The Adventures of Lando Erif :: The Day I Go Sky-Diving (Pt. Seven)

April is already half way finished?? Someone please tell me what happened to the month.

My introduction is going to be pretty short today. Because I'm not actually here!!! *bounces* I'm actually right now at an exclusive writer's retreat, writing like crazy and having a whole pile of fun.

In other words, I'm at my cousin's place.

So note: any comments might have slight delays in being published/replied to because of a) busyness and also b) bad internet connections. But only slight delays at worst.


I would give you a quick update of my Camp NaNo stats but I actually pre-wrote and scheduled this post so as I'm writing these words I have no idea. XD I'm having the time of my life though and am going fairly good.

And now on to the sky-diving adventures!

Free falling through the air only lasted long enough for me to scream in undignified terror before I hit the roof of a balcony and started sliding.

That day probably would have ended in Lando Pancake if not for the broken tiling on the edge of the balcony.

My shirt caught, jerking me to an abrupt stop and almost strangling me. I hung suspended over nothing, the fabric of my shirt pulling tight across my chest, the only thing actually holding me up.

I gulped, reaching around as carefully as I could and searching for a grip with my hands. My groping fingers met nothing secure enough, and I reached out further, but the motion pulled my shirt free and I started slipping again.

A half scream caught in my throat and I grabbed at the first thing I touched, my fingers slipping along the smooth surface of the tiles until the edge. I gasped hold of the small notch that ran along the edge of the balcony roof, my fate only slightly better now. But I couldn’t hold on for very long.

I squinted down over my shoulder and my heart lurched inside my chest, my breath choking for a moment.

There was no way I’d survive that. And there was no way I could pull myself back onto the roof. My only chance was the balcony itself. Only it was at least a foot further in than the edge of the roof. I’d have to swing and let go.

I couldn’t. I couldn’t make myself do that.

Panic set in, my arms starting to shake from the strain.

I couldn’t but I had to.

It was either that or Lando Pancake. And I still didn’t like the sound of Lando Pancake.

Gritting my teeth, I swung my legs, getting up some momentum. Just imagine you aren’t above a huge drop where you’ll definitely die if you slip. Imagine your arms aren’t about to give out. Imagine you’re not going to miss the balcony completely and fall…

I swung last time and dropped.

I’m not very good at imagining things away.

Don’t panic though. I mean, sure I completely missed the balcony and started screaming to my death on the ground far below, but this is where it gets interesting.

That was when I was snatched out of the air, mid scream, by a strong grip around my arm. A strong dragon-grip. I dangled from the grey claws, gulping for breath, my vision blinking in and out in the overwhelming panic that was pounding through my ears.

I wasn’t dead.

But I was hanging from a dragon’s claws.

Close enough to being dead, right?

I heard something above me, almost like a voice, but the heaving rush of air from the flight drowned out anything. Then the ground swooped up toward me and I couldn’t help the muffled sound that came from my mouth a split second before wings flared out behind, slowing us immediately. My feet scraped across the ground, still moving past rapidly. The grip on my arm released and I tumbled forward head over heels, sprawling into the springy grass, rolling uncontrollably down the slope.

I grabbed at the grass and finally managed to slow myself, skidding to a breathless stop. For a few moments I lay, slumping my face into my arms, just trying to catch my breath.

Then I noticed the ground crumbling under my hand.

I lifted my head just enough to see where the ground just suddenly dropped away into nothing, right next to me. Letting out a yell, I pushed up, trying to get away, but the earth beneath my hand gave way, sending me falling flat on my face, my arm and shoulder hanging over the edge.

Gulping down the panic, I shifted slightly, wincing as more earth crumbled. The space below me just kept on going down…and down…for a moment a cloud below drifted apart just enough so I could see that there wasn’t land below for any see-able distance. Wriggling back further, I got to my hands and knees and then crawled a little further away before lurching to my feet and running in the opposite direction.

My heart throbbed against my ribs, and I dropped to my knees in the middle of a patch of long grass, gulping in deep breaths.

Okay. So it was a floating island. A floating island in the sky with a huge nothing underneath. I wasn’t freaking out at all. No way. Nuh-uh. Totally fine.

The dragon swooped low over my head and then landed just a little way off. I thought about running for approximately a quarter of a second before I discounted it as completely useless. No way I could get very far before it caught me, and even if I did, there wasn’t anywhere to go.

Then a familiar looking figure jumped off the dragon and had me it a fierce hug before I could work out what was going on.

“Lando, I was so worried.”

“Wait…mum?” I pulled back far enough to see her face, her gaze deeply worried and staring down at me.

“Are you okay?” She pressed her hand against my forehead. “You’re burning.”

Her words snapped me out of my daze, glancing over her shoulder and realising that the twins were standing nervously by the dragon. “How did you find me?” I wriggled out of her arms, trying to connect the dots.

“It wasn’t a hard guess to track you down. I just needed to find directions to Zana’s castle. And Sir George was able to give me locations for the twins because Titus has magic Nets in his pocket and the Guiding meant he could pinpoint where they were.” She smiled down at me. “From there it was just a matter of stealing a dragon and flying here.”

“You stole a dragon?” I stared.

Her smile widened. “Absolutely.”

I almost laughed, but then something crinkled in my pocket as I shifted slightly. Diving my hand in, I pulled out the papers, ignoring the first two, but glancing down at the Plan. I was wasting time. “Mum.” I flashed my gaze up to her. “I need you to do something for me.”

She paused, a frown pulling at her flat brows. “Is something wrong?”

“Take this to Sir George.” I shoved the paper into her hands. “Zana is planning an attack on…humans in general. I’ve got to try stop her, but in case I don’t manage to, you need to warn everyone.”

“Lando I’m not leaving you—”

“Mum.” I grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the dragon. “She has an army of dragons and warlocks and I don’t even know what a warlock does but it doesn’t sound good. You need to warn everyone.”

“Lando—”

“I’ll go back on another dragon. Zana has a dragon, I’ll ride that one or…something.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt.

“Hey what’s up?” The twins stepped forward, looking at me worriedly.

“You guys all need to go back and warn Dragon Island.” I felt my heart rate speeding again and I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

“Warn of what?”

“But wait, we’re not leaving you.” Titus stepped forward and grabbed my shoulder. “Whatever you want to do, I’m in.”

“Same,” Thomas added instantly. “Although that goes without saying.”

“Please, it’s dangerous.”

“Um, well duh.” Thomas rolled his eyes.

“We’re with you, dude.” Titus crossed his arms, and I knew I wouldn’t convince them otherwise.

I could say anything I wanted and they’d follow me. I guess it was a sort of comforting thought.
“Well…thanks.” I rubbed the back of my neck, glancing awkwardly at my mum.

“What is this anyway?” She unfolded the paper that I’d shoved into her hands, her gaze skimming down the page.

I bit my lip, watching as she read. Her face went slightly pale but she nodded and pushed the paper into her pocket. “Okay Lando. I trust you.” She met my eyes one last time. “Love you. Be right back after delivering this.”

I nodded as she leapt onto the dragon, and then switched my glance to the twins. “So—”

“Let’s bash this fairy lady,” Thomas said.

“Sounds good to me.”

- - -

Is it just me, or is April disappearing like it's being chased by a dragon?
(and at the same time, hasn't it been April for so long??)