Virus
Chapter Ten

“Dammit, Eva, wake up!” I hear Lance yell.

“Ow,” I muttered, rolling over. “What happened?”

“Well, you took down the jet looking like a mix between Batman and Iron Man, and then you jumped down and fainted. A.V.A took over and dragged you to safety before her energy reserves ran out- you wasted all your energy on the jet. AND WHILE YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS THEY TOOK KIRA!!!” Lance ended with a shout.

“They took Kira!” I exclaimed.

“As you were lying on the ground they jumped out of the bushes wielding weaponry. They must’ve known you were more than a match for them and waited to distract you, so they could get us.” Lance gave a bitter laugh. “The weak links of the chain.”

“Lance, you are not the weak link say that again and I will change my Wi-Fi password the next time you come over and forget to inform you.” I declared.

“No, not the Wi-Fi,” Lance mocked, and for a while things were back to normal. For a while. Then the reality of the situation came crashing back down, and the search was back.

“Before we leave, there is a chance that we might replace something leading to her destination.” I reminded. “There is always hope…”

“If the jet had survived the attack, they would have sent it back, right? We could mess with the signal, make it seem like it survived, and track it. Right?” Lance remarked.

Theoretically, yes, A.V.A replied. However, there is a very prominent boundary between theory and practicality.

“It’s our best chance. A.V.A, can you do it?” I stated.

Of course, A.V.A then added in a playful tone- are you judging my abilities? Give me tie and it will be done.

“Do you need anything from the wreck?” I asked.

The circuitry, and that will be it. A.V.A replied.

“Okay, just take over my body and do what you need to from there- I don’t trust myself to get it right.” I responded.

I am grateful that you trust me that much, Eva, A.V.A replied. I realize that this is a great sacrifice.

Suddenly, I lost all control of my body. Although my original emotion was fear, it soon vanished, since I knew A.V.A would not betray me- it wasn’t even a question of character- her programming would not allow it. As I scrutinized over this, my worry increased. What if there were restraints on my behavior as well? A.V.A soon retrieved the necessary circuity and began to work on replicating the ‘okay’ signal. This may take a while, she warned.

“This may take a while,” I repeated, regaining my vocal functions. “Might as well go back.”

We returned to the house as A.V.A finished her tech magic, which took longer than I expected. Four hours later, A.V.A finally let go of my body and declared- Done. It took longer than I expected- the Amalgamation knows his way around his encryption methods. However, I have the Master Override- he stood no chance.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Now, we just have to make sure it works.” I picked up the device that Eva had created. There was nothing fancy about it- just a simple black box with the word ‘begin’ on it, accompanied by a large red button on which the inscription was placed. “Ready?” I asked Lance.

“Ready, he replied. We both knew that maybe we could hide ourselves, forget this ever happened. Or we could do the hard choice- become heroes of a sort, the Nameless, and rescue Kira. Why were the right choices always the hard ones… Anyways, there was no going back to a normal life now…

I jammed my finger on the button, causing it to light up. I also scavenged the console to the fighter. Coordinates should be on it now. However, I have one question- how are we supposed to get there? The fighter jet is only meant for one person- I could not have fixed it even if it could carry us there.

“Don’t worry- I have a plan for anything,” I responded. “A.V.A, do you know how to fly a plane? Because I could get us one…”