'How in the hell...did I end up on this...?' was the repetitive thought flooding her mind, a dull expression on the girl's face as the young lady beside her whooped with unnecessary excitement. Though, it reminded her that the whooping young female was the friend that had just dragged her onto the undesirable ride. Thankfully, they were not on a ride dedicated to small children. However, the rollercoaster they were currently seated in was a bit too mild for Xeph's tastes. She stole a glimpse at her cellphone's time prior to glancing over to a much steeper and hastier rollercoaster with genuine longing in her azure irises. Before the academic year officially came to an end, the school had decided to launch a vast school trip to one of the largest amusement parks in the area. The perfect summer treat for the majority of the students. And although Xeph had probably ridden most of the adrenaline-pumping vehicles in the park multiple times already, she truly wanted to interact with the ultimate rollercoaster she did not yet engage with. Why? Because it was the most massive, spiraling, and swiftest rollercoaster in the park. She was utterly astonished that she had not ridden it primely, but of course, she aspired to save the best for last. Then again, it was nearing the departure time. Would she arrive there in time?
"Alright. Now. That." Directly after exiting the mild rollercoaster, Xeph stated the three words whilst pointing to the extensive rollercoaster: Adrenaline. Her friend swiveled her head to look, but almost instantly, she gaped and shook her head profusely. "Are you crazy? If I fall off that ride, I'm dead meat!" she exclaimed. "Come on. You promised you wouldn't chicken out on me..." Xeph replied with a frown. "I'm not! Besides, we don't have enough time anyway. I'm heading back to the buses." her friend dismissed, walking ahead. She disappeared in the midst of the bustling crowds. "Fine." With a sigh, Xeph, turned on the heels of her feet and made her way over to the gravity-defying rollercoaster. The line was bizarrely short; either this wasn't the park's busy hours or most people didn't seem very fond of said ride. Huge crowds intervened with waiting weren't exactly Xeph's strong points when standing on three-hour lines, but this particular wait only took about twenty minutes. Eventually, the 16 year-old had stepped up to the rollercoaster of which only held one cart with two seats. It was unusual for a rollercoaster to solely possess two seats and one cart, but the intensity of the rollercoaster certainly made up for its oddities.
The young man operating the ride brought her to an abrupt halt, just as she was about hop into one of the two seats. "Where's your partner?" he queried, looking down at the petite teen. She was approximately 5'5" in height, but next to the larger man, she appeared very insignificant in size. Xeph stared at the worker momentarily, as if he were speaking a foreign language. "My partner...?" she repeated, optics dilating slightly. 'Well, my former partner chickened out...' she mused to herself, mentally rolling her eyes. "I don't have a partner..." Xeph began, trailing off to glance backwards. Alas, she had been the last individual on the line. "You can't ride without a partner, Miss." the operator informed her. The expression of disappointment immediately swept across her features....until she perceived the sound of someone walking up the metal staircase. Although the steps could have been regarded as hesitant, the owner of the sound was coming towards her and the operator.
"Foolish girl. You are walking straight into our death trap." A deep, distorted voice spoke within the depths of his dark chamber. The creature smiled with twisted delight, residing in a completely different dimension from the agent's own. "And it looks like I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone..." Through the obscure mirror before him, he watched the young man as he trudged up the stairs, towards Xeph and the operator.
Drazen had been all around the park, mainly people watching. He had seen a few people doing things that shouldn't have been going on in an amusement park. He had just shaken his head and chuckled to himself. As he walked he looked down at his phone and noticed it was almost time to go back to the buses. He sighed and began walking in the general direction of them but paused when he saw a line wasn't very long for one of the roller coasters. Come on Zen, you came here now actually go on a ride so it wasn't a waste
Turned and weaved through some people, most of them objecting to him being there to begin with. As he reached the stairs to the ride he felt his body starting to tremble. He hated being on rides like this mainly becuase they made him apprehensive. "Might as well get this over with." he muttered before he walked up the stairs, his footsteps sounding hesitant to even himself. he heard the operator talking to someone about not having a partner and mentally cursed himself. Why hadn't he known you needed someone to go on it with. Maybe the person would stay for a second and he could ask if they would mind going with him since he didn't have one.
As he got to the top of the steps he looked up and saw a girl standing next to whom he guess was the operator. "hey if she needs a partner I'll go with" he said, his shoulders hunched over.
On instinct, Xeph had chosen not to pay any mind to the footsteps. It was best to properly assume that it was just another individual passing by rather than another participant for the ride. She did not see a point in raising her hopes, of which had already deteriorated several moments ago...until she perceived a male voice stating that he would go on the rollercoaster with her. Simultaneously, the young woman and the operator turned in the direction of the young man. Xeph's lengthy raven lockes gently whipped her in the face as she had swiftly shifted her head to him. Her former expression of dismay had disappeared. She wasn't aware of his hunched shoulders, but perhaps her elevated excitement was blinding her. The operator nodded towards the adolescent male, prior to gesturing at the rollercoaster. "Alright. Just step right--," the operator began, but interrupted himself when he noted that the eager female student grabbed the young male's hand and was now faintly pulling him to the cart. "Dude, you're a lifesaver." she partially joked, smirking slightly. Soon enough, she had released the guy's hand and quickly leaped right into one of the seats in the cart.
"Yes!" she stated beneath her breath, all the while buckling herself into the ride. In all honesty, it was quite rare for Xeph to be somewhat eager about doing something. On a regular basis, she wasn't very enthusiastic about much of anything else...unless the activity was something like this--adrenaline-pumping and maybe even a tad dangerous. And although she still maintained her casual personality, the brightness in her eyes were rather evident. After Xeph connected her seatbelt, the burly operator made his way over to the side of the cart, waiting for the young man to seat himself in so that he could pull the safety bars down over the two of them.
Drazen blinked for a second at the girl's enthusiasm. He let her pull him towards the car and gingerly got into it after her. His eyes darted back and forth fo a minute as he tried to put the seatbelt on. The girl's enthusiasm made him feel a bit better and relaxed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He clicked it into place as the operator reached over to push the safty belt over them. He tensed his hands as it clicked. He grabbed the handles that were on the bar so that his knuckles were white.
"Ok so keep both hands and your feet in the car please. I don't need to have to call 911 and go find an appendage after this ride." the operartor said with a slight smirk. Drazen gulped and had to take a deep breath to relax again.
"I really hope you are joking." Drazen said before the man started the ride and laughed.
Xeph stole a quick glance at her partner, who was now buckling his seatbelt. Blinking blankly, she found herself raising a brow at him. And it wasn't just because he still appeared a bit apprehensive. '....He looks familiar. I'm sure I've seen him around the school a few times. That's probably why, but...' she mused, trailing off within her thoughts as she found herself staring without realizing. When it finally hit her senses, her eyes dilated with surprise. 'That's it! I remember now. My agency--they were interested in him and they still are. I can see why. I'm detecting a vast amount of life energy from him. It appears to be manifesting within the beginner's stage though...' she mentally analyzed. Eventually, the operator's voice had snatched her out of her rapid thoughts. Still...how coincidental, that her partner was the same guy that her agency had been watching for a short while now.
Xeph, finally noticing that she was staring, looked away to focus her attention on the operator's words. She simply nodded as the operator essentially told them to keep their limbs in the car, or else he'd have to search for a stray arm or leg afterwards. Xeph smiled a little at the joke, although something like that could probably happen. On the other hand, her sense of humor was a little peculiar at times... Unlike her partner, Xeph's hands were folded impatiently, but calmly over the safety bars. When the male student stated that he hoped he was joking, Xeph shrugged slightly. "He probably isn't." she commented casually, though she had meant her statement to be a harmless joke. As the operator laughed and initiated the ride, Xeph immediately turned her attention back onto the rollercoaster. Gradually, the cart lurched forward into the dark tunnel. It creeked and hissed faintly as it began to climb a rather steep hill. It was rendered a bit difficult to make out just how steep it was due to the pitch-black around them.
After about a minute of ascending, the cart had finally exited the dark tunnel....but when Xeph was able to see with the newfound rays of the sun, she looked down only to become aware of the fact that they were at the top of the first hill. No wonder the rollercoaster was credited as one of the largest coasters around. In all honesty, the slope itself didn't even have a curve to it. The extremely high drop was merely straight down, and their car was steadily creeping over the edge of the extensive slope.
Drazen noticed from the corner of his eye that the girl had been staring at him. As the ride moved he felt his tnesion grow again. He heard her comment and almost asked to get off now but him being a guy he didn't want to get shown up by a girl. As they got through the tunnel he felt his heart plummet and he was pretty sure if he had any liquid in his system he would have peed. The car went down the hump and he felt a slightly girlish scream escape from his mouth. Adrenaline rushed through his system and he only had one thought fgot through his mind at all.
I'm gonna die, I'm gonna freaking die!
Almost instantly, the girl's eyes had widened when she caught sight of just how steep the tall slope was. She gaped; this...this was going to be so much better than she thought it was. A small grin smeared into her lips as she felt their cart slipping over the edge of the slight curve. Her heartbeat rapidly sped up in its pace, due to both adrenaline and her enthusiam. It dropped with such abruptness and swiftness that she felt as if she would fly right out of her seat. Her hair soared right up behind her, and she found herself clutching onto the bars a little tighter. You know, just in case she were to fall out or something along the lines of that. She eventually had to squint, for the wind was beginning to bother her bright eyes. Nevertheless, she was already enjoying the ride. What sounded like a yell intertwined with laughs escaped her mouth as they dropped endlessly. She could faintly hear her partner scream as well, over all of the wind and whatnot.
The incredibly deep hill must have given the cart its speedy momententum, because directly after the hill had ended, the cart swooped around a side curve at a blinding speed. Then, it launched right into a series of corkscrews. A couple more swift turns here and there, prior to reaching the spacey loops. Rollercoasters tended to go through loops a little slower than usual, but not this one. It literally raced through every course, and soon enough, it was spiraling upwards for another steep fall. Xeph recalled to hold on once again, as they plummeted once more. Then again, the drop wasn't nearly as steep as the primary one. Their car swooped into yet another dark tunnel, and miraculously, it slowed down in its pace as it travelled through a straight path. It certainly wasn't over yet, but perhaps the sudden slow pace and straight path was for intermission purposes...? Xeph smiled and glanced over to her partner. "Some ride huh?" she said almost breathlessly. It wasn't nearly as dark as the former tunnel, so she could at least make out his features in the dim light.
Drazen had felt like he had been put into a blender as the ride continued until a slow part in the tunnel He had to physically force his hands to relax on the bar so he could crack his knuckles. Something made the hair on the back of his neck stand up as they moved. "Yeah some ride. " he said his voice trembling. "Is it normal for these types of rides to lull like this?" he asked after a few minutes. It didn't seem normal to him and he sure as hell didn't like how it had grow a bit cooler in the tunnel
He looked over tat the girl and noticed he could just barley make out what the girl looked like and he could almost see her expression.
Xeph's eyebrows rose at the query that the young man asked. She ceased her actions to reflect back on it. "Well, yes. It's relatively normal for these kinds of...rides..." She trailed off, just as she felt the warm air around her convert to coolness. Odd. A small frown burrowed into her brows, keen optics scanning the dark tunnel in attempts to survey what her eyes could perceive in the obscure surroundings. "No... It can't be..." she said aloud without realizing. She tried to push up the safety bars, but they didn't budge. And then, all of a sudden, the slow pace of the car shot forward into a speed zone that was far more intense than the coaster's former velocity. Ignoring the abrupt alteration in momentum, Xeph peered just ahead of them. There was light at the end of the tunnel, but...it did not look like sunlight. No. In fact, the luminosity of the other side glowed with an eery green hue that gave the girl negative vibes.
As they approached said green light, she came to the conclusion that it looked like some sort of...portal? Was that really a portal?! "Damn it...!" she hissed to herself, turning to the other student. "Help me push up the bars, quickly! We have to get--!" Too late. They had already entered the glowing portal; the bright green light nearly blinded Xeph. She could barely see anything around her now, but it all ended as swiftly as it had occurred. When the brightness subsided, Xeph reopened her optics only to realize that their car was no longer on a track. In fact, they were temporarily airborne before colliding with the ground. In the of course of time, it came to an unexpected halt from continuously scraping against the concrete. Simultaneously, the stubborn bars sprang right open. The harsh movement of it all literally rocketed Xeph right out of her seat, a few feet away from the wrecked coaster.
She landed on all fours, but was quick to spring up to her feet. A single glance around the dark area told her that they were no longer in the actual amusement park. It still looked like the amusement park they had been in, but this one was completely abandoned. And it even seemed a bit worn-down... Oh--her partner! Was he...? Directly after spotting him, she ran right over. "Hey, are you alright?" she questioned with slight urgency, alert senses already activated.
Drazen was about to nod at the girl before the cart shot foreward. He saw the light and cocked his head to the side. "The hell is that thing?' he muttered before he tried to react to the gurl's warning. When they were shto through the air he felt his grip almost break through the bar he had gripped. When they hit the ground he shot through and bounced lightly like a ball as he was cascaded from the seat. The ground hit his side hard and rolled. He tried to sit up and failed the first tim. After a moment he was able to sit up when he heard the girl's voice. "Sore." he said through gritted teeth as he pushed himsefl up. 'The hell just happened?" he asked, groaning a bit as he moved weird. He wasn't bleeding but he knew his side would be bruised to all hell.
'Damn... I can't believe didn't I see this coming!' She mentally cursed herself prior to turning her attention to the young man when he had responded to her with the word 'sore'. Thankfully, he didn't appear to be critically wounded. She received a few scrapes of her own; her jeans were a little torn as well, but that was all. She would have offered a hand of assistance to help him if he hadn't already pushed himself up to his feet. 'Above all, this guy's now mixed up into this. I'm not sure if I should tell him what's really going on or not...' Xeph examined the abandoned amusement park once more, just as he asked her what had just happened. It was then that she had decided. Now would probably be the best time to tell him everything, considering that she currently possessed bizarre proof. Additionally, it would be for his own protection and made aware of his true potential. "...I think...we entered some sort of warp hole...into an alternate dimension." she told him casually, despite that she knew she most likely sounded as if she had lost her sanity. She frowned and hesitantly glanced in his direction to observe his reaction.
"I apologize for getting you mixed up into this mess, but...they would've gotten you sooner or later. They wanted both of us here..." She paused right there, uncertain about continuing her explanation. In the intervening time, she kept her senses in tune with everything surrounding them. Just in case.
Drazen was busy patting dust off of himself when she said the word 'warp hole.' He paused and gave her an incredulous look. "Umm, not to rain on what ever meds you got but I'm pretty sure they don't any warp holes around here. I've been to the amusment park enough to know that much." he said standing up straight. Some part of his head was actually believing her which made him think he was slowly losing it. "And what do you mean they wanted me too? What the hell do I have to do with anything even if i do believe any of this?" he snapped, feeling a pounding head ache starting to ensue.
Xeph frowned slightly at the adolescent male's first statement. "First of all, I've never been on any meds. At least...I don't think I have." A shame that she had to think about it due to vast uncertainty. "Secondly, we're no longer in the same amusement park. I believe it's an alternate version of the park we were formerly in. I know it sounds like a fabrication of my imagination, but you should believe me for your own well-being." she added, pausing to perceive his next series of queries. Good questions, indeed. How was she to answer...? "Hm. Well, let me start from the beginning... You see, I am...what you'd call an 'agent'. And you, my friend, possess the potential to become one as well. My agency has been...interested in you for a little while now." She walked past him as she spoke, active eyes continuously searching the new but familiar environment.
"My guess is that the enemies somehow know that the agency has wanted you, and that's why they want to get rid of you along with me. Now, you may be wondering why my agency is interested in you. It's because of your life energy." she added, pointing to his torso. "Potential agents are determined based on the amount of life energy they posses, and if they have an abnormally large amount of it, the chances are that they'll eventually be recruited as an agent..." She nodded and mentally reviewed the details she had just went over with him. "And if you don't know what life energy is, it's this." She opened up her slender hand to reveal her palm, and gradually, a gentle glow of blue light surfaced from her hand. It shaped itself into a sphere of blue energy right before their eyes, and she kept her arm extended so he would be able to properly view it. This was the way in which Xeph went about revealing said delicate information: bluntly and to the point. She merely wanted to give him more proof to persuade him, because it was for his own good to believe in her words.
