Rising Shards

The wind was blowing in my hair as we rolled across the field of flowers. In the void node assigned to our grade, we had only been allowed to explore the starting area, which didn’t have a lot of note outside of trees, rivers, valleys and void monsters.

This trip felt like our biggest yet, and that wasn’t just because Oka, Kalei, Lillia, Aira and I were currently riding on top of a vehicle that somewhat resembled a minivan. Despite the absurdity of the situation, I wasn’t feeling incredibly anxious about it, which was new to me. The wind blowing in my face and the swashbuckling feeling of propelling forward across a plain filled with flowing wheatlike plants was too fun for me to be scared.

“Agh,” I said, reaching for my ankles as we passed over a small hill. I was wearing the magnetized boots used mainly for beam chasers, and I kept smashing my ankles against the metal ridges that topped them. “So here’s my idea! They should do what they did with the power blocker wristbands, which used to be all big and clunky, right? They should do that with beam chaser boots!”

“Zeta, is now really the best time for this?” Kalei asked. “And it’s beam chasers, not just beam chaser, even if it’s followed by a plural!”

“That doesn’t make sense though and it sounds weird!” I said.

“Is now really the best time for sports grammar?” Oka asked. She was in front of the minivan cruiser, directly over the driver’s seat. She leaned over. “How are you doing down there, Laenie?”

“My hair…it’s getting in my eyes,” Laenie said. “It’s…itchy and maddening.”

“Then take one hand off the wheel and brush that hair out!” Oka said.

“Can’t take…hands off. Wheel. Then…we’ll…die.” Laenie said.

“Remind me why Laenie is the one driving us?” Kalei asked.

“Because she’s the only one with a learner’s permit!” Aira said.

“Well, just a bit more of this, at least,” Oka said. “Right, Lillia?”

Lillia had a map projected from her wristband. She nodded. “It’s close!”

The minivan shook as we began to head downhill. I scanned across the wide view of the fields.

“There it is!” I said, pointing ahead as our goal rumbled ahead.

While it was technically a train, it barely looked like one. It looked like it was made out of solidified pudding, swirling blobs of purple and pink, with platforms and blocks scattered about it. It rode along rails that formed shortly in front of it and faded away a few feet behind.

For some reason, this was our first shot at a “crystal level rare event,” something that was required on the Benta scholarship. Basically, if I didn’t get on this train and find whatever was on it, I could fail the Benta and get expelled.

“The train’s close,” Lillia said. “Everyone, get ready to jump!”

We all took stances and held hands near the buttons that demagnetized our boots so we could un-cling to the minivan to try and land on the train.

“I think I’m gonna teleport over,” Aira said. “When we’re close, I mean.”

“The plan was we all regular jump when we get there,” Oka said. “And not like, jump fifteen, like—"

“We know!” The rest of us yelled in unison.

“But it’d be easier for me to teleport!” Aira said. “Here, I can get it now, watch!”

“Aira, the plan!” Lillia yelled as Aira teleported ahead.

For a split second, Aira looked as though she was going to land on the train. But she misjudged how fast it was going and plopped onto the ground as the train sped by, tumbling away as we drove past her.

“I know we should go back for her, but I’m afraid if I turn now, we’ll all crash and die!” Laenie said.

“Just stay on course for just a few more seconds!” Lillia said.

Laenie sped up a bit. Oka, Kalei, Lillia and I all held our ready to jump stance as Laenie drove faster. We got closer and closer to the train. Close enough that I could tell that it smelled like watermelon taffy melted on a hot summer day. Laenie hit a bump, wobbling us all a bit, but we luckily hadn’t deactivated our boots.

“Should we jump now?” Oka asked.

“A few more seconds,” Lillia said. “And…now!”

We all deactivated the magnets and leapt as far as we could. We arced towards a part of the train that didn’t have any boxes or platforms on it, just a goopy weird purple and pink substance. We lucked out and didn’t miss the train car like Aira. However, as soon as we landed, it was like we hit a trampoline made of gum, and we bounced backwards, landing on the ground as the train sped away.