Spatial Manipulation System

Chapter 7 - Betrayal and True Faces

As Dave walked behind Celine, he struggled to accept the idea that there were some families different from his where everyone had a good relationship. She did not seem the least affected by the loss of her relatives and parents; even when she spoke of it, she seemed more concerned about her dwindling wealth.

While this raised questions about her character in his heart, it also awakened him to the reality that everything had a price. In this case, Celine paid the price of a good familial relationship for wealth. However, for her and many others, this purchase was not a choice.

They soon reached the small control room. It was Dave's second time in here, and once again, his gaze defaulted to Alisha, the pilot.

“How does she fly the plane from here?” He asked curiously as there weren't any flight controls in this room.

“Alisha doesn't really fly the plane, there's two other pilots for that. Her responsibilities are broader than that” Celine replied.

“Can we get him a phone?” She asked, gesturing at an Operator who seemed to be studying weather patterns.

The Operator glanced at Dave, then silently pulled out a drawer; he took out a small box from within and handed it over.

Dave accepted the box. Opening it, he found a small button phone within. There was no branding on it to which he simply shrugged. Chances are it was government-owned and siphoned by a corrupt Defense Minister. Thinking this, he glanced at Celine but said nothing.

“Keep us updated every hour if possible. While you're gone we'll make an attempt at a refueling station a few miles from here. Let us know on your return so we can be in time for extraction” Alisha approached at this time with a few instructions.

Celine gave her a side glance and the corner of her lips twitched. She glanced at Dave and noticed his pupils shifting between Alisha’s lips and eyes as she spoke.

At this moment, it did not matter to her that the two of them were adults while she was only a student.

“We've been on the ground a while, you should get going before we attract attention. The plane isn't silent” she reminded as soon as Alisha finished.

Dave coughed awkwardly and nodded curtly at Alisha. He followed Celine back through the somewhat narrow passageway to the Cargo Bay, where Hei Yu was waiting in front of the now-modified pickup truck. There wasn't much change to it aside from spikes added to the reinforced bumper and a strange material coating the tires.

“I had it cleaned and reinforced somewhat. The windshield and window glasses are reinforced but there wasn't enough for the rear. Then they added something to the tires that should resist punctures to a fair extent.” Celine was not an engineer, so she offered the little introduction she could.

Dave nodded and muttered a word of thanks before accepting the keys for Hei Yu and getting into the driver's seat.

The car reversed slowly out of the Plane and Dave skillfully executed a sharp turn. Facing the tall grass, he took a deep breath to settle his nervous heart and stepped on the gas pedal.

Meanwhile, the cargo bay slowly closed and the Jet lifted up off the ground to refuel.

Within, Celine's classmates sat together in the small bar drinking silently. As they felt the plane get airborne, they exchanged knowing glances with each other, but none of them said anything. For a few minutes, it was silent within the bar until Heather finally spoke up.

“Are you guys sure it's okay to do this?” She asked, her tone trembling.

“Would you rather sit there and do nothing until they throw us off the plane?” Adam asked fiercely.

Jason turned to Heather and gently put his palm over the back of her hand.

“It's true, I heard them talk about having too many people and that Awakened will be bringing his parents. Surely they'll have to kick someone out”

Upon hearing this, Heather fell silent, but her hesitation and disagreement were still visible in her expression.

“Then why are we not kicking him and the woman off the plane?” Hillary asked, his face squeezed in an angry frown as he looked around his friends.

“Are you dumb?” Jason turned to him.

“He is Awakened; this plane must land at some point. Can you fight zombies yourself?” he asked, not bothering to disguise his irritation.

“But why will he even bother to protect us after we do this?” Hillary asked again as if unbothered by Jason's outburst.

“Because the woman's husband is here and sick, his parents are coming too, and he needs somewhere they can stay and people to care for them while he and the woman fight,” Heather replied this time.

“Celine is the only liability, along with her family butler. Everyone else on the plane will listen to us. Celine's family is gone and with her father, her status and power. As for wealth, what use is it when the world is shit? The only asset she has is this plane, and that's why we must seize it,” Jason continued.

“I can't be part of this” Heather suddenly exclaimed.

Celine was her best friend, and she couldn't stomach the idea of killing a person, let alone the person supposedly closest to her.

The others turned sharply to her, their mouths agape in shock and their eyes full of confusion.

“Are you confused, Heather? Your relationship is only because of your family connection; you never really cared for her,” Jason said as if to remind her of something she had forgotten.

We're Heather and Celine really best friends? No! They never really cared for each other but being daughters and heirs of status men in a business alliance, they had to form a relationship or an understanding of each other. But despite how long they spent together, they were both clear about their relationship, neither of them truly cared about the other.

“If someone asked me to choose between Celine and survival before this zombie invasion, I would choose survival and myself without hesitation. Maybe I'll tell you that I'd stab her myself and get it over with. I thought myself to be that heartless and selfish, and maybe I am, but I can't do this,” Heather explained with a determined expression.

The others gave her weird and awkward looks as they turned to each other in confusion. When did Heather turn so . . . Sentimental, speaking so many words about rubbish.

“And I can't let you do this either” Heather slowly rose from her seat and forcefully pulled her hand from Jason's grip.

Adam and Hillary exchanged glances and took a step forward but before they could do anything, Heather sprinted for the exit without another word.

Jason quickly leaped and grabbed the back of her shirt but she suddenly turned with a spinning kick sent to his head and he collapsed instantly like a rag doll while she continued on but the Lounge was already so small, Hillary had already reached and was now standing in front of her while Adam stood behind her, his expression tense as he took an awkward fighting stance.

“When did you learn to do that?” Hillary asked as he faced her.

“I have a life beyond being a rich posh girl” Heather replied confidently, her usual hesitating and innocent expression gone and filled with determination.

“You won't hurt my best friend” she added as if in an afterthought.

“Your best friend will either kill you or throw you off this plane” Adam commented from behind.

“Then she is a shitty person; I'm not wrong because I choose to trust her; she is wrong if she chooses to betray me. It's not my fault” Heather replied as if to herself as her stance faltered for a moment.

“How many times have you repeated that to yourself?” Jason, who passed out a moment ago, slowly rose from behind them, holding one hand to his head. He had awoken as soon as he hit the ground, but it took him this long to recover his bearings.

Heather looked down sideways as if to turn around but she never did.

“What happened to you, Heather?” Jason asked again, his tone concerned.

“You keep thinking about your loyalty to Celine; what about your loyalty to me?” he asked.

“You attacked me without hesitation, betrayed me without thinking about the consequences for me. Is it my fault for trusting you? Or yours for betraying my trust. Am I a fool or you a shitty person?” Jason asked, his tone soft and calculated as if he was contemplating something.

Heather's shoulders dropped as Jason's words countered her psyche. Noticing this, Jason gave a look to Hillary in front of them, who was stunned at his friends suddenly turning philosophical.

Understating that look, Hillary leaped to action, grabbing and holding a distracted Heather in a tight hug, and Adam rushed forward to tie her legs.

After tying her with a shirt, they threw her down hard on the ground in front of the bar and Jason squatted in front of her.

“I care about you, and because of that, I will let you live and now throw you out with Celine,” he said in a low voice as his eyes trained on hers. He expected surprise or anger, but there was no reaction from Heather; she just stared back at him without saying a word.

“Or maybe you can collect some interest now. You never touched the girl.” Adam revealed a depraved expression, causing Jason's gaze to flicker.

“Some interest? You always seemed so decent,” a voice stunned everyone, and they sharply turned to the entrance to see Celine standing there with a few armed men.

“The plane was designed to take me around after the start of a zombie invasion, whatever gave you the impression that all it had were engineers and a helpless girl?” Celine had a baffled and defeated expression as she stared at them.

The armed guard in black combat gear stepped in and took a stand around the room surrounding the group.

“You might think my father foolish as I do, but powerful fools are powerful because weak smart people work for them. A defenseless plane in a wild world is just. . .” She sighed and stepped into the room while her friends gaped at her presence.

Walking past Hillary, she glanced at him with a complicated look in her eyes and then at Adam with undisguised disgust.

“We were always surface friends bound together by status, wealth, and power. Before getting on the plane, I feared you would turn on me in that convenience store. I never felt horror like I did in that moment when I realized the gloves were off. But hope, and this plane kept your demons intact and our pretentious relationship was maintained”

“I feared Heather because she had never once hesitated to sacrifice me for herself. I always thought she had no bottom line especially when she gave up her crush by letting him get close to me just so she could steal information. It was a great sacrifice, knowing how much she cared for that boy. I feared you because someone who gives up that much to achieve a goal, to climb above others is deadly”

Celine stood above Heather staring down at her.

“I had you followed, watched you train. I still remember the chills I got when I saw you bleed and fight men twice your size. How and why would a girl who has the world harbor such wild and unrestrained ambition and desire for power, I could never understand.”

Her tone softened and she leaned down.

“And yet it is you who has a bottom line. You knew I was going to throw you all off the plane. You overheard my conversation better than everyone else you knew for certain, and still.” Celine now looked ashamed and turned away from Heather's silent gaze.

“I'm not noble” she whispered and rose up.

“Keep them confined and release her. I'm not throwing anyone off the plane”

“But-” one of the soldiers stepped forward.

“It's okay, the plane can handle this much, or it would have been a wasteful investment.” Celin waved her hand and took a seat by the bar, drawing a bottle of bear close to herself.

“You're not old enough to drink that,” Heather commented suddenly at this moment, and Celine looked down at her.

“Damn, you haven't changed even after exposing your true self. Maybe I was wrong and the innocent you is as real and the ambitious bitch” Celine chuckled.

“Hope you still act mature and wise after the Dave returns” Heather glared at her and rose as soon as her binds were loosened. She snatched her fruity drink from the bar counter and downed it before stomping out of the lounge.

Celine's expression slowly turned back to that of an innocent high school girl as she winked at Jason, who now wore a sour face.

Children of wealthy people might be spoiled but children of the powerful are simply not children at all.