The Harvest of Souls

CHAPTER 20

ASTURIAN ISLAND
09.01.8462 - 8:13 AM

Twenty-five floors below the Asturian Manor, a vast room housed a triangular aircraft, accessed by an elevator whose doors opened onto a bridge that connected directly to the entrance door of the nave colored copper and red. The ship was an exclusive production of an aviation company that had only produced one hundred and twenty identical models, called Phoenyx. Due to the high cost of maintenance and sale, only a few heads of state had this model. Richard and Vaughan crossed the bridge silently, the last five meters of the bridge painted yellow. Vaughan stopped before the warning part while Richard continued to follow to the door of his ship that had been dubbed Endora by Richard years ago.

As Richard approached the ship, Endora automatically opened up to reveal the cockpit. Richard entered the command room and settled into an armchair right in the windshield center; the door closed beside him as soon as he buckled his seatbelts. Outside the ship, Vaughan waved, smiling, while the yellow part of the bridge retracted.

Vapors rose from the ship's sides as he ordered, "Arkadia," feeling more pressure on the seatbelts, which were automatically tightened by the vessel as its beak began to lower, while the rear part rose. Upon reaching a 45-degree angle, it snapped onto rails connected to the ground and revealed a deep tunnel, while an artificial voice echoed.

"Welcome to Endora, Richard, is good to have you back. I found thirty-six thousand, four hundred and twenty-two landing points in Arkadia. Please, indicate the landing point number or select it on the map."

Endora automatically displayed a map of Arkadia on the windshield, and Richard quickly selected the landing spot he used to use next to The Crystal.

"Landing point selected. Shall we have a nice trip?' The voice echoed through the cockpit

The ship then began to move slowly forward, a system of magnets preventing it from falling at once across the tracks like a roller coaster. The bank slowed after a descent for a few seconds, and an imperceptible curve to the right formed. The aircraft speed then increased considerably. The speedometer projected on the windshield in front of Richard went from 25 to 60 kilometers per hour. The curve through the tunnel became tighter and tighter until the ship had already completed a half-turn, then reduced its speed sharply. The ship's artificial white light turned red, and the track then began to slope upward, at a steeper slope than the descent, revealing another tunnel.

The ship's red lights illuminated the new tunnel, which had rails for a few meters, ending before the middle of the tunnel. The rails through which the ship moved have reached an inclination of almost 60 degrees.

"Prepare for takeoff in thirty seconds."

The ship's vibration became greater.

"Checking passengers and fastening seat belts."

Endora identified the solo passenger and confirmed that the belt was fastened and buckled.

"Ten seconds to takeoff," Came the voice, the light turned redder, and the countdown was projected through the cockpit windows, at the end of the tunnel, several meters above a light appeared, indicating a door being opened, the steep tunnel stretched for 600 meters, rising about 500 meters. The open door was located near the top of the highest peak right in the middle of the Island, just north of the airport.

Richard picked up his MC and selected a song, gripping the chair tightly as the countdown reached three. He loved that launching moment despite being the most expensive way of transportation. When the countdown reached zero, all trembling stopped, and the ship was initially launched at 60 kilometers per hour, climbing the tunnel picking up speed. In less than three seconds, the speed indicated on the windscreens exceeded 360 kilometers per hour, and the aircraft was spat out of the tunnel into the sky, continuing to climb steeply through the sky, the morning light flooding the interior of the cabin.