2050

Arc 3:Part 1

"Teselia! You there?" I heard a couple of bangs on the recreation room door. I find myself lazily slumping at the end of the couch. With a controller in hand and a game over the screen on the T.V, I slowly sit up with a headache and find myself knocking over plastic chip bags and empty water bottles. I blinked looking around, trying to gather my senses as another set of raps on the door jolted me awake. I grumbled, put the controller down, and walked over to the door and opened it.

"You need?" I stare at the person who was trying to get in. I found myself being confronted by everyone. Shirley had her hand up in a loose fist, she was about to knock again.

"Look who decided to use up all of our electricity. The hermit girl herself. Can you let us in to get ourselves something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure. But I think I ate all of the chips. And drank the water too." I turn around and look back at the mess of food near the couch. I made a mess and wasted a lot of supplies. Shirley didn't seem to mind, Mitch was his usual self and Mike whispered something to Kyle, with Koro snickering in response. Which made Kyle smack him across the face.

"So when are we heading out on our suicide mission?" I say as I begin to head over to the T.V to unplug it. I hear the fridge open and the propane tank being moved. Along with the footsteps of the rest of the group.

"Well we'll eat first, then we'll gather some supplies, and head out to Watlerville. But seeing as someone ate our supply-" I turned over at the hint towards me. I look over and Shirley is grinning with a sort of passive-aggressiveness. "-We need to head out on another supply raid. Mitch, I want you to take Teselia here and raid the military outpost."

I look to Shirley with a baffled look. I opened my mouth in protest, but realizing that Mitch is coming along I probably have no say in this. I just let it go and decide to grab myself some food. Shirley had cooked up pancakes again and once more have I stolen some off of Mike's plate, but also Kyle's. They won't mind.

After that meal Shirley has Mitch take me over to the hangars. My eyes drift over to the area where I broke Kyle's arm and tried to run away. I saw the rusty plane past the fence. The plane was parked into a hangar. I hadn't realized it but it was pretty customized, well vanity-wise. It had this unique looking paint job, which I can only describe as looking like a shark. With a dark top and a lighter underbelly, in red, fading to yellow. With a Helevi star on the tops of both wings. Shining it's brilliant red, with the inside matching the dull paint job.

"I can't fly so." I walk over to the plane, looking at it closer. I thought it was made of canvas, a little tarp had been pulled off recently because it laid on the floor nearby.

"That's why I'm flying." He opened the cockpit and entered the driver's seat. I hop into the second seat, situated behind the driver. The glass dome covering the cockpit closed in and then we are enclosed in an airtight space. With each breath making the cockpit hotter.

"So where did you learn to fly?" I ask Mitch, just as he was pulling into the runway. The small rugged dirt line looking just a bit too short for a plane to take-off from. "Experience. Did you see that stunt plane back there? The one you got caught on?" I nodded. I knew where this was going.

"I crashed that. Ruined the plane and used up a parachute. Back in the U.P.A my grandfather owned an airfield and let me fly some of his planes. Crashed a lot of them." He was talking as he was grabbing stuff. He threw in a pistol in my seat and a couple of magazines. With a rifle for him and the ammo. Along with what seemed to be rations as well.

"So wait you're flying that thing without a parachute? What happens then?" I said this as Mitch was doing some final touch-ups and check-ups. "I hope you like swimming." Was all he said before he hopped in the plane and turned on the engine. He started to drive out of the hangar. I yelled and then ran over. Hopping into the cockpit using the wing to help boost me up. Once I was inside he closed the cockpit as he faced the plane was towards the runway. I buckled myself in just as Mitch did, and sorted out the pistol and ammo. Shoving the ammo in my pockets and holding the pistol.

I looked at it. I turned it this way, flipped it that way. I've never seen a gun this close. Much less shoot one. A gun might seem much, but with the amount of ammo they have, I guess it isn't a problem.

Then the plane lurched forward. I glanced up and watched as the solar panels were inching closer as the propeller spun faster and faster. I've never been one for flying. Odd, because I love climbing so much. But just the feeling up being in this steel tube. At least when I'm on a building, It's just me and my impending doom. But with a plane, it can be a painful crash, or I end up surviving somewhere on a deserted island and forced to survive from there. I would prefer the quick death. That's not even counting the anticipation of it anticipation before the crash. The whistling of the plane, and the sounds of the alarms. It would be awful.

The plane lifted into the air just before we hit the solar panels. I watched intently out o the window as the ground below slowly shrunk. Soon we were flying above the water. I looked over to the ocean. It was a splendid blue, which was nice to look at. Keep me from being afraid of being on the plane.

"So how far is this military outpost?" I asked. Wondering where exactly we were headed.

"Well, it's not just one, it's two. One near Watlerville and one further away in the valley of Watler. We're heading to the one there in Watlerville, then the valley." I glanced at the front of the plane and saw the city nearby. Watlerville wasn't that far from the capital It was practically part of it. So it shouldn't take us that long to get over there. I just kept looking out of the window.

"So how will we land in the city?"

"There is this highway that's nearby. I'll land there." He said this as if it was nothing. Like he had done it before. Which he has I'm sure.

"Makes sense." I kept quiet for the rest of the trip. Until we landed softly on the highway. And we both had hopped out. It felt good stretching after sitting in that enclosed space for so long.

"You sure no one is going to steal this thing?" I watched as he was doing something to the cockpit. I watch as he pulled out the control stick. Baffled I scanned him. Making sure he hadn't gone crazy. But he seemed normal.

"I can stick it back on. If someone does find the plane they won't be able to fly it." He shoved the stick in his pocket and checked his gun. I took one last look at the plane then to him. Then gave up trying to make any sense of it. I looked away from the highway that extended out to the mountains. And winding their way up to the peaks and down to the other, sweltering side with the desert. But instead to the overpass with a bus overhanging it. About to fall onto the street below it. I could see the skyscrapers past it, no doubt Watlerville. The biggest port of Helevi technically not even part of Helevi. Weird, but it worked. I doubt anyone cares about the old dusty documents hidden away somewhere explaining the city's ownership. If there is no society to base it on.

"We'll be heading to a military base nearby that overlooks Watlerville in the mountains. Then walk over to the valley. Should take us the entire day." I internally groaned as he kept talking. Seriously? A full day's worth of walking, when we could just cut that time in half using the plane and only a few canisters of fuel I would assume. I was going to dread the walk. And the mountains transferred the desert heat. So even though it looks warm, it's scorching.

"Don't worry. You could use the exercise. Call it a present from me to you." Mitch began to start walking down the highway. I felt an eye twitch. Maybe a vein popping in my forehead. Did he just really?

I was tempted to run up and smack him in the back of the head for good measure. But that would be suicide. I just silently cursed to myself as we slowly but surely trudged along to the military outpost.