Gravity
> incident1.txt
This file has been locked.
Enter password: *********
Checking password….
Access Granted….
::::::::: FILE NAME: INCIDENT1.TXT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: DATE CREATED: MONTH OF GATHERING, DAY 3 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: CROSS REFERENCE: CHILD_DRAGON, SHADOWS, NIGHTMARE :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::: NOTES: APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS BEFORE SECOND SHADOW INCURSION :::::::::
::::::::: FILE AUTHOR: SABREUR ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Starting secure document viewer….
Cutting outside communications….
Prologue
Welcome. As you might already know, my name is Sabreur.
This document concerns an event that occurred just before the second Shadow
incursion. If you aren't familiar with that event, you might want to check out this
story. What I'm writing now might help shed some light on why the Shadow
incursion happened exactly when it did, as well as reveal a little about me.
I'm a bit reluctant to put this down in writing. Writing things down has a way
of making them all that much more real. I'd probably be happier to let this
whole thing fade into obscurity. Still, I've always prided myself on being scientific
and precise. Scientists never let anything simply, "fade away."
Bah. I'm drifting again, so it's time to finish
this long-winded introduction and get down to the meat of the story. First,
the bare facts. My name is Sabreur, which roughly means "a guy who uses a saber".
I have one pet, Infernus. At the time of the writing, he was a red Scorchio
with moderate combat skills. I live in Neopia Central, but I spend most of my
time in my lab, just down the hallway from my (slightly small) bedroom.
End of Prologue
Location: Mountains Outside of Neopia Central
Time: 3:23 PM NST
I've always enjoyed my physics class. There's
something about the absolute, unchanging laws of reality that strikes a chord
with me. The laws of physics tell me what is possible, what isn't, and why.
Unfortunately, the laws of physics were currently telling me that the ground
was a long way down and closing fast.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" I yelled, wind whipping through
my hair. I was hanging for dear life from a pair of leather straps tied to my
Scorchio's legs.
"No we're not!" he shouted, frantically flapping
and trying to control our descent. It had been such a great idea at first. I
had always wanted to fly, but being human I lacked the means to do so. Being
a Scorchio, Infernus had wings - he also had an idea. I was too heavy for him
to fly with, but he could easily glide while carrying me. We had traveled to
the mountains and leapt off a small hill, using Infernus as a living hang-glider.
There was only about a 15 ft drop - perfectly safe, really. Then an updraft
had promptly carried us to an altitude of roughly 2000 ft. Then we lost control.
"Stop flapping!" I yelled. "Just hold your wings
steady!"
"Alright, hang on," Infernus replied, quickly
glancing down to check our altitude. He didn't look reassured. I did some quick
figuring in my head and realized that at our current rate of descent we would
make a nice-sized crater when we hit the ground. As I was thinking, Infernus
steadied his wings and our uncontrolled fall turned into an almost-controlled
high speed glide.
"Great job! We're not gonna die after all!"
I laughed.
"TREES!" Infernus replied.
We sailed right into a stand of pines, their
branches whipping at our faces as we blew past. Infernus made a valiant effort,
weaving left and right around the obstacles and frantically trying to slow down.
Suddenly, a hill loomed up in front of us.
"Brace for impact!" Infernus roared. We crashed
into the side of the hill in a tangled heap, rolling to a stop several feet
away. I looked up at the sky, slightly dazed. We had made it.
"Everyone alive?" asked Infernus, slowly rising
to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nice emergency landing, Infernus."
"Thanks," he muttered, looking slightly depressed.
Infernus is something of a perfectionist. I knew that he would be blaming himself
for the near accident we had just had, even though I had agreed to participate
eagerly. I wasn't too worried about Infernus, though. He'd think about what
had happened, figure out how to do better next time, and feel better about himself
in no time.
I stood up, and looked myself over. I am just
under 6 feet tall, and I have short golden-blonde hair that I keep arranged
in spikes. I'm fairly slender, although I'm in good shape. Daily life in Neopia
is good exercise, as our hang-gliding experiment just proved. I was wearing
a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt. Nothing special, really - I never bothered
much with fashion. The only odd part of my attire is the steel saber strapped
to my back. I've always been fascinated by swordplay - I even attend fencing
classes at Neopian National University when I'm not busy with Physics or Math
courses. I never have needed to use my sword "for real" though.
Satisfied that the few scrapes I had sustained
on landing would heal, I turned to examine Infernus. He was studiously examining
his left wing, his face a mask of concentration. Infernus is a red Scorchio,
shorter than I am but powerfully built. He tends to be the voice of reason between
the two of us, keeping me calm when I start to panic. He enjoys sword-fighting
like I do, but doesn't usually carry a sword with him. Intelligence shines behind
his eyes, making him a great partner in my lab.
Infernus looked up from his wing. "I'm a little
bruised, but I should be fine," Infernus said. "Shall we head home?" he asked.
"Yeah, but first let's stop by Child_Dragon's
place," I replied. Child_Dragon is my younger sister. We're pretty close in
age and appearance. She's slender, with reddish-brown hair that goes down to
her shoulders. We all call her CD or Kiddo since Child_Dragon is a bit of a
mouthful. Being her older brother has been surprisingly easy. Everyone expected
me to have to take care of her and guide her as she grew up. Instead she took
care of herself for the most part.
Location: Neopia Central
Time: 4:11 PM NST
Infernus and I slowly walked up to the door
of Kiddo's house. Infernus raised a hand to knock on the door, only to have
it jerked open immediately. Infernus grunted as he was tackled by a blue Eyrie,
knocking him backwards onto the front lawn.
"GOTCHA!" the Eyrie yelled, smiling.
"Un-Eairkagh! Get off of him!" came a voice
from inside the house. My sister came running out, looking embarrassed.
"Oh come on, I was just playing!" Un-Eairkagh
said, doing his best to look innocent. Unfortunately, his look was ruined by
a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Get off," Kiddo said, her voice becoming stern.
"Oh all right..." Un-Eairkagh muttered, climbing
off Infernus and trotting back into the house.
"Sorry about that," Kiddo said. "I don't know
what's gotten into him."
"No problem," Infernus and I spoke at the same
time. Un-Eairkagh was Kiddo's only neopet at the time, and quite a handful.
He's constantly hyper, and nearly impossible to control. Still, he has a heart
of gold, and would do almost anything for Kiddo. Although I don't talk about
it much, I personally enjoy his antics.
"So Sabreur, how did the hang gliding go?" Kiddo
asked, noticing the various small cuts and bruises Infernus and I had sustained.
"Um, it went a bit faster than we expected.
We had a few difficulties because of some unexpected wind currents and control
problems." I replied, feeling myself blush.
"We went too high, then dropped like a brick,"
Infernus explained.
Kiddo looked at us standing there, Infernus
solid and calm, me flustered and blushing. She promptly burst out laughing.
"You two are crazy, you know that?" she said, smiling. "Listen, how about we
do something normal for a change and go out to lunch tomorrow?"
"Sure, that'd be great," I replied. Tomorrow
was a Saturday, so I wouldn't have to deal with classes at the University.
"Great. I know this one place that serves these
great soup dishes. Meet here at noon, okay?"
"I'll be there."
And so we walked home, not a care in the world,
our biggest problems consisting of where we felt like eating or how to adjust
the straps on Infernus' legs for our next hang-gliding attempt. Life was good,
and why shouldn't it be?
::::::::: END OF FILE: INCIDENT1.TXT ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
To be continued...
| 
