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Starship One
Category:
Science Fiction
Publisher: Loren John Presley
ISBN-10: 0615262139
Type: Fiction
Pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780615262130
Daryl, Tyler, and Robyn discover an obscurred ride at Avlon Park, where a rare and spectacular adventure lies in wait for them...
When Daryl, Tyler, and Robyn entered through the gates of Avalon Park on a frigid december morning, they chanced to discover a hidden corner of the park where an unusual attraction lay remote and isolated. Dautning and foreboding, this Starship One seemed to let only the boldest enter within...
Daryl and his friends knew that Starship One promised a rare and spectacular voyage into the infinite unknown, but they were also warned of certain dangers. No dream is so easily undertaken. Although the revolutionary Starship One can acheive wonders beyond comprehending, its capabilities turn out to be vastly untested, and a cosmic nightmare lying in the farthest corners of the universe poses a threat to the starship and all who dare strap themselves in for the journey...
Excerpt
They finally made it to the Planetarium building. They could see the pizza restaurant just next to it. When they all searched in between the two, it looked, indeed, as if there wasn’t anything there. Just a wall.
“Huh,” interjected Daryl.
“That’s weird,” said Robyn.
“Maybe Charlie was messing with us,” said Tyler.
“I don’t know,” said Daryl with a thoughtful expression. “He did look
pretty excited about something.”
“Besides,” said Robyn. “He is the kind of person who means what he
says.”
Tyler nodded, an expression on his face that showed he, too, was
thinking.
Without another word, they all moved closer to the two buildings.
They looked left and right at both the planetarium and the restaurant. The least they saw was a restroom just behind the planetarium.
They all stopped together, looking about. “There’s nothing here,” said Robyn.
Daryl continued to scour the surroundings. It was then that he noticed that there seemed to be a short hallway in the wall between the planetarium and the restaurant.
“What about that?” he asked.
The other two looked with him, and Daryl began walking up to it.
“I don’t know,” said Robyn.
“It doesn’t look like much,” said Tyler.
“Well let’s just see,” said Daryl, looking back.
Tyler and Robyn followed him.
When they approached the hallway, they could see that it seemed to lead
to another part of Star Park, that was just faintly familiar to Daryl. He checked his memory and thought he might have seen it the first year his family came to Avalon Park. Much of it resembled something like a playground, but he didn’t want to call it a playground for some reason. He couldn’t make out what the
attractions even were…the very glance at it induced a chaotic, bizarre sensation that he was dreaming. Feeling a little scared, somehow, he looked away and tried to ignore it.
The three walked into the hall, which was shaded and cool.
Robyn took a look back toward the hallway where they all had glanced at
the other side of the park. “Was any of that on the map?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” said Tyler.
Daryl turned his head and happened to see that there was another hallway
to their right, lit by white lights in the ceiling. “What’s down here?” he asked.
Robyn and Tyler followed him in curiously.
They walked down the hallway, which seemed rather desolate, and they
were wondering if maybe they weren’t even allowed here.
But as they walked, Daryl noticed some words appear on the left wall of
the hallway…
STARSHIP ONE
Daryl felt a strange jolt of energy leap inside him at the mere words.
“Look,” said Robyn. “There is something here.”
“Well I’ll be…” said Tyler.
Just beyond the words on the wall, they all saw a corner turn on the path.
They walked closer and found that it led up a high, steep staircase.
And at the top of the staircase was a doorway, with black plastic flaps
blowing in a breeze that the three could feel from the bottom of the staircase.
Dim, purple lights were lit beyond the doorway, which were probably ultraviolet lights. Music was playing from beyond the doorway…deep, ambient, chilling music.
Daryl, Tyler, and Robyn stood there looking up with puzzled expressions
at the doorway at the top of the staircase.
“…Is this it?” asked Tyler, confusedly.
“I don’t know,” said Daryl. “This might be it.”
It was hard to say. There was no line and no one around except them.
The music was playing rather loudly, deep and melodious and chilling, with vast echoes and sudden instrumental jolts. The passage beyond the doorway seemed very dark and the ultraviolet lights were very dim. It seemed to lead into more of a laser tag arena than a line for a ride…
“There’s no one here,” commented Daryl.
“Why would they put a ride right here, where hardly anyone can find it?”
asked Tyler.
“I don’t know,” Daryl said.
“That music is giving me the creeps!” exclaimed Robyn.
“Me too,” said Daryl. “It’s space music. A lot of it can sound pretty
creepy, but if you listen hard enough there’s sometimes a lot of beauty to it.”
“Chilling beauty, I take it,” said Tyler.
“You could say that,” said Daryl.
They stood there a while longer, looking up at the doorway, high above
the staircase, unsure of what to do or say.
Finally, Tyler said, “Think we should get a closer look?”
“I don’t think it could hurt,” said Daryl.
“Ooh, that music!” shuddered Robyn, half shivering with her arms
folded.
“I know. Maybe they could play it a little softer,” said Daryl.
“Well, let’s go,” said Tyler.
The three walked up to the staircase.
The moment Daryl took a hold of the rail, however, his legs failed him.
He felt strangely weak, and his legs felt as if they were made of water.
From the looks of it, Tyler and Robyn were having the same experience. Nonetheless, Daryl focused himself, and began walking up the stairs.
Strange, though; the stairs felt like they were made of bendable rubber.
Daryl looked down at them. They were made of bendable rubber!
“These are funny stairs,” said Tyler.
“Why do they make them so floppy?” asked Robyn.
Daryl felt himself beginning to stagger. His entire body felt liquid. Not only was it difficult to make his legs walk up the stairs, but it was difficult to hold onto the rail, keep his head looking straight, and stand up straight. He couldn’t help but move like a noodle.
Suddenly, he heard Tyler gasp behind him! When he looked back, along
with Robyn, he saw that one of the bendable steps had made him stumble, and he was sliding down the rest of the staircase back to the floor.
“Tyler? You all right?” Daryl called.
Tyler rose to his feet, seeming as if the watery weakness had left his legs. “That was just weird!” he exclaimed, readjusting his glasses.
Daryl and Robyn looked back up to the doorway at the top of the staircase, standing there above them. It stood there, dark with that disquieting
music playing loudly, the plastic flaps blowing chillingly in the breeze coming from it.
Daryl continued up his way with Robyn, while Tyler tried to catch up. But none of them got much further; Robyn slipped on one of the steps and began
sliding back down to the floor, and before Daryl knew what happened, the same thing happened to him! After all that work to get to the top of the staircase, he was sliding all the way back down to the ground!
Tyler quickly jumped back onto the floor to move out of their way, and
soon enough all three of them were back where they started.
Daryl got back up, the strength suddenly returning to his legs. Robyn did so too.
They all looked up at the eerie doorway, far above them.
“That was odd,” Daryl said.
“Let me try again,” Tyler said. He
took hold of the rail and began
walking up the rubbery steps again. Both Daryl and Robyn could easily see he was having difficulty. Before he got very far, the steps folded under him and he came sliding back down to the floor.
Both Daryl and Robyn watched him get up.
Once again, Tyler readjusted his glasses. “What’s up with this?” he
exclaimed.
“Why is it so hard to walk up these stairs?” Daryl asked.
“Are you sure they’re even stairs?” asked Robyn, examining them.
“Well if they’re not stairs, what are they?” said Daryl.
They all paused and looked up together at the doorway for a silent,
confused moment.
Tyler turned to Daryl. “Do you think we should ask someone if this is
even it?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Daryl replied. He looked back at the staircase and
studied it, baffled by its floppy steps. Then he spied something; some small writing on the side wall of the staircase, just above the rail.
“What’s that?” he said, walking up to them.
Tyler and Robyn followed him and the three looked together at what the
words said. They were printed in the wall in small, brass lettering:
NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART
Daryl gained a quizzical expression. “That’s weird,” he said. “I wonder what they’re trying to tell us?”
Tyler looked back up at the staircase. “Why on Earth would anyone
make it so difficult just to get to a ride?” he asked.
“Beats me,” said Robyn.
They all stared at the doorway high above them for another moment.
Finally, Daryl tightened his lip and said, “Let’s try again. I’m sure we
can get to it.”
Tyler’s eyes fixed themselves in a thinking expression. “I don’t know,”
he said. “Maybe we really should ask someone if this is it?”
Robyn shivered a little. “Maybe it’s still under construction,” she said.
Daryl walked up to the steps again, and stood there for a moment,
looking back up at the dark doorway high on the staircase. He could feel the icy breeze blowing down on him, and the dreamy, chilling music made his bones quiver with a peculiar, adventurous fever. “Maybe it is still under construction,” he said at last. “But then why is it not blocked off?”
There was a pause amongst the three, and finally Daryl looked back at
Tyler and Robyn. “Come on, let’s try again,” he insisted.
He took hold of the rail once more. This time he wasn’t absolutely sure if
that odd, watery strength had returned to him or if he was just imagining it. He began climbing and he thought he felt all right.
Tyler followed him, advancing at a more careful pace.
Robyn hugged herself and shivered. “Ugh, this music! It’s making my skin crawl!”
“It’ll be fine,” said Daryl, looking back. “Trust me.”
He continued to walk up the floppy steps, trying to maintain his strength.
He held onto the rail as tight as he could. Behind him Tyler and Robyn were
making their way up as well.
The higher Daryl climbed, the more weak he began to feel again. The
muscles in his arms and legs, the strength in his knees, neck and shoulders were all leaving him. Tyler and Robyn seemed to be having the same difficulty.
Soon it became so severe that Daryl could hardly pull himself up any higher. He was nearly three quarters of the way there now. And then he slipped again! He tried to stop himself by digging his hands into the rubber material of the steps. The rubber felt like it had some traction
under his feet, but now it felt as if there was no friction that could stop him from sliding back down to the floor!
“Hey, watch out!” Robyn called behind him. She swung her legs against
the side wall just in time, letting Daryl slide past her and onto the floor once again. Just as he landed, Tyler slipped as well! He tried to cling to the handrail, but it seemed to be sliding right through his hands! Soon he fell to the floor silly.
Just then, Robyn also slipped under one of the rubbery rungs and slid her
way back to the floor as well.
Tyler readjusted his glasses for the third time. “This just isn’t right…” he
said. “This is…just scary.”
Robyn rose to her feet, apparently with all her strength back. “This just
isn’t normal,” she said.
“I don’t know about you guys, but,” Tyler said, “I can’t take any more of
this. I am just…really creeped out!”
Daryl himself was becoming a little nerve-wrecked. He was beginning to
get enough of the bizarre phenomenon in the stairs, but also the eerie, echoing music, and…just the way everything looked: the floppy stairs, the cheap plastic sheets covering the entrance to the ride, and that strange message engraved in brass on the side wall.
He looked back up at the doorway, listening to the music coming from
the entrance—so chilling, so strange it was almost scary in itself…but something about it also had a sense of beckoning. It seemed to play a message of an offer for something spectacular, even though it did make one feel forebodingly hollow at the same time.
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