Falling While Fleeing

What fuels the heart of courage, and what births despair?

In a world of freedom, why is survival still unfair?

Can trust be forged in shadows, where light seldom peers?

Or does the leap of faith silence all fears?

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It took me a while to figure out the purpose of the items Narya and Kaida had brought. There were four hooks they had taken from bridge edges, some provisions, some debris from the river, and syringes that could be used for first aid. I was shocked that such trash could be found outside, and when I asked, they explained it was allowed to foster freedom and individuality among people. The syringes, however, were obtained from an acquaintance.

“Hey, Kaida, when you first let us in, I asked, ‘Why are you helping us?’ and you said, ‘Who said I’m helping?’ So, what exactly do you want from us?”
I asked curiously while loading the items onto myself. Narya and Aeon had returned to the main room.

“Don’t you get it yet? Just get Narya out of here. She’s... different, and there’s no way she can be caught.”
Kaida spoke with complete seriousness. Her tone conveyed just how important this was to her. We didn’t know who she really was or what she was trying to do, but she was undeniably a good person.

We attached the hooks by piercing them through the reinforced part under the belt of our suits. I didn’t know what they were for, but they wouldn’t have brought them for no reason. Kaida turned toward us.

“Provisions?”

“In the bag,” Aeon said, pointing to the backpack on my back.

“Hooks secured?”

“Yes.”

“The debris?”

“With me,”
 Narya said, showing the garbage bag in her hand.

“Alright, I’ve got the syringes. We’re ready to go. Aeon, you understand the basic plan?”

“Yes. But our success rate is only 29%.”
I looked at them curiously. They were sharing information and communicating through their chips, which was fascinating for someone like me.

“Eh, that’s higher than I expected. Let’s move.”
Kaida took the first step toward the exit of the main sewer corridor. The air was damp and smelled like sour yeast. It was fascinating to think this place had been used as humanity’s sewage system centuries ago.

We followed behind Kaida. The only light came from the flashlight she carried. Our footsteps, the sound of the garbage bag, and the rustling of our clothes echoed through the tunnel.

We walked like this for a while. I was curious about the plan, but since no one was talking, I was too afraid to ask. Suddenly, Kaida stopped and crouched down. There was a hatch on the ground. She began to open it slowly, turning it with visible effort.

“Narya, help me.”
“O-okay.”
With Narya’s help, the hatch barely turned open like a door. I wasn’t sure if it was her strength or if the hatch had already been loose. I glanced at Aeon, but she remained silent and unresponsive.

Once the hatch was open, Kaida slowly climbed inside. One by one, we all followed. The space was narrower, and we had to crawl. The tunnel sloped downward. Aeon was in front of me, and Narya was behind.

We continued like this for a while. Strange noises started echoing, and the surroundings began to tremble. It felt as if the entire surface was shaking.

“What’s going on?” I asked curiously. At that moment, Kaida turned off her light. Up ahead, there was another hatch, and light was seeping through it.

“An air tram. A kind of public transportation vehicle,” Narya whispered from behind me. I was surprised by how specific her explanation was.

Kaida was quietly and slowly removing the hatch. I leaned over, peering past Aeon toward the hatch. What I saw filled me with horror.

The distance between where we were and the tram was as high as a three-story building.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
I muttered in shock. It was impossible. Even if we jumped, we’d be spotted. Injuries were inevitable.

“Don’t worry; we’re not jumping directly onto the tram.”
Aeon, noticing my reaction, tried to reassure me.

“What do you mean by ‘not directly’?”
“While air trams are primarily used for passenger transport, the back sections are often used to carry supplies or cargo,” Narya explained in her usual objective tone. No matter how she phrased it, the implication was clear:

We were going to jump onto the tram.

“No way…” I said, trembling with fear.

“Relax, it’s not like we prepared all this for nothing.”
Kaida spoke in a flat tone, staring down seriously. My fear wasn’t about the pain or the risk of injury. I was worried because there was no way we wouldn’t be noticed from this height.

Yet no one else voiced any objections. That’s when I realized—this was the only option. Just then, loud noises began emanating from the tram.

“It’s starting. Get ready. Narya, you’re in charge of Kaen,” Kaida said urgently.

“Got it.”
I could tell the tram was moving from the way the incoming light shifted. Suddenly, Kaida sprang into action.

“Move quickly.”
And with that, she leapt down.

“She jumped straight off?!?”
I was trembling in disbelief. Aeon, in front of me, approached the edge with confident steps. She briefly turned her head toward me.

“Kaen, Narya’s with you.”
After saying this, Aeon took a deep breath and dropped down. Now, it was my turn.

I heard movement behind me. Narya was attaching one of her hooks to the one on my belt.

“What are you doing?”
I asked, bewildered.

“Just go, Kaen,” she said firmly, looking at me with determination. There was no way I could compete with these people. I approached the edge. The distance seemed even greater up close. I could see the speeding tram below. I had to jump.

“When you jump, I’ll catch you mid-air.”
“What? Oh, whatever…” My entire body was shaking from the tension. I took a deep breath. I’d jumped from far greater heights before, just holding onto a pole. This was nothing—or at least, it should have been. But I couldn’t bring myself to jump.

“Kaen, hurry!” Narya’s voice grew tense. Sirens were starting to sound in the distance. Now I was ready. My fight-or-flight instincts merged into one goal: to escape by fighting.

And I let myself fall.

Was that the first thing I saw?
I was falling from the sky. Or so I thought. Turns out, I was falling from the top of a simulated sky. Vehicles of various colors were speeding toward the skyrail, while the massive train continued its journey—or, more accurately, was being kept on track. That’s when I saw Aeon, kneeling with one hand extended forward. I had forgotten about Aeon’s power.

But the real thing I had forgotten was that I was falling. By the time I realized it, we were rapidly approaching the train. Suddenly, I was pulled by my waist, flipped upright, and set down on Narya’s lap. The feeling was utterly humiliating, but I couldn’t understand why she’d done such a thing.

We hit the skyrail with incredible force. Narya landed with her legs slightly spread, almost as if she had jumped onto the train. Both of us tilted backward slightly from the impact. After we steadied ourselves, I looked at her in shock.

“N-Narya, y-your legs?”
How was this possible? How could she withstand such a fall?

“I’m fine,” she answered calmly. Maybe the grains had absorbed the impact. But then, why had she caught me? For that matter, why had she held me mid-air in the first place? We had landed on what seemed to be the roof of a grain carriage.

I stood up slowly. There were more security robots around us than I could count. Sirens blared from every direction as they closed in on the train. I glanced toward Aeon and Kaida. They were quite far from us. I turned to Narya, who, with her delicate-looking frame, stood up without a care.

“Come on, we have to get to them,” she said, pulling out a second hook from the holster at my waist.

“There are so many security robots. Won’t it be a problem?” I asked nervously.

“It could be, but if they damage the train, it will affect the passengers. They wouldn’t dare,” she replied confidently.

How did they know this? And how could they be so sure? If it were me, I wouldn’t trust them at all. But right now, I had no choice but to trust them.

“Alright, let’s do it,” I said, despite the complete absence of confidence in my voice.

Just then, a massive shadow formed in the sky. A colossal object was descending, just like we had, from within the simulated sky. The moment I raised my head, I saw it—a thing I had seen once before: the Astrojet.

Narya looked up in horror.

“KAEN, START RUNNING!”
She yelled as she began sprinting. I was certain this was something they hadn’t anticipated.