Marco Northern & Lithuania Starr"Here we go," said Lithuania Starr, captain of the Foggistani Helo-Fleet. With a crew of twenty soldiers in the rear, Lithuania revved up the helicopter's engine and took to the skies.
"It's a beautiful day for an international relief effort, eh?" said Lieutenant Marco Northern, co-pilot and second in command of the Helo-Fleet.
"I still think it's silly they decided to put us both in the same chopper," said Lithuania in a monotone. "If something happens to us, the Helo-Fleet will have a tough time doing anything effectively..."
"Oh come on," said Marco, reclining into his seat as Lithuania manned the controls. "Peter would make a fine leader if we... well, if we went MIA." Lithuania scoffed. The man Marco was referring to was Lieutenant Peter Pidgeons, an honest and hard-working man who had climbed up the ranks through effort and admirable displays of courage- but a fool, nonetheless. Or at least Lithuania seemed to think so. "Anyways," continued Marco, "They put us in the same chopper because we're trying to inspire international confidence. Who better to man a mission into Luscious Locks than the leading officers of Foggistan's Helo-Fleet?"
"Shows a lack of foresight, if you ask me," grunted Lithuania. "Look ahead." Marco turned his eyes from his co-pilot and towards their flight path. Up ahead was the Luscious Locks border, and precisely where the Luscious territory began, a black expanse of stormy cumulus clouds stretched up into the sky. "What were you saying about it being a beautiful day?" Marco groaned and tightened the strap of his seatbelt.
It was the difference between night and day in the blink of an eye. The moment the chopper crossed the border, hail pellets the size of golf balls began to pour from the sky, and the turbulence became almost unmanageable, even for the senior pilot. "Good God," said Lithuania. "I don't know if I've ever..."
Marco placed his hand on hers. "If anyone can make it through a storm like this, it's you," he said reassuringly.
Lithuania gripped the control stick firmly, her lips pressed and beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. The hailstorm evolved into a mix of snow, rain and ice, and drafts of wind were knocking the helicopter every which way. "What has come over this country?!" Lithuania said, squinting through the terrible visibility. "Have you still got radio contact?" she asked Marco. Marco nodded, pressing his headphones more closely to his ears. It was almost impossible to hear anything over the drone of the storm mixed with the whirring of helicopter blades. "We're almost at the capital, about twenty more minutes," Lithuania noted.
And then the sky went black.
"It's a beautiful day for an international relief effort, eh?" said Lieutenant Marco Northern, co-pilot and second in command of the Helo-Fleet.
"I still think it's silly they decided to put us both in the same chopper," said Lithuania in a monotone. "If something happens to us, the Helo-Fleet will have a tough time doing anything effectively..."
"Oh come on," said Marco, reclining into his seat as Lithuania manned the controls. "Peter would make a fine leader if we... well, if we went MIA." Lithuania scoffed. The man Marco was referring to was Lieutenant Peter Pidgeons, an honest and hard-working man who had climbed up the ranks through effort and admirable displays of courage- but a fool, nonetheless. Or at least Lithuania seemed to think so. "Anyways," continued Marco, "They put us in the same chopper because we're trying to inspire international confidence. Who better to man a mission into Luscious Locks than the leading officers of Foggistan's Helo-Fleet?"
"Shows a lack of foresight, if you ask me," grunted Lithuania. "Look ahead." Marco turned his eyes from his co-pilot and towards their flight path. Up ahead was the Luscious Locks border, and precisely where the Luscious territory began, a black expanse of stormy cumulus clouds stretched up into the sky. "What were you saying about it being a beautiful day?" Marco groaned and tightened the strap of his seatbelt.
It was the difference between night and day in the blink of an eye. The moment the chopper crossed the border, hail pellets the size of golf balls began to pour from the sky, and the turbulence became almost unmanageable, even for the senior pilot. "Good God," said Lithuania. "I don't know if I've ever..."
Marco placed his hand on hers. "If anyone can make it through a storm like this, it's you," he said reassuringly.
Lithuania gripped the control stick firmly, her lips pressed and beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. The hailstorm evolved into a mix of snow, rain and ice, and drafts of wind were knocking the helicopter every which way. "What has come over this country?!" Lithuania said, squinting through the terrible visibility. "Have you still got radio contact?" she asked Marco. Marco nodded, pressing his headphones more closely to his ears. It was almost impossible to hear anything over the drone of the storm mixed with the whirring of helicopter blades. "We're almost at the capital, about twenty more minutes," Lithuania noted.
And then the sky went black.
"Oh shit!" cried Lithuania.
In an instant she lost all control of the craft. Her stomach gave a somersault as the helicopter was tossed into the sky by some unknowable force, swiveling left and right, spinning uncontrollably. "Mayday! Mayday!" screamed Lithuania into the radio.
Then the electricity of the aircraft died completely. The swoosh of the helicopter's blades and the sound of the storm created a hellish roar in Lithuania's head. She couldn't even hear herself screaming.
Football-sized blocks of hail crashed suddenly through the windshield. "We're going down!" Lithuania screamed.
And then she knew no more.
---
She awoke to the sound of pouring rain and the smell of burnt flesh. When she opened her eyes she was hanging upside down, held to her seat by the seatbelt. "Marco," she mumbled. The taste of iron filled her mouth, and when she spit it was all blood. Something had hit her in the face, hard. "Marco!" she cried through the darkness. There was no response. She brought her hand to the flashlight on her helmet and flicked it on. A pale beam illuminated the now wrecked cockpit. There was blood everywhere. She turned her head to where Marco should have been, and screamed.
His body suspended upside down from his seat, Marco's face had caved in completely. In its place was a mess of brains and blood. Below him was the murder weapon: a bloodied block of hail, the size of which Lithuania had never before seen.
Resisting the urge to sob uncontrollably, Lithuania unblucked herself and collapsed weakly onto the controls which were now below her. As far as she could tell, she was relatively unharmed, except for her pulsating face and bleeding mouth.
She pulled herself towards the rear of the cockpit, hoping to exit through one of the helicopter's rear doors. "Is anyone alive back there!?" she called. There was absolute silence, and the stench of burnt flesh was growing sickening. She pushed the radio button on her helmet. "Star Fleet, come in." She waited. "Star Fleet, this is Lithuania Starr, come in!" Nothing.
She crawled further into the back of the helicopter. The floor and walls were charred black. There had been an explosion, apparently. How long was I out? Lithuania wondered. And how the hell am I still alive? There were a few unrecognizable corpses scattered about, but given their number, there were still plenty of soldiers missing.
Following the pale beam of her flashlight and the sound of rain, Lithuania was finally able to make her way out of the mangled chopper. The rain was pouring hard, and the darkness was so unnaturally dense Lithuania couldn't even see her own hand if she didn't flash her light directly on it. "Hello!" she yelled into the wind. She took a few steps upon the scorched grass, then yelled again, "Hello!!? Anyone out there?!"
For all she knew, she was the only one alive.
---
Illustration of Marco and Lithuania done with the most gracious assistance of Hero Machine 2.5:
