Alan slumps back into his seat, giving Yumiel a thumbs-up; she, for her part, lets out a deep breath.
Jack, behind them, says:
« So, in the end, we're good? »
« Yes, Jack, your colleague played it well with the little time we had. So what's next? » he says, looking at Yumiel.
« What's next? We land in Harbin as planned. »
Alan stretches as he says: « Okay, so we're landing by force. »
Jack heads back, lying down on the couch. Yumiel stays in the cockpit with Alan, chatting briefly.
« So, you're a vampire, huh? »
« Yeah. »
Alan puts his feet up on the dashboard.
« Sometimes I envy you people who obtained power. You're not chained to the simple weakness of being human. »
« You know, Alan, I don't think humans are weak. Organized in groups and trained, you can be formidable—but I imagine you know that. Then there are the Awakened, the term used to designate people with powers or abilities. I recently learned that some of these people can pass them on to others. »
Alan shows interest in what Yumiel just said, turning his gaze toward her before looking up.
« I think I need a cigarette. »
After that, neither of them speaks anymore, simply looking out over the cockpit.
As they draw closer to their destination, with only about fifteen minutes left before Harbin, their destination, the radio comes on, receiving a communication from Chinese air control. Alan and Yumiel put on their headsets.
« Falcon, this is air control, your trajectory is drifting from Mudanjiang, please change heading. »
Yumiel is about to reply, but Alan stops her. After a few minutes, Alan responds.
« Air control, this is Falcon. The VIPs insist on landing in Harbin, saying they have contacts there. »
A few dozen seconds later, they reply.
« Negative, Falcon. Change heading now and proceed to Mudanjiang. »
Alan grabs the controls and begins to dive downward. Jack arrives in the cockpit at the same time.
« Hold on, this is where things get serious. »
Jack has to grab onto whatever he can to avoid being thrown around the cockpit. The plane descends straight toward Harbin, the large city visible ahead and the runway in the distance.
« Falcon, if you do not change heading now, you will be judged hostile. »
Alan barrels straight toward the runways, but there are still a few minutes before reaching them. Yumiel says something to buy time.
« Air control, this is Falcon. The VIPs are shouting and rebelling, refusing to land at Mudanjiang. »
« Falcon, final warning, change heading now. »
The plane draws closer to the runways. Alan presses a button that deploys the landing gear, then suddenly a cannon blast is heard, striking the plane's wing. The aircraft starts to veer off course. Alan tries to straighten it out.
Alan does what he can, before crashing into the ground off-runway, destroying the landing gear. The plane slides on its fuselage, skidding for several hundred meters. All three try to escape the cockpit. The plane comes to a stop against a wall.
The cockpit explodes into a thousand pieces. Yumiel grabs Alan and pushes him ahead of her, positioning herself behind, absorbing the metal projectiles and getting thrown backward.
Jack smashes the plane's exit door, managing to open it. Yumiel is on the ground, pierced by several chunks and shards of metal that she tries to pull out.
Alan helps her, then helps her back up, and all three leave the plane, walking as far away from the airport as possible.
Yumiel starts to recover and no longer needs Alan's help to walk. The problem is Jack, who is limping because his other leg is completely destroyed.
Despite that, they arrive at the gate separating the airport from the city. Destroying the gate, they start heading toward the city.
Above them in the sky, several helicopters pass overhead and head toward the crashed plane. Alan helps Jack to speed up their pace.
« The city must be several kilometers away, we won't make it in time. »
Alan's remark is true. Around them, aside from grass, snow, and a few buildings with a road, there is nothing.
Yumiel and Jack are lost; this is a new country they know nothing about. Alan takes charge.
« Let's first go to the building we can see attached to the airport. With a bit of luck, we can find a car there. »
To avoid wasting time, Yumiel takes Jack on her back and starts running with Alan toward the building. The helicopters in the sky switch on their searchlights.
Seeing this, they hurry to reach the building, where Jack smashes through a wall, entering inside. The interior looks like a warehouse filled with a multitude of parts.
Yumiel sets Jack down and quickly explores the warehouse, looking for a vehicle. Suddenly, Alan shouts:
« THERE, I'VE GOT A VEHICLE. »
Joining him, they find a service vehicle—a maintenance van. Alan, crouched down, tries to pick the lock. They can hear the helicopters getting closer; it won't be long before they search the warehouse.
Yumiel pushes Alan aside, draws blood from her body, feeds it into the lock, and creates a key that opens the door.
« These practices, really. »
They all get into the vehicle—Jack in the back, Alan at the wheel, Yumiel in the passenger seat—starting the vehicle the same way. Driving up to the warehouse door, Yumiel gets out to open it, mentally preparing herself. Alan prepares as well, foot on the accelerator.
She yanks the sliding door open in one sharp motion and runs back to the vehicle. Alan floors it, bursting out of the warehouse. Outside, a few men are stationed around—clearly soldiers, surprised by the vehicle exiting the building.
Alan follows the road toward the city, even though he understands nothing on the signs. Behind them, a helicopter follows with a searchlight.
They don't care; their goal is simply to reach the city. It doesn't take long before they hear:
« Stop immediately or we will open fire. »
You can hear the Chinese accent as those words are spoken.
« Can't you do something, Yumiel? Like take down the helicopter or something? »
« I'd like to, but I have no blood reserves left except my own body. »
Alan, driving, joins the conversation.
« If needed, I can give you some blood. »
Yumiel lets out a small laugh.
« That's very kind, but I'd rather not. Let's just reach the city. There, I can fill my belly. »
Alan drives as fast as the vehicle can. The helicopter above begins firing nearby as warning shots. Yumiel opens the window, creates a dagger by drawing blood from her body, and throws it straight at the pilot, piercing the windshield and stabbing him. The helicopter crashes farther behind them.
« See? You could do something. »
« I didn't say I couldn't. I said I preferred to avoid it. »
Driving on, they finally see the city in the distance, then a roadblock right at the city entrance.
« Hold on, we're going through by force. »
Ahead of them, about ten vehicles block the road, and around twenty people are out, clearly city police, aiming their weapons down the road they are approaching.
When Yumiel and Jack see how few people are guarding the road, they laugh.
« Ahahah, they're really funny. It's fine, Alan, no need to force our way through—we've found our resupply point. Slow down and stop in front of them. »
« And the soldiers behind us? »
« Don't worry, it'll be over long before that. »
Alan brakes as they arrive in front of them. The men keep their weapons aimed as they approach the vehicle; Yumiel and Jack step out with their hands up.
They get closer. Once close enough, they pull out handcuffs. Yumiel grabs the first one in front of her, spins him around, and sinks her fangs into his neck, draining his blood. At the same time, she creates eight daggers by drawing blood from her body, charging toward the other officers and slaughtering them.
On the other side of the vehicle, Jack has two officers—one with handcuffs and the other aiming at him. Once close enough, he grabs the one with the handcuffs, throws him into his colleague, then leaps onto them, stomping them underfoot before picking up the weapon on the ground and killing them.
The twenty Chinese officers are reduced to barely ten; Yumiel's daggers kill them all. Jack fires his pistol, eliminating some.
Once the carnage is over, Yumiel fills her flask, stores her eight daggers in the van, and starts tearing out a few hearts before getting back into the van.
Jack loads a body into the back of the van, rips out as many brains as possible, and quickly gets back in. Alan drives off fast, leaving behind a pool of blood and bodies.
Jack replaces his broken leg while eating the brains he took.
They head toward the city in the distance, before coming under fire from soldiers pursuing them in vehicles. Yumiel goes to the back and opens the van doors. Seeing five cars behind them firing, Yumiel controls her eight daggers and says:
« Alan, slow down. I'll take care of it. »
Alan brakes the van, and Yumiel throws five of her daggers, piercing the windshields and stabbing the drivers of the vehicles, then recalls her daggers.
The five vehicles veer off the road before smashing into guardrails and crashing into one another. Yumiel closes the rear doors of the van, sets her daggers down, and returns to the passenger seat.
« Woah, that was impressive. »
Yumiel looks puzzled.
« No, something's wrong. They're far too weak, as if they have no training against the Awakened at all. »
Jack, in the back, turns around when he hears Yumiel and gives his opinion.
« I agree. The special forces we fought, and even members of a simple gang, were tougher than these guys. »
Alan turns onto the street leading to the city center, and the three of them gape, mouths agape. Alan simply says:
« I think I know why now. »
In front of them, people are calmly walking down the street, shops are open, restaurants too. People are laughing; there's even a street performance in the distance. Yumiel, stunned, says:
« What the hell is this? It looks like all the changes that happened in the world didn't affect them at all. »
Jack, also shocked, says:
« I'd heard online that China was secure, but this goes way beyond anything I imagined. »
Alan unbuckles his seatbelt and starts getting out of the vehicle.
« Come on, let's not waste time. Let's go. »
Leaving the car behind, he walks down the street, drawing many looks. Paying no attention, they simply continue toward the city center.
The farther they go, the more amazed they are. The streets are increasingly crowded. As they walk, they sometimes get squeezed in the crowd. Not to mention all kinds of shops and restaurants, becoming more and more frequent. The closer they get to the center, the more people fill the streets.
Looking at all these people while still several hundred meters from the center, Yumiel speaks to herself.
« I feel like I could evolve endlessly here. It's like a hunting ground without hunters, with an enormous number of prey. »
Jack, listening beside her, thinks the same but tells her:
« Calm down. We need to find the werewolf and leave after that. So let's keep a low profile. »
« That's all well and good, but first we need to know where this forest is, find a shelter for the vampire since daylight won't be long, and get food and clothes. »
They both agree. Alan touches his forehead, massaging it slightly.
« Alright then, let's head to the city center and figure things out from there. »
The closer they get to the center, the greater the number of lights and buildings. The city radiates with light—and within that glow, Alan shivers from the cold.
Reaching the center, where cars move freely and evening street performances are underway—absolutely everything feels unreal to the three of them, having lived through a few days in London after the global change.
Alan shivers more and more; it must be around zero degrees, maybe a bit lower, and the biting cold carried by the wind doesn't help. Yumiel and Jack, on the other hand, barely feel anything.
Alan spots a clothing shop in the center and gestures for Yumiel and Jack to come, the three of them entering together.
« Crazy that there are shops like this open after 4 a.m. »
Alan corrects her.
« It's hard to call this a "shop"; it's more like a cheap stall. »
The woman running the shop approaches, seeing the three of them, and says:
« 我能为你做什么? »
They look at one another before Alan says: « English? »
The woman shakes her head left and right, then says: « No English. »
Yumiel touches her frontal lobe, pinching it lightly as she says:
« I knew it was a shitty idea to come here. »
« It's fine, I—I thought they spoke English. Seriously, what country doesn't speak English? »
« See, that's your problem—you never think. Though I should've thought of it too. »
Alan starts picking clothes and trying them on in the changing booth, then comes out dressed simply in a sweatshirt, keeping his old jacket. Padded pants against the cold, boots for the few centimeters of snow you might encounter, and a beanie to cut the icy wind.
« Let's go. »