Spy School: Zoe or Erica?

Arrival In London

"We've arrived," Erica said gravely, taking a wary glance down at the bustling streets of London. Zoe's limp body stood next to me, and my eyes were still puffy from crying. "We'd better get Zoe to the medical center as quickly as we can."

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure that she's dead," I said, looking at her body and noticing that her chest wasn't falling and rising anymore. 

"That most certainly does not help the mood!" Mike snapped from the corner of the cabin. Since the time when Zoe had spoken her potentially last words, he'd been hiding out there and glaring at anyone who came within three feet of his personal space.

Jawa and Chip were both just in a trance, still not processing what had just happened. Erica just refused to believe the fact that Zoe might be dead.

"She's not dead," Erica said, pressing a few buttons and changing our plane so it could continue on its light descend onto London. The light whir of the motor comforted my mood as I took another wary glance at Zoe, a glimmer of hope shimmering amongst my mind. Maybe she still was alive.

I wanted to look out through the window, but since they were broken, going too close to the suction area would result in something that we did not want to find out. Nobody wanted another death, especially one that included a body falling onto the streets of London. I've had enough with action today. If there's something else that would make us risk our lives, then I'm out on the mission.

Erica walked into the cabin and threw a few parachute harnesses onto the ground next to us. "Suit up," she grunted, then headed back into the cockpit without another word. On the way, she brushed her fingertip on my earlobe, but I assumed it was an accident when she apologized a millisecond later and continued walking.

I nodded, pulling the backpack and satchel over my chest and making sure they were on tight enough so that I didn't have any visible wiggle room. From the corner of my eye, I could spot Jawa, Chip and Mike doing the same thing.

For Zoe, well... it was either let her body slowly parachute down onto London (which would look especially creepy), or have someone carry her body, which would be even more creepier depending on the person who would willingly take the task.

I watched solemnly as Erica opened the cockpit exit, letting the airflow into the cabin. Since we were pretty low on the elevation, there wasn't much suction, leaving us able to go close to the opening without having the risk of free-falling onto London. That was a relief, since I didn't want to have a running start in order to get out of the plane.

"So..." I said after a moment of awkward silence. "Who's going to carry Zoe?"

"Not me," Chip said a little bit too quickly. "It's not that I don't like her, it's just... I don't think carrying a dead body is going to help my nerves at all."

"Zoe isn't dead!" Erica snapped. "And I'll carry her. Unlike you wimps, I don't care about these 'ew' things. As you all know, my personality is much more different than the other ninety-nine percent of the human population."

With this, she picked Zoe up, ignored the bloodstains that got into her shirt, and walked over to the cockpit calmly with her harness done. As she got into the jumping position, suddenly Zoe's left eye twitched.

Hope flared through my body, especially when her eye opened and she managed to struggle through a weak wink. I could've screamed in relief when Erica finally jumped off, leaving me and the other boys in ecstasy and excitement.

"Did you see that!?" Mike practically screamed. "Zoe winked!"

"At Ben, of course," Jawa said, cracking a smile, which was the first one I'd seen since Zoe got injured. "He's the wonder boy amongst us."

I could feel my face turning red as Chip and Mike laughed. But it was worth it. Me and the boys were back to being in the happy, joking mood, knowing that Zoe was still alive.

Mike jumped off the plane, followed by Jawa and Chip. Soon it was me who was only left.

Suddenly, a pang of thought struck me. If we all left the plane, how would it land?

"Don't worry about the plane, Ben. It's in autopilot mode, and I entered GPS chords to specify where it would land. Now get your butt down here and stop dawdling."

Erica's sharp voice echoed through my head as I jumped off the plane, pulling the parachute a few seconds later. It only took my brain a few seconds to deduce what had happened. 

Earlier, when Erica brushed my earlobe, she was inserting an earpiece. Of course. Another brilliant move finessed by the one and only Ice Queen.

I smiled as I gently fell onto the rooftop of a random building next to Erica and the rest of the gang. Watching as the plane slowly floated away towards a runaway, I smiled internally and externally at the same time.

Zoe was still alive. We'd made it to London without any fatalities.

Wow, I thought. 

✨Miracles do happen.✨