Ethereal

Chapter 11

Just a foreword:

This is an entirely fictional park, but any of the rides I mention are from real places.

[Two days later]

Screams of euphoria and terror combined mingled with the blaring music and overall chatter of the massive crowd. A sweet smell - maybe funnel cakes - drifted through the air on a light breeze, floating around as carelessly as an abandoned raft on a lake.

Every so often, a jarring Whooom! would signal a cart diving downward, full of screeches and whoops. This was no kiddy land; the shortest coaster I'd seen so far was one hundred feet tall, at least.

Yeah, the park was cool.

It spanned quite the distance; way too wide to cover everything in one day. You couldn't walk two feet without running into a terrifying looking roller coaster.

Each one a vibrant shade, they colored the skyline with bright splashes of every inch of the rainbow. It was beautiful in a way that made your heart pound in anticipation as you inhaled sharply at the sight of it all.

Each ride roared like an angry dragon as it whipped around twists and turns. Each group of riders would yell as it bobbed around on its metal tracks, dipping and shooting upward in seemingly random patterns.

Controlled chaos; that's what I'd call it.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before I was being pulled into a line for some ride called Valravn.

~

The bar lowered over my head and snapped into place with a finality that I hoped I was only imagining.

I shifted so I fit into the seat better and gripped the bars tightly. I looked over at Sock, who looked a lot less nervous than I felt; he was still wearing a confident grin when he looked back at me.

Then the ride lurched forward, causing my mouth to go dry and a strange frantic feeling to rise into my chest. I couldn't help but smile internally; it felt great.

Still going slow, the ride turned and started up a hill. A dull cranking filled my ears as we were lifted higher into the air, the earth getting smaller and smaller beneath us.

"How tall is this again?" I asked, peering up at the top, which was still quite far away.

"Uhm, 223 feet, I think," Sock replied.

"Yeah, that's about 223 feet too goddamn tall," I muttered.

He chuckled.

I watched as the top got closer, slowly yet quickly at the same time. It neared like a massive hawk with its talons wide open, just waiting for us to be close enough to snatch up and carry away.

Finally, with a jolt, we once again turned upright.

We were swung around a bend and -to my horror - slowed down.

Then we were dangled over the dead drop, just hanging there like a bunch of innocents about to be sacrificed to some deadly beast.

"Oh oh-hooo, nah," I mumbled.

Sock took my hand, linking his fingers in mine, and grinned over at me. "Ready?"

"NO!"

Without warning, the ride was pushed forward, and we dropped straight down.

The drop seemed to last an eternity, but I was soon lost in an amazing array of loops and turns. It was utterly exhilarating; in a matter of seconds, I went from not wanting anything to do with the ride to never wanting in to stop.

Wind hissed in my ears, not even coming close to covering up the roars of the coaster. It blew into my face, whisking my breath away as it passed, blowing my hair into a halo against the seat. It made my eyes water, but I didn't care.

We dipped and swerved in every imaginable direction. At one point, I was slammed against the back of the seat, and the sound that I made was probably audible to the people beneath me.

It dropped us again, and I grinned, imagining two massive wings curling out to my sides. I laughed at the sensation in brought.

However, all good things come to an end.

We screeched to a halt, and the car moved back into the loading area
The bars lifted back up, leaving me wishing they were lowering once again.

I got up out of the seat grinning like a maniac, my hair messy from the wind. I still had that rush, that tsunami of excitement that crashed onto the beach of my mind, and I absolutely loved it.

~

Yeah, the next chapter will be in the park too.

Eeh

[*walks away like a normal human being, for once*]