by Caleb Karger
“Now boarding the flight to Washington.”
I had made sure I bought an aisle seat so whenever things went wrong, I wouldn’t have to crawl over the people next to me. I noted all of the exits on the plane. The closest one to me was the window exit, exactly five rows away. The second exit was the back door, ten rows away.
I shut my eyes and resisted the urge to tap my finger on the armrest. If I looked too fidgety, I would raise concern, but I didn’t fool the flight attendant.
“Is everything okay, sir?” she asked. The people nearby all looked at me. If they’d seen me at security, they were probably already concerned about my behavior.
“I’m afraid of flying, that’s all,” I said.
“Oh, well I assure you, we’ll be perfectly safe.” She walked away, and everyone stopped looking at me.
I took a deep breath as the plane taxied down the runway. Once the engines fired up, I could feel the plane getting lighter as we started to leave the ground. I scanned over the cabin. So far, everything was going smoothly. The plane climbed higher and higher into the sky. When we reached our cruising altitude, that’s when I noticed a faint ticking sound. It was much too quiet for any regular ear to pick up and was coming from the back. A cold chill went down my spine.
She put a bomb on the plane.
I unbuckled myself and walked to the back of the plane. Katherine had taught us how to disable a bomb, but I’d be lucky if I remembered how to do it now. As I got closer to the back, the ticking noise got louder and faster. It wasn’t coming from the overhead compartments. It must be taped to the underside of a seat. I followed the noise to the very last row on the plane. Only one person was sitting there.
Katherine was leaning against the window, casually watching the clouds outside. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to react to her. She said she was there to make sure everything went okay, not that she was a part of the test. I decided that meant I should pretend as if she wasn’t there.
I crouched down to see if the bomb was under the seat beside her. Her foot kicked my hand aside. I hissed and moved back. I looked at her, wondering what on earth she was doing. She gave me an evil eye and pulled out a cheap replica of a Betrayal mask. That could only mean one thing.
My heart thudded with panic. Katherine jumped out of her seat and kicked me in the chest. I flew backward, slammed into the side of a seat, and crumpled to the floor. People started screaming and looked back to see what was going on. I took this chance to put my mask on.
“What’s going on back here?” a man asked as he came up the aisle slowly with his hands held out in front of him. I ripped the armrest off of a chair and swung at Katherine’s head, but she ducked. “There’s no need for violence!”
I swung for her again, but she snatched the man and used him as a shield. I ended up knocking him out instead. She dropped him onto the floor. “The plane is mine,” she said and ran towards the front. Before I could follow her, I noticed the ticking had suddenly stopped.
“Oh, no.”
BOOM!!!
I spun around so quickly time seemed to stop. Everything around me appeared frozen in place. I could see the expressions of terror on every face, the air rippling as the bomb’s shockwave spread outward, and a cloud of fire was rising out of the back row. I ran towards the fire. I touched it and pulled the flames into me. The heat fused with my body, it felt like sinking into a hot tub.
When I returned to normal speed, it was like hitting the “play” button on the world. I got bombarded with the sound of screaming, the back of the plane tearing apart, and a fierce gust of wind. I grabbed onto a seat as the wind sucked everything out of the cabin. Cookies and books flew past. I snatched the guy I’d knocked out and strapped him into a chair.
“Everybody buckle up!” I yelled.
The plane lurched, and threw me onto the aisle floor. The plane made an awful shrieking sound as it dived towards the ground. I hung on for dear life and waited for the pilots to level the plane, but nothing happened. We hadn’t lost the wings, so there was no reason for us to be plunging towards our deaths. Something must’ve happened to them.
I started crawling to the front of the plane. I could hear people fighting over the oxygen masks that had dropped down from the ceiling. One guy lost it so much; he was trying to escape out of a window. As I reached the cockpit, I saw the door had been kicked open. The pilots were unconscious. I struggled to stand up.
Katherine suddenly stood in my way, greeting me with a punch to the face. I fell back onto the floor. My cheek throbbed, the inside had torn on my teeth. I didn’t have time to recover. She jumped on me and wrapped her fingers around my throat. I brought my knee into her back as hard as I could. She growled and tightened her grip on my throat.
With my air cut off, my lungs started to go berserk. They stung and screamed and demanded air. I could feel my mind slipping out of focus. I held her wrists and fought to overcome her strength, but it was useless. Desperate for air, I raised the temperature of my hands. She grunted as her skin sizzled underneath my grip. Unable to take the pain, she let go. I threw her off of me and dashed into the cockpit.
I pulled one of the pilots out of his seat and sat down. There were thousands of switches, buttons, and dials in front of me. All of the little words posted by the controls were blurry as a result of the adrenaline pulsing through my system. I shook my head and struggled to calm down. I searched for the autopilot control. I flipped the switch to disengage. I took the control yoke and pulled it back. Using the horizon, I did my best to level the plane.
Katherine came back with a vengeance. She jammed a pen into my chest. I cried out and ripped the pen free. Blood oozed into my shirt. Her fist struck the side of my head. The world almost disappeared, but I fought to stay conscious.
I pulled the yoke down with me as I fell over. The plane began to spiral down towards the ground. Both of us got tossed around the cockpit. I hit the ceiling, then the floor, and then the windows.
Katherine kicked off of the wall and crashed into me. The windows shattered and we went flying outside. We were tangled together, spinning end over end. I saw the dark smudge of the ground and then the bright blue of the sky. Light then dark. Light then dark. I cut myself on the many shards of glass falling all around us. At last, I wedged my foot in between our bodies and kicked us apart.
I spread my arms and legs to create as much drag as I could. The plane caught up to me. I tried to steer myself towards the nose but went sliding over the top instead. My fingers squeaked against the smooth surface, unable to gain purchase. I punched into the metal to create handholds and I crawled back to the cockpit to go in through the broken window.
I collapsed into the pilot’s chair and took the yoke again. The wind was so strong it was impossible to see, everything looked fuzzy. I yanked the yoke back, but the plane took a minute to comply. I watched in horror as it seemed like the plane was going to slam into the ground.
“Come on!” I shouted. I closed my eyes and waited for the hard impact. The plane turned enough in time; only the belly scraped over the ground.
The plane turned dangerously sideways. A wing broke off, causing an explosion, and the plane was thrown up. We slammed back into the ground, breaking the other wing. What remained of the body rolled out of control.
The force shoved me into the controls, then I hit the back of my seat, and finally the floor. I could hear the ground ripping apart, and trees getting pulled up as the plane skidded across the ground. The cabin shuddered, and the metal frame whined with strain. I feared the whole thing would collapse, but at last, we came to a stop.
Beep, beep, beep the alarms chimed. My ears were ringing. I tested my fingers to see if I was capable of movement. They twitched. I clutched my stomach in pain. I had hit it pretty hard on the control yoke. I coughed as a plume of black smoke filled the air. As quickly as I could, I got up. I had ninety seconds to get everyone out before the cabin became too clogged with smoke. I squinted to try to see and stumbled
out of the cockpit.
The plane lay on its side. The left wall of the plane was now the floor. The passengers were dangling in their seats. I pressed my hands on what was once the ceiling. They glowed with heat and melted through the layers of material. I ripped a chunk out of the roof and created an exit.
A handful of people were able to unbuckle themselves. They plopped unpleasantly onto the “floor” and limped towards the hole I’d made. The rest were glued to their seats. Their fear had gotten the better of them. I had to climb to unbuckle the petrified passengers. Once I freed them, I lowered them down and nudged them towards the exit. It was enough to bring them back to their senses, and they found their way out.
I was wheezing from the smoke. My eyes were burning. I had to feel my way around. I checked every seat. Some people I found lying in random places and I dragged them outside not knowing whether they were alive or dead.
I looked around and saw we’d landed in a corn field. The wreckage was horrific. There was debris everywhere, suitcases had been thrown open, and clothes littered the ground, along with pieces of the wings.
Survivors were crying, praying, and calling their loved ones. Some were looking around like they were lost while others yelled for help. One of the passengers appeared to be a doctor. She huddled over one of the unconscious people I’d pulled free. No one noticed how strange I looked in a ninja get-up.
I crouched down to feel for pulses on the other unconscious people. They were still alive. I used the clothes lying all over the place to wrap some of their wounds. It wasn’t long before I heard sirens in the distance. While I waited for the ambulances, I did a head count and sighed with relief. Everyone had made it.
Exhausted, I flopped onto the ground. I had done it. I passed my last test.
But then I looked up and wondered where Katherine was. A twinge of fear struck me. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been falling from the sky with no parachute. Did I kill my commander? I was about to search for her when a hand grasped my shoulder.
Katherine smiled at me. She was covered in dirt with a few cuts on her forehead. “But…you were falling…how’re you alive?” I asked.
“Grabbed onto the plane,” she said. The emergency vehicles arrived. Police ran onto the scene. “Let’s get out of here.”
By the time we got back, it was late in the afternoon. I was eager to get inside the house. Lily had been the last to go before me, so I didn’t know how she had done. I practically threw myself through the front door, but the living room was empty. I searched the kitchen and the basement, no one was there. Finally, I found everyone outside, sitting in the grass chatting. Lily and Hot Stuff perked up when they saw me.
“So, did you make it?!” Hot Stuff asked. I nodded. Both girls squealed with delight. They got to their feet and hugged me.
“Seems like everyone has made the cut,” Katherine said as she walked up to us. “Either I made the tests too easy, or I trained you all very well.” She crossed her arms and eyed something on the ground. “There’s only one more thing I want you all to do.”
Everyone exchanged weary glances. Katherine had never asked us to do anything easy. I’m sure the others were just as worn out as I was. What more did she need us to do? She gestured for everyone to get to their feet. Weeks of training made us habitually form a line.
“The masters have instructed the ninja to not only hide our identities from the world and each other, but to forget ourselves completely. They believe that when you commit to this cause, you leave everything behind. They don’t care if your duty takes your life, or your friend’s life. They say we are all pawns to the greater good, but I don’t agree with that. You’re my squad and I want you to remove your masks,” Katherine said.
“What…?” someone whispered.
“Go on,” she said. Tentatively, everyone pulled their masks off. “Look at the faces beside you.”
I glanced at the others. It was strange to see their naked faces. I had tried to imagine what was under each mask, but my imagination had done a sorry job. I was surprised by how perfect and beautiful each face was.
“In my team we are not a bunch of drones. Each of us has a name, each of us has had different struggles to overcome. You are no longer a kid on the streets, you aren’t the girl who thought she wasn’t brave, and you aren’t the outcast at school. When you are in that uniform you are Wolf, the guy who can still the ocean. You’re Spaz, the kid who can outrun a bullet. Every one of you is unique, every one of you is a vital part of this team,” Katherine said. “Tomorrow you will be sworn into the ninja. So tonight, I want to have a night of fun together before the real work begins. We’re going camping.”
Chapter 16
Nocturnal
T he silence in the forest got obliterated as I hit the ATV’s accelerator. The engine rumbled. The tires kicked up the mud on the trail. I was sprayed with water as I drove through a puddle.
Ahead of me, Katherine was speeding around the bends. She wasn’t afraid of falling off of the mountain. My speed was already risky enough, but I’d lose sight of her soon if I didn’t do something. At last, I saw a shortcut through the trees.
I veered off of the trail and onto some rugged terrain. The handlebars vibrated as I went over a pile of boulders. I had to dodge a few branches while the bushes snagged my pants. I used a big rock as a ramp and flew through the air. I shouted half with excitement and the other half with fear. I landed roughly back onto the trail.
I glanced back as Katherine drifted around the corner. She wasn’t happy that I’d stolen the lead. Her ATV roared and caught up to me. I swerved all over the place to make sure she couldn’t pass.
The trail grew narrow as we drove onto the unstable ledge of a cliff face. Without warning, Katherine drove over the edge. “Katherine!” I shouted. Had something gone wrong? I squeezed the brakes and leaned over.
I expected to see a splat on the valley far below, but she was driving horizontally across the steep mountainside. She must’ve used her powers to keep the tires glued to the ground. Bushes and boulders moved out of her way. Smiling and laughing, she came back onto the trail in front of me once more.
“Cheater!” I hollered and chased after her.
The air was getting colder. The sky was a dim blue now that the sun had disappeared behind the mountains. I turned the ATV’s lights on. As it got darker, the trees went from brown to black, and the world shrank down to the area my headlights illuminated. I depended on Katherine’s taillights to show me the way.
After an hour, she slowed down and pulled over. I parked next to her. I peered around in confusion. She hadn’t brought me back to the campsite.
I pulled my helmet off. “What’re you doing?” I asked.
“I wanted to show you something,” she said. “We have to be really quiet, though.” She dismounted and waved me over to the trees. As I followed her, I noticed that her clothes were spotless while I looked like a mud monster.
Away from the lights of the ATVs, the landscape was pitch-black. If I’d put my hand in front of my face, I wouldn’t have seen it. My feet found every twig on the ground, and my head kept knocking into branches. When I stubbed my toe on a boulder, it broke apart.
“We’ll never get close if you keep that racket up,” Katherine whispered. I frowned and did my best to be more careful. Then, I walked right into her. Our heads bumped. “Ow!” Her hand fumbled across me in search of something. Finally, she grasped my hand. Her fingers were freezing. “Thank God you’re warm.” She put the back of my hand to her cheek. I felt the heat in my body intensify. “It’s getting cold out.”
“Glad I could be of service,” I said. She started walking again, pulling me along behind her. The ground was suddenly clear of the things I kept tripping on.
Without my sight, it was easier to pick up the sounds around us. In the distance, an owl hooted. A lone bat passed overhead. The wind sounded like a giant sighing.
Some of the darkness lifted as the clouds moved away from th
e moon, silver light touched the ground. Katherine led me up a steep hill. We crouched down low as we got to the crest, only our heads poked over the top. From there, we could see a part of the forest that had been damaged by a fire. Charred tree stumps covered the ground for miles. She pointed to what she wanted me to see.
At first, it looked like two trees were moving, but then I noticed they were no ordinary trees. They wore robes that seemed every shade of green depending on how the light hit them. Their branches resembled crowns coming out of their long white hair. Instead of a trunk, they had torsos with arms and legs. Their hands looked like branches while their feet looked like roots. The creatures had pale faces. Around their lips and eyes were cracks like every time they blinked or spoke the skin tore. Blue light emanated from their mouths and irises as if their innards were made of light.
“What are those?” I whispered.
“Elves,” Katherine said.
“I thought elves weren’t real. Aren’t they something someone made up?”
“Even made up stories were inspired by real things. Dragons, elves, and all that are real. A long time ago they were endangered. The ninja felt like the humans couldn’t handle their existence, so we gave them a new home. Occasionally, we let them come back. The elves help preserve what’s left of the green places on Earth,” she said. Her eyes filled with sadness. “I’m afraid someday there will be nothing left for them to look after.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess humans haven’t been all that nice to the planet. Why haven’t the ninja done anything?” She frowned and tossed a tiny pebble aside.
“We’ve tried. The recycling and renewable energy campaigns haven’t caught on as quickly as we would’ve liked. Remember, we have to guide the humans subtly. We can’t just push change onto them. We have to make them want it for themselves. Right now, they don’t,” she said.