Falling Yet Rising

What’s the difference between desperate people and frightened ones?

The answer lies within the question itself.

Desperate people are desperate because possibilities are out of reach.

Afraid people, however, fear the possibilities within their reach...

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I slowly tried to straighten up. Pushing myself forward with my right hand, I managed to sit up. We were gradually descending, moving further away from the colossal building.

“Why aren’t we getting away?”

“Because if we do, they’ll realize something’s wrong and destroy the Astrojet.”

“Can’t they see you’ve hacked into its system?”

“I’m keeping that information hidden from them.”

I looked at Aeon in admiration. Whatever she was doing, it was undeniably amazing. But as I watched her, I noticed her nose was bleeding.

“Aeon, your nose is bleeding.”

“H-huh?”
Aeon wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and it was completely covered in blood. “It really is bleeding!” she exclaimed, staring at her hand in shock. I then realized her eyes were bloodshot as well.

“Your eyes are red too. Could this power be overexerting you?”
I looked at my sister with concern. We had benefited greatly from her abilities, but we hadn’t considered the toll it might take on her.

“I… I’m fine…”
Aeon abruptly turned around, looking downward.

“But—”

“Kaen, look down!”
Aeon’s voice was filled with urgency. Crawling carefully on the enormous Astrojet to avoid slipping, I found a secure spot to lean on and looked down. Below, dozens of people in white suits lay motionless on the ground. They had been wiped out… Around them, various robots patrolled, declaring a state of emergency, while sirens echoed from the city.

 We had plunged the entire city into chaos. Were the people down there dead because of us? Vibrations from sound waves reverberated everywhere. Somewhere, these shots were hitting their targets.

“We need to get out of here!”
I turned to Aeon anxiously. The most logical thing to do was to land in a remote location and hide in a safe place. After all, we were already wanted, and the last report about us mentioned we were inside the building.

“It’s not working.”
Aeon was struggling in desperation.

“What’s not working?”

“I can’t issue any extra commands to the Astrojet.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not responding.”

From her description, I realized we had reached the limit of her power. Using so much processing power had overwhelmed her mind. The Astrojet continued descending slowly, drawing closer to the ground. We hadn’t been noticed yet.

Suddenly, Aeon collapsed.
“Aeon!”
I lunged forward, nearly falling off the Astrojet, and grabbed her arm to save her. I looked at her face. She seemed unconscious. My shoes were completely torn to pieces, and I was trying to balance on the cold metal floor of the atrojet with my bare feet.

The rain had started falling. The Astrojet was behaving oddly as well. Likely, Aeon’s command chain had deactivated after she lost consciousness. It appeared to have entered a reset mode, emitting strange sounds from its sensors.

We urgently needed to escape, but I had no idea how. As I held Aeon, my gaze shifted to my hand. Normally, it should have been burned red from the electrical shocks, but it was completely healed. It all clicked in my mind. I looked at the sack made from a suit, tied to my waist. Despite my whole body aching, I hadn’t noticed the needle marks on my neck. Aeon had used all the needles on me.

I remembered the moment before I lost consciousness. Aeon had been shot. I quickly unfastened her clothing to examine the wound. Normally, the soundwave weapon would cause internal injuries rather than external ones. Carefully touching the wounded area, I noticed that even though she was unconscious, she winced in pain.

“You idiot, did you use all the needles to treat me?” I shouted in anger. Aeon was suffering from internal bleeding and was utterly exhausted.

The rain poured down as the place where I was holding on became slippery. I had to act quickly, but what could I do?

Desperately, I scanned the surroundings. A flat city lay below, crawling with countless security robots. Sirens and city noises echoed all around. Even if I wanted to reenter the building, it was filled entirely with robots. The only reason the Astrojet couldn’t detect us was that we were on top of it—but that could change at any moment.

Breathing heavily with anxiety, my entire body trembled. I was at my limit, but I had to do something… I couldn’t lose Aeon or everything we had worked for. This couldn’t be the end.

Then I spotted a river below. It was surrounded by lights and somewhat narrow, but it was there. The problem was the height and its inconvenient location. I needed to examine further…

Building rooftops, flying security robots, vehicles… Just as I thought I couldn’t find anything, I realized I had overlooked exactly what I needed—a projection screen’s supporting pole. It was a long, thin structure that projected digital advertisements to four different locations.

My hands were slipping, and I was holding on with my legs for support, but the Astrojet had exited its odd mode and was now slowly ascending as if plotting a new route.

My only option was to make a death-defying jump. I carefully positioned Aeon onto my back, removed my suit’s sleeves, and tightly tied them around her waist. Aeon would be secured to my back. Using the suit tied to my waist like a rope, I fashioned a makeshift hook.

My legs were on the verge of giving out. From here on, I was ready to sacrifice whatever was necessary. I would figure out the rest after surviving this jump.

The pole was slightly ahead of me. I checked on Aeon—she was still unconscious. I would probably hurt her in the process, but I could apologize later.

My legs trembled with fear, stiff as stone. I was about to attempt something utterly ridiculous and beyond my strength. Still, it was the best bad option I had. Better than nothing, I suppose?

Alright… here we go...

I took a deep breath and pushed myself forward. I was falling rapidly. The pole became clearer in my view. I had forgotten to breathe. I shifted the suit rope into my right hand and aimed for the pole. I managed to hook it perfectly, looping it around the pole. My momentum spun me around it at an incredible speed, and the pain in my arm was unbearable, as if it was being torn off. I screamed in agony, quickly supporting my right arm with my left.

As I rotated around the pole, I let go at just the right moment, launching backward into the river. The landing was harsh but somewhat cushioned.

My right shoulder was dislocated, rendering it useless. Chaos ensued as Aeon and I struggled in the water. Because of the suit tied tightly to me, I couldn’t rise to the surface. Aeon, on the other hand, was sinking backward, drowning.

Realizing this, I grabbed Aeon with my left hand and pushed her upward to keep her head above the water. My left hand struck a rock underwater, which I used to pull myself up. Everything happened within seconds, a chaotic blur of events. Gasping for air, I strained to stay afloat. But my strength was failing…

My hand slipped as exhaustion overtook me. Aeon, along with everything we had worked for, was slipping away. My vision blurred with tears, and my body burned as if it were engulfed in flames.

This can’t be the end…

Suddenly, a hand grabbed mine and began pulling me up. Another hand grabbed my dislocated shoulder, and I let out a scream of pain.

“Be quiet!” a woman’s voice barked.

I looked up to see an older woman with a hood, her face obscured, using all her strength to pull us out of the river.

“Save Aeon—my sister—first!” I pleaded.

The woman let go of me, grabbing Aeon and pulling her to safety. Then she reached for me again, and with my remaining strength, I managed to climb out of the river.

We collapsed beneath a bridge, soaked and gasping for air. Water spewed from my lungs as I coughed violently, lying on my side.

Struggling to breathe, I turned my gaze to the woman.

Who was she, and what was she doing here?