The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 81: The Airport

And so it was on. The race to reach the Capital to free their families from the ARKs had begun, and with the United Intelligence Agency most likely on their tail, it was also a race against time. They would have to be swift.

“So how do we proceed?” Calem asked as they drove in Sam’s police car. With Sam’s police cruiser, and the sirens on, all of the vehicles on the freeway drove to the side to let them go. Warren sat in the passenger seat, peering into the rearview mirror for any suspicious cars that might be following them.

“We must go to the airport and fly to the Capital. It’s located in the Caribbean, there’s no other way.”

“I heard that’s expensive though,” Son noted, “A few thousand per ticket just to go there. Are you sure we have the money for that? Why don’t we just sail there?”

“Me and Sam will pull it all together.”

“What?!” Sam said, looking at Warren in horror while her hands twisted the wheel. The cruiser twisted to the left to avoid a van that wouldn’t move. Sam looked ahead at the approaching city. There were no airports in Star City. The closest one was in the old capital, Washington DC.

“Fine. We’ll do it,” she decided. She brushed her hair to the side, her foot pressing harder on the acceleration pedal.

Big Jack squirmed in the middle back seat, looking past the bars of the cage nervously. He began to bite at his nails. Son looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Why are you so nervous?” Son asked. Big Jack looked back at Son and shrugged.

“I, uh, have never been outside of Star City,” Big Jack admitted. Calem snorted. Big Jack continued, “I’m a little afraid. What if people see me as a freak?”

Son rolled his eyes.

“Big Jack… If you were a freak, you’d be a huge one. I don’t think anyone would even look in your direction.”

Big Jack smiled at his words, looking ahead at the approaching city. Large towers and obelisks were visible on the skyline, and as they drove into the city they could see more buildings made of stone and brick than cement and steel.

“Here we are. Washington DC.”

WOOSH!

The sound of a roaring engine passed over them, and Big Jack looked on in awe to see an airplane fly above them westward. Big Jack pointed at it curiously.

“Woah! I’ve never seen an airplane before! That’s what they look like?” Big Jack asked. Calem nodded silently, running his fingers along the leather cover of Tales of Evolution and Survival.

“That’s exactly what it is. You’ve never seen a plane before?”

“Nope. Like I said… I’ve never been outside of Star City.”

“You’re a strange little man, Big Jack,” Calem told him. Big Jack scratched the back of his head and laughed.

“I guess I am huh? Well I’m just glad that I’m saving my son with some friends instead of doing it alone. Thank you all for letting me stick around.”

Warren couldn’t help but smile at his words. He looked at the back mirror with a smile.

“Of course, Big Jack.”

After a few more minutes of driving through the streets of Washington DC, they passed by a large palace that seemed to be made of sandstone and quartz. It was huge. A flag of the United Republic of Democracies was planted in the front lawn, and a bunch of gardeners were tending to it.

“Pretty big palace huh? They called it the White House. But they don’t use it anymore,” Sam explained, “According to the history books, before the United Republic of Democracies and the Western States of America, there was a nation called the United States of America. This was where their president left.”

“In this huge city where anything could go wrong?” Big Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow. Sam nodded.

“Yep. That’s in fact what happened to the last president of the USA. She was assassinated and it plunged the whole nation into turmoil, ultimately causing the creation of two separate countries. Do you not know this? This is a necessary curriculum for a high school education!”

“Oh! Yeah, I didn’t go to school.”

“Well that explains a lot,” Son muttered.

“Hey… I couldn’t go, okay? I had to help my dad. And my mom. With work,” Big Jack frowned. Warren could’ve sworn a tear formed in his eye. Warren frowned.

“Sorry Big Jack.”

Big Jack smiled again at Warren’s words.

“Thanks Judge. You’re a nice guy even though you’re a good fighter and even though you look mean. And you know what…” Big Jack decided, “You don’t need to call me Big Jack. Call me by my real name. Jack.”

“Okay Jack. Whatever floats your boat.”

A few more moments of driving, and they eventually reached a large airport. It was a huge glass dome that reflected the sunlight off it and blinded their eyes. Airplanes took off from the runways connected to it to fly to who knew where.

They soon drove into a driveway where tons of cars were dropping off families with suitcases. They drove past the drive through and into the parking lot, where Sam parked.

“Alright. Let’s move. Hopefully we don’t already have a hit out for us and hopefully the United Intelligence Agency isn't waiting for us at those doors,” Sam said. Jack suddenly became nervous.

“Um. If that’s the case why are we going in there?”

“If they’re there… Well, we’ll figure it out,” Calem decided. Son grumbled, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t know if I like this plan,” Son said.

“Me neither,” Warren added on, “Can we at least have a plan if we do?”

“Too late Warren. We’re already going in,” Sam said, walking toward the front doors. Her long black-blonde hair swayed in the wind as it did. Warren blinked his eyes as he stared at her, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

“You’ll always be you no matter what huh?” Warren thought as he followed after her. Their new friends followed too.

As they walked into the dome, they were greeted with the chattering of excited strangers, eager for their vacations. Some weren’t eager, notably children, who were crying and complaining to their elders. Warren looked around the dome, his eyes darting left to right. There were no suspicious-looking individuals, and no one paid any attention to them.

“Looks like we’re safe to go. Now let’s go buy some tickets to the Capital. Then, we’ll be good to go,” Sam decided.

The five of them walked up to the front counter, where a line of airport employees waited, typing away on their computers reports and other doodads. They picked the shortest line, and when it was their turn they quickly bought tickets for the earliest flight to the Capital.

“Mission success. Wasn’t so bad now was it Warren?” Sam smirked as she waved the ticket in Warren’s face. Warren felt himself growing more and more nervous under Sam’s gaze. He averted his attention to the terminals.

“Let’s go already… We don’t wanna be late for our flight,” Warren said. He stared at Jack who was staring at his ticket and holding it up to inspect the light.

“Oooh,” Jack muttered under his breath.

The five quickly made their way to the terminal, where people were already beginning to board it. The five waited in line, and as they reached the tunnel an attendant whipped out a scanner and scanned all their tickets. The woman smiled brightly at them and showed them the tunnel.

“Warren Justice, Samantha Stone, Jack Jones, Son Ngo, and Calem Donovan. Please enjoy your flight!”

The five of them began to walk through the tunnel, carrying nothing with them except for a weird book written by the President and a backpack filled with money and a few other snacks. They reached the inside of the plane cabin, and began to look around for their seats. The groups were clustered up in pairs.

“Alright. This is my seat. Looks like I’ll have to sit with a rando,” Calem said, staring at the A column. He took a seat down on it, and stuffed the book into the net storage. He looked at the others.

“I’ll see ya around then… Not too sure why I’m saying this though. We’ll see each other in a few hours.”

Calem began to look out the window, waiting for the plane to take off. Son and Jack conveniently had the seats right behind him. Jack got the window seat while Son got the aisle. As Jack got accustomed to the plane seat, he stretched his legs out and felt someone’s pants. Calem got annoyed and kicked his toes, and Jack let out an “Ouch!”. Son rolled his eyes and took out a sleeping mask, placing it over his eyes and instantly falling asleep.

Warren and Sam’s seats were all the way near the back of the plane. As they squeezed past civilians and stray suitcases, they made it to the back and it was then Warren realized that there were only two empty seats remaining. And they were right next to each other.

“Where is your seat?” Warren asked, looking around with confusion. He sat down next to the window, “I don’t see it-”

Sam took a seat next to him, much to his surprise. Warren opened his mouth to speak, but Sam quickly hushed him.

“Shut up… There were no other seats left,” she whispered, turning a slight shade of red. Warren blinked his eyes, and looked out the window, watching the plane zoom past the runway and fly off into the sky.