Chapter 29
All three of the boys lay awake until it sounded as if the rest of the camp remained sound asleep. Tristan and Mathias took off to go get the hang gliders and equipment. By the time they reached the open training field the other cadets had joined them along with both Elora and Twig.
"Aren't we on the wrong course?" Jamin asked looking down at the steep descent with a worried look on his face.
"We're doing this one because we need more altitude to get a decent race in." Mathias explained. "Besides, with this cool night air, it's going to be harder to gain altitude."
"But we haven't even trained on this one yet. Isn't that kind of dangerous?"
"That's the fun in it." Mathias replied.
"So the fact that it's night isn't enough of a thrill for you?"
"Oh, lighten up, Jamin, and just enjoy the fun."
"We've made bets on you guys." Fira announced, "So don't disappoint us."
"Don't worry, I'll win." Mathias said with a wink that was noticeable even in the moonlight.
"Well what if I made a bet on Tristan?" The girl said in mock indignation.
"You'll lose your bet then." Mathias said cheerily.
"Did anyone bet on me?" Tristan wanted to know as he laid out the pieces to the glider, getting ready to assemble it.
"I did." Taddeo said as he joined him, helping him put the glider together.
"Thanks, Tadd, it's nice to see that someone has some confidence in me." He commented.
"Well I understand that it was your idea to do this so I think you must be pretty confident about your impending success." Taddeo replied.
Tristan did feel like he had more practice than the others with activity under the moonlight so he felt like he stood a good chance at winning. However, he had no practice with this particular activity beneath the moon, but he wasn't about to let that stop him now.
"Don't forget me." Elora said. "I made a bet on you too." Then she stepped close and whispered in his ear. "But Jamin didn't like it."
Tristan glanced over at Jamin who was helping Mathias with his glider. The other boy glanced over in their direction and the light of the moon fell across his face, making it impossible to mistake the irritation in his expression.
Once the two gliders were assembled, Tristan and Mathias put on their suits, parachute packs, and helmets and stood at the beginning position, balancing the gliders on their shoulders. The moon was full and bright, radiating silver light onto the open ground. The breeze was light and frisky, but not too strong. It would be a perfect night to fly. Even though the lighting was not ideal, they were both confident that they could do this. It was both a challenge and a thrill.
The other cadets watched in anticipation along with Twig who was thrilled to be involved and couldn't seem to hold still as he darted back and forth across the ground. The oviraptor insisted on being the one to do the countdown, so Taddeo, stepped back and let the dinosaur take over. Twig jumped up with each number. "Three, two…one!" He waved two flags in each of his clawed hands and leaped extra high on the last number. Tristan and Mathias took off, running as they'd practiced until they reached the edge of the hilltop. As the ground dropped off down the slope, their gliders caught the breeze and lifted several feet into the air. Now it was a matter of balancing their weight, and guiding the gliders to their destination.
Instantly, the cadets still on the ground and Twig ran to the end point in order to watch the racers come in and determine the winner.
Tristan concentrated, listening to the wind, adjusting his balance, and scanning the horizon even though he knew that the space in front of him was open. The only obstacles to face would be if he lost momentum and drifted down toward the ground again before reaching the end point. Also, determining depth perception was proving to be a little more difficult under the semi-lighting of the moon. The other obstacle would be landing seeing as how he'd had so much trouble with that during practice earlier that day. Mathias had proved to be better at landing, but Tristan felt that this wasn't as important to be skilled at in a race. As long as he landed, rough or not, what mattered is that he landed at the finish point before Mathias. What marked the finish point was a distant knoll with two poles on it, wrapped in colorful flags and windsocks that waved their welcome in the breeze.
As Tristan tilted his weight back, allowing the nose of the glider to rise in the air, he tried hard to keep his head on straight and not get lost in the rush of excitement of flying higher than he had during the day. Things were going well. At this point Tristan held the lead, proving that his past night ramblings had paid off. He had better confidence in the semi-lighting than Mathias.
But Mathias was close behind. The other boy suddenly pushed his weight down, tilting his glider down lower, causing his glider to pick up speed and pulling him forward in line with Tristan. The course was not a long one since this was merely a training field so the finish line was drawing close rapidly. Both the boys were nearly neck in neck now, but keeping plenty of space between them, allowing room for the wing spans of their gliders. The rest of the cadets had just arrived at the landing base, breathless from running. They stood and watched, waiting in suspense to see which of the two boys would land first.
What happened next came as a surprise to everyone.
A skybax seemed to approach out of nowhere and crossed the path in front of the boys. The creature's huge wings pumping the air so near them, created new air currents which toyed with their flight. Mathias momentarily lost control and banked a hard left, right toward Tristan.
Tristan remembered the demonstration on turning a glider, but none of the cadets had very much experience with turning a glider yet while up in the air. He took a deep breath and shifted his weight to the right, hoping it would turn enough to avoid a collision. It worked, but in doing so, he'd also leaned back without realizing it which caused the glider to climb higher. To make matters worse, the skybax wheeled around and flew close again. Tristan's heart pounded with both fear and excitement when he recognized Dark Wing. However, the creature seemed to be enjoying making the race difficult for the boys.
"What is it doing?" Mathias shouted, managing to gain some control again, but still trying desperately to manage the bumpy wind currents created by the creature's mighty wings.
"I don't know. Playing with us, maybe?" Tristan shouted back. He fought to turn the glider back in the right direction, the temporary turn having thrown him off course. "But one thing's for sure. We're both going to crash if we don't concentrate." His glider was still climbing and he suddenly realized that it was going to stall out at any moment. He quickly pushed down on the base tube, tipping the glider downward again.
Dark Wing came at them once again, and this time one of his wings clipped both of the boy's gliders sending them both out of control. It was well planned. He slapped Mathias's glider on the right wing, then Tristan's on the left, sending both boys plunging downward at inward angles, straight toward each other. Neither one of the boys were able to regain control before the inside wings of their gliders collided.
The impact sent Tristan's glider careening to the left, gaining speed on its downward course. As he concentrated on trying to gain control of the landing, he forgot about the option to pull the parachute. Instead, his mind flashed back to Warren's instructions on landing. "Aim for a slight uphill. Just before reaching the ground, pull the glider up and when it stalls, then put your feet down." Tristan tried to do all this, but he couldn't seem to bring his weight around quick enough to level out the tilting glider. The ground was rushing up fast and now there wasn't time to pull the parachute. He decided it would be better to try and manage a landing. When he pulled up, trying to slow down the glider, the wind caught the now bent upper right wing which was tilted up in the air, flipping the whole glider upside down.
Tristan grasped the base tube tightly and braced himself for the crash. His shoulder struck the ground first, then his back, the jolt momentarily knocking the breath out of him. His body rolled from the momentum, flipping the glider back aright, but now it faced the wrong direction, against the wind. The breeze caught the nose of the glider, popping it back up a few feet in the air, dragging Tristan backward across the ground until it finally flipped again and came to a complete stop.
Tristan lay still a moment, gasping, concentrating on getting his breath back, before finally sitting up and checking himself over, making sure he was still in one piece.
A moment later Taddeo and Elora reached him, immediately helping to get him untangled from the gear.
"Are you alright?" Elora said, sounding scared.
"Yeah, I think so." Tristan replied, struggling to untangle himself from the mess of ropes and straps.
"That was awesome, man!" Taddeo exclaimed.
"Did I make it? Did I win? What about Mathias? I mean, is he ok?" Tristan asked, his tongue seeming to rattle out of control in his excitement.
"The others are helping him. I think he's fine." Taddeo replied, "Considering the fact that he was shouting his triumph, despite the rough landing."
"Triumph?" Tristan looked around wildly, until he spotted the other glider which had landed across the finish line. Tristan might've made it if it hadn't been for being spun around and dragged backward in the wrong direction for a short distance.
Tristan groaned in frustration, hating the fact that he'd lost the race.
"Yeah, I just lost my wooden bead necklace to Fira." Elora said.
"And Jamin gets my two best bandannas." Taddeo added.
"I'm really sorry guys." Tristan apologized. As he put his hands down and started to push himself up to his feet, he suddenly stopped as warning pains shot through his right shoulder. He lifted a hand to it, wincing, and could feel the ooze of blood seeping through the tear in the fabric of his shirt.
"It's ok. Besides, it might've been different anyway if that crazy skybax hadn't intervened." Taddeo said. "Man, you sure you're ok?"
Tristan was on his feet now, looking about, eyes scanning his surroundings for the skybax.
"Here." Elora said. "Let me take a look at that. I came prepared in case something like this happened."
"I've got to go find him." Tristan babbled distractedly. "I can't believe he showed up! I should've known—I should've known! It's a full moon."
Elora pulled at his other arm, turning him around where she could see his shoulder better in the moonlight. She chucked lightly and reached into the emergency pack she'd brought along with her, pulling out a bandage and set to tying it over the wound. Then she stepped back letting her gaze sweep over the rest of him as if searching for more telltale signs of injuries.
"Thanks, Elora, but I think I'm good to go. I've got to find that skybax." He pulled his helmet off and set it on the ground by the glider.
"Well you'd better be careful. That skybax already caused enough damage I think, as it is." She picked up her pack and headed over to the other crashed glider to see if Mathias needed her assistance.
Taddeo frowned. "You don't mean to say that you're going to go confront that creature?"
"Yes."
"It was him…wasn't it? The one you've met before." Taddeo said, eyes wide.
"Yes" Tristan said. "I just—I just need to see him, ok? I have to hurry. I don't have time to explain." He took off at a stiff, rocking, pace, his sore body complaining from the crash.
"Well let me go with you then." Taddeo said as he started after him.
"No! I have to do this alone."
Taddeo stopped short and threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine. Go get yourself killed then. I won't interfere."
Tristan winced at the bite in his friend's tone, but did not turn back to explain. He'd have to save that for later. He spotted the skybax in the sky, flying toward one of the hills in the distance. Tristan turned and headed in the same direction to meet the creature.
