"...what...who..."
At the mention of Heine, Xiao's heart trembles.
He looks up at Liv, puzzled.
"Mark almost stepped on this little guy. Colonel picked it up and said 'bring it to the rookie.' " Liv laughed at the memory. "We couldn't find a container so Mark had to bring it all the way back in his hand."
Xiao Yan didn't think that Heine would have actually remembered that he loved the ocean.
Ah, Xiao thought to himself, don't do this Burton. One minute you are twisting off my arm and the next you do something to so overwhelmingly thoughtful.
As though I mean something to you.
---------------------------------
Early morning, several young men and women in uniform head into the No.2 aircraft. Xiao Yan was among them.
Inside the base's control room, Heine Burton looks at the holographic screen until the aircraft's feed is cut.
As he turned to leave, Colonel Raven spoke quietly and slowly. "Do you think you will remain content just watching him?"
Hein glanced over at Col. Raven who averts his gaze as he looks over a state document.
"What? Did you really think you were hiding it well? Come on. I used to be you partner."
"That is my business."
"You will get hurt Heine. He is too weak. When you lose him, the x-virus will not be able to heal that kind of pain."
"Then I will teach him to be powerful. Goodbye Colonel Raven."
___________________
Xiao Yan leans his face against the craft's window
Below are a collection of tall buildings, all of which have been abandoned for hundreds of years. The city is lifeless, old, and decaying.
Because of the weathering, the cement has long peeled off and the reinforcements are exposed, their sharp ends reaching upward as if to pierce the sky.
The aircraft passed, and the vibrations of the engine collapsed one of the buildings completely, as though its heart had succumbed to despair.
Xiao looked on and his eyes widened in reverie. He imagined a world that had not been exposed to the comet virus. How busy and bustling would the world be outside of the Shire? How far would the expanse of city lights extend, how quickly would the maglev cars fly, how limitless would---
"Xiao Yan, are you not afraid." His thoughts were interrupted by Lily's question.
"Why do you ask? What are you afraid of?" Xiao Yan was full of enthusiasm.
"The first time you ever left the Shire, your craft crashed. You were the only survivor. If the Surge invades our craft the same thing will happen. We will crash."
Below them, on the desolate streets wander its only inhabitants. Those infected with the comet virus. They looked up at the craft in the sky and flocked to the tallest building, stretching their arms as if they wanted to drag them to hell. They were too far away to see their horribly twisted expressions.
"We will be devoured by them. There will be no leftovers. We can't assume we will be lucky enough for the special forces to rescue us in time, right? "
Xiao Yan gripped Lily's hand and winked. "If you are that scared, we could always do something to take your mind off of it."
Lily was in the same class as Xiao Yan. She had the face of an angel and a body to tempt a saint. Lily had always been the subject of his fantasies. She was the only bright spot in his boring student life, well that and his friendship with Casey. Xiao Yan had always dreamed of her from afar and now he had the opportunity to share the same aircraft as her.
"A distraction? Like what?"
Lily's palm was soaked in sweat. It seems that news of the research craft crashes had already made its way around.
"We kiss! The more passionate, the better, then you won't think about crashing."
Xiao glanced at her with a flirtatious half lidded look, his smile a bit enigmatic, as something sour seemed to sit in stomach.
"Xiao Yan, if you put half that energy dedicated to such vulgar humor onto your class work, than perhaps you wouldn't be on a class B aircraft right now."
"Ah, don't you think the only times we really know what we want is when we are faced with such situations?"
"But don't be afraid, this time the captain of the craft is of significant rank. He is very experienced, he won't be so easily invaded by a blocker."
Several students hurry to comfort Lily, while keeping one eye to glare at Xiao Yan.
Below them the ruined cities gave way to a vast green forest.
"It's beautiful ..." Xiao Yan exlaimed.
He remembered picking the leaf up that day of the crash. He couldn't help but stop and grab a specimen, but the leaf eventually withered and then shattered.
"Beautiful?" Lily looked up at Xiao, horrified, "after the comet virus who knows how many murderous beasts live under this beauty! I'm glad I didn't kiss you, I might have caught your idiocy."
Xiao just shrugged his shoulders. His opinion unchanged. He knew that even without the comet virus, nature was constantly shifting and evolving. Ready to reveal her scariest fangs amid her elegance.
Thinking about everything, Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. He didn't know whether he had encountered too many bushes with disaster, but suddenly he had a feeling this trip would not run smoothly.
Suddenly the craft quaked and the students shouted loudly, they hastily grasped the safety rails and soothed themselves.
"don't worry, don't worry..."
Perhaps it was just some turbulence.
The students, who had just cast disdainful glares at Xiao, were now embarrassed to have gotten so shaken. Xiao narrowed his eyes as he thought to himself.
They were flying at such a low altitude.
Could it really just be turbulence?
After experiencing two blocker invasions, Xiao felt an ominous sensation scratch at his heart.
Before he could even think, the aircraft tilted suddenly and the cabin erupted in screams once again.
The cabin radio switched on and the students became even more frightened. "ALERT ALERT. left engine malfunction. Left engine not aligned."
" "What's going on?" Lily squeezed close to Xiao Yan her hair brushing his face, her voice was tiny the sound barely squeezing past her throat.
The craft has only one engine left.
A cry for help sounded through the radio, "Someone come help. We have a blocker invasion. Captain Jon cannot operate the craft."
Everyone was stunned. "What..A...A...blocker?!"
Xiao Yan closed his eyes, a coldness seeping through his heart. Sure enough it was a blocker invasion.
"Is Captain Jon trapped?" It was a delicate way of asking if he would wake up, from the blocker invasion.
The students talked erratically over another but no one headed toward the cockpit.
"What are you waiting for, I can't hold on!"
The remaining pilot's voice thundered through the cabin.
The cabin instantly fell into a disconcerting quiet, they are only students. If an experienced pilot has fallen to a blocker, what can they do but sit helplessly in the cabin?
Any attempt to help would just be suicide.
What to do?
"What do we do...we will die..."
"Look at it... those are zombies! We will be eaten by them..."
Xiao's cheek is pressed against the window, his frightened eyes locked onto the eager hungry gaze of a zombie.
The dead frantically run along the falling aircraft. Once they crash, Xiao knows from experience how they will beat madly against the cabin, their horrid bloodthirsty expression pressed against the windows--- and that awful gnashing of their teeth.
Tightening his jaw, Xiao Yan releases his safety harness.
"Xiao Yan! Where are you going?!" Lily shouted.
Xiao Yan, with great difficulty, climbs toward the cockpit. He pulls himself forward using the safety rails.
"Xiao Yan -" Lily screams at him.
"We have to keep going! It is better to be taken by a blocker than devoured by the dead!"
"Captain open the hatch. My name is Xiao Yan, I will take Captain Jon's place. "
Xiao Yan enters the cockpit and looks around. The system allows for a 360 degree view. The red alert light is flashing and Captain Jon's head hangs limply to the side, he is still connected to the system. The neuronal interface displays the command data. It is a disordered mess. All Xiao Yan can do is disconnect the Captain from the system and haul him out of the cockpit.
"Boy, I'm going to die!"
Xiao knew they were running out of time and the aircraft was about to crash. The zombies were chasing and jumping towards them. Not giving himself the opportunity to hesitate, Xiao connected to the system. Once his brain was wired in, the information processing began. He does not need to voice his commands, the neural connect works in tandem with the operating system and will react according to his thoughts. The information flows like an ocean into his mind.
If it were not for that pressing simulation test at the base, Xiao Yan was certain that he would be unable to handle the sheer amount of data pouring into him
The alarm for the left engine settles and the aircraft slowly restores its balance. The moment one of the zombies was about to make contact with the craft, the nose lifted and they quickly climbed into the sky.
The students in the cabin exhaled collectively.
As the automatic navigation engaged, the craft returned to its original flight path and headed toward the research base.
Xiao Yan was struck by the amazing experience. The knowledge and data, that had previously scattered through his mind, organized and paved a proper path through his neurons. He can filter and capture the information at will. The flow is constantly parallel with his thoughts.
Then the older captain's voice rang in his ears.
"I'm sorry... I can't..."
The alarm sounded and the craft tilted sharply to the right.
They began to free fall.
"Alert! Warning! Right-wing engine failure !"
Xiao Yan closed his eyes and the alarm data washed over him. No matter what flight path he chose, he couldn't rely on a single engine.
It is too late for another student to come forward and assist.
Shit!
Why must the craft require two pilots?!
He curses to himself, although he knows the reason well. Dual piloting reduces the chances of a blocker invasion being catastrophic. One pilot can continue to operate the craft. In this case, however, the navigation system has been compromised, he can't switch to manual mode. Just as Xiao Yan was at a loss of how to proceed, the system sounded in his ear.
"System prompt: Do you wish to engage single pilot mode?"
Xiao Yan's brain responds automatically, yes!
Suddenly he felt a heavy pressure in the depths of his mind, his thinking began to scatter, and his head pulsated, feeling as though it would burst open. This is a research craft, not combat. It is far more susceptible to blocker invasion. The user's ability to adapt to different thought patterns is the only defense against the drawback's of the operating system.
The ground was rapidly approaching the craft and the cries from the cabin filtered into the cockpit. The vehicle rolled over the chasing zombies, smashing into their bodies. Thick brown slurry of zombie fluids splattered onto the windshield.
Just as they were about to touch ground, the right engine suddenly started, and the craft brushed against the trees as it climbed again, quickly gaining over 10m.
Xiao Yan's forehead was beaded in sweat.
They are 15 minutes away from the research base.
In the cabin Lily held back her vomit as she watched the zombies, with their thick discolored fluids and rotting bodies. No blood was present in their current form.
The rest of the students closed their eyes and leaned their heads against the back of their seats.
This was the first time most had seen a zombie in such close proximity, the others relived their own past experiences.
Xiao Yan exhaled shakily, his mental defenses were crumbling like sand, his nerves strained and separated as pain exploded through his head.
A blocker!
Xiao Yan's heart jumped to his throat.
He cannot relax now, they have to make it to the base...
It is 12 minutes away.