Flying

“Well, I persuaded him that it would be good to treat all of you better. So what we're going to do is let you learn how to fly.” He continued quickly, holding up his hand, “The chief said at once that it can't be done.”

“I think he's right,” Swiftwind said slowly. “Most of us start when we're four or five years old. They may be too old and their muscles too weak to control the wings.”

[...]

The Sleepers watched carefully as Lareen began to don the wings. It was not as simple as it looked. Basically, the wings were joined together at the center and fastened to the body by two straps that crossed over the chest. That, however, was only the first step. An intricate system of tiny cables had to be carefully threaded along the limbs and fastened on the ankles, down the arms, and around the waist. Lareen put it on quickly, but they could all see it had taken long practice.

“Now,” she said, “the wings are folded against my back, you see?” She turned around to show them. “But when I move this cable, they unfold.” She gave her body a slight twist—very slight, and suddenly the wings that had been folded like a bird's spread out so that they were at least fifteen feet from wing tip to wing tip. “When they're spread out like this, they catch the wind, you see.”

“Well, what are those other cables for?” Jake asked.

“Oh, all sorts of things,” Lareen said. “Some move the feathers set in the trailing part of the wing so that they move up and down. That way, you can control them better.”

“Can you do it without using your hands?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, yes—it wouldn't do much good to fly if you didn't have your hands.”

“That's right,” Swiftwind spoke up. “Learning to fly is only the first thing. You've got to learn to shoot a bow or use your sword or throw a spear at the same time you're flying.”

Abigail shook her head. “I would never learn how to do all those things at the same time. Why, I can't even pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.”

Lareen looked at her curiously. “Why in the world would you want to do a thing like that?” Then she shrugged her shoulders, for she had learned that the Sleepers had odd ideas. “First things first,” she said. “I'm going to take just a little flight, nothing fancy. You watch carefully. As I leap into the air, I'll spread the wings. There's a nice breeze, you see. If I do it right, it'll pick me up, and I'll begin to rise. Watch now.”

The young woman had the wings folded. She took two or three short steps and threw herself forward. At the same time she pulled at the cables with her body so that the wings shot out. Instantly they caught the breeze. Her body was drawn into a diving position parallel with the ground, and at once the huge wings began to lift her up.

“See!” she cried out, “It's easy!”

Josh watched the girl sail gracefully through the air for about a hundred yards.

Then her voice came back, “See, I'm turning now, dropping one wing and raising the other.”

Josh stared at her and whispered to Sarah, “Kinda like a hang glider when you think of it that way.”

But Sarah shook her head. “It's more complicated than that. I don't think any of us will ever learn.”

Lareen came back and said, “Now, that's how it's done. Swiftwind, you show them some of the more difficult things.”

“All right.” Swiftwind threw himself in the air, his wings spread, and he rose up swiftly. His wings were much larger than Lareen's, both in width and depth.

Josh was able to see that by means of the cables the wings moved almost as if they had life of their own. “Look at that,” he muttered to Sarah.

They watched as the young man practically turned flips. He made abrupt turns, rose as if on a huge elevation. Then suddenly, when he was high in the air, he folded his wings and headed straight for the earth. When he was only a few hundred feet away, the wings spread and he made a swooping recovery, coming to light at their feet and folding the wings as he did so. He white teeth showed as he smiled pleasantly. “There! That's all there is to it. Who wants to try it?”

“Not me!” Wash said. “I get dizzy when I step up on a curb.”

“What's a curb?” Swiftwind demanded, then shook his head. “Never mind. Lareen, you do your best. I've got to go on a mission. Teach them the fundamentals.” He leaped into the air and soared away.

“That sure is a neat way to get from one place to another,” Dave said as he watched Swiftwind disappear. Then he added doubtfully, “But if something goes wrong, he's got a long way to fall.”

[...]

It was a week later that the seven were all gathered together on the slope, listening to Lareen explain more about flying. A sudden twinkle came into her eye, and she said, “Well, I think it's time to see what you've learned. Who'll be first?”

A silence fell over the group, and she laughed. “That's the quietest I've heard any of you. Come on, let's have a volunteer.”

Dave spoke up, “Wash, you're the smallest and the youngest, and I think you ought to try first.”

“What kind of thinking is that? You're the oldest and the biggest, so you ought to try.”

An argument ensued, and finally Reb urged, “Go on, Wash, you can do it.”

The others joined in, and finally Wash agreed reluctantly. He put on his wings and then said, as he stood there, “I feel like a buzzard.”

“You'll do fine,” Lareen said. “Now, we've gone over it a dozen times. Just throw yourself forward and spread your wings.”

The others watched eagerly.

Wash took a deep breath and then began to run. He leaped into the air but evidently had not mastered the art of spreading the wings. One of them popped out, the wind caught it, and he began to spin in the air like a corkscrew. He hit the ground, and the dust puffed up. The others ran to him, and Reb pulled him to his feet. “Are you all right, Wash?”

“Oh, yeah, I'm all right,” Wash said disgustedly, “but I don't think I'll ever learn how to fly.”

“We all had falls. That's just like learning anything,” Lareen said.

“Sure,” Jake said, “it's like riding a bicycle.”

“What's a bicycle?” Lareen asked.

When he told her, she said, “Wings are much better. Come on, Jake. I want you to try it next.”

Jake stared at her, then nodded. “All right, I'll give 'era try.”

He put the wings on, got a few last-minute instructions, then said, “Well, here goes nothing.” He made a longer run than Wash had and, trying to remember everything at once, flung himself into the wind. He did manage to get the wings open, and suddenly a thrill shot through him. “Look! I'm flying!” he hollered. He felt the wind lifting him, and the ground fell away in an alarming fashion. “Hey! How do I stop?” he yelled.

Lareen yelled a few instructions, and awkwardly Jake hauled at the wings. He went into a dive and heard Sarah screaming, “Come out of it, Jake!”

At the last minute he managed to spread the wings again and hit with a dull thud. He rolled in the dirt and got up in disgust, but the others were cheering.

“You did fine! Fine!” Josh said. “I hope the rest of us do that well.”

“Yes, you did very well,” Lareen said. Her eyes were shining, and she said, “Now, try it again. This time, I'll go with you and call out some instructions.”

This time the two of them left the earth, Lareen gracefully and Jake still floundering, trying to do everything at once. “That's fine, Garfield,” Lareen said, calling out instructions. “Now, let's just make a long glide.” She hovered over him, explaining what to do, and Jake found to his delight that he was able to maintain a steady flight. “Now, we're going to turn,” she said. “Remember the cable's on the right—twist your body.”

Jake did as he was told and found to his surprise that he was turning. “I'm doing it! I'm doing it!” he yelled. “Look at me! I'm flying!”

The two came back to where the others were standing, and there was loud applause from the Sleepers.

“Well, that proves that one of us can learn anyway,” Josh said. He looked a little pale but said, “Now, let me try.”

All day they practiced, and, sooner or later, all of them made a successful flight, even Wash. It took all of them to convince Abigail to even try. But to her surprise, being so small, she found she could stay aloft easily. She was not afraid of heights as some of the others were and made good progress.

Sarah did not fare as well and took several hard falls.

Josh ran to her once and pulled her to her feet. “That was a tough one,” he said. “Are you all right?”

Sarah wanted to just rest in his arms and say, “I'm through with this,” but she knew she could not. “Yes, I'm all right. Let me try it again.”

When they finished their lessons that day, Lareen said proudly, “You've all done well. Another week of fundamentals and you'll all be flying like birds.”

Later, when she and Jake arrived at the cave, she said warmly, “Garfield, you did very well. Maybe someday you'll be a full-fledged warrior. Maybe even a chief.”

As the days passed and turned into weeks, the Sleepers began slowly to learn the difficult task of flying. All of them had difficulty, none more than Wash. The smallest of the Sleepers found himself having nightmares, for he had a deep fear of high places.

He said nothing to his friends, but Reb, who knew him better than any other, said one day, “It's gonna be all right, Wash. Goél doesn't want us to lose.” He grinned, and the sun caught his sandy hair, and his blue eyes glowed. “Far as I know, Goél don't sponsor no losers.”

Wash was dusting himself off. He had just taken a hard fall after coming in for a landing. “There's two things about this here flying I don't like,” he said mournfully.

“What's that, Wash?”

“Going up—and coming down.”

Reb laughed and slapped the smaller boy on the shoulder. “You're gonna love it before it's all done. Come on, let's go see how the girls are doing.”

They made their way to another part of the plateau where they found Abbey and Sarah taking an advanced lesson from Lareen. The girls had been at it for more than three hours.

[...]

Lareen said, “This time we're going to try something fun. Have you ever seen a group of ducks when they fly in formation?”

“I have,” Reb said. “Sometimes they make a V.”

“That's right,” Lareen said. “Now, I'll be the point of the V, and you line up on each side of me. Josh, you and Sarah and Reb get on one side. Dave, you get on the other side with Abigail, Jake, and Wash.” She got them lined up and cried out, “Come on, let's go!”

Josh had learned to like flying, something he never thought he would. When he launched out, he watched the earth fall away. It was a wonderful feeling. The wind was whistling, blowing his hair back. He managed to spread his wings just right, and now all eight of them soared upward.

Lareen called out commands, and soon they had reached a current of air and formed a V. Far below Josh could see some of the tribe looking almost like ants. Far away he saw a river curling in long serpentine coils. There were spots of green in the various oases, and Josh thought, If the people of the desert had a scout that could fly, they could always find water. Some of them have died of thirst just because they couldn't see it. Now that's an idea.

Finally the lesson was over, and they came back to earth.