~Rough Start~
The passengers at the bottom of the slide were already crawling out of the makeshift roller coaster by the time the local authorities arrived. Small children were crying and many of the adults were yelling at the police, demanding answers and explanations. Park rangers, special ambulances, and other off-road vehicles were carefully positioned around the wrecked cable car. The police escorted most of the citizens to a safe route back up the mountain, while the rest were being driven back in the off-terrain ambulances. Other than a few cuts and bruises, no one was seriously hurt.
Jack and Carly were both seated underneath a tree next to a parked police cruiser; they sat close together with a green blanket over their shoulders. Jack had a single strip of white bandage cloth tied around his head, while Carly has only a small band-aid on the back of her right hand. Jack was quietly moaning to himself from the headache he was enduring, and Carly was rubbing the back of Jack's neck gently with one hand. The man in the black tuxedo edges towards them, limping slightly on his cane. As he sat down next to the pair, Jack and Carly could see a bandage cloth around his left ankle.
"Greetings and salutations to you two lovebirds!" smiled the man, "I see that at least somebody here is keeping a leveled head during times of crisis. Good for you, both!"
Carly smiled back. "Thank you, sir. The paramedics said that these were just flesh wounds, even though Jack's head was bleeding. Glad to see that the crash hasn't startled you, either."
"A-HA-HA-HA! My dear, it will take a lot more than a cable car plucked from the air to make me quit! Stiff upper lip, I always say! But where are my manners! Here I am rambling on, and you two probably think I'm a weirdo who's gone off the deep end!"
"Nooo, really?" snickered Jack. Carly jabs him in the ribs and he starts again. "Ow! W-What I mean was, uh, it-it's nice to have a chat with one of the locals to show their hospitality, Mister…"
The gentleman stood up and, removing his hat, took a bow. "Ice. Jonesy Ice. Explorer extraordinaire. I travel around the world for no real purpose but to hunt for adventure! I'm only visiting these mountains because they were in my way. I go wherever the wind takes me. I travel on a quest where the fruits of my labor are ones that I must find without my knowledge."
Jack, his migraine waning, stands up and wraps Carly with the rest of the blanket. "It's nice to meet you, Jonesy. I'm Jack Atlas, and she's Carly Carmine. We're foreigners as well, but our reason for coming to an accident-prone mountain isn't quite as exciting as yours, sadly."
"Jack!" Carly whines, and then shakes Jonesy's outstretched hand. "Sorry, he's always been this crabby. Any who, even though you're a traveler, maybe you can help us find someone. We're here visiting an old friend of mine for her wedding. Her name's Mirabella Westar and we're to be her bridesmaid and her fiancée's groomsman."
Jonesy scratched his shaven chin and pondered for a second. "Mirabella. Mir-a-bell-a. Hmm, may I ask if she is in the higher class, financially speaking?"
"Ehh…yeah, I-I think so."
Jonesy laughs and points up the road. "Well, that must be her ride coming this way!"
Jack and Carly look up past the ambulance and spot a pretty, cherry-red jeep trotting down the path. Spectators and police officers made way for the off-road vehicle tumbling gently towards them, stopping next to the three onlookers. Paparazzi shot out of the bushes and anchor people appear out of nowhere with cameras and microphones, taking pictures and performing "breaking news" for the cameras. As the jeep slides to a halt, the passenger door opens up and a young woman steps out. She had fair skin, dark-blue eyes, and beautiful black hair that curled all the way to the ground. Her red summer dress swished in the wind as she walked towards the three with her ruby-colored heels.
Jack shivered back, eyeing her suspiciously. Oh, HECK NO...
The young girl bounced along the steep, rocky path as effortlessly as if she was gliding over the uneven stones. Her flawless skin glistened elegantly against the flashes of the cameras, and her smile gently showed her pure white teeth. She bounced over to the trio, unaffected by the bright flashes of the high powered cameras and buzzing crowd around her. The woman leaped up gracefully and gently hugged Carly, Jack, and Mr. Ice in one swoop. The paparazzi took pictures of every nanosecond.
"Carly!" cried the woman in a teenage cheerleader-type tone. "I. Am. Trilled that you are sooo here! Oh my gosh, I saw what happened on that cable car from my house! I mean, like, wow! I was like, some cable car driver turn homicide! What happened? I heard a huge snap and like, wow! I know, right!"
Carly was the only one grinning and nodding her head in agreement; Jack and Jonesy stared at her like she grew a second head. A slow "What?" was all Jack could say. The woman glanced over Carly's shoulder and saw Jonesy and Jack, staring at her in bewilderment.
"Oh! Hello! Sorry I didn't say my name to you guys or anything like that, tee-hee! You all probably think like 'who is this chick?' and 'should we know her?' or something like that! Am I right?"
Jack blinked slowly. "Well, actually…"
"Jack!"
"What? Look love, she asked a question, and I was just gonna answer her. Simple as that!"
The girl giggled once again. "It's alright, Carly! No harm done! Any who, I'm Mirabella and it's a pleasure to meet you both!" Carly rolls her eyes to the wreckage, where something glittering on the cable car catches her eye.
Jack shrugged. "Nice to finally meet you too, Ms. Westar. I'm Jack Atlas and the 'chap' over here is Jonesy Ice. I'm Carly's date for the ceremony and Ice is…well…uh…he was just along for the ride."
Jonesy gave Jack a quick glance before curtseying to Mirabella. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance, milady."
Mirabella flipped her hair a little, as some form of complement. "Oh, no! The pleasure is all mine! But, whatever! So, how 'bout we head up to the manor before one of you guys go, like, blind or something from the cameras. It happened before, tee-hee!" She turns her head sharply as if looking for something. "Uh, where's Carly? She was just here."
After a quick scan behind them, Jonesy points out Carly bent over on a wheel of the broken cable car. Carly was tip-toeing on one leg, balancing herself on her arm, and stretched her other arm as far as she could into the cave-like hole of twisted debris. The fire fighters and police officers were all either busy or facing the other direction, oblivious to the girl playing in the car. She was reaching in between the shredded metal and broken glass for something…
Jack was already over there tugging on her waist in less than a heartbeat. "Carly! What are you doing! The fire department said not to go over here! It's dangerous!" he hissed.
She turns around like she never heard his warning. "Oh, Jack! Great timing! Think you could give me a boost? There's something in there I want, but I can't reach it."
Hoping it would mean that she got away from the wreckage faster, Jack obediently lifted Carly by the waist over the cable's wheels and further into the ruined opening. Jack pulled back quickly after Carly gently plucked a small item sticking out of a pile of steel. Jack was about to protest when he saw what Carly was so interested in.
"Mm, pretty." Jack states. "But it was still foolish to stick your hand in that hole, let alone your entire body!"
Carly only smiled and let the object lay in the palm of her hand. By this time, Mirabella and Jonesy has strolled over to see what Jack was fussing Carly about. Mirabella was standing tip-toed in her platform shoes and Jonesy scratched his head with the cane's handle in confusion. They craned their necks over her shoulders to see the small glimmering object in Carly's palm. It was a feather; a primary plume that was as long as Carly's extended fingers and as red as fresh blood. It had a ball of down that was small, fluffy, and perfectly round at the end. The downy ball separated the main vane of the feather from its ivory-colored, needle-sharp shaft. The quill-like feather had an uncanny shine and shimmered beautifully in the afternoon sun.
"I know it was reckless of me to reach for it," Carly started, "but look how magnificent it is! I've never seen a feather so red and pretty, Jack. I spotted it sticking straight up on one of the busted wheels inside the car. It was kinda strange."
"Strange that you would find a simple, yet unusual looking, feather in the middle of the forest on a mountain?" smirked Jonesy.
"No. Well, yes, but it felt…strange. Like someone intentionally left this feather in the cable car like that. Doesn't it strike you guys as a little…creepy?"
Jack rolled his eyes at his farfetched girlfriend. "Yeah right, love. Who would want to leave a feather at the scene of a horrific accident? It probably just fluttered there from the breeze or something."
"Jack!"
"What!"
Mirabella yawned as if she was absolutely bored, and she was. "Okay, okay! Cute feather, car wreck, whatever! Can we all please go back to something that is much more important, like me? C'mon Carly, let's head back to the house! I've got your suite all ready for you and Jackie! C'mon-c'mon-c'mon, let's go!" she screamed while yanking on Carly's arm.
"Wha-? Oh, o-okay. Mr. Ice, would you like to come with us? There's plenty of room at Mirabella's home. Besides, you'll probably need a place to rest after everything that's happened." Carly said while Mirabella literally dragged her across the clearing to her car.
Jonesy, walking beside Jack as they both snickered at Carly's misfortune smiled and accepted her offer. "I don't mean to intrude, although the most complicated part about being an expert adventurer is to find an adequate dwelling to rest and rejuvenate oneself."
Jack scratched his head over what Jonesy just said. "Jonesy, I couldn't understand nine of those words."
"It's hard to find a hotel with good service."
"You could've just said that, fancy boy…"