

I try to scream, but the wind is knocked out of me.

Everything happens in slow motion. I watch as the ground becomes closer and closer, how the air feels thin around me.

The ground becomes centimetres away, and I know that if we fall it'll be the end of me.

"Rover!" I yell right before we hit the ground.

I close my eyes in fear, and pull myself as close as possible to Rover.

But what happens next is not what I expected at all:

We're flying.

We're actually flying.

I first wanted to scream in terror, but I didn't. Instead, I scream because I like this. I love flying. I was one of my biggest dreams as kid.

"Rover! This is amazing!"

We fly higher and higher, allowing me to take one big breath of fresh air.

"Touch the clouds!" Rover yells through the air.

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

I stick my hand out to the air and drag my fingers through the cloud, feeling a strange consistancy brush against my skin.

I bring my hand down to my face.

Is that-

"Cotton candy?"

"Yep."

"This is crazy!"

"It's crazy good, right?!"

I don't answer, instead, I look at the view below.

"Wow."

Below us is a massive city, colourless, but massive. Its buildings are all skyscrapers, each different. I see a few people down there too, but they are all visibly depressed.

"Rover, what's wrong with the people?"

"You'd also be depressed if nothing has colour."

"True... Where is the colour?"

"It's at Xenotopia."

"Is that where we're going?"

"Not at all."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home."

"I don't want to go home."

"Believe me. You don't want to stay here."

Rover starts to descend. He makes his way to an abandoned park, a large one of that.