Part 8 – Ticket to Hell

"One," the winged stranger spat as he gripped his collar so tight it cut off his breath, "Then, you leave."

Jirou managed not to cough as the angel-like being released his throat. For a second the ferocity of the man's gesture overshadowed what he'd said. The boy had to replay Krad's words in order to register that he'd actually agreed to ride something with him. He stared into the older man's eyes for a long moment before gathering his resolve. If he wussed out now, the encounter would be over.

"Then…that one," he pointed at a coaster labeled "Sacred Dream". It was an indoor coaster that he'd been told was less dramatic than the others because the track was contained in an underground room where the train had to stay at low speeds. He began walking toward the line, and when he looked back, he was surprised to find the park character really following him to the ride. He reached the end of the line and swallowed hard as it began to move forward. Truth be told, he didn't like rides, and he'd never even been on a coaster, but there was no way he could say that now, or else… Why was he doing this, anyway? Clinging to some total stranger that was a far cry from pleasant company… He peered sideways at the gold-haired man, who was making no attempt at conversation.

Luckily, the line was relatively short, but it was still a very strange fifteen minutes while they waited to board. "Thank you for waiting! Please board your cars carefully and lower the restraint consoles over your chests. Due to the enclosed area of the track, please keep your hands inside the coaster throughout the ride. Now, prepare to enter….the Sacred Dream!"

Jirou lowered his restraint bar, which clicked into place across his shoulders and over his chest. He looked over at his companion, who looked about ready to get back off the train, but then sat down after all.

Krad cursed to himself as he sat down in the car next to the child. He arched his wings upward to get the safety feature over his shoulders, though he wasn't impressed by the restraint device. He brought it down, but didn't let it lock shut. No way was he locking himself into some human machine. It was unbelievable as it was that he was even doing this at all.

Jirou glanced up as Krad's wings curled like a giant bow, one free off the side of the car and the other raised over his head like an umbrella. Gosh, they looked so real… "I'm sorry…I forgot you had those. Will they be ok for the ride?" he asked.

"They are not so delicate as that." Krad smirked ever so slightly at the boy's question, and the change in expression won a shy grin from the child.

The boarding floor clicked away, and the train started forward with a jolt. Jirou set his jaw, determined not to scream. With a rush of power, the train quickly picked up speed and rose up in a wide circle through a tunnel. Open holes in the outside wall let them look down on the other visitors to the park as they climbed upward steeply. And then, the train turned left, facing into an enormous, black room. The sunlight behind them seemed to disappear, and suddenly they were in darkness, tilting forward. Gravity took it from there.

Strobe lights blinded them occasionally as they flew straight down, diving into the room. That first dive was bad, but when the train used the momentum to swoop sideways into a series of loops and turns, Jirou was just plain gone. At an amazing twenty-three seconds into the ride, he closed his eyes tight and screamed. When he forced himself to squint them open again, the train was decelerating toward the loading dock and the other passengers were hooting and laughing.

Pale as death, Jirou huddled into his seat and glanced over at the stranger. Krad didn't look amused, but he didn't look frightened either. Bored. He was bored. After all that?

A white feather seesawed down onto his pale knuckles, and Jirou looked down at it. It was a real feather…that must have been an expensive costume. But the odder thing was that it was still warm. He let go of the handlebar long enough to catch the feather in his hand and hold it tightly. A moment later, the restraints released and hissed back into their upward position. Jirou yelped as the train jolted and a loud metallic thud sounded below the platform. The boarding platform that was on its way up suddenly fell back down with a crash. The train began heading forward again.

The passengers all began shouting and struggling to bring their safety devices back down. Krad watched them curiously. So this wasn't part of the ride? The train chugged up along the tunnel again, the windows again showing them what the rest of the park was doing. But they were going much faster this time, like whatever restrained the ride's speed had ceased to operate. When the train arched left and entered the ride chamber, the wheels shrieked against the metal tracks and a groan of steel pulled them fiercely over onto the first drop.

"This isn't right!" Jirou shouted to Krad, who seemed to be calmly observing everything, though Jirou could barely see anything. He gasped as another part of the track flashed much closer to his head than he wanted it to be. He pulled his arms tightly inside and held on for dear life as the train entered another loop – and every thrillseeker's worst nightmare happened. The coaster dislodged from the rails with a thunderous crack. Only the rearmost wheels remained attached as it flung like a whip around the remainder of the loop. The loose end of the train crashed hard against an adjacent segment of track, broke off, and tottered to a precarious standstill, though the passengers were so quiet that it was hard to tell if any of them survived.

Krad and Jirou, as luck had it, were in the rear of the train, which screeched to a halt at the base of the loop and simply hung there like a pendulum, swaying slowly back and forth. Jirou had tears in his eyes now, too frightened to make a sound. Something warm was trickling into his eye from his forehead. He looked to where the winged man was sitting for some kind of support, but when he reached out, no one was there. Oh, god… "Help! My neighbor was thrown out!" he shouted. It was only then that his fear-deafened ears opened up to the screaming of all the other passengers. Everyone was upset…no one was going to help him.

A sharp clang above them made everyone fall silent. The catch on the back wheel, the last thing keeping them from falling to the base of the chamber, was ready to give. "Wait! Everyone stand still!" someone shouted, while others wrestled to get out of their restraints that had now become closer to nooses.

Krad watched the humans from just above the train, floating near a stable section of track. He had to admit that he was surprised the machine had malfunctioned, but then, he was living proof that human creations did not always obey their commands.

"MASCOT-SAAANN!!!" The kid's voice echoed through the chamber. "HANG ON! HELP IS COMING!!" Krad focused his eyes on the end of the train and spotted the boy. So he was still alive? At the moment, he was facing down into the darkness of the chamber and screaming with his hands around his mouth to…him. The angel sneered. "Worry about your own hide, kid. I'm doing just fine."

With a creak, the train broke through another joint and caught again. Clearly what remained of the machine was going to fall. The kid would fall too. Such a shame.

'Ride something with me.'

What a splendid start for his life here on earth.

'I have too many tickets.'

All that remained was to sit back and enjoy the show.

'I paid for your lunch…'

With a heave, the dangling end of the machine fell loose from the rail and sailed downward into the chasm.

Jirou clenched his eyes tightly, wondering what his classmates would think of his getting killed on a stupid roller coaster. Probably they wouldn't find it terribly interesting. They'd get on well enough. Someone else would sit in his desk. Oh god…final moments weren't supposed to be like this!

The boy opened his eyes as a bright light exploded in front of him. 'God?' A sharp crack as his safety bar exploded away from him and he was snared with a painful jerk out of the doomed machine. He closed his eyes again with a wince of disappointment. Heaven wasn't supposed to hurt…was he going the other way? Was this because he didn't give his classmates the extra tickets?"

With a dizzy heave of nausea he finally noticed that he was moving up, not down. The light had faded, but something firm was holding him around his chest and pulling him upward. His hands scrambled for anything he could hold onto. They met with smooth fabric that had heat behind it.

"Mind your hands, or I'll return you to the others," a cold voice said from over his head.

Jirou knew the winged man's voice, but not what was happening until they burst out of the darkness into the light of the tunnel they'd started through. Huge white wings were spread out around him, and his head jerked up to see who was carrying him. The answer made his jaw fall open. How was this possible? But oddly enough, his frantic nerves calmed as if the circumstances of his rescue were nothing to be alarmed about. He was safe and certain in this being's arms, for no reason he could think of.

Jirou's body suddenly fell still and limp on instinct, the way a kitten cooperates when being carried by the scruff of the neck. He briefly entertained the thought that maybe this was all some elaborate stunt, some immersive performance arranged by the park. No, thirty or more people lay dead or injured in the room behind them, crushed in wreckage. Sirens wailed closer and closer outside. Tears suddenly welled up in the boy's eyes. "Oh, god. We have to go back…what if some of them can still be rescued!" he gripped onto Krad's arm as he tried to look behind them.

The boy gasped as the arms holding him released in an instant. He fell a few feet to the floor of the tunnel and tumbled harshly to a stop, cracking his head against the wall of the corridor. Squeezing the back of his neck, he let out a stunned groan and looked up.

Krad stood on the ground several feet away, a cold yellow glare piercing into the boy's chest. "Do not misunderstand, human," he began to scald, but paused. Of course, he had no interest in human life. In fact, the more dead, the merrier. He'd almost been giddy when he realized the fate their foolish machine was racing into, but then at the last second something went wrong and he wound up with this loathsome cargo. Why did he take this human child? The lack of an answer made him mad enough to scream. His logical mind decided against that option, and instead he lifted his wings, eager to fly out of this place and away from the staring child.

Jirou stared at the wings as they moved. He was absolutely fascinated by them. He wanted to see them in motion, but also didn't want the angel to leave. Vaguely aware that something he'd done had upset the strange being, he struggled for something to say. It was so hard to speak to those disregarding eyes. Krad's magic still tingled along his skin like static. He had questions. A lot of them.

But right now he felt like he wouldn't mind if none of them were answered, as long as this strange being didn't leave. 'Don't leave me here. Don't leave me back in reality…' Jirou opened his mouth, but closed it again. His pride was catching up to him. Was he insane to care about this stranger's reaction to him so much? Plus, he didn't feel too good. He shook his head to clear it, but that seemed to make things worse. He clung to the image in front of him as his vision began running together. 'Oh, right. I was injured…Where was I--?'

Jirou's thoughts clouded; he didn't know how hurt he was. Was he dying, or passing out? With a heavy breath, he leaned over on the floor of the tunnel and tried to regain his senses. Krad watched his still form with a passive frown.

Heavy footsteps sounded at the other end of the tunnel. The boy's scruffy hair had fallen into his eyes, his round glasses falling off his nose, but he was still staring up at Krad without blinking. Krad took a half step back as he realized who the boy reminded him of. What was he doing here? He closed his eyes angrily, appalled by what his gut feeling had realized even though his mind refused to acknowledge it. He would not tolerate such a thing. This ended now.

When the rescue team reached the mouth of the tunnel, their flashlights found a bare wall and a floor strewn with feathers and blood.

TBC…

Oh no! A cliffhanger! -cackles with insane glee- Coming up, more Krad and more Dark with…oh dear.

To Determindtowin, Stormshadow13, and Turk – Thank you so much for all your feedback and advice! You keep me going!

To everyone else reading – thank you! Don't be a stranger!

Part 9 will be out sooner than you think!