We reach a zip line that crosses over a cliff. There is a huge rock up ahead that
looks like it shot out of nowhere, and the clouds in the valley below make it look
like a floating island. She holds onto a handlebar and flies over. This keeps getting
wilder, but if she can do it? To hell with it! Her ass jiggles from side to side as she
slides. Ugh, she’s so fine. Fuck Jet, keep it together. She sends the bar back to me.
I hold on to the handlebar and take a running start. I close my eyes and my feet
leave the Earth. I hold on for dear life. I can hear her laughter become louder as I
come closer. A laugh has never sounded so sweet. Fuck, I’m becoming romantic.
She grabs me around the waist
“You would expect a bridge or a flying contraption of some kind with your strange
abilities?” I say trying to keep my shit together. “We could have done that but
then we’d miss out on all the fun” she laughs “and besides, where we’re going
this is child’s play” she says and runs into the jungle.
“Where are we going?” I ask nervously.
“Like I’ve said, we have many ways to balance red energy, art, music, physical
training and lunatic activities, just depends on what your soul prefers to express
itself through.”
“What are lunatic activities?” I try to hold down my laughter. The lunatics are
adrenalin junkies that have become accustomed to unstable environments due to
long term exposure to fear or pain. You could say that they are gifted in crushing
limits.”
We can’t be far away from wherever we are going because the rocky outcrop isn’t
very big. I can hear people talking. We arrive at the ledge and there is a group of
people cheering someone on.
Amphi runs toward a guy that looks familiar. She jumps on him with both feet
around his waist. I feel anger coming up, fuck I don’t have a release yet. I walk up
to him and punch him in the face. After delivering the punch I recognize his face.
He has several rings in his ears a stubby beard, bangles on his arms, chest hair and
a face of a bear tattooed on his chest. Yeah, he has the whole bear look on him.
It’s the guy from the festival. I apologize, and he smiles.
“You must still be coming down from Nigredo?” he says with his jaw in hand.
Amphi laughs, realizing I must like her. “Yeah probably, but that definitely made
me feel better” I confess and shake off my hand.
“She has that effect on people” Boarian laughs. I look at him in disbelief. I hardly
know the girl, and what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Amphi interrupts the
conversation just before I throw another punch.
“Jet meet Boarian, he is my best friend and trainer and he’ll train you too.” He is
smaller than I am, so he might be more agile, but I’m bigger, so this shouldn’t be
too hard. I catch myself making comparisons and just nod him off and walk
towards the ledge.
“Don’t mind him Bo, he’s always an ASSHOLE” Amphi emphasizes asshole so I can
hear. A tiny guy approaches me. “Atta” he says and reaches out his hand. He has a
bullring in his nose, stretchers in his ears and plant tattoos all over his arms and
legs. His torso is clear, oh and he has a belly ring? Didn’t see that coming. I’m not
sure if he is greeting me or challenging me so I just stare at him, and then at his
belly ring.
He lowers his hand. “Life in Light City creates a build-up of stress and frustration
that doesn’t always have an appropriate outlet. When we are under pressure we
only care about surviving so we tend to grab onto anything that relieves the stress
or makes us feels good even if it is harmful. Prolonged stress can make quick-fixes
become habitual and over time you might even believe it’s who you are” he says
and crosses his arms over his chest like he is protecting his heart.
“Drinking, drugging, fucking and fighting” I mutter to myself.
“Exactly” he laughs and lowers his arms. “Fear, sadness, anger and frustration are
powerful energies and when they aren’t used to get you out of the situation it
builds up and things can get a little messy” he scans me from the corner of his
eye.
“Are you saying I’m messy?” I ask unimpressed.
“Selfish, lack of concern about others, total denial of your true feelings? Yeah,
messy” he nods.
“Sure Deepak” I laugh it off. He laughs too. He seems like a nice guy.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask as I hesitantly look over the ledge. Amphi
grabs me from behind like she is going to push me over “Falling!” she yells, and I
almost shit myself. I jump back and another guy approaches, for a split second his
left hand looks like the jaws of a crocodile. I blink and there is a croc tattooed on
his arm.
“What is your name?” he asks. I am still a bit stunned.
“Jet” I reply bluntly trying to look unfazed by what I just saw.
“Caiman” he bows his head slightly. He has a bun on his head, a lip ring in the
center of his lower lip and a piercing in his right brow. He is the largest of the lot,
but he seems soft somehow.
“We train in the jungle” he indicates for me to follow him. We step into the
trippiest gym I have ever seen “It’s not called jungle gym for nothing” Caiman
laughs when he sees the look on my face.
The gym looks rad. The whole set up is based on primal body movements,
conditioning and endurance to adapt to intense environmental conditions.
“We train hard to awaken dormant abilities” he explains as we pass a wall
climbing section with plaited vine nets spun over the canopy that plunges into
water below. “All the equipment is connected and changeable, so the gym can
change according to your needs” there is a layer of light shimmering around the
equipment. “You can see your upgraded self if you need some motivation” he
says, and flexes is upper body. “What you focus on expands” he winks at his
reflection. His muscles bulge. He looks like a superhero. His dreads are longer in
the mirror and his crocodile tattoo comes to life on his arm like the vision I saw of
him.
“Caiman crocodile” I think aloud. He smiles and returns his reflection to the
present.
“Go ahead, you try” he nudges my shoulder.
“I’m good thanks” I shake it off.
“Lack imagination, huh boy?” he asks mockingly. I give it a go and for a few
seconds I see Yoo flexing his abs.
“There we go” Caiman nods impressed. “Physical training helps establish a strong
physical base and it reflects back to you as a strong body” he says as we walk
through the strange gym. There are obstacle courses and even a nocturnal theme
to train in the dark. Empowering music sets the mood, and everything
incorporates survival training to condition the body for life in the wild and
connect you with your spirit animal.
“By channeling your spirit animal, you understand yourself better and can focus
on your strengths while strengthening your weaknesses” he explains while we
pass people stretching in the dark like the fireflies shimmering around them. It’s a
mix of old school bulk and new age flow, very groovy.
“You ‘bulk-boys’ need to work on your flexibility, you are stiff in all the wrong
places” Amphi jokes from behind. I turn and watch her do the sensual yoga moves
like she did in the vision I saw of her in the room. Fuck she is gorgeous.
“Says the amphibian” he pouts and gives her a bit of attitude. “She is like water,
fluid in her nature” he whispers so she can’t hear. “Flexibility of mind and body is
reflected in your ability to adapt to change” Caiman mumbles, obviously not his
strong point.
“But today we are working on our balance, so we walk the line” he continues as
we walk back to the ledge.
“What line?” I ask.
“That line” he points to a luminescent line stretching into the cloud cover that has
now risen higher and surrounds us.
“It is a good time to give it a try” Boarian says and joins us.
“Bo’s right, he can’t see the bottom with all the cloud cover so it’s the perfect
opportunity” Caiman agrees.
“He’s so imbalanced he’ll need to walk with a weight in one hand” Atta mocks.
“The line will be stiff as a stick for him, because he’s still so stiff in the limbs” Bo
laughs.
“What are you lot on about?” I interrupt.
“The line adjusts to the walker’s ability, so when you cross it, it will probably feel
like you’re crossing a bridge” Bo explains.
“I’m not crossing shit” I laugh and choke simultaneously.
“You need to let go at some point, and the weather looks like it’s made especially
for you” Bo says and points to the clouds.
“You guys are fucking crazy” I laugh.
“There will be a bungee cord attached to your feet, so if you fall, the rush is worth
it” Amphi tries to convince me. She draws an eight on the floor and steps into the
infinity sign. It tightens around her ankles and lights up. She separates her legs
and the eight separates into two circular bands around each leg. She steps onto
the line and it dips down to match her flexibility. She walks to the center and
starts bouncing her lower body up and down.
“Watch this” Bo says proudly with his hairy chest pressed out proudly. If Amphi
wasn’t distracting me, this would be the part where I punch him again. But I
watch her build up enough tension, push herself off the line and shoot upward
and dive down through the clouds. She vanishes and a line of light glows down
from the sky. Holy shit, that was amazing! The rope shortens and pulls her up.
Bo draws another eight and steps out onto the line.
“He’s a lunatic” Caiman mumbles, “I cross a bridge too” he adds like we are on
the same level. Bo does a summersault and faces us as he walks backwards to the
center of the line. He starts swinging the line side to side. He raises his hands and
they are glowing too. He goes so fast that the line looks like it is smiling.
“He’s going to go for it!” a girl I’ve never seen before says excitedly. She has black
tattoos all over her body blue eyes and yellow hair.
“Shhh, Oropen” Atta says with his eyes fixed on Boarian. Boarian spins around
completely and continues until the smile turns into a circle. He launches himself
into the sky and dives through the clouds. Damn, he’s good.
These fuckers are fearlessness. Their daring, confidence make them quite
intimidating to the insecure individual, luckily, I’m not insecure.
“Fuck that, I’m going for it” I shake out the tension in my spine.
“I draw an eight and it looks a bit lopsided. “Good luck” Oropen says when she
sees me step into it.
“Stay present, stay balanced” Caiman gives me a pep talk.
I take the first step and the line is solid. I inhale and take another. The line starts
slacking. I must be more flexible than I thought. I close my eyes and focus on my
breathing. I take another step and the line wobbles underneath my feet.
I take another step and gasp for air. I held my breath, but I manage to stay on the
line. “Let go, silence your mind and experience the world as it is” I hear Amphi’s
voice in my head. I inhale and take a step. I exhale and take another. There is
nothing but me and the line. Inhale, step, exhale line.
I can hear everyone get excited, but Caiman hushes them. As I take another step a
falcon lands on the line in front of me. You must be fucking kidding me? What the
fuck is a falcon doing in the jungle? I stay calm but as it takes flight the line
wobbles again and I lose my balance. The fall feels like it is in slow motion as my
adrenalin spikes and my senses take in every bit of life. My heart stops, and my
stomach raises into my throat. I’m frozen. I couldn’t scream even if I wanted to. I
pass through the clouds and it clears up to a river below. I see myself falling in
between the cliffs and for a moment it looks like a giant vulva. The ground is
getting closer. My mind shuts down. I don’t feel any tension in the rope. This is it.
I’m fucked. I push my hands and feet out in front of me to try and break the
impact. I know it won’t help but it’s instinctive. I hear a female laughing as I come
closer. I close my eyes and my hands and feet touch the water. I feel my body pull
back as the cord slings me back into the air. Wow, that was close. I bounce around
for a while as the cord shortens and raises me back up. “That was fucking epic!” I
yell as I reach the top.
“You should try it at night you fall right back into the womb” an unfamiliar voice
pats me on the back. “Cro” he says and reaches out his hand to pull me up. “J-Jet”
I stutter still recovering from the rush.
Everyone congratulates me with a few pats on the back and high fives, but I am
speechless for the remainder of the day. Wow.
We gather at the root for the evenings feast. Caiman comes to share his food with
me. Amphi and Boarian share next to us. Don’t know how I feel about that but my
focus is at the weird experience of feeding and being fed by another guy. Caiman
doesn’t seem to mind so I get used to it after a while.
“So, what do you do when you don’t feast or fest?” I ask still chewing on my food.
“Nothing is fixed in Her Body, there are only possibilities” Caiman says while
chewing his food.
“So, everyone develops whatever skills they want?” I ask and stuff some beans
on a piece of bread and pass it to him.
“Yeah, pretty much” he says spitting some beans my way.
“So how does anything ‘big’ get done?”
“The same way you got here” Amphi picks up the conversation while Caiman is
chewing “through focused intent” Caiman spits again.
“I didn’t intend to come here” I shake my head.
“Your mind didn’t, but your soul did” Boarian joins the conversation.
“Your soul is fire like all Vanavasi, which is why you were drawn to this energy
center” Amphi adds.
“So, you are saying I came here by choice?” I frown in disbelief.
“Your soul brought you here. You feel very deeply and that makes you feel
vulnerable, so you cover your sadness with anger to protect yourself” Bo says,
and I watch him feed Amphi.
“Yeah, I’ve heard” I take a bite of food unimpressed with this shit that is
happening next to me.
"Did you guys hear that Light City is sending new Logbots that are controlled
remotely? Oropen says as she sits down with Cro.
“They need fresh water” I think aloud.
"They carry guns and fire-spitters” Oropen says feeding Cro. Her black
skin emphasizing her blue eyes and yellow hair, she really does look like the bird.
“This is going to get interesting" Caiman smiles with a piece of food stuck in his
teeth.
“We will need the fastest among us who carry WEAPONS skill sets” Oropen
directs to Caiman.
Caiman's face drops. I guess that doesn’t include him. He isn’t fast, and I guess he
doesn’t have a weapon skill set either. Yeah, hands like the jaws of a crocodile
might not work well with giant robots.
When the feasting is over they throw luminescent boomerangs and light the night
sky with infinity signs. I sit with Amphi and watch the rest challenge each other.
“What is the red stone everyone is wearing?” I ask Amphi.
“Agate the Wanderer’s stone. It is a fire stone that encourages change and
protects us from fearful thoughts and cowardice. We should get you one” she
jokes.
Cro comes over and hands me a boomerang. He gives me a quick run through. I
throw it and it rises rapidly.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that” Amphi says impressed.
It settles as it returns, looping and spinning to form a number eight, but it comes
back with force and I turn away, so it passes me. Bo slaps his hands together and
catches it like a boomerang sandwich.
“What you give you get back” he grins, “and most of the time you get more than
you expect” he winks and hands it over.