Читать книгу The SkyReach Prophecies: BOOK 1 - JEFFREY GREY - Страница 4

When class was over, Olivia and Duncan headed to the gymnasium for a quick workout before dinner. They both enjoyed exercising in the three-dimensional gymnastics obstacle course, which not only ran along the oval floor, but also up the walls and even across the ceiling. There were monkey bars to swing along, pommel horses to vault over, rings to jump through, and even a suspended ball course where you needed to slip through.

Ever since they moved to the HUB, they twins had been exercise fanatics because of the low gravity. In one-third Earth gravity, Duncan was three times as strong - he could lift up the couch with one hand, while Olivia sat on it. “Hey!” Olivia would say. “Put me down, Dodo bird! I’m trying to watch a video.” But the twins quickly learned there was a downside to being super strong. Because of their powerful leg strength, they had a terrible time walking in the corridors. If they weren’t careful, the twins would jump ten feet or more with each step. Once they had nanites attached to their boots, which acted like a sticky glue, the twins had a much easier time walking.

But the twins soon found that the one thing they missed even more than the green hills of Earth was the Earth’s gravity. They both lost a lot of muscle strength if they didn’t exercise vigorously everyday. The twins were very athletic on Earth, so it was natural for them to run through the 3D Gym Course once a day before dinner.

Olivia’s favorite part of the course was the triple jump, where you bounce on two trampolines spaced about thirty feet apart. The object is to jump on the first trampoline, flip or somersault in the air as many times as possible. Then you land on the second trampoline, where you bounce up again and do another set of somersaults. If you’re strong enough, you can bounce thirty feet in the air and do three or four somersaults in the air before landing. Olivia knew from personal experience. She held the HUB record for the highest number of somersaults in a row.

As Duncan finished his first run around the 3D course, Olivia practiced on the Triple Jump, trying to break her own record. Just before she came down from the second trampoline, she heard a familiar voice.

“Look at the newbies,” Aaron Rubid said to his friend, Derek Stront. “You two are terrible - how can you still be so green from Earth? We should call you greenbacks, you’re so new to the 3D course.”

Duncan reddened slightly. These guys were troublemakers, she thought. Duncan rose to the challenge. “We’re good enough to take on you two. Come on, give us a try.” Olivia nodded. “We’ll race you both around the course. And we’ll win.”

Derek snickered, his snaggle-toothed grin making him look goofy. “Oh please. You two greenbacks would eat our dust.”

“Well then,” Duncan replied. “You don’t have anything to lose - unless we beat you. Then we’ll tell everyone that two greenbacks beat your best time. You won’t be able to show your faces in class.”

Aaron and Derek looked at each other. “What to we get if we win?” Rubid asked.

Olivia said, “I’ll help you study for Dr. Garrity’s final. Neither of you have a chance of passing on your own.”

“Deal!” said Derek, knowing a good deal when he hears one.

They lined up at the starting line. “Watch this, Sis,” he whispered to Olivia. “We’ll go first,” Duncan declared.

“No way!” Aaron said. “Us first, then you follow. Best time to the end wins. Here Derek, put on the course tracker.” Aaron handed each of them a blue circular chip, which they attached to their foreheads. The chip tracked their progress through the course, so that no one could cheat by skipping a hurdle.

Ready, set, go!” Aaron and Derek shot through the course, swinging like unearthly monkeys in a jet-age jungle. They literally flew through the course as only those born in space could do.

“Why did you let them go first? You know they know the course better than us.” Olivia frowned.

“I know, and that’s the point,” Duncan replied. “Watch their moves - maybe we can pick up a few of their tricks.”

Olivia and Duncan watched closely. They did manage to see a few places where Aaron and Derek showed ingenuity in getting around the course. The Aaron did somersaults to get over obstacles quickly, deftly landing on the other side like a chimpanzee. And Derek used a diving move to slip through a set of vertical barriers, slithering through like a python.

When Derek and Stront finished, it was the twins’ turn to start the course. “Go,” Olivia shouted. “You know the course better than me. I’ll just cheer for you and hope you win.”

Duncan grinned. He turned off the sticky nanites on his boots and launched himself into the course. He started somewhat slowly compared to Aaron and Derek. When Duncan was halfway through, Olivia noticed that he was matching Aaron’s time, and just a bit slower than Derek. As they neared the end of the course, both boys had slowed considerably, obviously tired from their lightning start. By the time they finished, Duncan was more than halfway through himself, and still very close to Derek’s run time. Duncan was using his superior jump strength to clear high hurdles in one bound, while Derek had to jump three times to reach the top of a pyramid shaped hurdle. Duncan stumbled near the end, though. His feet got a bit tangled when they went through the upside down tire obstacle. But he made up the lost time with several perfect leaps along a fifty foot long balance beam.

“He can’t do that!” Derek shouted. “He’s supposed to walk the beam, not jump over it.”

Duncan landed lightly next to them. “Look’s like my time was the best,” he said, glancing at the time board. Duncan had beaten Derek’s run by just two tenths of a second. “I guess we win.”

Both Aaron and Derek looked angry. Derek said in a mean voice, “No fair! You didn’t run the course the right way. You used your Earther jumps to cheat! And Olivia didn’t even start her run.” Aaron nodded in agreement.

Duncan sighed and said, “Yeah, I guess we weren’t playing fair. You’re right – we forfeited the match. You win.”

At first, Aaron and Derek didn’t understand. Then their faces brightened. Derek said hopefully, “You mean, your sister will help us study for the test?”

Olivia spoke up. “His sister will. And I can teach you a couple of tricks to help you remember those elements from the periodic table that you both struggle with in class.” Olivia smiled. “Does that sound fair?”

“It does to me,” Derek said. He actually smiled. “Thanks, Olivia. Sorry we gave you a hard time about the Earther thing.”

“No big deal,” Olivia said. “Let’s meet up tomorrow to get that studying session done.”

They walked out of the gym together, laughing and talking about how Dr. Garrity wasn’t the worst teacher they ever had.