Chapter 21 – Saving Glider Jake

“Icarus explosion at the Department of Aviation! Units nearby, please respond!”

Arwain turned toward the city center as the sudden dispatch reached his ears. Luckily, his morning route took him around the government offices to take care of important deliveries first. It was likely the case for the other members of Silver Stream.

“Arwain Riot here, Silver Stream is close to the location. What’s the status?”

“Scans show that a majority of citizens have cleared away from the airspace around the impacted building. Around fifty people midflight have been caught up in it. FlightEx crew are already on site and intercepting. Please examine for gaps in support.”

“Roger, spotted some unclaimed strays.”

With a burst of speed, Arwain tackled two people in one go, plucking their flailing bodies from the free fall. Zooming to the nearest platform, he dumped them off before turning back for more.

While they had been successful in clearing out most of the bombs, a few occasionally went off before retrieval. It seemed like Daedalus refused to give up, even with the city putting its resources to minimizing most of the damage. Arwain felt like they had been more prepared since that unfortunate tragedy where lives were lost.

But as he continued to catch people, a falling man in a Glider suit caught his attention. A switch triggered in his mind, and he feared the worst. A sense of familiarity hit him as he approached, scooping up the freefaller like any other.

“Wait, aren’t you-”

“Jake… from FlightEx.”

A heavy weight dropped on Arwain’s stomach as he realized that he was cradling the CEO of a top Glider company. But then, he shook it off, a bigger question now plaguing him.

“How did you get caught in the blast?”

Jake huffed, his face looking full of regret. He turned to Arwain with a bit of hostility laced around jealousy.

“I tried to be daring like a certain hero that curried the favor of the mayor. Figured if a normal guy like him could do it, then so could I. I was about to get him, but then, then…”

The last time that they had run into such a situation, Arwain had charged forward, taking down the bomb carrier. Since it led to an instant promotion by the city, other Gliders started having similar inclinations as well.

Suddenly, Arwain felt the front of his suit tighten. He looked down to see Jake balling the front of it, a death grip like he was trying to pull him closer. A bout of trembling shook Arwain’s arms, the fear of lost wings having finally set in.

“The skies are now clear. Good work, everyone.”

“Arwain here, I have a Glider down. Please send help.”

Biting his lip, Arwain touched down, letting Jake push off him to nurse his shattered ego. It was obvious that worries for the future plagued him. Even with the expectation of restoring his wings, the process took time and effort to retrain. It was a significant mental setback for someone so prominent in the business.

That made Arwain think.

What would the others do if it happened to any one of us?

-----

Arwain walked through the doors of Stratos Medical Center, straight to the counter where a receptionist eyed his approach.

“I’d like to visit Mr. Jake.”

“Last name, please.”

“Errr…”

What the hell was his last name? He definitely has one, but I’ve never heard anyone say it!

He must have had a look of utter confusion on his face as the receptionist sighed at his inner turmoil.

“Are you referring to Jake from FlightEx?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Very well, floor 560. Room 27. However, it appears he may be in the rehabilitation facility on floor 575, so please check there first.”

Arwain nodded and skipped over to the flight shaft. A ding happened just as he approached, and a door opened. A patient in scrubs with droopy wings walked out of the elevator. He was yet another victim that had only just been re-grafted wings after losing them.

Maybe it was sympathy talking, but Arwain decided to hop into the elevator. The door took its time closing before the lift slowly went up. ‘Slowly’ felt like an understatement as irritation began to build. It was a strange feeling to be annoyed at being able to count the floors tick up. He didn’t realize how much of an inconvenience not taking the normal flight shaft would be as he could zoom past tens of floors in a few seconds.

Just as the impatience was starting to form a twitch over his eye, the lift stopped, and the doors opened. The feeling of being grounded with better options available made the aspect of losing that convenience daunting.

Soon enough, Arwain found the rehabilitation room where he spotted Jake and some others straining to make their new wings work. It had been more than two weeks since the incident.

Some people said that re-wiring one’s body was more difficult the second time around. The nerves that were used in coordination with the grafted appendages still existed despite losing the wings. There was a phantom sensation that came from feeling what was no longer there, and attaching new ones only confused it further.

Now, patients would have to force their bodies to forego that previous connection to construct a new one. Arwain was told once that it was like learning an adjacent language. The mind would think similar words and similar sensations carried over, but it was better off to forget everything and approach it anew.

And now, Arwain could see that very struggle before him.

“Please try to lift your right wing. Any bit will do,” a medical staff member said vacantly, like he had been repeating the same phrase for a while now.

Jake bit his lip as he strained his face until it became red. There was a slight twitch of the wings, but both of them had been triggered. It was the most he could do, one day after the surgery.

“Excellent, we just need to get over this initial hurdle, and you’ll be back in action in no time.” The medical staff ticked off a box on his clipboard before proceeding to the next patient.

Arwain’s gaze followed. He found himself staring as another familiar Glider was being instructed.

“They were my guys that foolhardily followed. I can’t help but think that I dragged them into this mess. They are saying that recovery takes at least two months, enough to be discharged anyway. Unfortunately, we’re not kids anymore, slowly able to train ourselves up to speed. Worker’s comp covers the missed wages, but regardless, FlightEx will be missing some good people for a while.”

“I…”

Arwain didn’t know what to say. At the time, it felt like Jake was blaming him for guiding people into being fools. That Arwain had simply been lucky and nothing more. That was the whole reason he found himself visiting. The guilt drove him to walk through the hospital doors to make himself feel better.

But in his fogginess of trying to muster some reply, a hand clamped onto his shoulder, waking him up.

“Sorry for blowing up at you, Arwain. I was just emotional at the time. I lost my wings. Some of my crew lost theirs as well. We caught the guy in the end, but with sacrifices in exchange. Maybe I was just looking for someone to vent, someone to blame.”

“Nah, I was just looking out for myself. Trying to get ahead, small company versus the big guys. Looking at what happened to you made me think about what-ifs. It could have easily been us in your shoes.”

“In that case, you better carry the torch while you still can. It may be two months, but don’t be getting careless now. We’ll come back to take the champion’s crown from you at that time. It’ll feel better if we do it when you’re in top form.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Take care.”

Arwain turned away, leaving the FlightEx crew to work on their recovery. Still, a chill shook through him as the sounds of tireless effort seeking a breakthrough filtered in his ears.

He was just another man trying his best. Everyone was doing their part as well. And that made it harder to stomach as to why a group of No-Flyers would trash all over that. He felt like something had to be done in figuring out why, not just playing pickup after things got bad.

Arwain pulled out his phone to dial up Dingleberry. After a few rings, his chipper voice echoed on the other end.

“Sup, Boss?”

“Hey Dingleberry, I got a request for you. A delivery, rather. How about we send a care package to your parents for a change? Of course, you’re coming along as a guide.”

“Ehhh?”