Hi! I am continuing Equatorial Abyss in the Tumbleweed series. This is number 3. Start on May 26th for the beginning of Equatorial Abyss.
Toomba pointed backwards and I looked to see a Tabarian crashing through the thick sea foam we had just left. Tabarians were a rare deep sea squid the size of semi-trailers. This one must have come to feed on the leeches but now it was attacking several tumbleweeds. A miner named Duman was kicking at the Tabarian's four foot razor sharp beak. It was trying to pry him out of the tumbleweed. Shrieks of pain rang out as the Tabarian caught hold of one leg.
Toomba and I turned to face forward again. It was the end of Duman.
A strong gust of wind separated us. I fell into a ravine and Toomba flew over a crest and disappeared from view.
"South by Southwest!" boomed a judges's voice from a speaker inside a helicopter silo. "Find the blue trail in the horizon, that's the direction to take!"
I punched my steerage cones out so they would catch the jet current under the surface of the water. I was thrown back in my harness as my tumbleweed gained speed. I rose to a crest and saw others to my right and left. Many had blood stained eyes and bleeding lips from the wind and salt spray.
Danielle was closest to me. I had to watch out for her, both her brothers were killed in the previous races. I knew she blamed me for their deaths.
My thoughts were interupted by a roaring sound. I turned to see a gigantic whirlpool beginning to form in front of us. Whirlpools only formed over the twenty mile deep Abyss. Now we were in for a death ride.
Cracks in the planet's crust caused these death holes to form. If one got sucked into the pool the chances of survival were slim. The further one got sucked down the hotter the cauldrons became. The planet's molten magma core spewed geisers of lava and skin peeling steam. The only way out was to launch a cable buoy through the centrifugal wall and catch the jet current. All the tumbleweeds were equipped with these devices.
Ilooked back to see the rest of the pack was closing in on me. I punched my steerage cones out and veered left of the spiralling death hole.
Danielle's tumbleweed bumped into me. Her eyes were glazed over as she unstrapped her harness and attached a hook device to my tumbleweed. Now we were joined together. What was she up to??...
