Allison Vol 1 Chapter 6

A soldier leapt into a car by the ca.n.a.l and began to drive. It stopped right in front of the ramp.

“Hey! Out of the way!”

The solider jumped out of the car, and it began to move again. The panicked soldier tried to stop it, but his attempts ended in failure. The car rolled straight down the ramp and into the ca.n.a.l.

“Wh, what is he doing?!” Allison howled.

“That’s fine. Keep away from the seaplane; it’s very dangerous. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Benedict hung up.

“That’ll hold ‘em. So… now what? What do I do?”

Wil asked.

Allison replied, stepping down on the left rudder pedal. The plane slowly began to swerve left. A wide, clear area opened up before them.

“…”

In the distance, they could see the gates through which they had entered. And the perfectly straight road leading there.

Wil answered immediately.

Allison smiled and pulled down her goggles.

The plane turned in the middle of the road. The nose was pointed directly at the front gates.

She wrenched back the throttle lever.

The sound of whirring grew in a gentle crescendo. It reached its peak and filled the forest base with the roar of the engine.

“No… it can’t be…” Benedict gasped.

The seaplane began to taxi on the road, flatcar and all. It sped up, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

Countless eyes fell upon the plane from the windows of the castle and the barracks. The eyes of soldiers and officers, and the eyes of an old man at the top of a tower.

The seaplane continued down the road, gaining speed. White smoke began billowing from the flatcar’s two axles, worn out from the friction.

“That’s amazing… Is this some sort of a takeoff training, Second Lieutenant?” Asked an ignorant technician.

“No…” Benedict half-mumbled.

“Okay! Keep going!” Allison called to the seaplane. It continued to barrel down the road.

In the shaky scenery flying past them from beyond the winds.h.i.+eld, they could see the gate drawing closer and closer.

And when the needle of the speedometer reached a certain point,

“Great! Now, FLY!”

Allison pulled back the control stick, which she had been holding down all this time.

The floats and the flatcar fell off the plane.

The frame lifted off into the sky in a gentle arc.

The flatcar continued down the road all alone.

“They actually made it… Amazing…” Gasped a soldier who had been watching from by the gates.

“Huh? WHOA!”

But he soon spotted the flatcar zooming in his direction. He hurriedly stumbled away. The flatcar crashed into the gates. There was the sound of metal crunching against metal, and sparks flew in the wake of the impact.

Allison celebrated.

Wil answered, still rattled.

The seaplane was flying over the forest. Under them and to the left, they could see their makes.h.i.+ft runway grow smaller.

Allison tilted the frame to the left and began to swerve towards the Teruto Base.

Allison pressed the machine gun switch. The first shot was loaded by motor power, and the ‘Ready to Fire’ light came on in the c.o.c.kpit. The firing lever was above the control stick.

“They actually made it…” Benedict murmured blankly. The seaplane was safely into the air.

It then swerved to the left.

“What?”

Its nose was pointing at the base.

“Is she planning to open fire?”

The fighter plane continued towards the Teruto Base, gliding low near the ground.

There was no time to get ready. The seaplane flew over the barracks and quickly ascended, slipping past the towers.

It then did a 360-degree spin. It was a victory roll, a sort of ceremony done by pilots to celebrate a successful mission.

The seaplane stopped rotating. The engine puffed out a small cloud of black smoke.

“You got me, Allison…”

Benedict looked up into the sky, s.h.i.+elding his eyes from the sun.

The seaplane swerved to the right and disappeared over the roof of the hangar.

“What a beautiful sight.”

Walter muttered in Roxchean, still atop the tower.

The seaplane carrying Allison and Wil flew by overhead, bound for the eastern sky.

Suddenly, he spotted someone’s shadow on the tower.

“A sniper, eh? I’m not too fond of pain.”

Walter leaned against the railing to his right and fell seated on the ground. He quietly looked up at the bright blue sky.

“What a beautiful sight.”

He directed his voice to the heavens.

“First Lieutenant Unell Esther. Staff Sergeant Foss Bay. Sergeant First Cla.s.s Dee Halaki. Second Lieutenant Meen Ted. Staff Sergeant Vincent Welley. Master Sergeant Canira Dawken Kenroff. Sergeant Bel Opus. Second Lieutenant Stol Gemue…”

Walter raised his right hand, and the gun he clutched in it.

“All of you must have wanted to die under such a beautiful sky, too. I’m sorry. I won’t ask you to forgive me. Now, curse me all you want. And Norma… I’m sorry. I won’t be able to keep my promise to you. Don’t blame those two children. This is all my responsibility. I’m sorry.”

He placed the barrel against his temple.

“Ah… What a beautiful sight.”

And pulled the trigger.

“What was that?! Who opened fire?!” Captain Gratz cried, looking at the old man’s bloodied corpse at the top of the tower.

“I did not give permission to fire!”

The soldiers looked down at the body without a word. One person, who was wearing a radio, timidly spoke up.

“S, sir… none of the snipers shot him.”

“..”

Gratz slowly sat the corpse upright. There was a gun in his right hand. The barrel was stained red.

“d.a.m.ned b.a.s.t.a.r.d…”

Several officers, including Colonel Elcub, were gathered in the command room. The emergency alarm had stopped, and everything was quiet.

“s.h.i.+t!” The rotund colonel swore, bringing in his three thugs. “Is there a man-shapedhole in the dungeons here?!”

The mustached Colonel Elcub, however, sounded utterly serene.

“Why, if it isn’t Colonel Nott. You didn’t have to come all this way.”

“Explain the situation! Where is the old man now?!”

Colonel Nott’s demands were more than enough to earn him the animosity of every soldier in the room.

“I received word from Captain Gratz, Colonel.” Said a signaler. “Um… He reported that the escaped spy shot himself.”

Colonel Nott flushed a furious red.

“What…?”

“That’s a shame.” Said Colonel Elcub, not sounding in the least sympathetic. He ordered the men to lift the state of high alert.

“Ah, by the way, Colonel Nott. What was that fighter plane that took off just now? You know it’s dangerous to do something like that without giving us any notification.”

“I know nothing about any fighter crafts! If you’ll excuse us!” Nott howled, and turned to leave with the second lieutenant and the two first lieutenants. At that moment,

“Colonel Nott, sir. You have a call from Second Lieutenant Carr.” Said the signaler.

“I’ll take it myself. Connect him to the next room.”

Colonel Nott and his men entered the next room over. He took the call and heard Benedict’s panicked voice.

“Hm. Explain the situation.”

Benedict explained that two Roxcheans had infiltrated the base, contacted the imprisoned old man, and discussed some sort of treasure.

Benedict pushed René aside and continued.

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Benedict neglected to mention that one of the Roxcheans was Allison.

Colonel Nott replied.

“I see. Here are your orders, Second Lieutenant Carr. Follow after them at once on another fighter craft. And order the Roxcheans to fly the stolen craft back to the base.”

“If they try to flee, shoot them down without mercy. They infiltrated this base to make contact with the spy in our custody. The spy has just killed himself. There is a chance that those Roxcheans may return Cross-River with the cla.s.sified information we codenamed ‘The Treasure’. If you cannot bring them back, shoot them down before they cross the border.”

<...>

“Is something wrong?”

“I am giving you an order on the basis of your skill, Second Lieutenant. Or would you prefer that I a.s.sign someone else this mission?”

Colonel Nott hung up.

“Easier than training a dog.” He mumbled. He then turned to the first lieutenant, who was listening to the conversation.

“The fighter crafts are equipped with signal transmitters, correct?”

The first lieutenant grinned.

“Yes, sir. Just like the one on Terreur’s biplane. Carr doesn’t know, of course. It’ll run for at least half a day even after the engine’s been shut off. We can track them easily.”

“Good. The three of you, follow after him. If Second Lieutenant Carr shows any sign of suspicious behaviour, kill him. I leave this to you.”

The three men laughed.

“Private! You stay quiet, understand? Do not tell anyone anything! Forget everything that happened just now!” Benedict cried after hanging up, and turned to the technicians.

“I’m taking off! Bring out a single-seater!”

As the technicians prepared the fighter craft, Benedict put on his jacket and grabbed his aviator hat and goggles. He hesitated about putting on a parachute, but eventually decided against it.

Lightly equipped, Benedict climbed up the ladder.

“Second Lieutenant! I’m afraid you can’t use the ca.n.a.l yet!” A technician said as Benedict took a seat. “There’s a car in the water, sir. We have to hoist it out of there. Give us a little time!”

“d.a.m.n it!”

Benedict put on his hat and goggles.

“Put the ladder away! I’m taking off!”

“Sir?”

“Never mind! Just do it!”

The technician climbed down and took away the ladder. The plane’s engine began to roar.

Benedict’s fighter craft began to warm up as it taxied down the road. The gate grew further and further.

His breathing grew harsh. Benedict glared at the road ahead through his sights.

“If she could do it… so can I!”

The soldiers who were out on the road scattered in panic. Finally, his way was clear.

Benedict pulled back the throttle.

“Another one!”

“What are those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds thinking?!”

“Move!”

The soldiers who were trying to pull the flatcar out of the gates yelled in confusion.

The second fighter craft came zooming at them, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

“Argh!”

The plane lifted off before it hit the gates, rus.h.i.+ng by over the men’s heads.

The second flatcar barreled in their direction, just like the first one had.

But this time, it ran straight through the gates.