War and MG Chap 14

“So that’s what we’re going to be riding in?” Casey said, looking through the building's windows across the tarmac. Some distance away sat a large, grey-colored machine.

 

The warm, late afternoon sun poured in through the windows, warming his face as he peered out.

 

“Correct. Our next destination is across the channel onto the mainland, quite a ways towards the east. If we went by land it’d take an entire day. But, with that machine, I don’t think it will take more than two hours,” replied the lithe, smallish kitsune next to him. “That machine, by the way, is usually called a ‘jet’.”

 

Casey glanced towards Emrald, then back towards the aircraft. He figured it was as long as three buses, and a little wider than one. Two large, swept back wings extended out from the sides at the bottom of the cylindrical body, and a small pod was affixed to each wing. Apparently those were the engines, and they were supposedly quite powerful, but from here they seemed rather small.

 

Prior to seeing this transport, his knowledge of aircraft was limited to the smaller, silver-colored things he’d occasionally see darting about in the sky around the base he was kept at for those months. Then there were those rickety, flimsy things of humanity called airplanes that he figured were decades, if not more, behind the technology presented by these women. Now here he was, about to board that machine that was at least two, no three, times larger than any bus he’d seen. And, supposedly, this was still rather on the small side compared to the heavy-haulers that could transport several vehicles and tanks. He’d thought it several times before, but the sight reminded him that humanity had no chance should these people dedicate themselves to conquest.

 

Emrald smirked. “Do you really have to be amazed at every little thing you see? I thought you would have become used to it by now.”

 

“That’s not a little thing – that’s a very large thing. One that I’m going to be inside, and one that will take me very high in the sky. I’ve never even been in a balloon or dirigible, you know?”

 

“It will be okay, don’t worry. It’s quite safe, you see. I’ve been told that even if one engine fails, it can still kind of fly, and it has other gadgets that help it navigate and fly safely,” Emrald said, pointing out the window in the direction of the aircraft.

 

“Kind of fly?”

 

“Kind of, I think.”

 

Casey sighed deeply, attempting to expel the butterflies from his stomach. Much to his dismay they seemed content to stay where they were.

 

“Oh, and before we head out this evening you’ll have some quick parachute training.”

 

“Parachute?”

 

“A device you wear that will probably save you if you need to jump out,” Emrald spoke nonchalantly as possible to avoid worrying Casey further. It didn’t work.

 

“Why…why would I need to jump out? I thought you said it was safe?”

 

She could see the anxiety in his eyes and let slip a little groan. How could a man who shot at, and was shot by, others be so afraid of everything? Looking up at him for a moment, she lightly scratched the back of her neck, head slightly tilted.

 

“It is safe. But that does not mean it’s infallible. There are safety precautions everywhere, yes? Just because we probably won’t have an incident doesn’t mean we should be lackadaisical in preparations should one occur. I thought you’d be familiar with this by now since you were in the military as well.”

 

Casey shifted back and forth in front of the large window, looking from the aircraft towards the fox-woman. “It’s not very reassuring to hear you say it like that.”

 

“Well, how about if I said that I wasn’t concerned? I’ve flown many times in my life, you see.”

 

“I guess… but, weren’t you nervous the first time you flew?” Casey said, crossing his arms as he stared down at Emrald.

 

She let slip a small lop-sided grin. “A little, maybe.”

 

What was he going to do with her? Maybe she was right; maybe he did worry too much. Still, something nagged at him. “Isn’t the snow going to affect anything?”

 

“Not this much, no. Look, it’s barely covering the ground,” she said, shaking her head back and forth.

 

Casey focused more of the wiggling of her ear tips as her head shook than her words. “Yeah, I guess…” he said, looking back out the window.

 

--

 

Inside the aircraft, the accommodations were far less luxurious than Casey or any of the men could have imagined. They were used to military travel, but this seemed spartan even by their standards. Rather than individual seats, they were relegated to barely-padded benches on either side of the fuselage. Their seats didn’t even have any backing other than the ribs that made up the aircraft’s superstructure. Not only that, it was almost unbearably loud and chilly inside, even with the back ramp closed.

 

“This is awful!” Casey shouted, even though Emrald was seated next to him so close as to be touching. He had been given a headset designed to block out the sound of engines, and was now fiddling with it on his head, trying to get the bulky thing comfortable. It was ungainly, but it prevented him from being deafened by the shriek of the jet fan hanging not far from where he was sitting. Groaning and adjusting endlessly, he took some solace in watching Emrald, glad that his relatively small ears were easy to cover.

 

“At least your ears aren’t the size of your head!” Emrald yelled back, sliding her headset every which way to make it bearable while her ears wriggled and re-oriented themselves to try and accommodate the cumbersome thing. Rather than a pad that settled around the ear and skull, it was sort of a clam-shell device that clipped around each ear and plugged the opening. Casey thought the contraption looked even heavier than his and far more discomforting.

 

The headsets did have microphones that would have allowed for easier communication. Unfortunately their aircraft was lacking the required jacks, necessitating that they shout to one another.

 

Casey thought that, at the very least, he had it better than those who couldn’t sit. Serlov and Yvonne were forced towards the back of the aircraft, owing to their lack of legs and long bodies. He had a basic buckle on the bench that would hold him down, but those two had to be tethered to the sides not entirely unlike cargo. Additionally, owing to the complexities of their bodies, they had to wear their parachutes at all times since it was looped and strapped around their entire length. Yvonne in particular was looking unhappy with the situation, constantly fidgeting and adjusting things while casting glances at Alex.

 

“How much longer until we start moving?” Casey shouted, poking Emrald to gain her attention.

 

“What?”

 

“How. Much. Longer. Until. We. Start. Moving?”

 

The kitsune frowned, reminding Casey that though they could understand each other’s speech, his exaggerated lip and mouth movements meant nothing to her. Or, that’s what he thought. Emrald seemed to think hard about something, then yelled a few words he did understood even without the aid of her magic. “Soon,” she mouthed in a similar manner as he’d just done. “I think.”

 

Casey was rather surprised. When had she learned English?  And why hadn’t she ever used it before? Maybe she’d only felt comfortable using it here when he couldn’t quite hear her – no doubt the words were heavily accented.

 

Reading the surprise on his face, Emrald shot him a little grin, but said nothing further.

 

A sudden jolt forward signaled that they were now in motion, as if her words had cast a spell. The interior of the transport had no windows, forcing Casey to interpret the sensations of movement, rather than see what was going on. He’d been a bit saddened when he discovered that he would not be able to view the world from up on high, but anxiety gripped at his heart now, despite being on the ground yet. Perhaps it was for the best that he couldn’t see out of this flying tube.

 

He could feel the transport rolling across the ground, bouncing and hopping, slowing and turning every so often. And then it came to a halt, as far as he could tell. Just as he began to wonder what was going on, the engines roared to life, far eclipsing their previous volume. Casey could feel the vibrations in his gut, not unlike when he’d been near artillery as it fired. Emrald brushed his cheek with a tail, distracting him from his anxious thoughts. Blinking a few times, he placed his hand on hers and squeezed lightly, drawing out a smile from her.

 

Then the vehicle launched, shifting Casey, and indeed everyone, backwards slightly. The acceleration never ceased; an invisible hand pushing him back for seconds and seconds. Anxiety and fear began to break into wonder as he thought about what must be going on. Finally, the aircraft tilted upwards, and he could no longer feel the aircraft skip along the tarmac. He was now flying, an odd thrill now fully replacing his nervousness.

 

--

 

Eventually the flight leveled out, though the howl of the engines never abated. According to what he’d been told earlier, travel time would be about 90 minutes from take-off to landing. A look at his chronometer revealed that ten minutes had elapsed since the flight had leveled out. He sighed, and then shifted about uneasily on the hard seat, attempting to find a position that was slightly more comfortable. Despite all his squirming, he gave up when nothing he tried would alleviate the growing pain on his bottom. The chill nipped at him as well, despite his long coat and warm clothing.

 

Glancing over at Emrald, her eyes were closed, but she had wrapped her tails around her for another source of warmth and comfort. Envy surged through him, but there was little he could do except flop against her, resting on what little fluff was exposed to him. She opened one eye briefly to look at him, then closed it again. Taking that as a sign she had no qualms, he did his best to share in the soft fluff and used the opportunity to close his own eyes.

 

With his eyes closed, he soon determined that the engines would not allow him to sleep. However, he also realized that with the constant noise and his eyes closed, the rest of the world seemed to disappear. Once he tuned out of the whine of the jets, the only real distraction to his thoughts was the occasional bounce or shake. He’d never much had the chance to be alone with his thoughts in quite some time.

 

Normally there would always be something to do, or someone to talk with, or he’d simply drift off to sleep at night once all was quiet. Now he had some time to simply think. Think mostly about how he got in this position in the first place.

 

What had happened that resulted in him being traitor so easily, he wondered. He’d killed men, and even got shot, for this invading force that captured him and many others. True, he didn’t have much attachment to his country or solidarity for his fellow man, but he still had his family. How could he turn on them for the dainty fox-woman he’d scarcely known? It felt right and wrong at the same time - a contradiction he couldn’t solve, even now.

 

Others had joined him in pairing up with the women, but he was the only one who still had an actual family. The rest were loners or orphans, even more so than he was. Not only that, but he was the first - perhaps serving as the impetus for the others. If he so easily shrugged off the love of his family, what does that say about his love for Emrald? Opening his eyes and biting his lip, Casey wondered if his attachment to her was as strong as he thought. Though he wouldn’t ever admit it to her, knowing that she could use illusionary magic to alter someone’s perceptions, and even feelings, worried him at times.

 

Was the love real? Or a spell she cast on him? Would he abandon her as readily as he let go of his family if the spell broke? From what she’d said, there was even the possibility she could be pregnant with his child at this very moment. That thought made him feel almost… trapped, in a word, and it worried him. Shouldn’t he feel excited about the possibility of a child, rather than anxious? After a while, reaching the same conclusion no matter how he thought about it, he soon decided that he ought to talk to Emrald about this the next time they were alone.  

 

Another check of the time showed that 45 minutes had passed, roughly half the flight time. He yawned and stretched, thinking flying wasn’t quite as exciting as he thought it would be. His motions roused Emrald, mirroring his yawn with one of her own.

 

Before either of them could say anything, however, they were interrupted.

 

A massive boom resounded throughout the aircraft, shivering and shuddering the whole frame. Then the aircraft listed to one side as if it was turning. He could feel something attempting to correct the tilt, but it seemed to simply slow the rolling motion.

 

Moments later, the door separating the transport area from the cabin flew open, a haggard looking harpy filling the frame. She was frowning heavily, and cast a glance at everyone before zeroing in on Serlov. Her steps were sure despite the shaking, tilted floor, and she reached the lamia in no time. Watching them speak, it was then that Casey realized the shriek of the engine that should have been behind him was no longer there.

 

The harpy and lamia exchanged words; Serlov’s face displayed horror for a moment before she hardened her expression and her eyes played across everyone here. A few more words were said, and then the winged woman went straight to the bins of parachutes and began throwing them towards the stunned passengers.

 

Another woman appeared from the cabin, this one a wyvern that didn’t appear quite as old as the harpy. Rather than helping the harpy hand out the parachutes, she instead made straight for the back of the aircraft and slammed a button, opening the loading ramp. Instantly a vortex of wind formed inside, forcing Casey to narrow his eyes and it nearly stole his breath away and chilled him to the core.

 

Hanging onto an overhead railing, the wyvern made her way back to the passengers, and began assisting people with putting on the parachutes the harpy was tossing out.

 

Looking at Emrald, Casey was amazed to see that she was looking neither scared nor worried. Like Serlov, her face was a hard mask, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed. He could also make out muscles bunching at her jaw.

 

“What’s going on?” He yelled as loud as possible, slapping her shoulder to get her attention. Her eyes flashed to him, her pupils narrow slits. If he had to say, she looked angry. Very, very angry . Her features relaxed after a moment, though the after-image stayed with him.

 

“I don’t know, but we’re getting out of here.”

 

“What? Getting out of here?”

 

“Yes,” she nearly screamed, pointing to the parachutes being handed out, “Getting out of here!”

 

He wanted to ask why, but the behavior of the aircraft and the prior explosion likely meant this vessel would not be airworthy for much longer.

 

Looking out the open ramp, he could see everything was… tiny. Very tiny. No doubt they were thousands of feet into the sky, and very soon they would be jumping out. What then surprised him, as he looked around, was the relative calm of everyone. Maybe it was a mutual thing – their calmness granted him the strength to take everything in stride, and in turn, his cool behavior allowed them to remain composed.

 

Once the wyvern had assisted someone in putting on their parachute, she led them over to the ramp and hooked a long strap from their equipment to a rail near the mouth of the exit. Then they’d leap off, the strap would pull taut, and a large, white sheet would unfurl over them. Nearly identical to the pictures Casey had been shown during his very brief ‘training’ session earlier.

 

The row he was on seemed to be the first being evacuated; maybe an effort to reduce weight on his side of the aircraft?

 

Across the center he glanced at Reia and Tomas. Reia practically oozed calm confidence, which seemed to be soaked up entirely by Tomas. Casey’s eyes met that of the large man, and the two of them shared a nervous nod. Though it may not have affected his outward actions and expressions, Casey’s heart still raced, freezing from every shudder of the aircraft as it attempted to main a level crossing. No doubt Tomas and the rest felt the same.

 

Though time had seemed to drag on and on, a look at his wrist revealed that less than two minutes had elapsed since the boom that rocked the aircraft. The row was clearing quickly, and then it was Emrald’s turn. The grizzled harpy threw the kitsune a pack, then the wyvern helped her put it on in mere seconds, though not for its ease of use. There were countless straps and buckles, which the scaled woman seem to know exactly where to snap into place, and was able to adjust them nearly instantly.

 

Emrald was spun around in circles several times before being stopped, facing away from the scaled, winged woman to perform one final check. She reached out to Casey’s hand, and the two held onto each other for the briefest of moments before she was ushered towards the exit. A quick glance back, and then she was gone, riding aloft the winds. He attempted to keep track of her with his eyes, but then it was his turn to be equipped with the large pack. The rough, expedient treatment by the wyvern caused him to lose sight of Emrald, at least until he was pushed towards the ramp as well.

 

“Ya ever jump from a high place, kid?” The wyvern yelled in his ear.

 

Casey thought for a moment. He’d climbed trees and such, but nothing quite like this. He knew that when falling from a high place one had to bend the knees and try to roll, but that was about it. Perhaps that’s what she meant?

 

“Yes,” he shouted in response. “Tuck the knees, right?”

 

A wordless smile and a nod is all he received, then she snapped a hook to the rail, indicating that he should quickly vacate the premises. Searching the sky quickly, he spotted the parachute that was still the highest up. That had to be Emrald.

 

Gritting his teeth and squinting his eyes, Casey halted his breath and leapt.

 

He wanted to scream, but held it in is throat. The free fall lasted only a moment before the hook pulled his parachute free, slowing his descent to something slightly faster than gentle. Gasping out his held breath, he looked up at the aircraft as it sailed away, then his breath was stolen yet again.

 

The right wing was on fire, and appeared to be severed where the engine was – nearly half the length was missing. He had no idea how it was able to still fly, as he thought both wings were required to be fully intact. And it was missing an engine. Casey gave silent, heartfelt thanks to whoever had designed such a sturdy craft, and the committee that had agreed to it.

 

As he stared up at the transport, another person jumped free of its confines. He couldn’t make out who it was due to the dark of the night, but he thought he saw a wolfish tail.

 

Breaking his gaze from the aircraft, he searched down and around, trying to locate Emrald. A moment passed, and he located the chute he thought belonged to her, if only because it was the closest to him. Fortunately the moonlight made the white fabric easy to see, but unfortunately he seemed to drift further and further away, being blown away from the line of parachutes dotting the sky.

 

There were handles on each strap that went up to the rectangular sheet above him, but he had no idea how to control the thing. The ten minute lesson bestowed upon him didn’t quite go into that detail as it was cut short at Serlov’s insistence that they needed to get moving. His attempts at tugging at the handles had sent him into a slow spin, so he elected to leave them be for now. Further and further he grew distant from Emrald and the others. Even the person who jumped after him seemed to be following the others where he alone was separated.

 

Frowning, Casey was at least partially comforted in knowing he could survive alone for a night, though he was concerned that the thick forest below would make finding one another difficult. Then he had the thought that his chute would likely catch on the canopies, dangling him far above the ground. Maybe that’s what the harpy was talking about?

 

He continued to drift lazily through the night sky, watching his breath condense into a fog before dispersing. Another check of his chronometer showed five minutes had passed since he bailed out. The forest was very close now, and the flaming aircraft was beginning to drop rapidly through the sky. Not a particularly pious person, he still prayed nonetheless to whatever gods may exist in this land that everyone had managed to escape to safety.

 

Closer and closer the trees came, until Casey thought there was less than a hundred feet to the first branches. Bracing himself for the impact, he hoped the branches were thin enough to allow him through.

 

Even if the collision with the ground didn’t hurt too much, passing through all those branches was not going to be pleasant, especially with his still-healing wound. Emrald would kill him for aggravating his wound if he didn’t die outright, he thought with a bitter smile.

 

--

 

Turning and twisting, swearing and cursing, Emrald wished she’d been in field gear. With no knife, getting herself out of the parachute harness was proving to be difficult. Many of the ropes had become tangled around her tails, pulling on them whenever she moved or the wind would tug at the chute.

 

“Maybe I should just amputate the damned things,” she cursed bitterly to herself, glaring at her fluffy appendages.

 

Pausing for a moment, she at least considered that she had the good luck to land in a relative open area, narrowly avoiding crashing down on top of a tree.

 

After she jumped, she had watched Casey follow soon after her, then slowly drift to one side. Then he begun to spin lazily about, heading further and further away. What did that man do, she thought to herself, keeping a careful eye on where he would land as she neared the ground.

 

But, before she could go to where he was, she needed to break free of this thing’s grasp.

 

A brief gust blew, causing her to be pulled a short distance by a tail. Yelping in pain and surprise, Emrald then growled and attacked the ropes with her teeth, no longer caring about trying to maintain some sort of dignity.

 

Several minutes of chewing later, she stood triumphant over the mess of rope and straps. Well then, she thought, time to locate Casey. Thus far she’d heard absolutely nothing, so who knows how far everyone was scattered. Or when a rescue would arrive. Orienting herself using the moon, she took in a deep breath of the crisp air and set off in the direction she hoped would lead to her lover.

 

--

 

Emrald glanced at the time yet again; 30 minutes had passed since she began her search, and remarkably she’d discovered no one. The forest was still as could be except for the crunch of frost under her feet. Fortunately the floor was mostly clear of brush, and the land was mostly flat making for easy travelling. Her pace was still slow, however, as she searched with her eyes and ears carefully and methodically for any indication of her comrades.

 

“Well, maybe they all headed in the same direction… and here I am, the only one who took a different way to search for some fool,” she muttered to herself, hoping her own voice would soothe her concerns; it did not.

 

Stalking forward for another few minutes, something caught her eye up in the trees. Something hanging from far up. Emrald walked over towards it, and soon realized it’d been what she sought, but not quite how she had hoped. Still, the sight dispelled the unease she’d been feeling.

 

Once she was nearly underneath the thing, she looked up and yelled. “Hey, are you okay?”

 

At her words, the hanging thing wiggled about slightly before responding.

 

“Uh, yeah, I guess. Kind of uncomfortable up here though… is that you, Emrald?”

 

Casey seemed to be fine, if in a precarious position. He had to be at least fifty or sixty feet in the air, hanging from his chute.

 

“Yes, it’s me…” Emrald said as she paced about underneath him, looking around at the trees for some way to get him down.

 

“Well, I’m glad you found me. But, I’ve had a lot of time to hang out here… and as far as I can tell I’m not going anywhere unless I want to break a leg or two.”

 

Letting out a sigh, the kitsune looked to the side before returning her eyes up to the man above. “You couldn’t have landed where there aren’t any trees? I mean, there’s a clearing right over there.”

 

“Hey, I tried. I just wound up spinning even faster and then crashed into the trees here. No one told me how to control this damn thing.”

 

“Well, whatever. We will think of something. Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Casey delayed a moment before responding, making a bit of noise as he shifted himself in the harness. “I smacked my leg on a branch, and this thing is riding up my crotch real bad, but otherwise I’m fine.”

 

Emrald scratched at her ears, grinning at Casey’s words. Mostly unharmed and in somewhat good spirits, not too bad all things considered.

 

“Hey, do you think you could undo your harness?”

 

“Uh, I could try, but then I’d just kind of fall.”

 

“Yes, don’t try anything now. I was just wondering if we find some others that could catch you, you see.”

 

Emrald didn’t like it, but she would probably need to leave him here to search for others and lead them back. Or, that’s what she thought until the dull thump of rotors became audible. Her ears twitched and swiveled to home in on the source; it appeared to be originating from the east – towards where they had been headed.

 

The only thing is, it shouldn’t be possible for that kind of aircraft to reach their location so soon. The jet they were on would still not have reached the city yet, so the approaching craft had to have been airborne already and then redirected to their location.

 

A stroke of luck, she thought.

 

“What’s that noise?” Casey said a moment later, his ears now able to pick out the noise.

 

“A helicopter – another kind of aircraft.”

 

“Oh, a rescue already?”

 

“Maybe, or just something sent to make sure we’re alive.”

 

Her opinion soon shifted, however, as she heard the sound of a second helicopter. One was good luck, but two was suspicious, especially considering there shouldn’t be any airfields or airports closer than their destination. Adding in that the aircraft they were in wasn’t known for catastrophic engine failure, and things were becoming suspicious indeed.