7 Chapter 7

The man, with an astonished look, mouthed out a word in a questioning manner.

Earth?

No. 117 distinguished the word, nodding firmly as his response.

"Things have become quite interesting…" No. 117 mumbled under his breath. Withdrawing his weapon, he motioned the captain to continue descending whilst sauntering towards the man.

The man, despite witnessing the boy's lethal weapon, calmly waited for him. It felt natural like they were possibly friends before.

Greeting each other again with a simple nod, they both left the cockpit, leaving everyone in the cockpit in a state of bewilderment.

"You can call me… Jericho." No. 117 initiated the conversation, introducing himself. "You are?"

Jericho and the man knew nothing about one another, but it seems they are currently on the same boat. If they want to find out what's going on, a civilized discussion would be a good place to start.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jay."

Chaos continued to ensue in the background as the plane descended beneath the cloud, displaying the vast ocean below.

The pair engaged in a conversation that lasted for several minutes, sharing information they can recollect from their memories.

9:27 was the time Jay woke up. His wife, seated beside him, awoke about a few seconds after him, sharing similar dreams.

Initially, they were both startled by their dreams, but for some reason, they all strangely happened to be fully conscious to check the timing of their awakening.

But what do the timings of awakening mean?

Nonetheless, Jay had noticed Jericho's odd behaviours when he walked up to the flight attendant previously. Even though it was concealed meticulously, the murderous intent exuded by Nova was detected by Jay.

The murderous intent was reminiscent of his dreams, possessing similar apocalyptic atmospheres, which was why he went seeking for Jericho after hearing the Captain's announcement. If an apocalypse were to actually arrive, Jericho would be a suitable candidate for survival, despite his age.

Finally, after getting to know one another, they settled on forming an alliance. In a godforsaken apocalypse, who doesn't want reliable allies?

If Jericho took a gander outside the plane window right now, he would witness the gorgeous scenic beauty of moonlight, embezzling the soft ripples and deep dark waves of the ocean.

9:50 pm.

By then, the plane has found the island long ago, now circulating in the air to seek a suitable and safe landing area.

Jericho has already asserted his dominance over the rioting passengers on the plane with his weapon.

Of course, initially, some idiots believed Jericho was deceiving everyone, merely wielding a toy. After all, society tends to underestimate young kids.

As a result, Jericho put their assumptions to the test. Firing a bullet straight through the most ignorant passenger's earlobe without damaging the plane, the passengers and crew succumbed to Nova.

With just the cost of one bullet, he could finally enjoy the serene night in peace and harmony.

He combed through his golden hair with his fingers, plotting his subsequent actions after the plane landed in silence.

The rest of the crew in the cockpit were silent too, allowing the pilots to perform their expertise, guiding the plane to lower altitudes that would ensure the softest landing.

"Es, have you texted them?" In the passenger seats, Jay gently held his wife in his arms, softly asking. He has returned to his seat, to brace for the landing soon taking place.

"Yeah, I have. But I think only one message got through. The radio interference is affecting the signal…" His wife, Es, whispered, visibly worried. "Do you think they'll be safe?"

Jay sighed, patting her on the back for comfort. "They're both smart kids, I know they'll figure something out….."

****

Finally, the plane landed on the deep dark sea, where the waves are most calm.

Of course, it's easier said than done. The pilot's experience and having a well-trained crew to control the situation are paramount. Luckily, Jericho has helped out with the control of the situation. All they needed were great pilots, which, fortunately, they did.

Adjusting cabin pressure, the change in altitude barely caused any discomfort.

Upon impact, the winged machine trembled, entering the water as a repulsive force acted against it, causing a moderate jerk that caused everyone's stomach to churn.

Jericho remained standing, astonishingly unfazed by the landing as he balanced his body with much ease.

Outside, the island is already well within sight as the plane floated towards it with decreasing momentum.

Despite being a seemingly peaceful night, he had an eerie sensation tingling all over his body, as if hinting to him of imminent danger.

Unable to identify where it was from, Jericho paced back and front impatiently. He swatted at the ray of moonlight brushing his cheeks as the uncanny sensation continued to develop.

With a few minutes of hushed, terrified chatters in the background, the plane finally reached the shore, and a sigh of relief almost escaped everyone's lungs.

No matter how beautiful the sea is, it is the most unpredictable and mysterious region that humans have yet to fully discover.

"We made it."

Jericho was the first one to exit the plane, jumping down and setting foot on this supposedly uninhabited island.

His boot nestled softly into the golden grains of sand, barely creating a crunch.

Passengers behind him peek out uneasily as the unnerved flight crew deployed the evacuation slides. Soon, they quickly exited the plane with their luggage in hand, despite the usual safety rules specifying not to carry personal belongings.

Yet to eliminate the ominous signs lingering, Jericho gripped his weapon tightly as he took a quick glance at his watch.

The clock has ticked 10.

Suddenly, a gasp of distress and trauma escaped the lungs of a young woman exiting the evacuation slide.

Following the direction that induced her reaction, Jericho loosened his grip in disbelief. He nearly dropped his knife, his stupefied expression frozen in place.

On the far horizon, there was another plane high up in the night sky, silhouetted against one of the moons' subdued radiance.

As the clock strikes 10, the aircraft lost its freedom in a morbid fashion. Like a lifeless bird, it began plummeting straight down, escaping the radiance of the moon, and into the boundless ocean. Screams of despair resounded inaudibly in the cloudless night.

Possibly hundreds of lives were lost in an instance.

But the terror did not end there. Death unleashed its wrath as piercing cries proceeded to shatter the serenity of the night.

"Ugh… help me!" An elderly woman, sprawled on the beach, shrieked for help. Atop her is a young girl who tackled her by surprise, sinking her jaw into the elderly's neck. The young girl was just moments ago holding hands lovingly with her grandmother, giving each other comfort.

Blood began gushing intensely out the gnarly wound on her neck. Tears of blood rolled down the old woman's cheeks as she began convulsing violently. The golden sand underneath drained the elderly's blood, dying itself crimson as the remaining blood seeped through the grains of sand. Lying near her body, was her pearl necklace, loosened during the struggle. Showered in red, blood droplets slid down the clean, reflective surface of the pearls, delineating the onslaught occurring ubiquitously.

As the first person to step out of the plane, Nova was the furthest away from the shore, for he was able to witness the chaos unfolding full scale.

Passengers who were just then lively and normal were gnawing at the living, sending chunks of flesh and blood splattering across the golden beachfront.

A middle-aged passenger in business attire who was ready to slide off the evacuation slide frantically backed away into the safety of the plane, only to be ravaged by another infected passenger waiting in line.

Utter chaos galvanized Jericho to take quick action. Without hesitation, he began running towards the forest, ignoring the carnage occurring behind.

Cold as it may be, his indifference towards others' life is justifiable.

'Why risk my life for strangers?' He thought, already planning a solo survival route. He is more than capable of surviving alone.

Just as he was about to cross the border segregating sand and soil, a deep voice called out to him in distress. "Jericho! Help me out! We need to save these people!"

Jericho stopped in his tracks, turning around to see Jay lifting a hard-shelled luggage bag overhead. He smashed it downwards forcefully, bashing at an infected man who had already severely injured another passenger.

After annihilating the threat, he immediately crouched down, trying his hardest to resuscitate the dying man.

"Hey man, it's going to be alright. Hang in there…" Jay tore a piece of cloth off his shirt, bandaging the man's wound hurriedly. The man grunted in pain, breathing heavily as blood-drenched the makeshift bandage. Bleeding profusely from the wound, colour slowly faded from the man's eyes.

Despite his best effort, Jay's attempt was to no avail as the man started to convulse, signalling his death.

Before the dead man could reanimate and attack Jay, a knife had already penetrated his skull, taking its life.

It was Jericho.

Beside him were a few shivering passengers and several bodies — infected people who attempted to devour the distracted Jay.

"Didn't expect you to stay," Jay grunted in a fit of pique, swiping the new dagger that Jericho handed over.

Jericho coldly stared back, whispering nonchalantly. "Never said I planned to stay."

After handing Jay a proper weapon, he retreated towards the forest as if oblivious to the rest of the massacre ongoing.

"Why the hell are you running away! You can save these people! You can save so many of them!" Jay roared, clenching the sharp dagger Jericho had just given him. He wanted to hurl the dagger back at Jericho, but he knew this survival tool was too important to lose. More so, he doubts it would even be close to harming that mysterious kid.

"Fine. Do you." Jay wasted no time lamenting about the absence of Jericho. They only met a few minutes ago. They were merely strangers to one another. That flimsy alliance they had formed wasn't reliable anyway.

Without turning back, Jericho dashed towards the forest at the other end opposite the shoreline, leaving the chaos behind.

His footsteps were soft, barely creating any markings or indents on the sand.