“You should have told me the plane left at 3:45 am” said Oswin, pushing a fern out of his path as he hiked with his bike.

  “I did, I don’t know how you concluded anything else.” said Kevin. He placed his foot on a patch of slippery mud and faceplanted into the ground, his bike falling on top of him. This was not the first time he slipped on this hike, it was not the second, third, fourth or even fifth either.

  Kevin was as sure-footed as anyone came, but there was an absolute limit when faced with trekking through the night without any lights in the jungle’s undergrowth. Axel led the two at the front. He managed to not fall a single time on their long and meandering journey thus far.

  “Shhh, we are almost there.” said Axel. He was the only one of the three dressed appropriately for the terrain, sporting a raincap, hiking boots and breathable clothing.

  “Oh really? Are we almost almost there now? Or just almost there. Because last I checked we have been almost there for about an hour.” Said Oswin. He was covered from head to toe with mud and scrapes. “And where are we? Where are we going?”

  “So many questions.” muttered Axel.

  “Yea, yea I have questions. I’ve had questions ever since we landed in Buscany then took off into the jungle without a map or compass.” said Oswin.

  Kevin tripped over a hidden root, losing his balance and falling to the ground. Due to the angle of the slope, he fell into Oswin who collapsed on top of him. They worked themselves back to solid footing and crested the hill.

  Axel was sitting on a log, observing lights hidden in the valley below. The lights were from a military installation hidden in the trees. It contained several black-ish green buildings of varying sizes, as well as a runway for small to medium planes. Both Kevin and Oswin took a seat next to Axel, using the break time to drink some water.

  “So we are training with the military?” asked Kevin.

  Axel considered the question, rapping his hand on this thigh. “Kinda.” he responded. “Maybe not in the way you two expect, but in a way that will allow you to grow. That right there is a base for the Triscant military.”

  “The Triscant military. The dictatorship? Hold on, we crossed the border?” said Oswin.

  “You bet we did, and for this last part we are going to need to be quiet. Follow my lead and don’t make any noise.” said Axel. He started down a path to the encampment, explaining as he did so. “The Triscants don’t know that anyone knows about this place, so security is lax. As long as we avoid the search lights they won’t know what hit them. I have a contact on the inside we need to get to.”

  Axel followed a winding path between the trees, trying to stay concealed by the foliage for as long as possible. The searchlights occasionally lit up sections of the jungle, but the leaves and bushes were so thick the group was never in danger of being spotted, even when Kevin failed to dive behind a rock in one unlucky spot. In a different area Oswin pretended to be a tree rather than hide.

  “Nice Oswin, they won’t suspect a tree wearing a bike helmet– what kind of idiot are you?” Axel’s sarcasm stung.

  The final stretch was a cleared field which extended out from the chain link fences which made up the border of the encampment. No cover was to be found here, and the searchlights pivoted back and forth restlessly.

  “The side entrance is just a little over that way. Looks like my contact is on duty. You two stay here while I figure this out.” Axel darted over the field, making efforts to avoid the searchlights. The final floodlights in front of the entrance were unavoidable, leading Axel to step out into the light. Once he did so, a gun was lowered at him, and unintelligible yelling followed.

  Axel’s eyes glowed as he used his RAD powers. A skeleton unearthed itself behind the soldier and disarmed him, then Axel closed the distance. They talked briefly. Axel produced a document out of his jacket and handed it to the soldier. All the color drained from the soldier's face, and he nodded grimly. He walked inside a small nearby building and turned off the floodlights.

  “Whats going on? Are you seeing this?” asked Oswin.

  “Man, you do ask a lot of questions,” said Kevin.

  “Well there are a lot of things I don’t know. I’m beginning to doubt this special training program. Actually I have been doubting it for a while. Does Trescant even have any bike racing tracks? How are we going to train?”

  “I don’t know. Seems like the contact was successful though. Axel is motioning us over.”

  Kevin proceeded to the main entrance, with Oswin close behind. ‘My bike is going to need to be reoiled, cleaned, I think I punctured a tire somewhere. Ugh, is that a dead frog in the spokes? I’ll remove it later. I hope it's not the poisonous kind.’ Observed Oswin.

  “Yea this is the other two, let's go to the hangar. Remember not to let anyone else see us.” Axel said to the soldier. They made a right out of the entrance, keeping between the chain link fence and the backs of various buildings. Other soldiers could be heard in the watch towers that lined the perimeter, but they never thought to look behind and below them. The farthest building was the largest and tallest. They entered through a back entrance, which was unlocked by the soldier with his keys.

  On the inside of the hangar was a single cargo plane. It was likely the largest plane that could fit on the runway of the base. Its back entrance was left open, with half packed supplies strewn around. Several sets of keys hung on a nearby bulletin board. The soldier took one and handed it to Axel.

  “And now I’m done. You won’t do anything right?” Asked the soldier.

  “Yes, you are good to go. I recommend finding a hole to hide in, leaving might be a little loud. “ Playing with the keys with his left hand, Axel entered the cargo plane and sat in the pilot's seat. There were a few other empty seats, which Oswin and Kevin used for themselves. Axel did not put on his seatbelt.

  “Can one of you find a switch that says– oh here we are. “ said Axel. He flipped the switch and the hangar door began to rise.

  “I’m surprised you have permission to just take a plane like this. And that soldier was clearly afraid of you. What does the Trescant government owe you?”

  “Owe me? Permission? Oswin I threatened that kid’s life and family then showed him a picture of his daughter. He understood the situation fast and complied with my orders. Good guy all around.” responded Axel. As he spoke, two Trescant soldiers walked into the hanger, attempting to investigate why the door was opening without a scheduled launch. They had to dive out of the way as the cargo plane drove past them.

  Leaving the hanger Axel took a sharp left turn. The resulting g-force would have knocked Oswin and Kevin out of their seats if they were not wearing seatbelts. All the jets were already firing at full blast, which was loudly knocking around supplies and people. Loudest of all was an incessant screeching which started since the plane was moving.

  Kevin opened the door to the cargo bay to see what the source was. The cargo bay door was left open. It dragged across the cement with a trail of sparks.

  “I think we should put the door up.” shouted Kevin over the noise.

  “I’ll worry about it later. I can’t see anything. All the damn watch towers turned the spotlights on us.” said Axel.

  “Well then I’m gonna find the switch for it.” Shouted Kevin. He sat in front of a panel of switches. ‘Ok the sections are labeled “landing”, “air control”, “lights”, “signaling” and “radio”. The “landing” section is what I will want’. Thought Kevin. He began slipping the switches in order from left to right within that section. Kevin felt a jerk and heard the sound of activating hydraulics.

  “Kevin! Kevin! You are retracting the landing gear.” Shouted Oswin. He sat next to the control panel as well and toggled all the landing switches, including the ones that Kevin had not touched yet. The landing gear stopped retracting, but the plane lurched backwards.

  “Who the hell thought it was a good idea to pull the handbrake?” Shouted Axel.

  BWWOOPPP. BWOOOPP. BWOOOP.

  The alarm in the military base went off, coating the entire area in a mix of red emergency lighting and floodlights. Groggy soldiers by the tens shuffled out of the barracks with rifles in hand. They opened fire on the cargo plane, coating the vehicle in sparks. In the pilots cabin, a previously unlit display jumped to life, flashing with an assortment of red error signs.

  Some of the soldiers threw hand grenades at the plane. Most bounced off harmlessly, getting the timing right was difficult. A few hit proper and damaged external systems.

  “Ok time for your first lesson in RAD control.” Shouted Axel. “Everything is a bike.” His eyes glowed as he channeled his RAD into the plane. The cargo plane had two jets on either side of the plane. They glowed as blue fire shot out of them. They provided several times the force they did previously. The landing gear, not able to handle the opposing forces between the handbreak and the turbo jets, snapped.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The entire cargo plane fell 5 feet. The body of the plane scraped along the pavement, still accelerating from the unbelievable thrust provided by the jets. The end of the runway was approaching quickly. Only a few more seconds remained. A watchtower was also placed at the end of it. The two watchmen inside jumped out in anticipation of what was to come.

  “Brace for impact.” Shouted Axel. Liftoff was achieved, but only at the very end of the runway. The cargo plane smashed through the watchtower, which was primarily wood. Once in the air, the flak cannons in the base began to fire. Black clouds bursted into existence around the plane.

  “Ok, now for the hard part.” Said Axel. The ambient noise quieted down a lot since the shell of the plane was not being rung like a bell by bullets anymore. “The base we just left has two HECAT missile setups. Heat tracking, and I’ll be damned if I ain't hot. There are missile countermeasures in the cargo hold. They look kinda like flares. You guys will need to activate them when they start firing missiles at us. Just toss' em out the back door.”

  Oswin sat clutching his chest, rapidly breathing. “I don’t think I’m ready for this.” he said. “Can I take a moment?”

  “Theres no time. Get your ass into gear.” said Axel.

  “Come on Oswin, we got this.” said Kevin, not believing the words himself.

  The dynamic duo entered the cargo bay. It was littered with bullet holes, small fires, and shrapnel from thrown explosives. The only supplies that remained were the ones already chained into place, which made a total of 3 pallets. The two nearest by were labeled “50 KG bombs” and “Concentrated Explosive material. WARNING: VERY FLAMMABLE.” Oswin gazed anxiously at the small fires burning away on the second pallet.

  The third pallet was towards the end of the plane. Several crates secured in place by burning and thinning straps. It was labeled “Pyrotechnic Decoys”. The men approached by using the railings, of which there were three: Two on the side and one in the middle. A vortex of violent winds rampaged through the cargo every moment the cargo hold door was open in flight.

  While shuffling down, Oswin took a moment to check on their bikes. They secured them to one of the railings with chains earlier, and they were still around. They were damaged, scuffed, scratched, dented, and covered in mud, soot, and dust, but they were around.

  Kevin got to the third pallet first, and began loosening one of the holding straps.

  “What are you doing?” asked Oswin.

  “The crate can’t be opened if the straps are so tight,” Kevin responded. Once the crate was openable, Kevin reached inside and grabbed a decoy flare. The crate dislodged from the pallet and tumbled out of the plane, falling thousands of feet to the jungles below.

  “That’s why I did not want to adjust the straps.” Lamented Oswin.

  “Well we have one flare,” said Kevin.

  The flare was a white plastic pipe, clearly meant to be mounted inside of an aircraft. It lacked any instructions for use, other than a warning label which marked it as “hazardous”.

  From the direction of the military base, one bright light shone like a star. Oswin noticed it first, then notified Kevin by tapping on his shoulder.

  “I think that’s a missile,” said Oswin.

  “Ok, OK. How do I turn this thing on?” asked Kevin.

  “I don’t know. Try stuff.” said Oswin.

  Kevin took the decoy flare and attempted to twist every part of it. Nothing budged. He banged the flare against the wall, but that yielded no result as well. The bright light was getting closer. Oswin could make out the orange-red color of the thruster more clearly as it approached.

  “I’m out of ideas. You try something.” said Kevin as he handed the flare to Oswin.

  Oswin stared blankly at the flare. “This is a modern flare meant to be mounted on some kind of plane. That means it must have a firing mechanism. The simplest one would be based on electricity.” Owin’s eyes glowed. “I can do something about that.” He shocked the flare. Nothing happened. He held the flare at a different angle. Still nothing after a shock. He did not check to see how close the missile was, he was too afraid to look.

  At one of the ends of the flare, the plastic was discolored. Oswin directed electricity into it. The flare spewed flames, burning Oswin’s hand. He cried out in pain and let go of the flare. It got stuck in between two other boxes of flares. The plastic containers melted under the intense heat.

  “Get it out!” shouted Kevin. He tried to pull out the flare with his hand, but it was burning far too hot.

  The full shape of the missile was easily seen by anyone in the cargo bay. Oswin revisited his life in memory. He recalled it being so lonely. So much time wasted with Tana chasing frivolous goals. Always comparing himself against her. It was simultaneously the biggest waste of time in his life and the only thing he lived for. ‘I picked up biking just to stay in shape, now it's going to get me truly killed. I always thought it would be one of my Exes.’

  Oswin and Kevin were squashed against the floor of the cargo bed as Axel attempted evasive maneuvers. This dislodged the flare. It rolled out of the cargo area into the open sky. The missile swerved to intercept it, exploding next to, but not on, the cargo plane. Axel’s celebration echoed in the open bay.

  Kevin was about to celebrate as well, when he noticed a small fire fueling itself in the crate of decoy flares. He grabbed Oswin and pulled him out of the danger zone as the crate fully ignited. They climbed the nearby railing to safety. The first crate burned hot enough to ignite the rest simply through proximity.

  “I don’t think y'all had to light so many flares. Its like there is a small sun in there.” Hollered Axel from the cockpit.

  The crate on the top of the stack freed itself from it’s bindings. It slid out to the sky, then opened up as it fell. Other missiles, beyond what Kevin and Oswin had seen previously, approached. They all followed the decoy flares, detonating far from the plane.

  The pallet of flares was hot enough to melt metal, slowly weakening the steel chains that held it in place at the bottom. The floor and walls of the cargo bay were not faring much better, they glowed red hot as their structure melted.

  “I don’t think the plane can handle this,” said Kevin. “We have to push the flares out of here.”

  “Its fine. Lets not get closer to the flares. Lets rejoin Axel.” responded Oswin.

  The structure of the plane groaned. The wall on the left dented inward, causing the plane to shake violently. The shaking slid the burning flares closer to the end of the plane, but the heat remained. One of the hinges of the cargo ramp melted all the way through, causing the ramp to tear off from its mounting point.

  The heat whipped around the inside of the hold, creating a localized firestorm. Everything hurt to touch, Oswin’s shoes melted to the ground. He stared anxiously at the Explosive material pallet. It was positioned higher up on the same cargo track, so if they released it then it should collide with the flares, hopefully jettisoning everything off the plane.

  The two men looked to the explosives, then to each other. They were both thinking the same thing.

  Kevin shuffled over to the chains binding the pallet to the ground. It was held in place by a thick padlock.

  “How can we open this?” Thought Kevin outloud.

  Oswin grabbed the chain in desperation and pulled with all his might. No effect was had.

  He scanned the walls for anything that might help them. A set of tools, including two sledgehammers, were mounted on the wall nearby. The men each grabbed one and began hammering away at the padlock.

  The cargo plane groaned once more as the left side of the cargo bay caved in further. Axel shouted in frustration as he struggled to keep the plane under control. Oswin lost his footing and his tool. The sledgehammer bounced off the floor and knocked another box of flares off the pile and into several oncoming missiles.

  “Yall are doing a great job with the flares.” complimented Axel. “Keep timing them like that and we are in for an easy ride.”

  Kevin hammered the padlock while Oswin searched for another tool. He found a fireaxe tucked away in a corner. With it, they attempted to pry the damaged padlock open. The wooden handle snapped and they both fell to the ground. Kevin discarded the fireaxe head in anger by throwing it out of the plane.

  Another explosion and another lurch. All the objects in the plane floated for a few feet before slamming back down. The padlock broke. The pallet filled with explosives careened towards the decoy flares, helped along by a well timed drop kick from Kevin.

  The two pallets collided then sailed off the plane together.

  “That last one was the flak, not your fault. I’ll try–” An explosion larger than anything previous shook the plane as if it was made of paper. Oswin and Kevin screamed and brought their hands to their pain-filled eardrums. The cargo bay went dark as all the lights shattered and the debris outside obscured the sunlight.

  The cargo plane emerged from the blanket of smoke, light flowed inside the cabin once more.

  “Alright I think that's it.” said Axel, as he left the pilots cabin. “Everything roughly went according to plan.”

  “Just who are you?” Demanded Oswin. “Everything we just did was insane. How is any of this going to help with my biking? If these people capture us they will true kill us. I don’t want to risk that.”

  “I told you I’m Axel. I guess I also sometimes go by Deathrider.” said Axel.

  “Deathrider.” Oswin repeated. “Wait. You mean The Deathrider. The international war criminal.”

  “I think the extent of my war crimes are greatly exaggerated, but yea.” said Axel.

  “You are the number one most wanted in every sovereign nation. “

  “That’s a cool way of wording that I’ll have to remember it.”

  “Ok Oswin. I think I screwed up.” said Kevin. “I have to admit it.”

  “Nonono. You did not screw up anything.” corrected Axel. “This is gonna be the best training session of y’alls life. I’ll make sure of it.” He tied a long rope found in the cargo bay around both Oswin and Kevin, then attached it to the final pallet. Oswin was too afraid to resist. Kevin tried to, but found stopping Axel was like trying to move a boulder.

  “How many people have you killed?” asked Oswin, the terror in his voice fully enunciated.

  “You really wanna know the answer to that question?” said Axel. Oswin failed to maintain eye contact with Axel, choosing instead to stare at his shoes. “Then I ain't telling ya.”

  Axel described the trials to come. “Alright this is what is gonna happen. You two are going to survive in the Trescant Jungle. Your goal is to survive and escape the country. Have faith in your bikes and they will provide for you in the wilderness. If you are caught by the Trescants they will true kill you: smashing your head and leaving it to rot. If our grand theft plane did not already ensure that, I will be crashing it into Albert Trescant’s house myself and framing you two for it.”

  Axel kicked the final pallet. The steel chain snapped and it flew out of the plane, taking the rope Oswin and Kevin were connected to with it. The slack in the rope was running out fast. Axel broke the chain on Kevin’s bike and handed it to him. He reached inside his hiking backpack and handed Oswin a skateboard.

  “Am I supposed to rob a convenience store too?” asked Oswin. “What about my bike?”

  “Your bike is gonna be my ride home. I think you are more of a skateboarder anyhow. Give it a chance, you will like the results.” said Axel. “And my last bit of advice: I’m not a physicist but I think y’all should jump before the rope rips y’all in half.” Axel smiled. “Good luck. I won’t be watching.”