File 2.5 - Raw Emotions

The old patch work truck of the Niphliheim climbed into the back of their ship. Even as the truck rode the rear hatch it began to lift up closing just as the vehicle came to a stop. Shizuka saw her last chance for escape seal up behind her. She had no more options left for her, but to return to Antarctica City.

Captain Fin ordered his crew to prep for lift off before reaching the rear of the truck. “Hey Ed! She’s yer responsibility since ya brought her back! Don’t let her out of yer sight, understand?”

Ed had watched Shizuka during the ride back, but figured that he would be relieved of the pain once on the ship. He stood up completely in the truck bed upset at the orders. “What do ya mean, Cap’n!? I’ve got no time tah watch a child! I’m tha pilot!”

“It’s an order!” snapped Fin as he walked away. He made it to the end of the cargo hold and stopped. The middle aged man looked back to Ed. “Yer always complaining about having Sam as yer co-pilot. Think of it as a parting gift.”

The teenage boy grumbled under his breath. He beat his fedora against his leg to kick off the dust that built up from the trip. Ed jumped down from the truck and stared back at Shizuka. “Come on! Or are ya one of those prissy fancy girls that needs help down?”

“Shut your foul mouth,” shouted Shizuka. She knocked away his mocking hand and dropped down to the transport’s floor. She crossed her arms waiting for him to make a move, however he insisted on her going first. Shizuka gave in after seeing the look in his eyes telling her that he would just carry her out.

The interior of the ship made the hull of the ship seem high class. Rust collected on nearly everything possible and rust probably sat atop rust just to prove it was possible. Each step made the plating groan and cough like an old man. If any proper ceiling existed for the ship they used it no longer. Exposed pipes and wires hang precariously at head height for any adult. Blasts of heat exchangers piped into the halls through leaks and sometimes purposeful exits. The sight made Shizuka wonder how the ship managed to still function. It surprised her that the Board of Air Safety didn’t refuse to renew their permit.

Ed gave her a rough push in the shoulder to tell her to keep moving through the hall. He didn’t even try to hide his annoyance with the babysitting duty. The trouble she made for him had him thinking if the bounty was worth the effort. ‘A simple mission! Yer last mission with tha guys! Damn dirt digging country hick…’ He shoved Shizuka again when he saw her stopped in front of only half paying attention. The girl’s stubbornness reached near his tipping point seeing her refusing to move. “Keep goin’!”

“I can’t, moron.” Shizuka pointed up to the locked door. On the right of the door a red light blinked at the two of them demanding an access card to accept them. “It’s your ship and you can’t remember a locked door.”

He scowled at her before snapping his arm out with a card. The action took barely a second to execute, a routine motion requiring no thought. The door snapped the bolts back and opened itself inward to the cockpit. “Get in! I’ve had ‘nuf of ya lip, kid!”

Her feet stumbled over the threshold around the door not given enough time to walk properly. Shizuka regained her balance against the co-pilot seat and paused. Ed moved around to the pilot seat examining something on the panel leaving her unwatched. The tempting thought to flee out of the room stopped abruptly when she caught the door closing behind her. As though for further measure to punctuate her cell, the bolts on the door slammed shut locking them in.

“No funny ideas. Just sit!”

Any options she might have had disappeared for Shizuka. The large co-pilot seat stood as her only path to take. The chair rocked a little as she cautiously sat down. Her head never made it close to the head rest and the supports for her arms looked too high to be comfortable. Underneath her the leather padding reached out with sticky sweat caked hands pulling at her dress and hair. From the right side, Ed brought down the restraining belts for a chair meant for an adult and larger frame than her. He tightened it up until it scraped over the skin of her arms, plastering her to become part of the chair. She glared back up at him only to have enough room to move her head around free, apart from her limbs. “It’s tight…”

The annoyed teen dropped into the pilot’s chair appearing to fit it better than Shizuka, but still gave the just a bit too large impression. His fingers flew across the computer screens and controls all acting by reflex. “We’ll be liftin’ off in one minute, folks!” he announced over the ship's communication system.

The ship had a constant pounding that came out like a thud with several centimeters of steel blocking it. It created a distant lilting tune. When the main engines came online for the transport it ceased to be mildly pleasant and became thunderous. Drums blasted in everyone’s ears as the old transport sparked awake from its slumber.

To her surprise, the flight controls looked recent as well as the computer systems. A layer of dust and papers collected on her side, but lights glowed through. The pilot side had a more used and kept up appearance. Parts of the metal wore down and rubbed off labels. It provided a little comfort to know they cared about a certain part of the ship. However, the patchwork everywhere made it difficult to take too much solace in the newer components.

The savage pounding of the drums reached their climax when the transport began to lift off from the ground. The death rattle of hell’s minions made it seem impossible to have any hearing afterward. Shizuka twinged at the sounds wishing for her hands to be free enough to cover her ears even for a little protection. Each second it lasted felt like giant snakes drilling into her ears. She thought her ears would bleed from the stress, but it all suddenly disappeared. Peace befell her slumping in the chair as much as possible for her. She sighed.

Ed glanced over to her for a moment. “Ya shouldn’t be goin’ wi’out sound cancellers!” He produced a headset with large pieces for around the ear. “The Niph’s canceller’s dunt come on ‘til a thousand meters in tha sky. Fergot that ya ain’t Sam.”

She managed a bit of venom for Ed’s absentmindedness in a glare. “You did that on purpose!”

“Dunno,” shrugged Ed, putting his eyes back on the sky.

Her energy disappeared spent forced to rest back in the chair staring forward. Out of the window thick black smoke rose up filling the horizon with an ominous column. The sight brought back painful images for Shizuka. She felt pangs strike at her heart drawing up tears that she futilely attempted to fight back. ‘Welest…it’s gone… I don’t know if anyone evacuated in time!’ Exhausted from the day as she was, it didn't stop her from lunging against the restraints trying to get a better view before the village disappeared. Unfortunately, the smoke remained the only thing she saw. She lost any sense that she had surviving merely on desperation. “I can’t see! I can’t see it! I can’t see!”

Edgar partially tuned out Shizuka with his mind on flying the ship. Her screaming soon over powered his focus and pulled him away. “Would ya shut up! I’m tryin’ tah fly!”

“I can’t see them! Where are they?! I can’t see!”

He couldn’t get through to her still not entirely seeing the problem on his hands. However, when he searched the seat restrains to see if he needed to tighten them his eyes widened a little in surprise. Shizuka’s shoulders and arms were bruised red and rubbed raw from her panic. The longer he watched he saw her starting to stain the belts. Ed unsnapped the belts in his chair and leapt out over to her chair, almost tripping in the process over the controls that ran between the two. “Hey! Whatcha think yer doin’? Ya stupid?!”

She whipped her head over to Ed bearing her wild and crazed light blue eyes at him. Shizuka saw nothing, only reacting on instinct. “I can’t see! Where are they?! I must see them!”

The sight of the girl made him lean back a little unnerved by her breakdown. He didn’t know what suddenly happened to trigger such a reaction. Ed swallowed quickly and put his hands on her shoulders forcing her back into the chair trying to prevent further damage. “Listen tah me! Snap out of it!” She struggled violently with him giving him surprise at her strength. The only thing that kept him in control was the leverage and position. “What’s tha matt’r with ya?!”

Shizuka fought with Edgar trying to get around him. His body blocked any view she had outside. “I can’t see! Let me see!” Her head bobbed around ripping the restrains into her shoulder deeper even against Edgar’s strength.

“See what? See who?”

“My village!” Shizuka screamed at Edgar, challenging the record the ship made in volume.

“Damn, girl!” After he lost his ears he stopped having any politeness left for her. He slapped her across the face loud enough to echo through the chamber. “They’re dead!”

“Dead?!” She pulled back finally realizing that Ed stood almost in her face. “N-n-no! No…” Her body relaxed in the chair with her voice falling inward. ‘…dead…all of them? It can’t be!’ The drop in adrenaline for Shizuka sent a wave of stinging pain over her skin. She bit on her lip trying to ignore it. Once the initial assault on her body passed she searched for the source. Her skin felt something dripped slowly down her. Near her near neck on her shoulders all the skin burned and trails of blood gathered up sliding down sticking to her dirty dress, around her waist and arms felt similarly. The worst were her forearms that got caught up with the restraints and dug into the skin, some drawing more blood up. “What happened…to me?”

Ed sighed in relief that she calmed down finally. Unfortunately, the more he looked at her the more he realized his problem only began for him. ‘Damnit! Now I’ve gotta tell tha Cap’n… How am I gonna ‘splain this?’ He reached over for the headset resting on the panel. Ed didn’t bother to put it on. “Cap’n Fin? We’ve gotta problem with tha girl!”

It took a minute for a response to come through. “What the hell did ya do?!” yelled Fin, loud enough that Ed didn’t need the headset near him.

“Well…we’ll be needin’ tha medic kit…”

“What?! Why? She try to end it all or somethin’?”

“No!” He searched Shizuka for a better answer for the Captain. ‘Though it might have been easier…’ She had no answers for him, leaving him to figure out something. “Just send Sam up tah take over fer me! I’ll brin’ tha girl tah tha Mess!”

“…yeah…”

Ed undid the belt for Shizuka and turned the chair out. “C’mon!” By the time they started to leave the door opened and a tall man in his late twenties appeared. The man wasted no time taking over the controls, left on auto-pilot by Ed. “Keep us from crashin’ in tah ocean, Sam!”

“Yeah, I know how to fly, Edgar!”