Chapter 110: Rescue in the Clouds

2,000 feet above the ocean.

The black helicopter was erratic, swaying violently in the turbulence created by Liam’s will.

Inside the cockpit, Dr. Silas was losing control. The alarms were blaring.

"Warning: Hydraulic failure. Warning: Autopilot disengaged."

Silas looked back. The Sterling helicopter was right on his tail, relentless like a shark chasing blood.

He looked at Aurora. She was buckled into the seat, her eyes glowing fiercely. She wasn't crying. She was glaring at him with pure hatred. The instrument panel sparked every time she blinked.

"You cursed child!" Silas screamed, struggling with the stick. "You are destroying my aircraft with your mind!"

"I want my Daddy!" Aurora shouted. The glass of the dials shattered.

"Fine!" Silas unbuckled his seatbelt. He grabbed a parachute pack. "You want to go down? Go down alone!"

He grabbed Aurora’s arm. He kicked the side door open.

The howling wind rushed in, deafening and cold.

"Don't!" Aurora screamed, dangling over the open ocean.

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In the chase helicopter.

"He opened the door!" Luke yelled. "What is he doing?"

Serenity pressed her face against the window, her heart stopping. "Aurora!"

They saw Silas holding the small child over the edge.

"He's going to drop her," Liam said. His voice was eerily calm, but his eyes were blazing violet stars. "Luke. Get me close."

"I can't! The rotors will clip!"

"Then this is close enough."

Liam walked to the edge of the skid.

At that moment, Silas let go.

Aurora fell. A tiny pink dot plummeting into the grey abyss.

"NO!!!" Serenity screamed, tearing at her seatbelt.

But before her scream faded, Liam moved.

He didn't jump. He launched himself. A shockwave of air propelled him out of the helicopter like a bullet.

He tucked his arms in, diving headfirst, faster than terminal velocity. He was chasing his granddaughter down the sky.

The wind tore at his face. Below him, Aurora was flailing, terrified.

"Look at me, Rory!" Liam’s voice somehow projected through the wind, telepathically echoing in her mind.

Aurora looked up. She saw her grandfather diving towards her.

"Reach out!"

Aurora stretched out her tiny hand.

Ten seconds to impact with the water.
Five seconds.

Liam extended his hand. Their fingers brushed.

Gotcha.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his chest, shielding her with his broad body.

"Grandpa?" Aurora sobbed into his coat.

"Hold your breath," Liam commanded.

He didn't have a parachute. He rotated his body so his back was facing the water. He gathered every ounce of energy he had left.

WHOOSH.

Just fifty feet above the waves, Liam unleashed a massive blast of wind pressure downwards. It acted like an air cushion, slamming against the water to break their fall.

SPLASH.

They hit the water hard, but survived. The cushion had worked.

Back in the helicopter, Serenity was sobbing, shaking Luke’s shoulder. "Did you see? Did he catch her?"

"He caught her," Luke exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. He banked the helicopter around. "Look! In the water!"

Down below, amidst the white foam, Liam was treading water, holding Aurora’s head above the waves. He raised a thumb up.

"Thank God," Serenity collapsed back into her seat, weeping with relief.

"What about Silas?" Luke asked, looking at the black helicopter spinning out of control in the distance.

Silas had managed to jump with his chute, but the wind—or maybe Liam's final curse—blew him off course. He was drifting towards the rocky cliffs of a nearby deserted island.

"Let him rot," Serenity wiped her eyes, her motherly rage cooling into icy resolve. "We need to get the twins. And Jackson."

"We are picking up Liam and Aurora first," Luke lowered the winch. "Then we are going back to the ship."

Serenity looked at the cargo ship on the horizon. Smoke was starting to rise from it.

The bomb timer.

"Hurry, Luke," Serenity whispered. "Please hurry."

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