Back to the story….
Zed helped Alisa find all the supplies for their journey. He was an experienced traveler, so he knew what they needed. This world did not have a lot of modern conveniences, like dry shampoo, deodorant, baby wipes, and so on. How would they survive traveling for a month without taking a bath or shower? She did not even want to think about how she would freshen up in front of a stranger!
Her father had not considered having separate rooms in the hot air balloon when he invented it. There was a small area for sleeping, but other than that, it was all one big circle! She tried to stack the supplies so they would create a half wall. At least it would provide some privacy. She had a feeling that they would get to know each other quite well on this trip.
At first, Zed was in awe of the enormous balloon. He gawked at the size of it. I explained that it had to be that big to carry us and the stuff in the basket. He seemed to be a little skeptical, but excited to try flying for the first time.
I showed him how the fuel system worked and how to steer the balloon. He was more excited about steering, even though it made more sense for him to refuel since he was stronger than me. My father had added a way to steer this hot air balloon, so it did not have to rely entirely on the wind.
I let him steer at first, just because it was novel for him, but once we made it towards the coast, my arms started to get tired. "Let's switch, I will steer, and you refuel. I need a break." I complained. He was too excited to answer me. I had to raise my voice over the roaring fire. "Zed, come over here!" That got his attention, and he reluctantly let go of the lever.
"Did you call me?" He asked as if he had not heard me the first time.
"Let's switch, I will steer and you will refuel. My arms are tired from the heavy wood." I complained.
He did not want to lose control of steering, so he tried to convince me, "It's not that hard, you only need to add more wood once the last piece turns to ash. You can rest in between. Steering takes more focus. As a trained warrior, I am better suited to lead this vessel."
I almost rolled my eyes! It was my balloon! If I told him to refuel, then he should listen to me! I cannot believe he was trying to pull this once we were in the air! He had seemed so noble in
the village, but now his chauvinistic side was showing. So, women can't be leaders? That made no sense, especially since there was a kingdom that ruled by a matriarchy.
I was getting annoyed and was about to argue with him when a sudden gust of wind shook the basket. I fell against the basket wall and grabbed onto the edge to steady myself. He almost fell on
top of me, but luckily, he managed to grab onto something to stop himself. I sighed in relief until I noticed what he had grabbed: the lever! Now, we were flying straight into a lightning storm!
Zed went back to the front to steer. I was shocked that he had ignored me and went to the front to take over. He was trying to figure out what direction to take us, but he ended up making it worse. "Move! I can get us out of here! I know how it works." I tried to shoulder him away, but he would not budge! Was he made of lead?
He 'gently' pushed me out of the way. "Go back to the sleeping area. I will get us out of this storm safely." He claimed with false bravado.
I scrambled to get to my feet. The storm was getting worse, and it was blowing the basket around more fiercely! I knew that when flying, you should go around, or above the storm, not through it! This idiot was going to get us killed! We were already far enough away from the shore that if the balloon popped, it might drown us with the weight of the fabric! I tried to think of what to do to salvage the situation, and as if the novel world were proving me right, Zed was suddenly zapped by a bolt of lightning!
What just happened? Did Zed get zapped by lightning? Oh My God! I hope he doesn't die! I need to save us before we both die! My thoughts were running a mile a minute as I made my way to the steering lever. I looked over at Zap, who was on the ground, twitching! He looked like someone who had just been tased, but he was still breathing! That was good! He looked dazed and confused as he stared at me. He could not move other than the random twitches.
I felt bad for him, well, a little, but I could not worry about him right at that moment! I had to get us away from the storm. I veered to the right and got us away from the storm as we caught a jet stream. It was surreal to see the storm up close in the clouds, but I was ready to be far away from it!
Once we were far away from the storm and headed in the right direction, I went to check on Zed. He had stopped twitching, but his eyes were unfocused. I called his name a few times before he
slowly responded with slurred words. "Zed, are you going to be all right? You were zapped by lightning! Don't worry, you are going to be fine." I hope. I tried to reassure him in a calming tone, as if I were talking to a scared child.
It seemed to work because he was finally able to focus on me. "Wa wa what hhhhap-p-pened?" He struggled to speak. Well, at least he could talk. That had to be a good sign. Right?
I calmly took his hand and helped him to sit up. I got some water from a water jug and gave it to him. "Sip it slowly. It will help." I reassured him, even though I had no idea if it really would.
He tried to take a sip, but it dribbled out the side of his lips. Oh no! If he is brain-damaged, what am I going to do? I can't take care of him and run this ship all by myself! I may have to turn around and find a village. There should be a doctor who may be able to help him. I started to worry.