“Huh?” Danny made a confused sound as he quickly started tapping buttons in shock. However, nothing seemed to work. All the control panels and signals shut off out of nowhere. “Why? Why…?”
As he started to realize the disastrous problem, Danny started panicking. “The control panel.” He said as he looked over his shoulder in a hurry. “It stopped working.”
“What?” Arthur blurted out. “What do you mean?!”
“I can’t control the goddamn plane anymore! Something is wrong!”
Isla and Arthur looked at each other before they quickly approached Danny to check what was happening. As Danny described none of the main components of the aircraft was working anymore. It all turned off at the same time and slowly, the aircraft started going down, changing its direction again.
“Woah…” Arthur grabbed into the chair so as not to fall again. The aircraft’s automatic descension began again.
“Can you do something about it?” Isla asked.
“Not when the entire control panel is shut off. We need to reactivate it now.” Danny replied.
“What is the cause of this?” Arthur asked as he stepped forward and looked through the windshield to see what exactly was happening outside. Unbeknownst to the other two, his expression started to change once he took the scenery in.
“It could be many things like damaged components or even…”
“The source of energy was cut off.”
“Yes, that’s a possibility. Wait, how did you know tha-” Looking up in confusion, Danny saw the gloomy look on Arthur’s face. Then, his eyes moved to the windshield and that was when he saw the problem, as clear as day in front of their eyes.
“… You have got to be kidding me.” He muttered under his breath.
Outside, on the nose of the airplane, a massive hole could be seen that was torn into the wooden layer. Out of that hole, a small shiny orb came flying out as it was carried by the violent wind around it. It smashed into the side of the airplane again and again.
The only thing that stopped it from flying away into the sky beneath were a few wires that were linked to the orb. The three of them stared at it swinging around with speechless looks on their faces.
“… I guess we won’t need to search for the problem anymore.”
“Arthur… Shut up,” Danny replied in a daze.
“…”
For three seconds, nobody spoke a single word. That was when Arthur made the first move. Stepping forward, he approached the windshield as he clenched his fist.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Isla asked.
“I’m going to reattach the orb to the other wires.” He said as he aimed his fist to break the windshield.
“What? Are you crazy?! You won’t be able to hold on outside for a second!” Danny exclaimed with a frown.
“Do you have another choice? We only have like what, a minute before we fall to the ground? If you don’t want to die in a glorious explosion, we need that orb to fuel the aircraft again.” Arthur said.
“Are you sure about it, Arthur?” Isla looked into his eyes seriously.
“Yes. I know what I’m doing.” Arthur nodded his head seriously. “Trust me.”
Isla squinted as she tried to read his expression. Seeing the flicker of light in his eyes, she finally understood what he meant.
“…”
“Wait, I think I have some ropes on me,” Isla said as she opened her inventory.
“What?! That is so risky, leader!”
“We have no time to consider other things. If Arthur dies on his own, we can come back to him. If this aircraft falls, these two kids will die and never come back.” She replied coldly.
“*Snap* Exactly. Isla understands.” Arthur smiled as he grabbed the rope she handed to him and tied it around his waist. Then, from the other end, Isla tied it to the door behind her and made sure it was strong enough.
“Is it ready?”
“Yes, it’s ready. Danny and I will grab into it just in case something happens.”
“Ok, here goes nothing.” Arthur then slowly jumped on top of the control panel and tapped the windshield a few times searching for the weak points.
Danny watched how Arthur worked without any hesitation and he can only feel very weird about it. He had seen it before many times and yet it still weighs on his mind. How can Arthur be that nonchalant about doing these things? Even if this was simply a game, Arthur had never shown fear whenever he was about to commit something insane.
It was as if the boy didn’t know fear or as if fear didn’t bother him. But, Danny had fears, and doing something like this was definitely on that list. His fear of heights would cripple him.
‘How… How can he be like this…?’ He asked himself as he sensed that feeling welling in his heart. Eventually, without realizing it, he spoke. “You’re an insane person.”
Without realizing it, he had voiced his thoughts and Arthur heard him. With a confused look, he peeked over his shoulder at Danny. The two made eye contact for a second before Arthur grinned widely from ear to ear.
“Insane is my middle name.”
*CRACK*
Then, he smashed the glass with one clean punch. Instantly, a violent gush of air invaded the entire cockpit as Arthur was sucked out at a horrifying speed.
“Hold on!” Isla yelled as she grabbed the rope. Danny quickly followed suit as they rooted their legs into the ground, trying to fight the immense pressure of the outside world. It was strong enough to swing them around like weightless tree leaves.
Isla quickly looked outside, searching for Arthur. However, much to her horror, she couldn’t see him.
“Arthur! Are you there?” Grabbing her hair to stop it from flying everywhere, she called for him. But, there was no response for the first few seconds.
“Arthur!”
“Hnng…” At that moment, Isla saw a silhouette climbing from the side of the aircraft to the nose.
When Arthur was thrown outside, he found himself swinging to the side of the plane. The air smashing into his body felt like it was crushing him alive. But, he clenched his teeth through the pain and climbed the rope slowly, fighting the air that wanted to peel him off.
“This… Isn’t… Fun!” He growled as he grabbed into the nose of the plane and looked up. The orb was right in front of him, swinging everywhere like a fan.
‘Come on, it’s not that far. I can do it.’ He mused.
Then, Arthur started climbing up slowly, moving toward the edge of the plane carefully. He knew that any mistake would send him flying again. He only had a few dozen seconds before the entire plane fell to the ground. He had to hurry and he knew that very well.
But, it was all easier said than done. At one point, as he put his hand forward, his other hand slipped and he instantly was dragged back.
“Oh no.” Isla and Danny watched with shock as Arthur quickly activated one of his abilities.
His bloody claw stabbed into the wooden nose of the plane as he was being dragged with sheer force. Luckily, at the very last moment, he stopped.
‘Fuuh, that was close. Ok, let’s not be dumb here, Arthur.’ He spoke to himself.
The time remaining: 35 seconds.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
