An Attack Helicopter Brought us Together

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ember POV

Ember sighed and rubbed her calves, still exhausted from all the running. She peered out the window at the gathering rain as the attack helicopter ascended. I seriously doubt we're gonna survive this... she peered out harder and could make out the shape of Emily, tethered to the tail, painting the new name of their helicopter in big pink letters using her lipstick on the helicopter: The Drunk Mosquito. Note: this was NOT Ember's choice of name.

Beverly sat by the controls, scratching her head and looking puzzled. She'd done a lot of study of attack helicopters prior to our surprisingly successful theft, but she seemed utterly incapable of driving one.

"Uh... guys? How do we stop going up?"

Serena and Penelope shrugged. Ember shook her head, "You seriously forgot to check how to fly one of these before we left?"

"Uh... yes?" Beverly scratched her matted dark curls.

Ember groaned and rubbed her temples. If only Emily was inside... she seemed to have at least some idea what the hell to do. Possibly.

"But, look on the bright side," Penelope piped up, leaning heavily and awkwardly on Ember's shoulder, "High-flying sight-seeing!"

"Uh, we can't actually see anything," Ember pointed out, then noticed that Serena looked on the verge of a rage, "Serena, just chill, okay?"

"HOW CAN I CHILL WHEN WE'RE 45,089 FEET IN THE AIR AND RISING AND MY ASTHMA IS KICKING IN AND I ACCIDENTLY DROPPED MY PORTABLE PUNCHING BAG WHEN WE WERE RUNNING FROM THE SOLDIERS!?"

"You have a portable punching bag?" Beverly asked, "Could I use it? My arm muscles are kinda... wasting away."

"I JUST SAID I LOST IT AND YOU WILL BE MY PORTABLE PUNCHING BAG IF YOU DON'T SHUT YOUR GOB," Serena stormed off and seethed behind the back row of chairs, not actually meaning it but just raging.

"Okay," Beverly shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, anyone got some food?"

Ember sighed and slumped in her seat as Penelope began her doomed quest for food in the virtually barren helicopter. Just then, Emily slid inside, with a gush of air, covered in lipstick.

"Hey guysss," she shrills, "It's official - we're the DRUNK MOSQUITO! Anyone got vodka to drink to that?"

"Yes, actually..." Penelope holds a shiny bottle in one hand, "This is, like, all the food they've got. Better than nothing, though, right?"

Emily lunges for the bottle.

"Wait..." Ember reaches out and snatches the bottle first, "You're the only one who knows how to fly an attack helicopter. You're the designated driver... so get driving!"

Emily glares at Ember for a moment, then shoves Beverly out of the driver's seat.

"Aw, but I was just starting to enjoy this," Beverly whines, clutching feebly at the controls with her wasting-away arm muscles.

"Beverly, it's for the best," Ember soothes.

"Yeah!" Penelope cheers, "And besides, then you can hang with us at the back, right Serena?"

Serena grunts in response.

"See?" Penelope beams and drags weakly protesting Beverly to the back of the helicopter, "It'll be fun - like old times, y'know?"

Ember sighs and turns to Emily, who's sitting very chilled out behind the controls, pushing buttons, "So ah... can you actually fly this thing?"

"Oh absolutely?"

"Actually?" Ember presses.

"Well... yeah," Emily shrugs, "I mean, its got just a few more buttons than the Fortnite ones..."

Ember surveys the array of what appears to be thousands of flashing buttons, "And how many exactly do the Fortnite ones have?"

"Uh..." Emily breaks off to do a brief dance, "Like, it's got the up-and-down switch... and yeah."

"THAT'S IT?" Ember shrieks in dismay. Emily swings around, half expecting it to be Serena.

"Well, it's a computer game," she does a floss, "and there's not that much space on the screen... I'm sure this isn't much more complicated... right?"

"Doubt it," Ember mutters, peering out the window into the grey clouds of 5am, wondering if there's any chance they'll survive, "But wait... then you should be able to get us down then, right?"

"Oh yeah, of course," Emily blusters, ramming down a switch, "Didn't realise we wanted to go down."

The helicopter screeches to a halt in midair, then plummets. The gravity in the cabin drops almost to zero and Serena chucks up so her spew is floating around the cabin and everyone's screaming as Ember tries desperately to cling to something nailed down.

"EMILY! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TURN OFF OUR HEIGHT ALL TOGETH- ARGH!" Ember shrieks, "LOOK OUT!" the ground is racing up, trees and buildings and cars and then dirt raining all around as it lands with a jarring crash.

"Ow," Beverly rubs her head, "My head. Anyone got a bandaid?"

"It's not bleeding," Emily shrugs, "And I can't see any brain damage-"

"BRAIN DAMAGE!?" roars Serena, staggering to to doors and tumbling drunkenly out.

"Oh, don't mind her," Beverly shrugs, following her, "She just drank all the vodka - don't worry. I'll look after her."

"Make sure you don't-" Emily calls after them, cut off by the door slamming closed, "Never mind."

Penelope gets up, looking kind of shaken, grins, then hops lightly out of the cabin like nothing happened. Ember flops back on one of the cushy chairs, panting.

"You okay?" Emily asks Ember, flossing.

"Fine," Ember shrugs, "Let's go."

We hop out and stand with Penelope, Beverly and Serena, observing the park we crashed into, and the apartment buildings surrounding us. The lights are on in the early morning, and the trees lash in the residual wind from our helicopter. Then I see something moving.

"Uh..." I point nervously at one of the apartment buildings' entrances, "Are they... coming towards us?"