by Katrina Cope
“What’s up, Professor Anna?” Aaron sounded keen to help.
“We have discovered a terrorist or terrorists,” she explained briefly. She walked away from the dining room, and the students fell into step with her until they reached the video tech room.
Professor Anna filled them in as they walked. “Avando has had word that there are terrorists on a plane full of people. They are threatening to take the plane down and kill all the people on board if they do not get their demands met. You don’t negotiate with terrorists, as this only encourages them, so we need to take control of the plane.”
“How are we going to do that?” Jayden asked.
“First, we are going to get Eva to try out her hacking skills.”
They entered the room and closed the door behind them. Jayden heard something in the corner of the room. He glanced around at the others, but they didn’t seem to notice. To put his mind at ease, he went to investigate only to come up empty, so he went back to join the others.
“What am I supposed to be hacking into?” Eva asked the professor.
“You’ll be hacking into the plane’s control panel to operate it remotely.”
“Okay.” Eva looked unsure as she reached around to turn on the computer. “That sounds tricky. I may be able to hack into the system, but I sure as anything can’t fly a plane.”
Professor Anna put an arm around her shoulders as they waited for the computer to boot. “I realize that, darling. Together, we’re going to do our best to save these people. I will get Aaron to do his best at operating the plane.”
“I can’t fly planes.” The color had left Aaron’s face. “How am I supposed to fly a plane?”
“I hear you like to play the simulator games, which also have a flying operation in them,” Professor Anna said.
“Yeah, I do.” Aaron sounded hesitant. “But that’s just a game.”
“Oh, Aaron dear. Yes, it is a game, but the simulator games are a replica of real-life situations and operations.” Professor Anna’s face was sympathetic. “So even though you don’t realize it, you are very close to knowing how to operate a real plane.”
“Are you serious?” Aaron’s mouth was open in disbelief.
She smiled and nodded.
The computer had booted, and Eva tied her hair back in a ponytail. “I need some information about the plane.”
“I have it all here.” Professor Anna handed Eva a piece of paper with information on it. Eva took the paper, read the details, and instantly went to work with her hacking process. Jayden watched from over her shoulder, amazed at how gifted she was. He had no idea what she was doing, although it looked impressive. She sat on the edge of her seat while he stood quietly behind her, nervously twiddling his thumbs.
“Right, Robert”—Professor Anna broke the silence—“I need you to go over and set up the flying simulator ready for Aaron to use once Eva has hacked into the plane’s controls.”
“Is there anything you want me to do?” Jayden asked.
“Probably the best thing you could do right now would be to go and wait, ready to assist Aaron,” Professor Anna said.
“On it.” Jayden left Eva’s side to be with Aaron. He sat down in the co-pilot seat and gripped the steering handles in front of him.
After what seemed like an extensive amount of time, Eva gave an excited cheer. “I’m in!”
Robert and Eva were working on audio transmissions so that they would be able to hear the pilots in the cockpit.
Looking at the screen in front of them, Jayden could see that the plane was heading downwards fast. It was plummeting at a ridiculous speed toward the middle of a medium-sized town. Immediately, Jayden and Aaron grabbed the steering controls and directed the plane into the air again. They breathed a massive sigh of relief as they saw the lights of the town disappear from their vision. A cheer of excitement erupted from the students. They had managed to stop the plane from crashing into the town.
It wasn’t long after that they heard voices come over the speaker from the plane. Robert exclaimed, “I did it! I got the audio working.”
“Great work, Robert!” Professor Anna congratulated him.
He turned and smiled proudly at her.
A voice over the speaker sounded frustrated and outraged. “What are you doing?”
Another voice came over the speaker. It sounded panicked and almost pleading. “Nothing! I promise I didn’t do anything.”
The angry male’s voice responded. “You must have done something. You have changed the direction of the plane.”
“No, I didn’t! I promise.” The voice pleaded, “You must believe me.”
The harsh voice returned. “I don’t have to believe anything. I know what happened. You’re the pilot. You changed the direction of the plane.”
A knot tightened in Jayden’s stomach as the conversation continued.
“I didn’t, I promise.” The pilot sounded frantic.
“I don’t believe you.”
A sound like a gunshot rang through the audio, and the students gazed at one another in distress. Each of them wore a look of disbelief. A loud thud sounded across the speaker. Jayden thought it sounded like a body falling to the ground.
The angry voice said, “That’ll stop you from doing that again. I don’t take defiance well. All that goes against me will be dealt with appropriately. It looks like I have to do this myself. It always seems to be that way.”
A silent scream filled Jayden’s body as he watched the plane’s direction being readjusted to plummet into the town again. Not only were the people in the town in danger—so were the people in the passenger plane. Jayden and Aaron worked on the plane’s steering, inching it away from the town. At first, they seemed to succeed, but then Eva let out a frustrated groan. Something seemed to have disabled her remote access.
The two boys continued trying, but they didn’t have much luck. The terrorist must have overridden the autopilot, disabling their ability to control the plane.
He was now controlling it manually. It was the only reasonable explanation. Though they tried as hard as they could, they were not succeeding. The teens watched in dread as the plane continued to plummet to the ground. They heard muffled screams that must have been resonating through the door into the cockpit. The terror of the people leaked into the students’ bodies. They didn’t know what else to do. Jayden glanced at Eva to see her head bent over the keyboard then peering up at the monitor of the computer with an anxious expression on her face. Her skin was whiter than a ghost. She continued working, doing her best to regain control of the plane to save those innocent people.
Jayden turned back to the simulator screen in front of him. Next to him, Aaron was still jerking on the controls of the simulator, trying to pull it up. Not a single thing had changed on the screen in front of him. The plane was still plummeting straight to the earth, and many lives were facing the last seconds of their existence. In less than a minute, the screen went black. That was it. No more noise, no more screams, and no more grumbles from the angry terrorist. He had completed his suicide mission.
The students and Professor Anna sat in shock. Silence filled the room. No one spoke, and nothing moved. Eventually, out of the corner of his eyes, Jayden saw movement in the previously motionless room. He turned to see Professor Anna with a tear-stung face, rubbing her hands up and down along her forearms nervously.
Still at the computer screen not far from Professor Anna, Eva slumped, motionless, staring blankly at the screen in front of her. Tears were streaming down her face, her chin stuck out, and her lips quivered.
The boys also sat motionless and depressed until curiosity got the better of Robert. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV. “We have to see who is responsible for this attack. Although this saddens us, we cannot let these people do it again.” He turned the channel to the news in the hope of finding some information about the incident that just took place.
It wasn’t long before the news started to cover
the story. They were relieved to find out that it missed the town and the damage was only to the plane and the people inside. Amazingly, they already had news crews at the scene, taking live footage of the area and the carnage of the plane wreck. It was a mess. It had been ripped open and torn apart, with people’s belongings strewn in every direction. Bodies lay covered with sheets. Eventually, it showed a small mound covered with a cloth. Not far away, the camera crew zoomed in on a child’s teddy bear lying in the carnage.
Eva’s strained demeanor broke its barriers, turning her into a hysterical mess. The tears came wildly, loudly, and passionately. They had failed. Abruptly, she stood, pushing her chair back with her legs. Then without a word, she ran from the room.
Before it registered in Professor Anna’s and the boys’ minds, Eva was long gone. Professor Anna left the room in search of her, with the boys following, yet all signs of her had disappeared. They searched the entire building and Eva’s room but couldn’t find her.
“I’m going to try a few places outside,” Jayden said. “Are you guys coming?”
Aaron and Robert nodded in agreement.
“Great idea. I’m going to stay inside the Sanctum and keep an eye out for her in here,” Professor Anna said. “But as we have already checked everywhere inside we can think of, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was outside.” A sad smile crossed her face, and she ruffled Jayden’s hair affectionately. “So go and find her, kiddo.”
Jayden smiled at Professor Anna. “Will do. I have a plan. First, though, I need something of Eva’s.”
Professor Anna’s brows pushed together. “I think I saw her jacket in the computer tech room over her chair.”
“Perfect. We’ll stop in there on our way out and grab it.” With Jayden leading the way, they headed toward the computer tech room, collected the jacket, and wandered through the lobby and out the door. It was still raining profusely outside. The cold rain combined with the wind was extremely uncomfortable and very unpleasant, but finding their friend was more important than avoiding getting wet. As they walked away from the mountain that was their building, Jayden saw something in the corner of his eye. He looked toward the movement and spotted a man in the distance. Like them, the man seemed drenched to the bone from the rain and was running in the opposite direction. It was normal to see Charlie wandering around, rain, hail, or shine. Even though the image was too far away for him to recognize who it was, Jayden assumed it was Charlie and continued rushing toward the dog kennels.
“Where are we going first?” Robert’s voice rose as he slipped a little in some mud. He threw his arms out, managing to regain his balance in an instant.
“I’m going to the dog kennels,” Jayden said, wiping the rain out of his eyes. “Then I will be able to see if she’s got Bessie. If she hasn’t, then I can take Barney out, let him sniff this jacket and put his training to the test.”
“Smart thinking, man.” Aaron shielded his eyes from the rain with a hand. “He’s supposed to be the best dog for finding people.”
They made it to the kennels, and Robert went directly to where Bessie slept. The chocolate-brown Labrador that he and Eva shared was gone. “She’s not here,” he called over the rain as he dodged the puddles on his way back to them.
“Well, then,” Jayden said, looking at the huge wet fluff ball that was Barney, “it looks like we’re putting you to the test, little man.”
Barney saw his two human friends standing outside his kennel. His immense form bounded excitedly toward them, wagging his tail with vigor and curving his spine from side to side in joy.
Aaron opened his kennel door, and the soggy, wet brown-and-white Saint Bernard bowled him over, landing him on the muddy ground. Barney stood over Aaron, licking his face. Aaron cringed in disgust, yet he loved Bernie’s affections so much that he wouldn’t dream of stopping him. Covered in mud, leaves, and smelly dog water, Aaron saw the funny side and chuckled underneath the big fur ball.
Jayden and Robert laughed, watching Aaron get a dog-saliva bath.
When the dog’s greeting was over, Jayden attached a walking lead to his collar and gave him a big sniff of Eva’s jacket. “Find Eva, Barney.”
Barney took a big whiff then started pulling them. Bounding across the open-planned area in almost record speed, he pulled them toward the trees. Delayed by the leaves above them, the rain didn’t fall as hard under the trees. They didn’t have to shield their eyes as much from the water, but the trees harbored the darkness, making it harder to see.
Still, Barney pushed on. “Saint Bernard dogs find people in the snow. So let’s hope that they’re just as good in pouring rain,” Jayden said to the other two boys.
Aaron and Robert nodded, hoping Barney knew what he was doing. They seemed to be going deeper and deeper into the woods, without a clue if they were heading in the right direction. It appeared as though they were going on forever, even though it had only been a few minutes.
Barney halted unexpectedly, nearly causing Jayden to trip over the top of him. At the last second, Jayden managed to sidestep, dodging the friendly, soggy beast. Without saying anything, he looked ahead of Barney to try to work out why he had suddenly stopped. He let his eyes wander farther, looking intently at the ground and in between the trees. Eventually, his eyes fell on a large dark patch on the ground up in front of them.
The three boys and Barney crept forward, quietly and cautiously watching as the top layer of the dark patch moved up and down in jagged movements. The closer they came to the dark patch, the more they heard weird grunting sounds that synchronized with the jagged movements of the top layer. A colossal moan sounded from this dark patch. The boys looked at each other as understanding dawned on them, and they moved forward quietly.
They could see more clearly once they were closer. Something lay in front of them, covered in layers of mud. It took them a moment to realize it was Eva. She was unrecognizable. She was lying on her side with her arms around Bessie, who was also lying down and facing her. The two were entwined, and they were head-to-head. Eva was crying with an intense passion, and Bessie lay next to her friend, licking away the tears of pain.
The boys’ hearts melted, and they felt her sadness. They moved forward in unison and sat down around her, each placing a comforting hand on her in understanding. She continued to release her disappointment in their failure to help the people and the pain caused by the loss of the innocents.
- Chapter Ten -
Scarlet’s Secret
Much had happened to remind Eva of the past. It had been a day filled with awfulness and similarities to events from her history, a history that, like the day, was filled with too much sadness and far too much grief. She didn’t know how she was supposed to cope.
Eva lay on her side, barely aware that she was physically drenched to the bone. Underneath her was hard, sloppy, and wet soil, and pieces of stick and rock jabbed into her side. Her head was on the ground, and her face was partially covered in mud. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the splashes of mud and rain. Her hair was matted, and even though she liked to keep herself clean, neat, and tidy, the fact that she was a complete mess was shoved aside by her grief.
The one thing that was getting through to her, though, was the warmth and friendship which came with the licking tongue that constantly wiped away the tears and mess from her face. There were moments when Eva was able to open her puffy eyes and look appreciatively at her warm, furry friend, Bessie. They faced one another with arms and paws wrapped around each other.
Eva knew that what they had just been through was only a mission, and even though she felt grief for not being able to rescue the people, the truth was that the mission was too close to her heart. Although it had occurred many years before, her grief was still raw. Not only had it been a tragedy, but it was also the start to her life on the streets. She hadn’t told many people, keeping her grief to herself, covering it with pickiness and sometimes harsh words.
Many of the students at the Sanctum
were there mostly because of neglect, abuse, or disaster that stemmed from their parents. Eva, on the other hand, felt very loved by her parents and only remembered loving moments about their time together. She used to go to a top-notch private school, having been awarded a full scholarship for her math, science, and puzzle-solving abilities. They followed her with their support, and she had felt nothing but love.
Many years ago, her parents decided to go on a second honeymoon, leaving Eva at home with her grandparents. While they were on their way to a holiday destination, a terrorist took over their plane and crashed it into a building to make a statement.
Upon finding out the news, her grandmother, whom she loved dearly, died from a heart attack from the shock. This left her to be looked after by her aunt and uncle, who were happy to receive her parents’ money from the will, which was meant to go toward raising Eva. Instead, they spent it all on themselves and treated Eva like a good-for-nothing servant girl. Even after proving herself to be better than that by continuing to achieve exceptional grades, they didn’t change the way they treated her.
After a few years of that kind of abuse, Eva decided to run away, looking for a better life, and she ended up on the streets, which was how Avando found her. She didn’t do drugs or the other things usually pursued by people on the street, and she was glad of that decision every day. Not only did she have a life better than what she believed she deserved, but she also had the opportunity to try to stop terrorists. Most of the time, they were successful, but sometimes, they weren’t. What had upset her so was that it had been a situation too similar to the death of her loving parents.
Eva didn’t know how long she had been on the same spot on the ground dealing with her deep distress. She was in almost a trancelike state of depression when she felt several pairs of hands resting softly on her body. It might not have seemed like it to her comforters, but she did appreciate the gesture.
~~~~~