"You want to go on?" Brian asked.
I nodded, turning and looking at him for the first time since spotting the ride. I was surprised to see his face looked a little green around the gills. "Are you scared?" I asked, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice. With the body frame of a tank, it was hard to believe he was afraid of anything. The girl's shrieks of terror filled the air, making the green—and all other color, for that matter—leave Brian's face. He was as pasty as a ghost.
"I'm not a big fan of heights," he admitted, walking toward the ride.
I was tempted to tease him but decided to let him off the hook. I didn't need him to ride it with me. I preferred to do it on my own. "You can keep your feet on the ground," I reassured him as we waited for the attendant to stop the couple's free falls. I could see the girl was now sobbing into her boyfriend's shoulder as the capsule made its way back to earth.
"I can ride with you," Brian returned, as if he were agreeing to swim with a tankful of great whites.
"And risk you spewing all over me? I'll take a hard pass on that one," I said, patting his cheek as the attendant turned toward us.
He shot Brian an incredulous look. "Brian, my man, are you going on?" He held out a hand to fist-bump Brian.
Brian was too busy watching the girl stumble off the ride—and then promptly toss her cookies into the closest trash can—to fist-bump anyone. Her boyfriend patted her back from a distance, trying to avoid the sick that didn't quite make it in the can.
"I'm Austin," Brian's friend said, moving his hand toward me and opening his fingers so we could shake.
"Kat," I said, sliding my hand into his. "It'll be just me." I grimaced at the sight of the girl still throwing up. "Wearing his last few meals isn't my idea of a good time."
Austin barked out a laugh. "Truth," he said, helping me into the capsule.
"You sure you want to ride this thing?" Brian called out, sounding more confident now that he was on the sidelines.
"Don't let him spook you. This ride is a high."
"Have the rubber bands ever snapped?" I asked as he double-checked my harness.
"Not as far as I know." He laughed again, lowering the bar. "You'll be fine."
"Too bad," I said, trying to hide my disappointment in my voice. I watched from my seat as his smile disappeared. He shot Brian a look, but Brian's eyes were on me.
"Enjoy your ride," Austin said more formally.
I tried to smile at him, to show I was joking about the rubber band, but it was too late. He released the lever and suddenly I was free, flying toward the sky. Everything else faded away as the air whipped around me. Adrenaline flowed through me as my ass lifted from the seat. The harness kept my body from ejecting. A surge of resentment flowed through me. Seatbelts had become the bane of my existence. They'd held me in place while Dan had been sucked away from me, and they were now holding me back from being completely free. My fingers moved to the latch unconsciously. It would be so easy to release the button, to let my body leave the confines of the capsule and the world behind. I wanted to keep flying. To stay up here in the sky forever.
It all lasted mere seconds. One second I was shooting toward the stars like a rocket and the next I was free-falling back to earth. The fall was a different kind of adrenaline. I watched as the ground rushed toward me at an alarming rate, wondering if the rubber bands would do their job and save me before I could hit the ground. Each second was only a heartbeat but felt like a lifetime of heartbeats.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Three seconds gone and I was still plummeting toward earth. Thump. If the bands failed, I would no longer be alone. Thump. If they failed, my parents would be left alone. Thump. The acceleration of my fall was slowing. I wondered if it was my imagination. I could now see Austin's and Brian's faces as the capsule slowed. It was hard to tell, but I had the distinct feeling they were talking about me.
Austin hooked the ride back into place. I wanted to tell him I wanted to do it again and again. I never wanted to leave this seat. He eyed me warily as he lifted the bar. The words froze in my throat. It was as if he could see my thoughts. Were they reflecting in my eyes like a betrayal? Did he think I had some kind of death wish?
"Were you scared?" Brian asked, offering me a hand to help me from my seat.
"Yeah," I lied, avoiding Austin's eyes.
"You didn't look scared. You didn't even scream. Most girls scream when they're scared." His voice faded.
My eyes were on Dan's. I moved my fingers to my seatbelt, itching to remove it. Before I could think of releasing the button, Jessica's screams ripped through the air as something hit my side of the vehicle like an iron fist. Dan's eyes filled with terror as he looked out beyond me. I didn't have time to even turn to see what had hit us as the tires on my side left the road. I was suddenly higher than Dan, my body pulled against the seatbelt toward him but the belt kept me from him. I grappled for his hand. I could hear him swearing as the roof of the vehicle switched places with the wheels and we were dangling upside down. This wasn't real. It was all a nightmare. Any minute now I'd wake up in my bed. Jessica's screams screeching through the SUV were my alarm. Any second now I'd wake up and hit the snooze button.
The vehicle flipped again and we were no longer dangling upside down. My fingers found Dan's and I felt a small measure of relief. I had him. Even as a nightmare I felt I needed to hold on to him. The vehicle tilted and we were upside down once again. Jessica's screams hurt my head. I needed to shut off my alarm. I needed to wake up and escape this nightmare. Dan's fingers slipped from mine as Jessica's screams came to an abrupt end. I did not wake though. I saw everything in vivid color as their side of the car crushed down on them, swallowing them both.
My head snapped forward, pulling me from the memory. "Kat, are you okay?" Dan asked, holding on to my shoulders. His features changed in front of me, filling out. Instead of the familiar rounded jawline, a more squared one formed in front of my eyes. "Kat." Dan gave me another shake, only it wasn't Dan. It was Brian. Dan was dead. My stomach churned with bitterness and disappointment.
I opened my mouth to tell him I was okay, to stop shaking me, but the churning in my stomach chose that moment to rebel. For the second time in two months I threw up on him.
I had to hand it to him, he handled it like
a trouper. He managed to jump back in time to avoid the majority of my lunch. For a big guy he had quick reflexes. Unfortunately, his shoes were covered in it.