Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) by Craig Gerttula Page A
Authors: Craig Gerttula
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along with three
others. The idea sickened him, and he knew his nightmares would
never allow him to sleep again, but it was his only option. Except,
before he could even think to accomplish that, he had to think of a
way to escape the pressure and remove the offending piece before he
was suffocated.
Trent continued sliding away from the table,
hoping the pressure may lessen the farther away he moved. To his
relief, his hand broke free first, reaching an area of normal
pressure by the platforms edge. He continued pulling himself
forward until he could once again stand freely.
He walked around the edge of the platform,
catching his breath while rubbing his chin in thought. At short
intervals he would push his free hand into the overwhelming
pressure, and feel an apparent slap appear out of midair, knocking
his hand painfully downwards.
There has to be a way back to the
table , he knew, the voice wouldn’t have told him to remove the
piece if it had been a fatal error.
In frustration, he punched at the invisible
pressure, and to his surprise, he didn't feel anything. But the
moment his arm stopped moving, the sensation of a slap returned,
forcefully pushing his arm down. His surprise quickly faded as he
tested this newfound knowledge, throwing his arm into the pressure
and removing it just as fast.
Nothing, he felt nothing and quickly
deduced what he had to do.
Trent moved to the absolute edge of the
platform, ignoring the searing flames that bit at his heels. He
would need as much speed and momentum as he could muster, since he
wasn't positive about how long the pressure would ignore his moving
body...but he was about find out.
Taking a deep breath, he plunged straight
towards the table. He didn't feel anything as he sprinted the few
meters separating him from his goal. But as he slowed, preparing to
remove the offending piece he placed earlier, the pressure
returned, like an enormous slap on his back, causing him to slump.
He used his last remaining strength to keep from falling across the
table. Desperately, he reached for pathway seven, yanking free the
offending piece that had not been properly integrated.
“Penalty level five removed. Penalty level
two will now be assessed.” Trent's sigh of relief was short lived
as he realized what penalty level two meant. The platforms started
accelerating.
Without thinking, Trent quickly placed two
pieces in gaps where the platforms were about to fall into the pits
of fire. He was about to do the same with two more, that were not
in immediate danger, when he noticed something so obvious that he
couldn't believe he missed it until now.
The destination sign hovering at the far end
of the table was only over the center track, while the other tracks
came to an abrupt end about two piece lengths, or 14 centimeters,
short of the end. Trent's brain again started working full tilt,
having forgotten the cold and pain caused by the previous penalty.
His eyes went wide... that’s it , his mind cried...he having
finally figured out the solution, letting escape a grunt of
joy.
Each zigzagging track came within one piece
length of the adjacent tracks in multiple locations. This would
allow him to manipulate the tracks to allow all the platforms to
converge on track five and proceed to the goal. He could barely
contain his jubilation as he realized he'd solved the puzzle, and
quickly began his preparations.
First, he placed a piece across pathway one
to pathway two, holding his breath with anticipation. The piece
clicked, “path integration complete, path one will now follow path
two. Speed phase two entered,” the monotone words that followed
filling Trent with joy...then short lived relief. The platforms on
tracks one and two began to pick up speed. So he continued on,
bringing pathway ten into nine, while filling gaps in pathway two,
four, five, and seven. Pathway two was quickly integrated into
pathway three, while pathway nine was connected to pathway eight.
Trent almost missed
others. The idea sickened him, and he knew his nightmares would
never allow him to sleep again, but it was his only option. Except,
before he could even think to accomplish that, he had to think of a
way to escape the pressure and remove the offending piece before he
was suffocated.
Trent continued sliding away from the table,
hoping the pressure may lessen the farther away he moved. To his
relief, his hand broke free first, reaching an area of normal
pressure by the platforms edge. He continued pulling himself
forward until he could once again stand freely.
He walked around the edge of the platform,
catching his breath while rubbing his chin in thought. At short
intervals he would push his free hand into the overwhelming
pressure, and feel an apparent slap appear out of midair, knocking
his hand painfully downwards.
There has to be a way back to the
table , he knew, the voice wouldn’t have told him to remove the
piece if it had been a fatal error.
In frustration, he punched at the invisible
pressure, and to his surprise, he didn't feel anything. But the
moment his arm stopped moving, the sensation of a slap returned,
forcefully pushing his arm down. His surprise quickly faded as he
tested this newfound knowledge, throwing his arm into the pressure
and removing it just as fast.
Nothing, he felt nothing and quickly
deduced what he had to do.
Trent moved to the absolute edge of the
platform, ignoring the searing flames that bit at his heels. He
would need as much speed and momentum as he could muster, since he
wasn't positive about how long the pressure would ignore his moving
body...but he was about find out.
Taking a deep breath, he plunged straight
towards the table. He didn't feel anything as he sprinted the few
meters separating him from his goal. But as he slowed, preparing to
remove the offending piece he placed earlier, the pressure
returned, like an enormous slap on his back, causing him to slump.
He used his last remaining strength to keep from falling across the
table. Desperately, he reached for pathway seven, yanking free the
offending piece that had not been properly integrated.
“Penalty level five removed. Penalty level
two will now be assessed.” Trent's sigh of relief was short lived
as he realized what penalty level two meant. The platforms started
accelerating.
Without thinking, Trent quickly placed two
pieces in gaps where the platforms were about to fall into the pits
of fire. He was about to do the same with two more, that were not
in immediate danger, when he noticed something so obvious that he
couldn't believe he missed it until now.
The destination sign hovering at the far end
of the table was only over the center track, while the other tracks
came to an abrupt end about two piece lengths, or 14 centimeters,
short of the end. Trent's brain again started working full tilt,
having forgotten the cold and pain caused by the previous penalty.
His eyes went wide... that’s it , his mind cried...he having
finally figured out the solution, letting escape a grunt of
joy.
Each zigzagging track came within one piece
length of the adjacent tracks in multiple locations. This would
allow him to manipulate the tracks to allow all the platforms to
converge on track five and proceed to the goal. He could barely
contain his jubilation as he realized he'd solved the puzzle, and
quickly began his preparations.
First, he placed a piece across pathway one
to pathway two, holding his breath with anticipation. The piece
clicked, “path integration complete, path one will now follow path
two. Speed phase two entered,” the monotone words that followed
filling Trent with joy...then short lived relief. The platforms on
tracks one and two began to pick up speed. So he continued on,
bringing pathway ten into nine, while filling gaps in pathway two,
four, five, and seven. Pathway two was quickly integrated into
pathway three, while pathway nine was connected to pathway eight.
Trent almost missed
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