Nightmare

Heading 135 degrees, altitude 9,144 meters.

Outside the aircraft, it was a minus-fifty-degree twilight. Everything inside the cabin was normal. Chiba piloted an old fighter jet through the skies above District 5. Young Hesta sat behind her, watching the sea of clouds below with tense solemnity. Layer upon layer of clouds had become a new land, and she was traveling through this cold new world.

"Jane... Jane, right now... can you hear me?"

Hesta came back to herself. "What did you say, Miss Chiba?"

"Check... us... you... there's static... can you hear me?"

Hesta struck the communications device hard several times.

"Jane, can you—"

"I can hear you." Hesta shouted into the microphone. "Is there still static on your end?"

"Good. I'm preparing to descend."

Amid the tremendous roar, Hesta felt a burst of weightlessness. This was the first high-altitude flight she had ever taken part in. She could barely tell where the ground was anymore, and cold sweat covered her body, leaving her terribly uncomfortable.

She endured the discomfort in her stomach and tried to focus her attention elsewhere.

Chiba's conversation with command came through the communications device. Their voices became intermittent again. Hesta listened carefully, while feeling her condition worsen—the urge to vomit was growing stronger and stronger...

"Jane, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Miss Chiba," Hesta answered with difficulty.

"A fighter squadron is approaching us... around five hundred meters below us... they... turning... in a moment we..."

"I can't hear you, Miss Chiba!" Hesta began pounding the communications device again. "What did you say?"

"Our... tail, check it again..."

"I can't hear you, Miss Chiba. What did you say? Check what ag—"

The cabin glass exploded in an instant, and an enormous force ejected Hesta along with her seat. She plunged rapidly, tumbling several times in succession