IN THE SKY (11)

With the help of one of the jet's wings, Orion, Ares and Karson each carried a big piece of rock they found on the side and hit the other's plane's windshield from the outside.

Soon, the windshield cracked and broke. The three helped the crying passengers climb off the aircraft and passed them down, especially Eric and Estella, to attend to any medical emergency.

It was the ladies who exited first, followed by the men. But the men did not only carry themselves out. In a pair, they pushed a food cart over the counter with countless buttons, which took loads of time to get it safely onto the ground. The other pair of men did not even try to find a place to stuff the other terrorist and simply wrapped him in a bed sheet of one of the passengers.

After the passengers were out, it was the third hijacker's turn. Although his hands were tied and he had difficulty climbing out, he declined their help and got off himself. He was almost going to decline being treated by Eric, but in the end, he couldn't say no to Omal and was brought away.

And while all this happened, the two, Eirene and Luca, did not dare to get out first and helped the others be rescued. They were the last standing ones inside, and they seemed to be arguing to let the other go first.

Orion asked, masking his irritation behind the bored face. "Sir, are you getting out?" The sun was blazing cruelly, sweating and itching the boys under it.

The referred pilot turned to the boys outside anxiously. But instead of him giving a reply, they heard a woman. "He is, and please treat him immediately. He has three gunshot wounds and have lost a lot of blood."

One could already see the poorly wrapped bandages on the man, and with the added information, the three did not hesitate to get a hold of the man and drag him outside for treatment without a moment of hesitation.

"Ms Queen, is that everyone? You can come out now." Ares told the actress in the corner of the cockpit.

Because it was a mess inside, he or the other two couldn't see what w

"...Let me go and check if there are others." The woman answered after an awkward pause.

Ares placed a hand over the flame of the broken windshield. "Let me help you."

"No!"

It was as if a bolt of lightning had landed right next to them, freezing and bringing an air of awkwardness.

Eirene seemed to have realised had she said came out too harsh. "Sorry... But it's fine... I won't take long." With that, she hastily got out of the cockpit.

"Does this mean we can go and help Estella and Eric?" Orion asked.

Karson shrugged. "Probably." He then squinted his eyes at the sky before facing his friend. "You can help her out by yourself, right? I'll go to Ms Widow and tell this to Jaxon."

"Oh. Alright. Could you bring my umbrella then?"

Karson nodded as he jumped off the wing. Orion waited for him at the side with a hand shielding his face from the remorseless sunlight. "Sure."

"Thanks."

Karson delivered the requested object in less than a minute, but Eirene had not returned. Ares wanted to call out for her, but thought it might scare her from all the traumatic experiences she had, he stopped and quietly waited.

After four more minutes under the sun, he heard light footsteps from inside and soon, the actress returned to the cockpit. To not damage the umbrella, he made sure it wasn't touching any part of the humongous vehicle, and he popped his head carefully through the broken frame. "Did you find anyone else?"

Now that his head was inside, he could see the odd thing like miniature boxes connected by a thick chain around the woman's neck. It certainly did not look to her taste, and the clothing did not match the necklace. But since he wasn't Omal and didn't pay attention to the latest trend, he decided to not comment on it.

"No." She replied.

"That's a relief. Let me help you get out. There are sharp glasses everywhere so be careful." He said as he extended his hand casually.

He had no idea his action seemed to come out straight from a princess or a mafia movie; a male lead coming to the rescue of his beloved female lead.

"I can't."

Ares blinked a couple of times with his hand still stretched out. The actress in front of him had actually backed away from him and was standing at the furthest place from him. She looked terrified of something he didn't know.

"Why?" He asked with his head coked to one side, but soon, his mouth formed an O shape in understanding. "If you are afraid of height. Do not worry. I'll cover your eyes and my friends would be there to catch you. There is no need to be afraid. I'm here." He then once again stretched his hand for her to take, yet she didn't move.

"I can't." She mumbled a reply, and her eyes subconsciously moved to the thing around her neck.

He saw the action and asked with a frown. "Is there something wrong with your necklace?" Apart from looking weird, there was really nothing special about it.

But before he could really dig into it, Eirene began shaking her head violently as if to chase away those who were trying to possess her and screamed. "DON'T! GET AWAY FROM ME! FROM HERE!"

The sudden burst of screams not only startled Ares but everyone in the area.

The heir stood there confused until he heard a woman crying as if her limb had been cut off behind him. He spun, and just as he heard, he saw a woman balling her eyes out and furiously prostrating towards him. She was like a mentally unstable person praying to her god.

At at first, he was baffled at why the woman was doing whatever she was doing to him but soon, he realised the person she wasn't prostrating to him but to the aircraft, more specifically to the person inside.

Ares and Omal exchanged a glance before the model gently tapped the crying woman on the shoulder with confusion, hoping to let her stand up and know the situation. Yet, before the tap could land, everyone heard her mumbling something repeatedly.

"...rry. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry." All the while rubbing her forehead on the dusty ground.

Omal frowned deeply as he cautiously touched the woman's shoulder and softly spoke. "Um...miss? Please wake up."

The woman seemed like she didn't hear him and rubbed her forehead harder. There was no doubt she had scrubbed off the forehead skin with that. "I'm sorry..."

"Stop it." Amidst the crying, the voice rang out. Naturally, everyone looked towards the origin and faintly made out the figure inside the aircraft. "I didn't ask for your apology, and I get that you are sorry. So please go." Eirene's voice was cold, but somehow, she wasn't as cold as she normally was. It sounded a little considerate and worrying.

"But-"

An odd beep came out of nowhere and was heard by everyone on the scene. Since their eyes were already focused on the actress, those who knew that someone had turned off the switch of the bombs around the neck.

From the dark shadow in the cockpit, several red lights, about the same size as the stars in the sky, lit up brightly as if spirits had attached themselves to them.

-----

Eirene stared into Ares's eyes. Although they were far apart, she knew he was looking right back at her with the same expression when he and the others were forcibly taken away.

Around her were three bomb squat personnel working on deactivating the explosives around her neck. They originally wanted to remove it from her neck, but when they placed their hands, they began beeping and abandoned that plan. And so, Eirene could only stay still as one by one, the things around her neck were removed.

The person who had activated the explosives was soon discovered. It was Karen. When she woke up in the small space of the food cart, memories of what happened flashed before her eyes, and without hesitation, she took out the controller and pressed it. And while everyone was dumbstruck, she kicked the door open and freed herself without anyone noticing. Too bad Sophie had anticipated her move and kept eyes on her.

When Sophie caught her in action, without wasting a second, she pulled her taser and electrocuted the criminal not giving away a flinch.

It didn't take long for the crowd to realise what happened and tie the cabin attendant back and stuff her into a garbage bag until the authorities came and took her away.

Eirene suppressed the erratic breathing as she pinched her leg as if to pinch that part of her flesh.

She wanted to scream and run into a warm embrace where someone told her that she was safe and all she was experiencing was a nightmare and nothing else. But when she snapped out of her daydream, she would see the same damn scene. People were standing far away from her, terrified of what she was carrying.

Eirene was on the edge of losing herself to fear. Even the sight of her friend, Sophie, couldn't give her hope. The only thing she thought when she saw her was that what if the bombs exploded and killed her?

Her control of breathing slipped away with the passing minutes. Her mind was going negative, and dark thoughts began consuming her. It was as if she was running without a head, unable to hear, see or smell.

In that state, she didn't even realise the change in her surrounding.

Amidst the chaos in her mind, there was a tap on her shoulder, and she blankly turned in that direction. The man in a beige bomb suit was smiling behind the clear shield of protection around his face. His smile was a mix of happiness and excitement. "It's off."

Eirene blankly stared at him as if the language he spoke was foreign to her.

The man repeated, "It's off. You are free." He softly brought her hand up and let her feel that there were no more bombs around her neck.

Her mind went blank, but nonetheless, she managed to stand up with a little help from the personnel and began walking towards the person, to who she had already shown her weakness.

Soon she was running. She was not seeing her surroundings, yet she knew where she was going.

Eirene snaked her arms around his neck as the tears she held in from the beginning of the hijack flowed out, ceasing to end. "Take me away... please..." She begged weakly as she buried her face into his hard but warm shoulder.

"Okay." Ares replied as she circled his arms around her waist.