Thrive in Catastrophe - Chap 23
“…what…who…”
At the mention of Heine, Xiao’s heart trembles.
He looks up at Liv, puzzled.
“Mark almost stepped on this little guy. Colonel picked it up and said ‘bring it to the rookie.’ ” Liv laughed at the memory. “We couldn’t find a container so Mark had to bring it all the way back in his hand.”
Xiao Yan didn’t think that Heine would have actually remembered that he loved the ocean.
Ah, Xiao thought to himself, don’t do this Burton. One minute you are twisting off my arm and the next you do something to so overwhelmingly thoughtful.
As though I mean something to you.
———————————
Early morning, several young men and women in uniform head into the No.2 aircraft. Xiao Yan was among them.
Inside the base’s control room, Heine Burton looks at the holographic screen until the aircraft’s feed is cut.
As he turned to leave, Colonel Raven spoke quietly and slowly. “Do you think you will remain content just watching him?”
Hein glanced over at Col. Raven who averts his gaze as he looks over a state document.
“What? Did you really think you were hiding it well? Come on. I used to be you partner.”
“That is my business.”
“You will get hurt Heine. He is too weak. When you lose him, the x-virus will not be able to heal that kind of pain.”
“Then I will teach him to be powerful. Goodbye Colonel Raven.”
___________________
Xiao Yan leans his face against the craft’s window
Below are a collection of tall buildings, all of which have been abandoned for hundreds of years. The city is lifeless, old, and decaying.
Because of the weathering, the cement has long peeled off and the reinforcements are exposed, their sharp ends reaching upward as if to pierce the sky.
The aircraft passed, and the vibrations of the engine collapsed one of the buildings completely, as though its heart had succumbed to despair.
Xiao looked on and his eyes widened in reverie. He imagined a world that had not been exposed to the comet virus. How busy and bustling would the world be outside of the Shire? How far would the expanse of city lights extend, how quickly would the maglev cars fly, how limitless would—
“Xiao Yan, are you not afraid.” His thoughts were interrupted by Lily’s question.
“Why do you ask? What are you afraid of?” Xiao Yan was full of enthusiasm.
“The first time you ever left the Shire, your craft crashed. You were the only survivor. If the Surge invades our craft the same thing will happen. We will crash.”
Below them, on the desolate streets wander its only inhabitants. Those infected with the comet virus. They looked up at the craft in the sky and flocked to the tallest building, stretching their arms as if they wanted to drag them to hell. They were too far away to see their horribly twisted expressions.
“We will be devoured by them. There will be no leftovers. We can’t assume we will be lucky enough for the special forces to rescue us in time, right? ”
Xiao Yan gripped Lily’s hand and winked. “If you are that scared, we could always do something to take your mind off of it.”
Lily was in the same class as Xiao Yan. She had the face of an angel and a body to tempt a saint. Lily had always been the subject of his fantasies. She was the only bright spot in his boring student life, well that and his friendship with Casey. Xiao Yan had always dreamed of her from afar and now he had the opportunity to share the same aircraft as her.
