Death Trap

Scroll down to get to the beginning of this tale. This is series 3 in Equatorial Abyss. Gunther's journey continues:

She was laughing deliriously as she got back into her harness. She began to aim her cable buoy toward the wall of the whirlpool. She was insane. She was going to kill us both.

Her cable buoy exploded into the whirlpool and caught the spiralling wall of water. Suddenly we were both going backwards. We were being pulled into the whirlpool. Saliva dripped from Danielle's open mouth as she cackled delightedly.

"For my brothers," she yelled, "today we both die Gunther."

Danielled screamed as the cable caught her leg. Her leg was being severed in two. I crawled through the logs of both tumbleweeds and pulled out her emergency axe. I chopped and chopped at the cable but it was too late. Her leg amputated at the knee joint and got flung out with the cable. As I wrapped a tourniquet above her knee, she passed out.

The sky above was diminishing in size the further down the whirlpool we got sucked. Soaked in Danielle's blood, I slid back through the logs of our tumbleweeds.

The water around us was beginning to steam as I pulled a lever and released my cable buoy. The buoy exploded through the centrifugal wall of water and caught the jet current. Back we started to rise against the dizzying whirl of the water funnel. With a sudden jar we broke through the wall of water and we were submerged in the murky brown depths of the ocean. I held my breath as I saw the approaching blue sky above me. I gagged and vomitted salt water as we broke into the open air.

A rescure helicopter must have seen our plight for now a rescure personnel was being lowered atop our tumbleweeds.

"Are you okay?" he yelled.

"I'm fine," I answered, "check Danielle."

He checked Danielle and gave me a thumbs up. "Do you want to be lifted out?" he asked.

"No," I answered, "just unhook our tumbleweeds and take Danielle."

He did so and began to lift upwards with Danielled.

I hope she'll be okay, I thought, even though she just about got us both killed.

"South by Southwest," boomed a voice from a judge's helicopter silo, "you're not far from the rest of the pack. Just follow the trail of blue smoke on the horizon."

I disconnected the cable buoy and kicked my steerage cones out and got slammed back in my harness. Salt spray pounded on my face. I was on my way again...

Turbulent Seas

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??...

Equatorial Abyss

Hello out there. If you're just tuning in to my blog. I'm an aspiring writer. I've published some articles and some fiction. On this blog you'll find a continuation of my Tumbleweed fiction series. Scroll down to May 20th to read the Polar Series. On this page you'll find the beginning of Equatorial Abyss. Please send your comments, reviews, and such, all communication is welcome. The story begin:

Equatorial Abyss

Ocean fog obscured the other participants as a flare exploded overhead signalling the start of the race.

Some paddled their tumbleweeds, some walked in the waist deep water of the bay. There was no wind and no current in the leech infested waters. The participants had to get out to the ocean's jet current which was a half mile out.

Screams erupted in the dense fog. The leeches here were the size of snakes.

"Get out of the water!" a loudspeaker from a judge's silo announced, "A school of leeches is passing through!"

I looked to my left and saw my friend Ulag scrambling back into his tumbleweed. He had a three foot bloodsucking leech attached to his leg and he was trying to chop it off with his emergency axe. A gust of wind pushed him into the dense fog and out of my view. I was alone in the clearing as the water began to boil with the migrating leeches. They were heading out to open water and they pushed my tumbleweed forward with them.

The water began to surge and swell and I knew I was getting close to the jet current. I passed through a mountain of dense sea foam that contained sea lice. I wiped the worm length creatures off of me but many found their way down my back.

I bumped into something. It was Toomba, another friend. She smiled a broken toothed smile and gave me a thumbs up with her one good hand. Her other hand had been chewed off by Polar Crocodilia, rescue had been late in reaching her.

Our tumbleweeds bumped and jostled together as the ocean swells lifted us three stories.

Toomba pointed backwards and I looked back to see a Tabarian crashing through the thick sea foam we had just passed through...to be continued.

The Ride Continues

Saturday. Gorgeous day here in British Columbia. Sunny and warm. Here's the end of my Tumbleweed 2 story for all you Tumbleweed readers:


I am flung sideways in my harness. I look and see Damion's gleeful face as he attempts to strike me again with his tumbleweed. As we enter Lunar Gully, I see lights flashing not far off. We are close to the finish line. I just need to get across this magnetically charged killing field. Attracted to the silver polarization of Catharsis's two moons, magnetic rays from the planet's molten core spiral upward in bursts of atom pulverizing beams. Blue hues in the ice give indicators of where an eruption is about to take place. The field in front of me is dotted with these death spirals.

Oblivious to the danger we are in, Damion rams me again and a portion of my tumbleweed splinters off. I lose all control and am tumbling awkwardly in all directions. Blue rays shoot off in front of me as a magnetic spiral erupts and shoots neon blue rays skyward. I hear Damion laughing wildlly as he steers his tumbleweed around. Another spiral erupts and catches the edge of my tumbleweed. Flames break out and a quarter of my tumbleweed disintegrates.

In the distance, I can hear the cheering miners. We're almost at the finish line. Damion looks back at me; he is laughing hysterically and making obscene gestures with his hands.

An ice tornado touches down in front of us, Damion veers left and I bounce awkwardly toward it. The edge of the tornado catches me and I am flung violently upward. I look back and see Damion's gloating face and white toothed smile. He is so intent on my destruction that he doesn't see the huge blue neon spiral opening in front of him. In one quick flash of light he disintegrates into oblivion.

I am flying wildly about in the tornado; the colder air has frozen my tear-filled goggles to my face. I cannot see anything as I am flung hard against the ice. I lay dazed under the tangle of debris that was once my tumbleweed. Hands pull me out and slap me on my back.

"Good work, Gunther," says one.

"Congratulations," says another.

I look to see the cheering fans. The tornado has dropped me over the finish line.

Again I am the only one to finish.

The crew of the space shuttle is waiting to take me to my reward - Paradise Planet. I go with them. I will take a short vacations.

I smile through bleeding lips and cracked teeth. I will be back for next month's race. I wouldn't want to miss - Equatorial Abyss...

More Adrenalin

I am continuing my story so hang on to the ride:

I glance back and see Damion. His eyes are glazed red; his huge tumbleweed is almost on me. He wants to crush me because his brother died in the last race. The race I won.

I lean left to steer away from him but he follows. I can see his white teeth and gloating smile through his ice encrusted blue lips. My tumbleweed vibrates violently as the serrated spears on Damion's tumbleweed eats at my logs. His head is thrown back in laughter; his eyeballs are rolled back in their sockets. I am almost in Hurricane Alley, once there I know the wind will separate us. I bang at one of my steerage cones with the heel of my foot until it breaks free. I wait until Damion's tumbleweed hits me again and I throw the huge cone out. It ricochets off the ice and implants into his tumbleweed. Now he is bouncing violently, unable to steer his tumbleweed. He points to me and slashes a finger across his throat. He is saying he will kill me yet.

Suddenly everything becomes a blur; the ice tornado has caught me. A gust of wind tears me out of my harness and now I am hanging onto the outer beams of my tumbleweed. Sticks, debis, and human clothes entangle in my legs. My pants are slashed and blood pours from the cuts on my legs.

I land hard in a mound of snow. Feeling blindly for my harness, I choke and crawl through the sea of powder. I find the harness and strap in just as the snow begins to move. Seeing occasional glimpses of blue sky, I tumble downward in the avalanche.

Without any warning, I am flying again. Hurricance force winds pummel me along the ice, I am in Hurricane Alley. I look back to where we started from and see Ice Cap Ridge splotched red with crushed tumbleweeds and their occupants. I look ahead and see three tumbleweeds far ahead of me. It is my friend Ulag, a woman named Toomba, and Damion. I release my ballast to lighten my load and am soon catching up to the group.

We enter Ice Lake where the glare of Catharsis's two suns makes a blinding white reflection on the smooth ice. My goggles fill with tears as my eyes fight the snow blindness. I see a gap in the ice where the swirling green sea has opened up a channel of water. I see Toomba leaning forward as she attempts to gain speed. She will try to skim across the water in her light tumbleweed. I lean right and the others in my group lean right, we will go around. Ulag's tumbleweed is not turning. He unstops his harness and he waves to me. He drops down through his tumbleweed and rolls violently on the ice. His large tumbleweed skims across the water and plunges suddenly in an ocean swell and sinks out of sight. Toomba's tumbleweed is slowing from the water's strong current; she will not reach the other side. She unstops her harness and shoots off a location flare. Her tumbleweed sinks and she struggles to the water's surface. I hope help reaches her in time. These waters are infested with man-eating Crocodilia and I already see their brown snouts glistening in the distance...more will follow.

Beginnings

Hi! I'm new to the blogger scene. I'm looking for other bloggers to correspond with. I'm a fledgling writer. I've published a few articles and stories. I love to write. I live in British Columbia Canada. After the hot weather and now the heavy rains the creeks and rivers are really beginning to rise. I'll start my blog off with a story, see what people think. It's number 2 in my Tumbleweed series. I published the first story with Alien Skin Magazine.

Tumbleweed: Polar Ice Fields

Even with eye goggles on, the polar cold is causing my eyelids to stick together. Some of the other drivers have helmets and visors on but I can see their visors are coated with ice.

Ready to descend into Hurricane Alley, the tumbleweeds are all lined up on Ice Cap Ridge. This monthly race allows miners the chance to escape the toxic hell of Catharsis's mines. The horn sounds anld we're off. Flying down the glacier at break neck speed, I am bounced violently when I hit an ice ridge. I look to my right and see the rough ground is taking its toll. Tumbleweeds are rolling down the hill in pieces; their occupants lie like crumpled dolls in the red stained snow.

I lean back and slow my tumbleweed down. Larger tumbleweeds fly past and deliberately smash into the smaller tumbleweeds. The dying screams of crushed occupants echo in the wind.

Judges in ground silos are yelling and pointing toward something. I look and see an ice tornado has entered Hurricane Alley.

My friend Ulag is to my right. He is also yelling and pointing, "Behind you, behind you!"...to be continued.