Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Chapter 3: Landing

Henry woke to the sound of Naledi yelling in his ear. "Hank! Get up Hank! Look, we're here!" Startled, Henry jolted up right in his seat, it was very dark out now, night had fallen over the world. Henry turned to Naledi with a scowl "Jesus! You trying to make me deaf?" The pilot smiled and pointed to the front of the plane. "Look", she said. Henry's eyes followed her extended hand and index finger out through the front window of the plane and gazed out to the pitch black of night. "I see nothing" grumbled Henry. Naledi smiled at him. "Look closer". Henry didn't know what she was trying to pull but he decided to take another gander out into the darkness. Again he saw only the black night, "Naledi is this supposed to be some kind of jo-" Henry stopped mid-sentence, something flickered in the distance, a light, it was dim but Henry could see it. It wasn't big, no bigger than a bright star far away. Another light appeared right beside it, then another, more followed in suit until there was a total of forty-two small beacons of light, side by side, and they were getting brighter, and bigger! "Naledi, what are those?". "What do you think they are Hank? they're lights!" Naledi laughed. Henry didn't take his gaze from the ever growing lights. "So those are the ocean liner's lights?" Henry asked. "Sure are Hank, and just wait till you get a close up view of the thing, it's massive!" Henry squinted his eyes to try and get a better look at the lights. They were definitely getting bigger. However, he could only see the lights. "It's so bloody dark out I can't see anything else!" Naledi smiled. "Quit yer whining! We're almost there!" Henry went back to squinting his eyes. Nothing but the ever growing lights. After what Naledi said, Henry was eager to see this apparently massive ocean liner. Something caught the corner of his eye, one of the lights was blinking! Henry pointed to the flashing light, "Hey Naledi, check that light out over there, it's flashing!" Naledi smiled. "I was wondering when they would signal us!" She then reached down to a crank below and the front light on the plane flashed three times, same as the blinking light in the distance. Henry had a puzzled look on his face. "Sign-AAAAHH!!!!" But before he could finish saying signal, a blinding light entered the plane, followed by the loudest fog horn Henry had ever heard. Henry had tears in his eyes and his ears wouldn't stop ringing. Henry put a hand over his face to shield his burning eyes from the bright light. He heard Naledi laughing. "Little bright eh Hank?" Henry tried to block out as much of the light as he could with his hand, he turned his head to look at Naledi. She was wearing goggles! It was so dark in the plane, Henry hadn't even noticed! So that's why she wasn't covering her face, but those goggles looked quite heavily tinted. "Um Naledi, how long have you had those goggles on for?" The pilot laughed maniacally. "I put these boys on ten minutes after you fell asleep!" Henry's eyes grew wide. "Those things must be incredibly dark if your not even flinching from this light!" Naledi continued to laugh. "These goggles are darker than a wombat's ass, I can barely see!" Henry's eyes grew as wide as they would go, he then shut them tight due to the intense light. "Then how the hell have you been flying the plane if you can't see!?" Henry heard the pilot giggling, "Instinct Hank! I've been flying blind for the past two hours! This is how true pilots fly, pure instinct!" Henry thought he might be having a heart-attack, 'How could she have made it here on pure instinct?!' And how are we going to land when she can barely see!? Henry didn't like this at all. 'But, she actually found the ocean liner! If she could get here flying blind for two hours, maybe she can land this damn plane in one piece!' Henry kept his eyes shut tight and braced for what might come next. He heard the fog horn again which ruptured his ear drums, he immediately put his hand to his ears and wouldn't remove them for any reason. Naledi nodded "Hang on Hank, we're cleared for landing but this could get a little bumpy!" Henry couldn't even hear the warning, he just sat in his seat, curled up, waiting for the unthinkable to happen. Naledi shook her head and chuckled under her breath. "Alright, here goes everythin, i've done this twenty times before, let's go for twenty-one!" She gripped the throttle with her hands and steady the plane to the best of her ability. The winds started to pick up and the plane started to shake. Naledi yanked on the throttle, setting the plane on a forty-five degree angle. She then turned the throttle to the left as far as it would go. The plane began to rotate and circle around the ocean liner. Naledi grabbed the microphone from her radio set, "Big Fish this is Melody coming in for landing, we've got some choppy air and the wings are gettin wobbly, making a landing in five so clear whatever ya got on deck and fast, over!" The radio crackled with static and a rough voice responded, "Roger Melody we've got the deck cleared and prepped for landing, the decks all yours, over." Naledi smiled, "Ten-four Big Fish, here I come!" She grabbed hold of the throttle and steadied the plane to the best of her abilities. "C'mon ol' girl don't fail me now!" The plane wobbled and shook, threatening to give way, but Naledi was determined to land this plane. The plane hovered and came in low, the ocean liner was just a few yards away now. "Hank we're gonna make it!" she screamed with delight. Henry's ears had finally stopped ringing enough that he could hear her yelling. He decided to open one eye and see how far until they made it. 'We're close! Yes we're going to make it! Sweet heavens yes! Wait, we're too close to the edge! We're going to hit the edge!' And Henry was indeed correct. Naledi had flown the plane too low and the landing wheels hit the edge of the ocean liner, and were instantly torn off. The plane rattled and slid across the deck of the ocean liner. Metal grind against metal and Henry watched as sparks flew out from beneath the plane. The plane continued to slide across the deck, and Henry could see, the other edge getting closer. They were going to fast. They were going to fall off. "We're going to fall off!" Henry screamed. "We'll make it Hank! She'll hold!" Naledi yelled. "C'mon girl, c'mon!" The plane was sliding slower. "That's it girl, ease down!" The plane whined and screeched across the deck and slide, slowing down gradually. "I can't watch this!" Henry cried, and he resumed covering his face with his hands, waiting for the moment when they would fall off the edge into the deep ocean. But he wouldn't get to feel that sensation, for suddenly, the screeching stopped, and to Henry's relief, so had the plane. Henry let out a sigh of relief. He collapsed in his seat. He smiled and managed to look at Naledi. She too had collapsed in her seat, giggling, and looking at Henry. "Another happy landing" she managed to say before she burst out laughing. Henry sighed and started moving towards the door. He wanted to get out of this plane as fast as possible. "I wouldn't be too hasty Hank, we're not exactly all aboard yet , oh and try not to move too much until the crew gets all of us on board." Henry stopped and looked over the side window. The plane was on the deck, well half of it was. The end of the plane seemed to have caught onto something on deck, for the end part was on the deck, while Henry and Naledi were in the cockpit, suspended over the ocean. Henry had gone ghostly white. He sat back and stood as still as a statue. The plane creaked and groaned, motioning like a see-saw, as the two ends of the plane balanced themselves. "Don't worry Hank, the crew's here to bring us all aboard." Henry didn't say anything, but he saw men outside with ropes and hooks, attaching them to the plane. He heard a voice, the same voice rough, grouchy voice on Naledi's radio. "Alright men, one, two, three, heave!" Henry heard the groan of the plane and the grunts of men as they struggled to pull the other half of the plane onto the ship. Henry wondered if the plane would break in half from the strain, he looked over to Naledi who had her feet up on the dashboard, hands behind her head, and a big grin on her face. The plane was moving back, slowly but surely, then the plane came to a halt. A wave of relief came over Henry as the door opened and he fell out onto the cold hard deck. He kissed it several times and soon regretted it. Henry looked up to see a group of sailors chuckling. Embarrassed, Henry stood up and looked. His jaw hit the floor. The ocean liner was massive! It stretched for at least a mile, bright lights shone and illuminated the dark night. Giant crates were stacked high off to the sides. "Stop drooling over the deck Hank, somebody might slip!" Naledi chuckled as she patted his shoulder. "I told you it was massive!" Henry only nodded in amazement, never before had he seen such a ship, and he knew from then, this was real, he was here, and this project was going to be big. Suddenly, the crew parted and out stepped a man, older than many of the crew, his face was withered and worn, he had beady grey eyes and unkept grey hair to match. Like the others, he wore a blue shirt with, wet rubber overalls and boots. His wrinkled face creased into a smile and he laughed. "Naledi! Bout time you got here, been up all night waitin on ya!" Naledi returned the gesture, "C'mon now Peach, you've any idea how hard it is to fly blind?" The old man nodded in acceptance, "Aye, fair enough, so this the last one then?" Naledi nodded, "Sure is, Hanks his name, little giddy but good heart, engineer and inventor he is!" The old man walked up to Henry, he looked up and down, "Engineer huh? Well that's good news, need all the engineers we can get around these parts!" He extended his arm towards Henry, showing his open palm, "The names Peach, Peach Wilkins, welcome to the Odyssey, I'm the ship master of this here crew." Henry nodded and shook Peach's hand, "Henry Walker sir, glad to be aboard, fine ship you got here!" Peach looked up to ship, "Yea, she's a beauty, but she ain't mine son, the guy who's money is funding this here project owns the ship, I just here to make sure it runs smoothly." Henry was puzzled. "So who's this employer? Must be a rich guy hotshot to own such a big ship!" Peach smiled, "You could say that, you'll meet him in the morning, I'm sure your tired after having to travel with Naledi for so long, must of been real hell, you'd never get me on a plane with her I tell ya!" Naledi scowled. "You don't know what yer talkin about old man, my flying is like heaven on wings!" Henry laughed. "It wasn't all that bad." Naledi smiled went over to the beaten up plane. "Go and get yerself some sleep Hank, tommorrow's gonna be a big day, I can feel it!" Henry looked at Naledi, "What about you? You must be tired as well." Naledi shook her head. "Never been one for much sleep, why waste life sleepin? Besides, I gotta get Melody back in shape, I'll see ya in the morning Hank!" She waved back and then disappeared into the plane. Henry turned to Peach. "Well Peach, I guess I could use some shut-eye." Peach smiled and nodded. "I'll get someone to take ya to the cabins, gotta stay here and make sure Naledi doesn't blow up the ship. The two men laughed.

A few minutes later, Henry was being escorted to his cabin by a member of Peach's crew. If Henry thought the outside of the ship looked amazing, the inside was stunning. Stainless steel and chrome paved the walls, and polished wood that Henry could see his reflection in was the floor. "Man, this guy went all out when he bought this ship eh?" The crewman smiled, "He sure did, our employer spares no expense, don't worry about who he is, you'll meet him in the morning." Henry was very curious about this employer and was eager to meet him, but for now, sleep would do just fine. They walked down a long hallway of doors, each of them had plaques with names on each of the doors. Y. Suchong, B. Tenenbaum, R. Sullivan, J. Steinman, and S. Cohen were just some of the many names, he saw throughout the hallway. "Other members of the crew?" Henry said pointing to the names. The crewman looked confused for a second, "Oh! Ha, nah those people ain't part of the crew, they're those unique guys and gals, like yourself, ya know, ones with special talents, to help make this project a reality?" It was Henry's turn to be confused. "Like me?" And that's when they came to the last door, Henry looked at the name and he smiled. Printed on the plaque was H. Walker. The crewman grinned, sensing Henry's joy. "Welcome to your cabin Mr. Walker, wake up is eight o'clock sharp, breakfast is at eight twenty, and the employer doesn't like tardiness, other than that, enjoy your stay aboard the Odyssey, good night Mr. Walker." And with that the crewman gave Henry his cabin key and returned to the decks below. Henry took a deep breath and opened his cabin door. His smile grew wider. That place was huge! A giant bed with the softest looking pillows awaited him. He looked around, seats with luxurious leather interior sat in the corners, a jukebox, coffee table, and lamps were all at his disposal. Henry went into the bathroom, it alone was bigger than his kitchen. Henry decided to wash up and get ready for bed, it had been a long day. Beside his bed was a dresser. Henry opened the dresser to find suits and shirts and pants and ties and belts, all neatly folded and hung. He opened the drawer underneath, light blue, silk pajamas were neatly folded. Henry put the pajamas on and collapsed onto the giant bed. Henry hadn't felt so tired in all his life. He didn't really know why he was here, or what he was going to do. Who his employer was and what his goals were. But there were two things Henry did know, that he was about to fall into a deep sleep, and that he would never go flying again.