Chapter 10: Turbulence

August 26, 2053

7:40 AM

Dear Diary,

I'm leaving in a few minutes to fly the plane...Shenbad's group is staying behind. It seems they don't have the will to fight...not even the one that voted we should go fight. And I...

I made a promse to keep fighting...

Haine, Lucy, Axel, Lexa, and I are the only ones that are going to Germany. Shenbad, he already told his plans to Lucy who in turn told it to all of us. We're going to meet up with a group of rebels and try to aid them as much as possible. It seems Haine, Lucy, and Lexa all had a change of heart after...what happened to Shenbad...

My heart still aches when I think about him...

~~

"It's like I traveled a hundred years into the future." Lucy said, amazed as she looked around the cockpit. "I'm surprised Axel and Lexa actually figured this out..."

"It's really more simple than it looks..." I said quietly, working on the controls.

"...Listen...Ruri..." Lucy began. "You...you don't need to come with us, you know. You can stay behind with...Shenbad's group. They're going to try and find more survivors..."

"I promised Shenbad I wouldn't stop fighting." I said, shaking my head. "I'm fine. Really..."

Lucy nodded her head, hardly convinced. "We're ready for takeoff anytime. Axel an Lexa triple checked everything...Call if you need something." With that, she left the cockpit to take a seat in the cramped cabin with everyone else.

"We're taking off." I said quietly into the intercom. I entered the coordinates, flipped a few switches and in the next moment, we were in the air headed for Germany. "Wir fliegen nach Deutchland...or something along those lines, huh?" Quietly, I sat in the captain's seat and leaned back, staring out into the clear sky.

After about an hour, I heard someone enter the cockpit and turned to see Haine.

"...Lucy said..." Haine began quietly. "Sitting up here would..."

"Go ahead." I said, pointing to the co-pilot seat. "...Motion sickness?"

"...Yeah." He replied, leaning back into the seat, avoiding looking out the window.

"...Afraid of heights?" I asked.

"This is...the first time I've flown..." Haine mumbled. "...Somewhat..."

I smiled slightly.

"...That's the first time, too." Haine said, meeting my gaze. I tilted my head at him.

"That's the first time you've smiled since Shenbad's death."

"O-oh..." I said, looking away. Since when had I become as "talkative" as Haine?

"Did he really mean that much to you?" He asked quietly and I in a quick breath.

"Yes." I said sadly, staring at the Shenbad's sword strapped to my hip. "I...I loved him."

"...If that's true, then stop sulking will you?" Haine said. I turned to him, surprised by his bluntness. "Your mood is only making everyone else unfocused."

"Sulking?" I laughed dryly. "Have you seen me cry a single tear? I'm flying this plane for you all, aren't I?"

"You're still depressed."

"Well what am I suppose to do?!" I exclaimed, no longer bothering to hold back my anger. "Shenbad died in my arms! Are you telling me I should just forget him?! Laugh like everything is alright?!"

"People are going to die." Haine retorted. "There's nothing we can do about it but move on. If you keep hanging onto what happened, you'll never survive."

I looked away, knowing he was right and hating him for it. No...it wasn't Haine that I hated. It was myself. I couldn't let go of Shenbad no matter how hard I tried to forget. I was...I was...weak.

Then suddenly, for the first time since Shenbad's death, I cried. Not like the time when I screamed at the sky until my throat ran dry...but quietly. As those tears left me, it felt like I was able to let go of all the pain still pent up inside me. Haine reached over and laid a hand on my shoulder, telling me in his own way that he was there for me.

"I'm not saying..." Haine began, his words soft and soothing. "I'm not saying you should forget him...Moving on doesn't mean you forget about things. It means that you have to accept what happend...and continue living."

I reached over and touched Haine's hand on my shoulder. Thankful that he was by my side. Quickly, I wiped away the last of my tears. Somewhat embarrassed he'd seen me like this.

"Done already?" He asked. I smiled and nodded my head. "He wouldn't like to see you crying, you know..."

"I...I know." I said, taking in a deep breath.

"...I don't...like it either." Haine said so quietly I doubted he'd said anything at all. But I smiled.

"Thank you...Haine."

A rough jolt woke me up immediately. Since the controls were all automatic, sleeping was the best pass time.

"Wha--!" Haine exclaimed, as he flipped out of his chair and smashed against the side of the cockpit roughly.

"Ever heard of seatbelts?!" I exclaimed over the loud blaring alarm.

"What's going on?!" Haine asked, jumping back into his seat and strapping himself down. His right arm hung loosely at his side and he clutched his shoulder tightly. Wincing at every slight movement.

"I don't know!" I cried, looking over the controls. "Something is wrong with the computer!"

"Computer?!" Haine looked at me, shocked. "What do you mean computer?!"

"Welcome to 2053!" I shot back. Sighing loudly, I shut down all systems and decided to fly manually.

"Do you know what you're doing?!" Haine asked, frantically, looking sick. We were losing altitude.

Fast.

"Er...kinda! Just...hold on tight!!! And brace for impact!

"Brace for WHAT?!"

I grabbed the yoke, pulling back hard, but not too hard and praying that the small knowledge I had of flying would start kicking in. We were headed straight for a forest, thick and dark. My heart began pounding in my chest like a drum and I could no longer hear the screaming alarm.

I'm not going to die here, not going to die here, not going to die, not going to die! I cried in my head so that it became a chant. Not die, not die, not die, not die!!

Over the nose of the plane, I spotted a clear blue lake. Landing on water is the best thing to do in emergencies, right? I hoped so. In the next moment, pine trees crashed against the plane's wings, ripping off the metal and wrenching me all around. Suddenly, we were rolling, plowing straight through trees and slamming onto the lake. Skidding over the surface like a rock. Suddenly I flashed back when I first landed in the middle of that desert in what seemed like an eternity ago. Emergency padding everywhere and a computer that guided me through the entire crash. Now it was just me. And the emergency padding was destroyed and removed by Axel and Lexa. Axel, Lexa, Lucy...Haine. I glanced over at the sickly looking man to my right. His white hair, red eyes...no. This would not be the last moment we spent together. I would pull us all through this!

I cried out as the water slowed the plane roughly. Suddenly I slammed forward in my seat, smashing my head against the wheel. For a moment I saw stars and in the next moment, there was an eerie silence. My heart was pounding in my ears and I was still shaking from adrenaline. We weren't moving. I looked around and saw some kind of raft had deployed beheath the plane, gently keeping us above the water.

"Ha...ha..." I laughed weakly, still shaking. "We're...alive." I exhaled loudly, so overtaken by relief I couldn't move.

"We're alive..." Haine said faintly. Looking like he was going to throw up any second. "Now...get me out of this thing."

 Thanks for reading! x3