Soaring Over The World (Soaring Saga #2)

**Chapter Ten~ Out Of Flight, Out Of Mind**

     So. I'd already hated planes. Then I hated it more. Now it caught on fire and we're about to crash.

     Greeeeaaaaaaaat.

"What do we do?!" Neil cried, "Are we gonna crash? Did the engine catch on fire? Is it the wings? The head? We have to get off the plane! People are gonna get hurt! But wait, these guys can't fly! How do we get everyone off? I repeat: what do we do?!"

"Whoa, Neil, we're going to be okay," River stated calmly. Surprisingly calmly. He put his hand on his shoulder, "Just... the pilots have a plan. Unless anyone else has one, please speak now."

"I have one!" Raina cried, standing up in her seat, totally not with her seatbelt on anymore.

"Alright, what is it?" River asked, slightly nervous at the thought of Raina saving us.

"It involves Essence and the possibility of showing our wings to everyone!"

"Absolutely not!"

"No take backs! You said if I had a plan, speak now! Basically: a few of us have to get up to the front where the fire is, blast Essence at it until it goes out and the pilots can help with spraying it with the fire extinguishers, while the others help the families to safety a few at a time. Okay? Also someone will go up to the front and help steer the plane to safety while we get the people off. Everyone good? Good! Let's go!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Shienna yelped, grabbing Raina, "How about we don't have eighth graders steering an airplane, and let the pilots go do that, then you guys go all Essence mode and make a forcefield around the airplane, but really carefully, while the crew puts out the fire, then the rest of us will get our air masks on and then help others, alright?"

      We all thought for a second.

"We don't have a second!" Audra cried, clearly scared and hearing me think, "If we're going to do this, let's just do something! Please!"

"I got forcefield duty!" Ari yelped.

"Me too, I'm not letting you go running into fire alone!" I agreed without thinking. Neil snickered.

"No one's running into any fire," Audra stated, and I could tell she wasn't negotiating.

"I'll go up and help the pilots! I know what to do, I study this kind of thing," River stated, then taking off down the aisle to the front. A couple people tried to tell him to stop or sit down or it wasn't safe, but he just politely told him he was helping.

"Jiang and I will help get people to safety!" Dex stated, just as Shienna said she would too.

"Same!" Audra said.

"So will I," Neil said.

"Then so will I!" Raina cried.

     We all took off in our directions, trying to ignore the many people telling us to sit the herkett back down.

     Ari and I slipped on the airmasks that had dropped down from the ceiling, and as I'd always been told, you put your's on first, so you actually survive this can help others consciously so they can too. Flying safety, kids! 

     But then again, Avians have evolved the skill to breathe in really thin air because we're flying so high and fast, and our bodies can withstand those temperatures and lack of air and all, for all you confused sciencey folks. We put them on anyways so the adults around us would stop freaking out.

"Alright, how we gonna do this?" Ari asked, his voice sounding slightly muffled from the mask. 

"Just like we were shown in training, with trying to pull that imaginary spark from the core?" I offered, hoping I'd recited that right. They told us something like that to help us remember how to reach Essence without needing a surge of emotion or an adrenaline rush to activate it.