Steven Harper - Nightmare

"If you say so," Kendi replied. "Is that tooth-chattering and hooting really language?"

"Oh yes. I don’t understand it well, but I’m learning. Buck and Lucinda know it better than I do."

"Buck and Lucinda?"

"Friends of mine. Here’s the staircase. We have to go down almost to the ground for this."

The wide stairs wound downward around the talltree. As they descended, Kendi’s earlier excitement returned. He was actually going to fly . He hadn’t realized how much this actually appealed to him until the opportunity came up. After all, poor kids growing up on the streets of Sydney and mucker slaves working on a frog farm don’t think of themselves as having the chance to become pilots. But that had all changed now.

The landing strip turned out to be a fallen talltree. The stairs came down at the middle of the trunk, which was so big it formed a nearly flat surface. The bark had been sanded off and wide platforms had been added to either side. At one end, the roots of the monstrous tree made a tangle that reached two or three stories above the trunk. A small hangar had been built there. At the other end, the branches had been cut off, leaving a long, smooth expanse of trunk that made a perfect runway for small aircraft. The fallen tree left open a stripe in the canopy, one that would easily let a small aircraft slip unhindered into the sky.

One of the side platforms was occupied by a pair of ultralight aircraft. They looked to Kendi like recumbent bicycles with a giant mutated umbrella stuck to the top. One umbrella was red, the other was green. A pair of figures was bent over the engine beneath the red one. As Kendi and Dorna approached, one of the figures straightened. He wore black, not brown, and he was several centimeters shorter than Kendi. There was a slight Asian cast to his features.

"Kendi?" he said. "I’m Toshi, your flight instructor." He held out his hand. Kendi braced himself and shook it. But there was no jolt. Toshi smiled. "I’m not Silent," he said. "I just work for the monastery."

Before Kendi could reply, a newly-familiar voice said, "Hey, Kendi. Good to see you again. Did you ever finish eating that coffee?"

Kendi’s heart jumped. The other person at the ultralight was Pitr Haddis. His hazel eyes were merry with suppressed mirth. Kendi’s mouth dried up.

"Pitr," Kendi managed. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"You know each other?" Toshi said.

"We met at breakfast this morning," Pitr said with a smile. "Kendi spilled my coffee and put enough sugar in his own to put three dentist’s kids through college."

Kendi felt his face heat up. Dorna snorted and said, "I have stuff to do, yeah? Don’t crash, guy." And she left.

"Pitr’s working on his instructor’s license," Toshi explained. "He needs practice teaching, so he’s going to be your main instructor. I’m going to watch and step in if he flounders. That all right with you?"

Kendi swallowed. "Sure," he managed. "No problem." I think I’m going to need lots of help with my homework .

Pitr slapped Kendi on the back. "Then let’s get started."

"Am I going to fly today?" Kendi asked.

"Yep."

Kendi blinked. "No book-work first? No lectures?"

"We’ll get to that," Pitr said. "But with these babies, the best way to learn to fly them is to use them. They’re fitted with grav units which we can control from the ground, so if you get into trouble, the computer-or one of us-will just take over and get you down safely. You can’t crash." He patted one of the struts.

"How will this teach me to pilot a starship?"

"You need to learn to walk before you learn to fly, so to speak," Pitr told him. "You have to know how to deal with atmosphere under your wings, and this is a good way to begin. After this we’ll do airplanes and small shuttles. Before you know it, you’ll be hitting the slipships, don’t you worry. Ready to start?"

Despite Pitr’s earlier promise, there was a fair amount of lecture on safety procedures, flight control, takeoff, landing, and engine function. Kendi hung on every word, acutely aware of Pitr’s presence, how he moved, how he spoke, his gentle manner, his strong face. The time flew by until Kendi found himself sitting in the ultralight’s cockpit. The cockpit and the engine were both open to the air, and Kendi felt a little exposed. His heart began to pound, and he couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or from the way Pitr was bending over him to check the straps and Kendi’s helmet.

"We’re good to go," said Pitr, who wore a helmet of his own.

"Don’t we need earplugs?" Kendi asked. "I’ve heard these things get pretty loud."

Pitr looked mystified. "No-they’re pretty quiet, unless something’s wrong with the engine."

"They used to be loud," Toshi said, speaking up for the first time since the lesson began. "But that was a long time ago."

Kendi flushed, feeling like a backwoods hick. I’m only nine hundred years out of date , he thought. All life-Pitr must think I’m stupid .

If that was the case, Pitr’s face didn’t show it. "I’ll go up first so you can watch me take off," he said. "I’ll also stay alongside you once you get airborne. Toshi will stay on the ground with the safety computer, okay?"

Kendi nodded. A few moments later, the engine on Pitr’s ultralight came to light with a gentle purr, not the rusty chainsaw sound Kendi had been expecting. Pitr gave Kendi a thumbs-up, and his vehicle wheeled out onto the runway. The pitch of the motor increased. Pitr’s ultralight moved forward, picked up speed, and left the runway. It disappeared into the sky, becoming a red dot against fluffy white clouds.

"Your turn," Toshi said.

Kendi carefully guided the green ultralight forward as Pitr had taught him, then swallowed and punched up the power. The ultralight sped up, and Kendi could feel it start to lift. The wheels left the runway, dropped back onto it, then left it again. He was doing it! It was really happening!

" Pull up ," came Pitr’s voice over the helmet radio. " You only have so much runway ."

Kendi obeyed. His stomach dropped and leaves rushed past him in a green blur as the ultralight sailed up into the air. Ecstacy swelled in Kendi’s chest as he gained altitude, felt nothing but the bright and flowing wind around him. He glanced down and had the strange sensation of seeing emerald leaves far beneath his feet. Behind, the runway made a long rectangular scar in the forest canopy. The ultralight motor was quiet as a whisper, and suddenly he knew how a falcon must feel as it glided gently on the wind.

" Doing great ," Pitr said over the radio, and the red ultralight dropped down next Kendi’s green one. Kendi flashed Pitr a thumbs-up, then clutched at his controls as the ultralight suddenly bounced and jolted.

" You’re okay ," Pitr said. " Just a little downdraft. It’ll clear. Okay, let’s try a few basic maneuvers ."

Pitr had Kendi bank left and right, gain and lose altitude, and fly in a steady circle. Every moment was exhilarating. Kendi’s movements quickly gained a deft confidence and he began to feel as if the ultralight’s wings were an extension of his own body. The ultralight wasn’t holding him up-he himself was flying. And it was glorious.

All too soon, Pitr said, " Okay, it’s time to go back in. You remember what I said about landing ?"

Kendi nodded, then remembered the gesture was useless over a radio. "I remember," he said aloud.

" Great. Watch me first, then I’ll coach you in ."

The red ultralight, easily visible against the green foliage, coasted smoothly into the long scar that made up the runway. Kendi circled the area once, then headed around to line himself up with the tree. His was only a little nervous-the ultralight responded to his slightest wish. He was just starting his descent when the ultralight jerked sideways. A strange scream hit him like a slap. Kendi yelped and tried to regain control. Frantically he yanked hard on the control stick, trying to gain more altitude. Kendi looked around in a panic, then sucked in his breath. A big creature with leathery wings, a long beak, and wicked talons was right behind him. The beak, as thick as Kendi’s arm, opened and again the strange scream tore through the sky. Kendi’s stomach turned cold.