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Dream High, Excerpt Chapter 5
Adrenaline intense scene
“Welcome to Gravity, sirs.” A kangaroo steps before us. “It’s an honor to have you visit our establishment. How can I be of service?”
I stare at what he is… patches of his clothing turn transparent in turn, exposing skin, I mean fur. Even his cock, a nice one, and balls, oh they look really heavy, are visible for a few seconds before being covered up again.
“We are going to the roof.” Tuck grabs my arm and pulls me along. Dad glares in our direction before his attention is taken by the kangaroo. Two others are with us by the time we enter the elevator.
“You’re Kameron, right?” I ask, more trying to remember where I heard his name than to get confirmation.
“And I’m Terry,” the other says. “Tucker’s much less exuberant brother.
“Terry used to run the corporation,” Tuck says. “It killed his fun.”
“That again?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Dad?” I ask, so they won’t start arguing.
“He’ll be up as soon as he’s done taking care of business.” Tuck smiles at me as the door closes. “Do you trust me?”
I stare at him. “I guess? It’s not like I’ve seen you do much in the…hour, hours and a half since we met?”
Kameron chuckles. “You have no idea how quickly Tick can get someone in trouble.”
He snorts. “Don’t listen to him. Here’s the thing. Your dad is going to speed through dealing with Johann down there, so we aren’t going to have long before he shows up and ruins our fun. Can I trust you to do what I tell you?”
“Is it going to get me killed?” I ask before remembering that can’t happen. Although it would wake me up, which is just as bad.
No, that’s actually worse.
“Nope. Ain’t even going to hurt you.”
“Okay.”
Tuck grins and pats my should. “Good man.”
The door opens before I realize I didn’t feel any motion and wind rushes into the cabin. Tuck holds me in place and when I’ve regained my footing, we exit. The wind keeps buffeting us, but now that I expect it, I follow Tuck to the edge of the roof with ease.
Looking down over the edge, the first thing that catches my attention is the ring of metal and light maybe a dozen feet below and five feet away from the building. It’s fifteen feet in diameter, but before I can question how I know that, Tuck asks.
“You want to fly, right?”
“Yes.” The giggles bubble up. I can’t make out details of the ground; we’re so high.
“Then this is the place.” He pulls me away.
“Don’t you want me to jump?”
“Oh, yeah.” He grins. “But you want a running start for it. There’s just one thing you need to keep in mind.”
“Tucker Orr!” Dad yells angrily.
“Make sure you get into the ring.” He lets go of my arm and I’m off.
“Kristoff!” Dad yells as I throw myself over the edge.
I fall into the ring, almost dead center. It flashes red—is that a good color?—and I’m through.
My giggling turned into outright laughter as I fall through another ring, which flashes red.
Two in a row had to mean I’m okay, right?
Through a third and red again.
Tuck said I’d be flying, but I’m just falling.
A fourth red flash.
I make out details below, dots of people approaching the entrance. This can’t be right. I’m not flying, I’m falling to my death. Oh, you are in so much trouble, Tucker Orr. As soon as I wake up, I’m finding a way of dreaming again and I am going to--
Wait, that one was green, right?
I turn to look up and yep, that’s a green ring. Okay, so after red ones, green has to mean things are good.
So, now what? The wind hammers at my face. Goggles would be nice. And because this is a dream, I see better all of a sudden. The wind’s still there, but as I blink tears away, it’s like my eyes are protected. And I can make out individual forms through the next ring, although that one’s more of an oval.
It’s not fair! The light went green. Why am I not--
Instead of falling through the oval, it sends me perpendicular. The change is so abrupt it takes a second for my breathing to catch up and realize it wasn’t an oval; it was a circular ring at an angle.
Wait. I look under me at the passing roofs. I can’t make out details at this speed, but there is no doubt.
I am flying!
Each ring flashes green. Some sent me up, some down, and some guide me between buildings.
Then, about four rings ahead, instead of one, there are two rings on each side of a building. So I get to choose where I go. Looking beyond them, the next one on the left is angled up.
Up is definitely where I want to go.
So…how do I pick the left.
A ring flashes green. There’s nothing there telling me what to do. And no matter how hard I think, I’m not moving from the center of the rings. If I do nothing, will the one I go through be random? Will I hit the place they connect?
How do flying characters do it?
Iron Man has jets, so that’s out. Spider-man swings, so he’s out too. There has to be--
Really, it takes me this long to think of THE flying character? So, how does Superman do it? And I’ll want to hurry, because only one ring left. He tucks an arm against his body, the other one’s extended ahead and… I twist left as I go through the ring and I drift in that direction.
It’s a lot slower than I want. What happens if I don’t make it? Do I go splat against the building? I’m getting closer. They can’t allow that, right? Looks like I’m going to make it.
I’m through with more space than I expected and grin like a maniac as the next ring rushes toward me. Then, I’m heading up through a series of rings and picking up speed. When I’m horizontal again, I’m high enough I see the city stretching below me.
It is magnificent.
Building, large and small, dot the landscape, tall and short. Some taller than the height I’m at. I’m just at the limit where I can tell people are people, instead of dots, as they walk in the city, the streets, the parks. Above me are hovers. Nowhere near as many as I feel there should be for a city like this, but enough I can tell the lanes they travel in. Here and there, one drops toward a pad with other hovers on it, or a roof where someone is waiting.
“I am flying!” The wind steals my words, but not my joy.
A series of ring sent me in a quick corkscrew down, then I drop, picking up speed faster than freefall. I laugh at the approaching ground.
“You don’t scare me!”
A head is another selection, left or right. Right goes up, while left goes… I can’t find where the next ring is for that one. I also have no idea how high they are. Fifty stories? Forty? Less? There has to be one, but if I can’t see it, how am I…
You know what?
I bank left.
Let’s have fun.
I only have time to register gold instead of green and I’m launched at the ground. The scream is wrenched out by a flash of gold and I’m around a corner, window passing by so fast it’s like a mirror with my blurry reflection. I’m so close to the ground I might be able to touch the top of people’s heads.
I’m yanked left with another flash of gold.
Something flies by me.
I’m yanked right and up.
“Slow!” the form that flies across my path yells. Orange is all that registers and I’m through a ring, going up.
“Poke!” he yells, passing me. Goes through the ring and it sent left, while I’m launched up. The next one put me horizontal again.
“Having fun?” Tucker yells, slowing to match my speed.
“Yes!” I laugh.
“Don’t laugh and fly.” He points ahead, and I scream at the large box in my way. Then I’m jerked up, and the hover continues toward the rooftop.
“Asshole!” I yell to no one in particular. I’m above everything when I level again. Tuck’s nowhere to be seen. I roll on my back, letting the rings throw me wherever they will, each flashing green.
The sky’s blue with wisps of clouds. The air smells clean in a way I don’t think I could have imagined. I’m surprised at the flock of birds above me. But they’re just birds. Right, no bird-people here.
“I am going to be pissed if you shit on me,” I scream at them, the laughter explodes out of me.
I right myself and send myself left and right as I approach the next ring; it’s going down.
Through I go. Down I go, picking up speed toward a rooftop. I grin, ready for the last moment turn that will send me along it.
That falters as I make out the circle painted on the roof. I go through another ring and can’t see more of them. There is nothing between me and the…target on the roof.
Where’s the next ring? How do I slow myself down?
Is that blood?
I scream, closing my eyes when the target takes most of my field of vision. I still scream as the fact I didn’t hit anything registers.
I crack an eye open.
I’m two feet about the target. From this close, I see the red is painted on.
Someone is laughing.
I glare at Tucker’s offered hand. For good measure, I bat it away. Instead, I spin in the opposite direction. Nothing I do stops it and Tucker laughs harder. I try to push myself for the edge of the circle, or down to the roof, but all I make happen is that I’m turning in wild directions now.
“How do I make this stop?” I demand.
“You’re in a zero-G field,” Tuck says, barely controlling his laughter. “The only way out is by taking my hand. And you don’t want to be here when the next person arrives.”
I glare at the hand again, then up to see if anyone is coming. “Asshole.”
He laughs harder and catches my shoulder. He rights me and pulls me out. I drop to the roof once I’m outside the target and shove him away.
“Asshole!” Giggles erupt. “You should have warned me.” They aren’t stopping.
“And miss that look on your face? Absolutely not.” He laughs again.
I look around for another ring. “I want to do that again!”
He looks up, his laughter dying. “Best wait until after your dad’s here.” There’s a homf, behind me. “He isn’t going to be as happy about this as you.”
“Tucker Orr,” Dad growls. “What the fuck were you thinking?” He stalks in our direction. “Are you out of your fucking mind? How could you tell him to jump like that?”
“Ease off, kiddo. He wanted to fly.”
“I don’t fucking care what he wanted! You had no business putting my son in—”
“No.” I put myself between them,
“Step away, Kristoff. Tucker Orr needs a reminder of who your father—”
“No.” I put my hand on his chest.
“Kristoff.” The growl makes the warning clear, but I stand my ground.
“I. Said. No.”
He looks at me now. “Kristoff.” He’s controlling his anger. “This isn’t—”
“No means no, Dad. You told me that.”
His gaze hardens. “This isn’t the same.”
“I’ve got to go with Kristoff on this one.” Tuck says, and I hear the smile in his voice. I find I’m smiling too.
“Do you have any idea the kind of danger he put you in doing that?”
“Come on, Lucas,” Tuck says. “That thing’s perfectly safe. It’s rated for Independents, and you know they can’t take their interfaces on rides like it.”
Dad glares at him. “This isn’t perfectly safe, and you know it.”
“Okay. Fine.” Tuck sighs. “Kristoff could have gotten hurt. If he was my dad’s age and if he didn’t take care of how his ticker, there’s a chance the adrenaline would give him a heart attack. But come on, he’s younger than you and unless the doctor screwed up, and my dad was in charge, remember that before making accusations, his health is perfect. The only thing this ride is going to give him is an adrenaline high.”
I stare at what he is… patches of his clothing turn transparent in turn, exposing skin, I mean fur. Even his cock, a nice one, and balls, oh they look really heavy, are visible for a few seconds before being covered up again.
“We are going to the roof.” Tuck grabs my arm and pulls me along. Dad glares in our direction before his attention is taken by the kangaroo. Two others are with us by the time we enter the elevator.
“You’re Kameron, right?” I ask, more trying to remember where I heard his name than to get confirmation.
“And I’m Terry,” the other says. “Tucker’s much less exuberant brother.
“Terry used to run the corporation,” Tuck says. “It killed his fun.”
“That again?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Dad?” I ask, so they won’t start arguing.
“He’ll be up as soon as he’s done taking care of business.” Tuck smiles at me as the door closes. “Do you trust me?”
I stare at him. “I guess? It’s not like I’ve seen you do much in the…hour, hours and a half since we met?”
Kameron chuckles. “You have no idea how quickly Tick can get someone in trouble.”
He snorts. “Don’t listen to him. Here’s the thing. Your dad is going to speed through dealing with Johann down there, so we aren’t going to have long before he shows up and ruins our fun. Can I trust you to do what I tell you?”
“Is it going to get me killed?” I ask before remembering that can’t happen. Although it would wake me up, which is just as bad.
No, that’s actually worse.
“Nope. Ain’t even going to hurt you.”
“Okay.”
Tuck grins and pats my should. “Good man.”
The door opens before I realize I didn’t feel any motion and wind rushes into the cabin. Tuck holds me in place and when I’ve regained my footing, we exit. The wind keeps buffeting us, but now that I expect it, I follow Tuck to the edge of the roof with ease.
Looking down over the edge, the first thing that catches my attention is the ring of metal and light maybe a dozen feet below and five feet away from the building. It’s fifteen feet in diameter, but before I can question how I know that, Tuck asks.
“You want to fly, right?”
“Yes.” The giggles bubble up. I can’t make out details of the ground; we’re so high.
“Then this is the place.” He pulls me away.
“Don’t you want me to jump?”
“Oh, yeah.” He grins. “But you want a running start for it. There’s just one thing you need to keep in mind.”
“Tucker Orr!” Dad yells angrily.
“Make sure you get into the ring.” He lets go of my arm and I’m off.
“Kristoff!” Dad yells as I throw myself over the edge.
I fall into the ring, almost dead center. It flashes red—is that a good color?—and I’m through.
My giggling turned into outright laughter as I fall through another ring, which flashes red.
Two in a row had to mean I’m okay, right?
Through a third and red again.
Tuck said I’d be flying, but I’m just falling.
A fourth red flash.
I make out details below, dots of people approaching the entrance. This can’t be right. I’m not flying, I’m falling to my death. Oh, you are in so much trouble, Tucker Orr. As soon as I wake up, I’m finding a way of dreaming again and I am going to--
Wait, that one was green, right?
I turn to look up and yep, that’s a green ring. Okay, so after red ones, green has to mean things are good.
So, now what? The wind hammers at my face. Goggles would be nice. And because this is a dream, I see better all of a sudden. The wind’s still there, but as I blink tears away, it’s like my eyes are protected. And I can make out individual forms through the next ring, although that one’s more of an oval.
It’s not fair! The light went green. Why am I not--
Instead of falling through the oval, it sends me perpendicular. The change is so abrupt it takes a second for my breathing to catch up and realize it wasn’t an oval; it was a circular ring at an angle.
Wait. I look under me at the passing roofs. I can’t make out details at this speed, but there is no doubt.
I am flying!
Each ring flashes green. Some sent me up, some down, and some guide me between buildings.
Then, about four rings ahead, instead of one, there are two rings on each side of a building. So I get to choose where I go. Looking beyond them, the next one on the left is angled up.
Up is definitely where I want to go.
So…how do I pick the left.
A ring flashes green. There’s nothing there telling me what to do. And no matter how hard I think, I’m not moving from the center of the rings. If I do nothing, will the one I go through be random? Will I hit the place they connect?
How do flying characters do it?
Iron Man has jets, so that’s out. Spider-man swings, so he’s out too. There has to be--
Really, it takes me this long to think of THE flying character? So, how does Superman do it? And I’ll want to hurry, because only one ring left. He tucks an arm against his body, the other one’s extended ahead and… I twist left as I go through the ring and I drift in that direction.
It’s a lot slower than I want. What happens if I don’t make it? Do I go splat against the building? I’m getting closer. They can’t allow that, right? Looks like I’m going to make it.
I’m through with more space than I expected and grin like a maniac as the next ring rushes toward me. Then, I’m heading up through a series of rings and picking up speed. When I’m horizontal again, I’m high enough I see the city stretching below me.
It is magnificent.
Building, large and small, dot the landscape, tall and short. Some taller than the height I’m at. I’m just at the limit where I can tell people are people, instead of dots, as they walk in the city, the streets, the parks. Above me are hovers. Nowhere near as many as I feel there should be for a city like this, but enough I can tell the lanes they travel in. Here and there, one drops toward a pad with other hovers on it, or a roof where someone is waiting.
“I am flying!” The wind steals my words, but not my joy.
A series of ring sent me in a quick corkscrew down, then I drop, picking up speed faster than freefall. I laugh at the approaching ground.
“You don’t scare me!”
A head is another selection, left or right. Right goes up, while left goes… I can’t find where the next ring is for that one. I also have no idea how high they are. Fifty stories? Forty? Less? There has to be one, but if I can’t see it, how am I…
You know what?
I bank left.
Let’s have fun.
I only have time to register gold instead of green and I’m launched at the ground. The scream is wrenched out by a flash of gold and I’m around a corner, window passing by so fast it’s like a mirror with my blurry reflection. I’m so close to the ground I might be able to touch the top of people’s heads.
I’m yanked left with another flash of gold.
Something flies by me.
I’m yanked right and up.
“Slow!” the form that flies across my path yells. Orange is all that registers and I’m through a ring, going up.
“Poke!” he yells, passing me. Goes through the ring and it sent left, while I’m launched up. The next one put me horizontal again.
“Having fun?” Tucker yells, slowing to match my speed.
“Yes!” I laugh.
“Don’t laugh and fly.” He points ahead, and I scream at the large box in my way. Then I’m jerked up, and the hover continues toward the rooftop.
“Asshole!” I yell to no one in particular. I’m above everything when I level again. Tuck’s nowhere to be seen. I roll on my back, letting the rings throw me wherever they will, each flashing green.
The sky’s blue with wisps of clouds. The air smells clean in a way I don’t think I could have imagined. I’m surprised at the flock of birds above me. But they’re just birds. Right, no bird-people here.
“I am going to be pissed if you shit on me,” I scream at them, the laughter explodes out of me.
I right myself and send myself left and right as I approach the next ring; it’s going down.
Through I go. Down I go, picking up speed toward a rooftop. I grin, ready for the last moment turn that will send me along it.
That falters as I make out the circle painted on the roof. I go through another ring and can’t see more of them. There is nothing between me and the…target on the roof.
Where’s the next ring? How do I slow myself down?
Is that blood?
I scream, closing my eyes when the target takes most of my field of vision. I still scream as the fact I didn’t hit anything registers.
I crack an eye open.
I’m two feet about the target. From this close, I see the red is painted on.
Someone is laughing.
I glare at Tucker’s offered hand. For good measure, I bat it away. Instead, I spin in the opposite direction. Nothing I do stops it and Tucker laughs harder. I try to push myself for the edge of the circle, or down to the roof, but all I make happen is that I’m turning in wild directions now.
“How do I make this stop?” I demand.
“You’re in a zero-G field,” Tuck says, barely controlling his laughter. “The only way out is by taking my hand. And you don’t want to be here when the next person arrives.”
I glare at the hand again, then up to see if anyone is coming. “Asshole.”
He laughs harder and catches my shoulder. He rights me and pulls me out. I drop to the roof once I’m outside the target and shove him away.
“Asshole!” Giggles erupt. “You should have warned me.” They aren’t stopping.
“And miss that look on your face? Absolutely not.” He laughs again.
I look around for another ring. “I want to do that again!”
He looks up, his laughter dying. “Best wait until after your dad’s here.” There’s a homf, behind me. “He isn’t going to be as happy about this as you.”
“Tucker Orr,” Dad growls. “What the fuck were you thinking?” He stalks in our direction. “Are you out of your fucking mind? How could you tell him to jump like that?”
“Ease off, kiddo. He wanted to fly.”
“I don’t fucking care what he wanted! You had no business putting my son in—”
“No.” I put myself between them,
“Step away, Kristoff. Tucker Orr needs a reminder of who your father—”
“No.” I put my hand on his chest.
“Kristoff.” The growl makes the warning clear, but I stand my ground.
“I. Said. No.”
He looks at me now. “Kristoff.” He’s controlling his anger. “This isn’t—”
“No means no, Dad. You told me that.”
His gaze hardens. “This isn’t the same.”
“I’ve got to go with Kristoff on this one.” Tuck says, and I hear the smile in his voice. I find I’m smiling too.
“Do you have any idea the kind of danger he put you in doing that?”
“Come on, Lucas,” Tuck says. “That thing’s perfectly safe. It’s rated for Independents, and you know they can’t take their interfaces on rides like it.”
Dad glares at him. “This isn’t perfectly safe, and you know it.”
“Okay. Fine.” Tuck sighs. “Kristoff could have gotten hurt. If he was my dad’s age and if he didn’t take care of how his ticker, there’s a chance the adrenaline would give him a heart attack. But come on, he’s younger than you and unless the doctor screwed up, and my dad was in charge, remember that before making accusations, his health is perfect. The only thing this ride is going to give him is an adrenaline high.”
