Ultimate Ride
A/N: This was for a contest on another site, where the prompt was that you had to write about surfing on another planet. Thought it could stand on its own, so I put it here. Enjoy!
"Shut up, Arden."
He shrugged, rubbing down his rocket board with some cleaner, a liquid form of moon rocks. "What? You said you tanked on that last ride. I was just agreeing with you."
"And, like I said, shut up," Shira replied, tightening her long brown ponytail. They were hanging out at one of the many surf parks on the moon's surface, only a few minutes away from their colony. The two wore nothing but their regular clothes, as humans had been able to breathe without oxygen for centuries.
Chuckling, he glanced back at her board. She'd threw it to the side in disgust once she'd gotten out of the crater. "So that's it?" he taunted, picking up the board. It was made out of a metal alloy, painted purple, with small rocket boosters at the tail end. His was better though, painted with stripes of blue and made of a tougher metal, with bigger rockets. "You're giving up pro boarding forever? Whatever will your fans do?"
"I'm not giving up, obviously," Shira snapped, snatching the board away from him. "I'm just sick of this same crater."
Running his hand through his ruffled light brown hair, Arden sighed. "We go through this every day. There is no where else. This is the toughest bowl on the planet. We could take a vacation and go surf Saturn's rings if you really want, but that's always such a hassle…and I hate having to wear those stupid solar glare glasses when we go to Jupiter…"
"You're so adventurous, Arden," Shira deadpanned, sitting on one of the benches scattered throughout the park. Other surfers were flipping around in smaller craters, some riding the rock formations of various sizes. She and Arden were the only ones brave enough to surf the crater in front of them, as was typical. The crater and the two pro surfers themselves were enough to scare off any wannabe.
Arden shrugged. "Just stating the facts. Where else is there to go?"
"I don't know, there must be somewhere…" Shira trailed off, her green eyes scanning the moon's horizon. Her gaze settled on Earth, and she smiled. Well, yeah, to everyday people it was a dangerous wasteland, but to her it meant a stunt no one would be able to top.
Following her gaze, Arden's blue eyes widened and he shook his head. "No. No, no, no. We have a competition this weekend, and…Earth scares the crap out of me!"
"Who cares about you?" Shira exclaimed, starting her board with a kick to the tail engine. "See you later!"
Arden ran ahead and put his hands on her shoulders. "Think about this for a split second. How are you even getting there? There's no marked trail for surfers, like there is to Jupiter, Saturn…hell, there's even a trail to Neptune if you don't mind a trip."
"But Earth's right there, why not? There's gravity, and I hear that there's still huge areas of water…I think they're called oceans…no one will ever be able to top me!" Shira shouted the last part with glee, ready to take off the second he unhanded her.
"Yeah, but you won't be around to see it 'cause you'll be dead!" Arden pointed out.
Shira rolled her eyes. "You coming or not?"
Not waiting for an answer, she flew into the sky. Arden hesitated for two seconds before jumping on his board and going after her. "Wait for me!"
Fearlessly flying ahead, Shira took a moment to plot her course. If I jump on the Milky Way and grab on to the tail of a shooting star, it should bring me right into Earth's atmosphere…she thought. Arden caught up to her, and they continued on, reaching their destination in less than a half hour.
"You know, that wasn't too bad of a commute. I'm surprised people don't come here more often," Shira remarked, still on her board but skimming the planet's strange rocky land. Skirting around some tall vegetation she'd once learned about in her Earth History class but forgot the name of, she continued toward some water in the distance.
"Oh yeah," Arden added dryly. "Barren land, lack of civilization…it's a wonder this isn't a hot spot for family vacations."
Ignoring his attitude, Shira reached the odd grainy substance that came before the water. Feeling herself fall somewhat she kicked up the engine power. That didn't do much, as her whole body still seemed as if it were being pulled to the ground. "I hate gravity…"
"Me too. Can we go home now?" Arden whined, keeping a wary eye on the water as it rose several feet in the air before crashing down.
"No," Shira retorted, testing the water with her boot-clad foot. It seeped through, making her foot wet but warm. "It's perfect." With one final push, she launched herself over the water…
And was instantly swallowed up by the wave. Yelping in shock, she flailed around in the water, trying to get control of her board. "Help me, you idiot!" she screamed, noting that her only possible form of rescue was standing there in surprise.
She sunk down, opening her eyes with some effort. She would've screamed if she could. A large, eight-legged weird bulbous creature with razor-sharp needles sticking out of its body was making its way towards her.
Before she could panic, though, Arden's hand came through the water and pulled her up onto his board, and together they flew back to the land. "There's something in there!" she cried, jumping onto her board, which had floated back with the surf.
"How ancient people used to spend time in it is beyond me," Arden remarked.
Shira whirled around. "Are you serious? People used to want to go in that stuff?"
"Shows how much you paid attention in Earth History…" Arden muttered. "Let's go home."