Chapter 160: Fallen Plane
Somewhere in the Northwest Deserts
A plane, divided into two, lay amidst the vast, desolate desert. The large sand dunes surrounded the machine, as if slowly consuming the large chunk of metal and the people within it.
It had been more than an hour since the subsequent disasters, and the people in the airplane remained in their seats, unable to move due to excess pain, unconscious, or simply in a daze.
Many were listless as they sat right next to the corpses of their loved ones. Obviously, they had not yet accepted the events. At this point, many of them still wanted to believe this was a nightmare.
On the other hand, many died from the shock and the harsh shaking before landing, and many had perished during the impact as well, mostly breaking their necks or getting impaled by something.
It was only after a while that Helios emerged from the cockpit, his handsome pilot uniform torn and dirty, and his head oozing with blood.
"How...how is everyone?" He asked, but his voice wasn’t loud, and those nearby heard but could barely muster the energy to turn their heads.
There were no first-class cabins in this plane, but there was business class, which was quieter and more stable than economy and had fewer people. The business class was also not fully occupied.
They were indeed panicked, and there were deaths due to heart attacks and injuries, but everyone else was fortunate to have survived. It was also because their seats were better quality and had better spacing, softening a lot of the impact.
He passed over them to check the economy, which was undoubtedly more chaotic. Fortunately, those who could move did move, and many stood up to help others. They were lucky to have two surviving medical professionals on the flight as well.
Their names were Ethan and Hilda, unrelated individuals seated very far apart, but fortunately still alive.
Ethan was a doctor; his daughter’s eyes were red from crying, but she was well-behaved now. Hilda, also a doctor, was helping out.
However, before he could completely exit the business class, the man looked at his seatmate who had perished during the rough landing and gritted his teeth in anger.
He unbuckled his belt and shot up— though almost falling due to the imbalance and his own weakness. He ran after Helios to the economy cabin and grabbed his collar.
However, Helios was taller and stronger than him. Not to mention, he was weakened by the impact. How much strength could he muster?!
In anger, he exploded even more. "JERK!!" "YOU SHOULD’VE FLOWN BETTER!" "DID YOU HIT THOSE ROCKS ON PURPOSE!?"
Even if there was no way for Helios to know there were sharp rocks under the sand they landed on, who cares? He’s driving, so it was 100% his fault!!
Some looked at Helios without moving, apparently agreeing with the man, while others were neutral, not having the energy to argue about anything.
Helios didn’t answer. He knew that the limit of people’s patience had long been exceeded and they needed something to vent on as they lost loved ones in this disaster.
Most were rational and knew the truth, but they were too tired, and they were too afraid to be on the other end of the barrage as well.
Faced with irrational, heartbroken people, who would win? There was no winner, so Helios just stayed quiet.
Fortunately, there were still many types of people, and a place like a plane had a variety of them. Elias, the doctor, shook his head and wanted to speak up, but his hands were full with his patients.
He also needed to check his daughter every so often, as she also got a few sprains.
One of the people in the economy class area stood up. She was bruised all over and had several wounds, but the indignation for someone else was evident in her expression.
It was a young lady in her early twenties. She had a delicate face and blonde hair, fitting for her name, Angel.
Except her mouth was nothing gentle. "Stop it," She said. "If not for him, we’d have all exploded before we landed. Are you angry because you wanted to die?"
"You—"
His eyes met with Yanna, the brunette stewardess, who had been comfortable in the business class. "Are all your employees like this!?"
This woman had been flirting with him before, which was nothing new for business class. It was even more blatant when there were first-class cabins.
The woman wanted to gain favor, but was afraid of the consequences of saying the wrong things. "S...Sir, please calm down," she said. "We...we...everyone is doing our best to gain our bearings. Please...be patient."
"DAMNIT! So many excuses!! If you don’t handle this well, then I’ll sue you, and you," he said, pointing at Helios and Angel. "Wanna bet!?"
Since the problem was getting bigger and others were getting dragged into it, Helios had no choice but to speak up. He looked at the man. "I apologize for your loss," he said. "But we’ve done the best we could. If you do not agree, you do not have to listen to what I say."
He looked at the economy cabins, which were in the hundreds. "I have been trying to contact anyone, but there has been no response so far.
"It seems like all modes of communication, including satellites, are down."
"We cannot wait here as everyone —including the government—would be too busy with their own affairs.
"I know the nearest town is about half a day on foot. Does anyone want to come?"
...
After some discussions, a group of people stood up to follow Helios. The others were reluctant, but most were ultimately pulled along by peer pressure.
Everyone grabbed a bag for their essentials or whatever they could bring. While they were reluctant to part with most of their luggage, they were not stupid enough to bring a large amount of luggage.
They had to focus on the essentials. If they lost it or they did not have it, then they’d just take the luggage of other people who couldn’t wake up anymore. They grabbed clothes, basic necessities, and the like. People’s backpacks were full, bringing another in front of them. If they could carry more, they would even bring duffel bags.
With luggage on hand, Helios and the others looked at the vast desert in front of them, sand smack on their faces. Helios had a rough direction of where civilization was, but he couldn’t tell how far, especially on foot.
Good luck to them. They’d need all of it.