Chapter 3: Learning New Ways to Fly
Early the next morning, Angelo’s guards escorted Orcilla and Yassmay to the top of a hill not far from their city. Waiting for them were Julio and a senior guard who was wearing a pair of wings and a strange-looking helmet.
‘I hope you had a good night’s sleep,’ said Julio.
‘It was excellent,’ replied Orcilla. ‘Your beds are extremely comfortable.’
‘My bed was a bit lumpy, and the pillow was a little hard,’ added Yassmay.
‘I’ll have it sorted out before you return to sleep tonight,’ replied Julio, nodding slightly.
‘Thanks,’ said Yassmay. ‘I didn’t expect that.’
‘Now look up for something else you did not expect,’ said Julio confidently.
Twelve of Angelo’s guards, wearing the same winged outfit as the senior guard standing next to Julio, flew towards them. They twisted and turned in an incredibly acrobatic fashion. Four of them flew vertically upwards and then immediately plunged to almost hit the ground, just to fly back up again. The four rejoined the other eight, and they held hands to form a circle. They began to ascend and then descend as if they were on a giant trampoline.
Orcilla and Yassmay gazed up in amazement. Then all twelve became invisible.
Orcilla looked at Julio, who was smiling confidently. ‘You could not do that with any flying vehicle,’ said Julio confidently. ‘The small mass enables great agility, and the natural fibres enable shapeshifting to extend to the whole outfit.’
‘That is absolutely amazing!’ said Yassmay. ‘I must try this.’
‘I have with me, Commander Volo,’ said Julio. ‘He will demonstrate how these winged outfits work.’
Commander Volo removed the helmet. ‘The helmet is a key part of this outfit,’ said Julio. ‘It protects your head and face, and it allows you to see everything.’
‘You can see someone if they become invisible?’ asked Yassmay.
‘It is important for the flyers to see each other when they are in stealth mode,’ replied Julio. ‘Now become invisible.’
Yassmay became invisible, and Julio placed the helmet on his head.
‘Hold up one of your hands and show me any number of fingers you like,’ insisted Julio.
Yassmay held up one of her hands and raised her fingers.
‘Right hand, three fingers,’ said Julio. Yassmay pulled a finger down. ‘Now two fingers,’ added Julio.
Yassmay became visible again. ‘May I try it out?’ asked Yassmay.
‘Of course,’ replied Julio as he handed her the helmet. ‘Use it to spot our flyers.’
Yassmay placed the helmet on her head, and then she looked up to the sky. She could see the guards flying above her. They were now flying in a figure-eight formation.
‘This is so cool,’ said Yassmay, sounding excited.
Orcilla coughed a little.
Yassmay pulled the helmet off her head. ‘Wanna try, sister?’ asked Yassmay as she smiled at Orcilla.
‘Just press the button on the side; it’ll expand to fit your head,’ said Julio as he smiled a little.
‘Yeah, do it, bighead,’ chuckled Yassmay.
Orcilla smiled, pressed the button and placed the helmet on her head. She looked up and saw the guards continuing to fly in a figure-eight shape.
‘That is quite a sight,’ remarked Orcilla. ‘How did they become so skilled so quickly?’
‘It’s not as difficult as it looks,’ replied Julio. ‘They have also been practising in the lower city for months. You need to be skilled to fly in that tight space.’
‘Now the wings! Now the wings!’ chanted Yassmay impatiently.
‘Commander Volo, show our young lady your wings,’ said Julio firmly.
The wings on Volo’s back instantly unfolded. They were broad but very thin-looking.
‘Now turn around,’ commanded Julio to Volo.
Volo turned around, revealing a small pack between the wings.
‘This little thing powers the wings,’ said Julio proudly. ‘It uses the same energy source that powers our entire city as well as the pods that held our ancestors.’
‘So you can fly almost indefinitely,’ said Orcilla, sounding impressed.
‘In theory, but they could struggle in storms and windy weather,’ replied Julio. ‘I feel more comfortable when there is a safe place to land.’
‘Hence, your concerns about flying over the ocean,’ said Orcilla.
‘Indeed,’ replied Julio as he handed Volo back his helmet. ‘Give them a take-off demonstration.’
The wings slightly shuddered, and Volo propelled himself rapidly into the air.
‘That’s awesome!’ cried out Yassmay. ‘Way better than anything Pardi could ever invent.’
Volo spun around and performed several backflips before landing back next to Julio.
‘How does he control the wings so brilliantly?’ asked Orcilla, sounding highly impressed.
‘It’s all in the gloves,’ said Julio. ‘Each hand, wrist, and finger movement is an instruction to perform a different action. It’s difficult at first, but easy after some practice.’
‘It would be easier if we could just control it with our minds through the helmet,’ chuckled Yassmay.
‘Indeed, it would,’ remarked Julio as he looked at Yassmay thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you already know how that might be possible.’
‘I should,’ sighed Yassmay as she glanced at Orcilla.
‘How about Volo gives you a real feel for flying,’ said Julio. ‘You can learn the hand signs later.’
One of the guards landed next to Volo. He pulled off his helmet and handed it to Yassmay. Volo gestured for Yassmay to turn around. Using a harness, the guard then attached Yassmay to Volo. Yassmay placed the helmet on her head. Volo and Yassmay shot up into the air together.
‘Woah, wo, wo, wo!’ exclaimed Yassmay in delight as they spun around in the air.
‘You truly had faith in your return to the surface,’ said Orcilla as she looked across at Julio.
‘It has been everyone’s dream our entire lives,’ replied Julio. ‘When our High Philosopher joined us, I knew that was a sign that our time was soon.’
‘Faster!’ screamed Yassmay. ‘I want to go faster!’
She and Volo did several flips and then acrobatically weaved between the guards who were still in the air. They then plunged towards the ground. Volo pulled them up just a metre above the ground, and then they glided at the same height for around a hundred metres before they abruptly came to a stop and then gently landed next to Julio.
‘This beats any flying vehicle ride by a light year!’ exclaimed Yassmay as Volo released the harness connecting her to him.
‘That is so impressive!’ remarked Orcilla.
‘Go on, give it a go,’ said Yassmay as she skipped towards Orcilla.
‘Volo can take you up, no problem,’ said Julio as Volo nodded emphatically.
Orcilla nodded and smiled. A few minutes later, she took off with Volo.
‘Our world was so advanced, yet we had nothing like this,’ said Yassmay to Julio.
‘They were not invented because they did not serve the agenda of your elite,’ replied Julio. ‘In fact they would have worked against their agenda.’
‘Oh, I see,’ said Yassmay. ‘We could have left the regions whenever we wanted.’
‘This thinking has held true throughout all the loops,’ said Julio. ‘After breakfast, the High Philosopher will share divine knowledge about the loops.’
‘That sounds very interesting,’ said Yassmay. ‘I look forward to your gift of enlightenment.’
‘It’s all thanks to our High Philosopher,’ said Julio, nodding.
‘That was wild fun!’ said Orcilla as she and Volo landed next to Julio. ‘I’m convinced; I definitely need to master this.’
‘For the first time, you’re becoming more like me,’ sighed Yassmay. ‘Instead of me, becoming more like you.’
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 