"At first the idea sounded kind of fun but...looking at this now..."Katara trails off, her eyes wondering below her causes her mouth to freeze in fright. She tightens her grip until her knuckles turn pale as she swallows the lumps in her throat.
"I second that. But most of all..." I growl with my eyes shut. "Why am I sitting the most front of this train wreck of an idea!?"
"Because you're the shortest of the group!" Aang chirps with a cheerful grin.
I turn around and glare at him.
"Say that again, punk."
Aang just continues grins at me before focusing on the view over my head. I pout in annoyance before looking ahead of me.
Have to say, the view is beautiful if I can ignore the terror of being so close to possibly plummeting to my death.
Spots of green colours the different levels of the pyramids. The eath glows golden under the soft rays of the sun. The green tiled roof in the form of different lengths and sizes sit on the buildings made of earth that shelters the people. The citizens of Omashu look like tiny ants as they walk slowly to their destination and when I view from them from above, I feel myself humbling that even I am as small as an ant to the world.
"I still don't feel comfortable using this particular cart. I mean, seriously, this carpet is yellow compared to the other carts that uses green carpets. It's also bigger too." Sokka describes the cart we're currently sitting in from all the way at the back.
Aang didn't think it's odd to have a bigger mail cart and I...I have no idea why there's a bigger cart with a different coloured carpet. I doubt this is taught in school though. There's no way the class would cover different mail carts...!
And if the 100 year old Avatar says it's fine to use the cart, and none of us have a counter argument, then we're gonna use the cart.
"I'm sure they just need to send bigger things around sometimes. Nothing weird! Now, let's not delay!"
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." I beg as I press my back against Aang while leaning away from the edge as the cart slowly tips forward from Aang shifting his weight forward.
"Aang, I think we should re-consid-"
Too late, Katara. Aang has tipped the cart over the edge and we slide down the chute at a dangerous speed that dreadfully slowly increases.
"-DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRR!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?"
The cart falls at such a speed that, despite me unwillingness to believe it, I'm not falling at the same rate as the cart.
"I-I'M GONNA FALL OUT!" I scream as I slowly feel the surface of the cart leaving my bottom. I try to pull myself down but my arms are shaking too badly, I feel like I can't control them like I usually could. The fact that I'm strong and I can't pull myself down terrifies me to the point that I feel my mind shut down, as if preparing me to make my end as painless as possible.
"Got you!" Suddenly, I feel something wrap around my waist and pull me down.
"Wha...what?"
I look down to see a pair of legs of familiar brown boots. Turning around, I see Aang grinning proudly at his quick thinking. Katara and Sokka are frozen with their teeth gritting tightly as they look over our heads in horror. It seems they are too petrified they barely react to me almost falling out or that Aang had saved me.
"Aren't...aren't you suppose to be lighter than me?" I breathe in confusion as I squint at him, making sure that I'm not mistaken.
And I'm not. He's clearly skinnier than I am!
Aang shrugs, "Don't know, but look!"
He points behind my head and I briefly look at Katara and Sokka for a hint on what I should expect. No, I can't trust Aang's smile. Not when he can smile and cheer during that horrendous fall. Sokka and Katara's petrification is slowly wearing off as their eyes scan what's passing by us without moving their heads. Their stiff jaws slowly loosen up and their shoulders slacks before they regain the ability to move their necks.
Curious, I turn around and look what's ahead.
I can barely register what are the blurry scenes passing by me. I can hear the clatter of chopsticks on bowls as a family feast. I see children playing by trying to keep the ball in the air as long as they can by kicking. I see the multicolours of flowers as a boy buys a flower for his girlfriend. Nothing but laughter and smiles. A sight I miss seeing.
The fall is over and we are just zooming past the people that barely pays attention to the passing cart. Instead, they focus on their own lives.
At the corner of my eyes, I see another chute slowly closing into our chute. Looking ahead, I see that the two chutes are aiming to merge into one.
"Wow, to think that if we didn't spend more time searching for a bigger cart, those spears would have been right behind us." Sokka points out the cart modelled as a stand to hold onto the 6 spears tightly.
It's not that far ahead from us but the possibility that if we had settled for a smaller cart, we would have that chasing behind us.
"See? Everything's fine! I've done this loads of times." Aang encourages us as he airbends the cart to go faster.
The cart grinds the short walls of the chute as it curves, causing us, except Aang, to be stiff as we curve around one of the pyramids.
There is a big open area bellow that has a big fountain and a big statue. The people are walking around without sparing a glance at the statue as they have seen it more than a hundred times.
"That's him! King Bumi!" I point at the statue to alert the gang.
Aang reacts the quickest out of all of us but confusion quickly overpowers his joy.
Right after Sokka and Katara look at the statue, they turn to Aang immediately. I keep staring at the statue, noting that the statue looks slightly different than the textbook. Well, there's only so much detail an artist can fit into their work.
Sokka and Katara exchange glances, silently discussing who should ask the question. It's obvious that it will be Katara.
Aang's eyes also didn't leave the statue, as if waiting for any tell-tale signs that the statue really is his Bumi. But before he can come to a conclusion, we've completed the turn and the statue hides behind the pyramid.
Finally able to feel like his senses have returned, he turns forward and stares blankly ahead.
"So...Aang. What do you think?" Katara asks for his thoughts on the statue.
Aang turns to look at Katara but couldn't give his answer. He didn't have one but from just reading his eyes, Katara understands. Instead if trying to give a verbal answer, Aang pauses before asking,"Wan, did Bumi have any kids?"
"Huh?" His question catches me off guard. "Oh, um..."
...Oh damn...I don't know!
"...She doesn't know." Sokka answers in my place after he easily reads my panic.
"S...sorry." I apologize meekly.
"It's okay, Wan. We're going to try and find the King anyway. Maybe then, I'll find out if it's really Bumi." Aang assures as he regains his hope.
"But how are we going to find the King anyway? I don't think riding around on a cart would help find him." Katara says as her eyes scans the world below her. She can hardly see the faces of the people from this distance let alone with the speed of the zooming cart.
Sokka, noting his sister's focus, points out, "He's a King. I think we'll notice when a royal is walking in the street. I don't even think a King would just roam around the streets just because he has free time."
"Guys..."I softly call. I'm a little unsure of what I'm seeing so I'm not sure if I should call louder.
"You're right. He'd probably jump roof to roof if it's really Bumi."
"Guys...!" Katara hears me first. She leans to the side so she can get a clearer view of what I could possibly be seeing. It didn't take long for her to figure it out.
"I was joking, Aang."
Katara grabs Sokka's and Aang's chin and forces them to look ahead.
"Guards..."I point out the obvious as our cart heads for their direction.
Hearing the familiar sound of an incoming cart, the guards turn to look onto their next incoming task. What they expect the sight to be is a cart full of scrolls but instead it is replaced with a cart full of children.
"What are they doing in that cart!?" One of the guards yell.
"I knew this gold carpet cart was a bad thing!" Sokka shrieks as his panic starts to rise.
While the rest of us have been petrified, Aang forces his brain to do some quick thinking.
And thinking desperately under pressure usually creates very bad ideas.
"Hold on!" Aang warns all of us and we take a split second to re-adjust ourselves for another scare of our life.
I grip onto the cart's side instead of the front and lean back. As much as I want to close my eyes, I would rather prefer to see what kind of obstacle will be the one to finally stop this madness. Katara wraps an arm around Aang's waist from behind when she sees Aang releasing his hold on the cart, which would make it possible for him to accidentally fall out of the cart like I did. Sokka leans over Katara and grips onto the cart's ledges to help keep his sister secure.
Aang feels his heart pumping adrenaline through his veins but he forces his arms not to tremble as he raises them into the air.
The guards raise their spears as the cart approaching, ready to arrest these children and send them home.
Only to have their stance and spears be pushed to the ground as Aang bends a strong pressure of air to speed the cart pass them. The cart continues to flow straight and slowly curve downwards before the chute forms another curve.
But with the unnatural speed of the cart, the cart to coarsely grin against the chute and slows down the cart.
We grit out teeth as we pray that our luck today will be lucky and that everything will just go back to normal.
Sadly, it's not our lucky day.
Sokka hears a sound from behind.
He forces his stiff neck to look over his shoulder and he did not like what he see.
"The guards are after us."
We turn around to see the guards sliding down to chute, catching up to us. Our turn is almost over and it will be a straight line.
"We're screwed." I groan as I accept my defeat.
"No. Not yet." Aang says with determination as he grabs onto the cart and leans over the edge.
"Oh my God, Aang. What are you doing?" Katara asks before letting go of Aang's waist to hold onto the cart, trying to lean it back into place when she feels the cart tipping.
"Just trust me!" Aang pleas and only after a few second of hesitation did we help tip the cart to slide on only the right bottom edge of the cart.
Just as we finish the curve, Aang forces the cart to tip on the other side and we fall over the ledge of the chute. We roll luckily onto a roof with the cart falling on its correct side and the cart slides down the roof, destroying green tiles and scaring the locals.
We fall off the roof and land onto another roof on the bottom tier of the pyramid.
"Only two more roofs before we hit the ground!" I warn and Sokka yelps from behind.
"I nearly got speared! We're all going to get speared if we don't think of something quick!" Sokka leans down to try and avoid the spears that nearby guards are throwing.
"Oof...!" We groan as we slide down another roof. One more house until we're stuck.
Katara uses the water from her water skin to swat a spear aimed at us. "Maybe we should just run for it?"
Aang remains silent as he tries to think of a solution. Running away is an option but he doubts we'll get very far.
But he does have one idea.
"Wan, do you think you can try and help me bend stronger?" I turn to Aang bewildering request.
"Are you insane!? I don't know how!"
We fall off the roof and land onto the last roof before we'll be stuck on the ground.
"Just try!"
"Uuuuugh!" I cry out before forcing my eyes shut so I can try to focus.
The loud cries of children and mothers are distracting. People are cursing at us and the guards are demanding our surrender. I can hear the sound of objects breaking as people are running away from us like a stampede. Spears are falling to the ground as Katara and Sokka try their best to protect the youngest children on this cart with their water and boomerang.
Force them all out and force my focus!
If I don't survive then I'm never going to go home!
Just do everything. Whatever bending-bending is, I don't care. Just give Aang everything I have and pray that it works.
"Whatever you do, don't stop whatever it is you're doing, Wan!"
I forcefully keep my eyes shut as I feel the cart tipping over the roof. My grip on the cart tightens and I grit my teeth as I feel the air around me shifting.
Then I feel the landing, forcing my body to lurch forward and nearly crashing my chin onto the ledge of the cart. I barely hear a splash from...a little behind us when the cart made its bumpy landing.
"Aah! My water!" Katara cries out in regret that the force of landing has made her lose her form, causing her to lose control of her bending.
"It's okay, Katara. We'll get more water later." Sokka comforts his sister but it's barely audible from the screams of terror flying past us as we flow down the path in between an alley.
I open my eyes to find that we're still moving despite being on flat ground. People ahead of us leap and run out of our way, allowing us to zoom down the path without difficulty.
Dumbfounded, I lean over the edge of the cart to find that there are 4 airballs beneath the cart. Two at the front and two at the back, one for each corner.
"Wow! This is so-!"
"Wan, focus!"
Aang cries out but he immediately loses control at maintaining the airballs the moment he feels the energy boost leaving him. The cart slides and we feel out stomachs drop when we find ourselves sliding to a hard wall. Aang pulls me back into the cart and sends a force of air to cushion the crash but we still slam harshly against the wall.
"Look out!" Sokka alerts us as he pulls Katara backwards, barely saving her from being skewered by a spear to head.
"Go! Go! Go!" I plea as I force myself to focus on giving Aang whatever he needs to get us out of here.
Aang wastes no time and summon the airballs to drive us away from the guards. We only move an inch before we feel the cart tremble as if resisting to move forward. In our stunned silence, Katara is the first to turn around.
There are 2 guards in their earthbending position, forcing the cart to stay where it is while 5 more are catching up behind them. Aang and I are still trying to force ourselves out of the guard's grip while Sokka and Katara share a knowing glance at each other.
Katara pulls out the spear from the wall and throws it at one of the guard's while Sokka tosses his boomerang at the other. The 2 guards let out a yelp of surprise as they release their hold of the cart, allowing us to burst into speed and nearly knocking Sokka and Katara off the cart.
"Yeah!" The siblings cheer at their victory and 5-five each other once they regain their balance.
"What do we do now?" I ask with my eyes close, fearful that if I open my eyes again, I might get distracted and possibly get us into another accident.
"We have to lose the guards. We can't stay on flat ground forever. One of the guards are bound to catch us if we do." Sokka points out as he raises his hand to catch his boomerang from the air.
"We need to get back to the chutes." Aang sets a goal for us as he makes a turn out of the alley, scaring stray animals and bystanders as they drop whatever they were holding from shock.
"Over there!" Katara points above, not that I can see, to a chute that is descending somewhere to the right a little ahead of us behind a pyramid.
Aang swings his arms to the right and make a sharp turn, nearly tipping the cart on its side from the cart's momentum. We grit out teeth and close our eyes and pray that we would not be tipped over. Fortunately, it lands back on all four and continues to move where we want it to.
"Oh uh..." Aang breaths.
"Oh uh? Oh uh what?" I ask with my eyes still closed.
"Brace yourselves!" Sokka screeches with great panic.
Worried, I open my eyes to find out what I should be bracing for.
I can actually feel my face being drained of blood once I lay my eyes on the source of the panic
There's a small gap in between two buildings ahead of us but it's blocked by short wall of earth. It's only high enough to prevent young children or dumb animals from falling off the edge but to tall enough for us to crash into. If the cart crashes into that short wall, we'll be sent flying into the air, possibly flipped upside-down, with a near impossible chance of reaching to that one chute quite a distance away from the edge.
"Oh no..."
Author's note: This scene went through a lot of changes in my head and went through even more changes as I write. This is pretty hard and the next one will also be pretty hard because I need to think up of something significant with King Bumi. I wont be doing the 3 challenges thing since Aang will know it's King Bumi from the start so I need to think of something else.
Also, I'm getting a job but I'll be thinking about the next chapter's scenes when I can.