Disclaimer: I did not…. I repeat… did not compose this first chapter. I have rewritten it from the original book to provide you all with a transition into my story. Sadly, none of the Sly Girls are mine either.
Author's Notes: As I said, this first portion is taken directly from the Extras book in the Uglies series. I have rewritten it from the point of view of a Sly Girl and will continue it as such. I take no credit for the ingeniousness of this first chapter. The rest however, is all mine! So, as soon as I get the second chapter up, I want to hear every criticism, comment, or compliment you have for me. I love to see how to make my writing more enjoyable, whether that means changing a few things or keeping others.
Dedication: To Scott Westerfeld for creating such an incredible series with the perfect gap in his last book for me to fill in with my own ideas. My thanks also to flutterby162 because she is such a loving friend and was wonderful enough to introduce me to this expansive world of fanfiction.
"Here we go!" I screamed.
Suddenly the world grew bright… we'd burst out into moonlight! I felt my ears pop as I heard the rest of the Girls cheering us on from the mountainside. They disappeared quickly, however, as the horizon widened before us.
"How's this for eye-kicking?" I yelled, a radiant smile lighting up my face, "I hope you brought spy-cams!"
I had to squint against the wind rushing past my face as we climbed higher. Slowly, the white tendrils that had floated above us were dissolving as they surrounded the sled. The clouds tickled my face just as much as the first time I had launched.
We suddenly broke free of the cloud layer and I could see the whole mountain range with the glint of the mag-lev line cutting through it.
I disconnected one crash bracelet to point at the shimmering solar panels on both sides of the mag-lev tracks. "That's where the mass driver gets its power, steals it from the mag-lev's solar array. Just pause all the trains, and you've got enough juice to toss a cylinder every minute."
There was a rustle as Aya shifted next to me, angling one of her spy-cams to capture the spectacular sights.
Our ascent was slowing and the sky began to spin lazily as the sled spun. I had felt this before but it still made my stomach flip with excitement.
"You're really going to let me kick this?" Aya asked, disbelief filling her voice.
"Of course," Eden replied.
"But you'll never be able to come here again."
I laughed. "We Sly Girls happen to like the world, lucky for you. We may note be merit-grubbers, but death machines are bad for tricks!"
Aya's gaze returned to the city lights on the horizon.
Then I felt it. That shift in my stomach that signaled a change in direction. The sky was suddenly still around us except for the slow spin of the sled.
The wind had died completely.
"Um, are we falling now?" Aya asked timidly.
"We're going down," Eden explained, "But you're about to learn a new definition of falling, Aya-chan."
"Oh," Aya looked like she was about to be sick. Fear passed over her features. I felt calm as can be. I knew the silk parachute would hold. After all, I had done this before.
"Pay attention now, Aya," Eden shouted. "When you land, hike back to the mag-lev line, then call for a hoverboard with your bracelets. We left on waiting for you by the tracks."
Aya nodded and swallowed, keeping her cool fairly well for a first timer.
"So what will you do, now that you're going to be famous?" Aya inquired.
"We're leaving the city tonight," I replied calmly, speaking directly into what I thought was a spy-cam. I felt the wind building again, blowing my loose hair straight up above me. "We'll change our faces. That's why we gave you this ride, to give ourselves a head start."
Aya's shock showed plainly on her face. "But don't you realize how much face you'll get for uncovering this? How many merits?"
I felt my head shaking at her ignorance. "It's going to stir up more than merits." I pulled one crash bracelet free of the sled and took Aya's hand in my grip. "You be careful."
"Don't worry, I'll count to thirty."
"No, I mean be careful after you kick this."
The sled began to spin with more momentum and the earth and sky almost blurred together. "Careful with what?" Aya shouted.
"With everything and everyone!" I shouted back, trying to be heard over the wind. "Whoever built this monstrosity is dangerous!"
The sled began doing barrel rolls through the air, turning the lazy spin into a wild tumble towards the ground.
"Speaking of dangerous, shouldn't we get off?" Aya began twisting at her crash bracelets.
"Just be careful!" I yelled. "And enjoy your fame!"
I firmly planted one boot on Aya's chest and shoved her clear of the sled. She tumbled away head over heels before spreading her arms and legs and trying to regain control of her fall.
When she finally recovered her balance she was about ten meters away from us. Aya glanced backward just as I demagnetized my bracelets, clinging to the board for a few more seconds. Seeing that she was safe, I turned to watch Eden find the ripcord for the sled.
Eden pulled the cord and we both pushed off, the sled quickly falling behind us. I squealed with delight at the thrill of our last jump here. Eden screamed alongside me, "Wahoooooo!"
I felt the air rushing past faster than ever and waited until the ground was just below us before pulling my cord. There was a slight jerk as the silk billowed out behind me and then a sudden smoothness as my plummet turned into a glide.
The winds carried us across the mountain where the rest of the Sly Girls were scrambling to meet us. My boots hit dirt and I ran to keep up with the parachute before I was able to skid to a halt. I heard the Girls running up to help gather our parachutes and I glanced up just in time to see Aya's parachute sailing away, carrying her hundreds of meters up.
It would take her quite a while to land and then even longer to hike back to the mag-lev line. This had been the perfect windy night, now we had plenty of time to head out before she had any chance of kicking the story.
I turned back to Eden and the group. "You ready to go Girls?"
Eden replied, "I sure am, let's get packing!"