Unbecoming Humans: Part 2

Chapter 19

Nima stared at me with a blank expression. “Usually, the goal of flying a plane is not to crash it.”

“It’s the quickest way to bury the evidence,” I replied without rising to her sarcasm.

“What did you have in mind?” Nima’s expression became cold and serious again.

I started to peck at the navigation system while I talked her through my plan. “If we dump it in the Great Lakes, we should have no problem finding another ride to Ireland.”

“Any chance you could get a jump on finding that other ride? We’re almost over the lakes already. We don’t have much time.”

“I’ll need to use the other computer. Will you be alright up here?” Nima gave me a look of disdain.

“Right. Of course you will. I’ll just...leave the door open if you need me.” I still didn’t move. I felt like there was more to say, but I didn’t have the right words. After several, long seconds of staring at one another, I turned and left the cockpit.

Relief washed over me as I sat down at the computer again and started hacking into nearby systems to find us an escape vehicle. The process of overriding security, breaking through firewalls, and taking control of systems required all of my concentration, and gave my disquieted mind a break from reality. Hacking was a lightning fast game of wits that challenged even my exceptional skills.

It only took a matter of minutes to bull rush my way to my objective, but the rapid-fire ticking of the keys under my fingers, and the flurried lines of code that flashed before me from one step to the next made it feel like hours. By the time the vehicle I’d chosen as my prey was cleared for takeoff, I felt fatigued and I was sweating from the stress. I took extra care to wipe the computer of all of its data, and smashed each piece of hardware to bits for good measure, or just for stress relief. I couldn’t be sure which.

“I hope that went better than it sounded,” Nima said upon my re-entry into the cockpit.

“I needed to cover my tracks.”

“Makes sense,” she replied with a noncommittal shrug. “So, what’s the plan.”

“There’s an island on Lake Ontario at the South side of Toronto.” I pulled the place up on the navigation map and pointed to our exact destination.

“There’s a helipad there, and our carriage is prepped and waiting for us.” I looked to Nima for her approval of my daring plan.

“That’s all well and good,” she said without looking at me, “but, I’m not sold on the crashing part.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Nima stared into the abyss beyond the window, searching. “Do we have parachutes at least?”

“I’ll go check.” I dashed out of the cockpit again, and searched the plane for the emergency equipment. I located it quickly near the exit door. I threw the compartment door open with a little too much enthusiasm, and the door went flying off it’s hinges.

“Oops,” I said with little remorse to the broken panel as it hit the floor. I shrugged and let it lie. There was no use crying over spilled milk, especially when we were about to crash the milk carton into a lake. I turned my attention back to the emergency equipment and my heart sank. One, lonely, black parachute pack hung from the wall on a hook.

Clearly, the Eden staff hadn’t planned on crashing the plane, or at least not on surviving a crash. I had a pretty good idea of whom the sole parachute was meant for, and my disgust at the thought of my mother spilled onto my face. I walked back to the cockpit with less enthusiasm than I had felt when I left.

“Did you find some?”

“I found one,” I said pointedly.

Nima’s face fell. “Oh.”

We both stared silently out the window for moment. My eyes flicked to the navigation screen every few seconds of their own accord. We were rapidly approaching Lake Ontario, and our window of opportunity was closing quickly.

“Someone’s going to see us jump,” Nima said unexpectedly, breaking the heavy silence.

“What do you mean? We only have one chute. We can’t jump.”

“Do you trust me?”

“It’s not a matter of trust. It’s a matter of…” I trailed off. The look Nima gave me was so appeasing, yet so firm that it was almost startling.

“Ok. Yes, I trust you.”

“Good. I’m going to carry you.” She said it so matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but nothing about plummeting from thousands of feet up with only Nima’s arms to keep me alive seemed like an obvious choice.

“Ok…”

“The auto-pilot won’t allow the plane to crash, so I’m going to have to set the course manually.” Nima plowed on, ignoring my reluctance.

“You mean…”

“I’m going to have to aim the plane for the lake. It’s not ideal, but it’s all we’ve got, and we’re out of time.”

I took a deep, steadying breath, mustering all the courage I possessed, which at that moment wasn’t much. “What do you need me to do?”

“Will you bring me that chute? I won’t have time to put it on once we begin our descent.” She said it with such levity, as if crashing a plane into a lake was no less ordinary than setting it down safely on a runway. It was disconcerting and inspiring all at once.

I realized Nima was staring at me, waiting for me to do as she asked. I jumped out of my seat and was back in a flash with the pack in hand. Nima stood up and I held the the harness up so that she could slip her arms and legs through.

“Well, I guess there’s only one thing left to do,” she said, buckling the last of the harness securements around her waist.

“Go wait by the door, and hang on to something.” A deranged grin spread across Nima’s face. Afraid to stick around and watch what was about to happen, I scurried away and posted myself next to the only door out of the plane. My stomach lurched as the plane pitched forward, and I caught myself by a handrail just before I lost my footing.

I regained my balance just in time to avoid looking like an uncoordinated oaf in front of Nima, who was deftly making her way through the plane towards me. I couldn’t help but admire as she clawed her way along the furniture and her muscles strained against gravity to propel her forward.

“Ready?” she asked as she pulled herself up next to me in the plummeting plane.

“To jump out of a plane?”

Nima answered my question by releasing the handle that held the door shut, and the whole thing dropped away with mortifying speed. She braced herself in the doorway as the air rushed around us like the fury of the Greek gods of old.

“It’ll be fun,” she said with a daring smile that I couldn’t reciprocate. Her expression softened for the first time since we’d fled Winona.

“Just close your eyes, and hold on tight, ok? I promise I won’t let you go, ever.” Without warning, she cupped my face in her hands and kissed me, not desperately, but slowly, as if all the courage in the world might be contained in her lips. For all I knew in that moment, it was. The world melted away, and then we were falling.