Eden by David Holley Read Free Book Online Page A

dead. Noah searches for the man’s weapon, but finds only an empty shoulder harness with the pistol nowhere to be found. He frisks the man’s pockets, emptying their contents into his own. He struggles to pull himself to the ledge of the partition and peers toward the rear. It is an eerie scene, with the cabin illuminated only by the faint blue glow of emergency lighting outlining the walkways and exit doors. He can hear the muffled screams of the passengers locked into their flight stations, as if trapped in the trunk of a car waiting for the inevitable.
    Through the dim interior he can see an open aisle to the back of the shuttle, beyond the restrooms, to where the flight attendant stations are located. He grabs a fistful of the marshal’s lapel and drags him closer. He clenches both hands under the man’s armpits and, with no time to waste, he rolls himself off the ledge in a free fall toward the back of the shuttle. Time seems to slow once again as they tumble together through Section Two. Noah uses the dead man as a human shield as their conjoined bodies collide against the back section with a resounding thud. Noah hears the man’s sternum crack, along with several of his ribs, but the fall has left Noah no worse for wear, albeit slightly woozy.
    He claws his way toward the flight attendant station, where he is forced to climb over a dead stewardess whose mangled body is wedged against the entrance. It takes all of his strength to pull himself against the force of the falling airship and into the jumpseat. He manually locks the shoulder harness in place as he scans the control panel of the Mei Long. Not only is the main power grid offline, but the emergency response protocol has been deactivated.
    Whoever wanted this shuttle to go down certainly didn’t want any survivors. He rifles through the contents of what he took from the air marshal. With only a spotlight overhead, Noah fumbles through the items: a gold Zippo, a pack of cigarettes, and a set of keys lay in one hand, while the other holds a wallet and a COM. He lets everything go but the COM, sending the objects flying overhead. After inspecting the device closer, he realizes it’s not a COM at all, but something else entirely. The computer screen projects a holographic blue orb filled with optical static that pulses a bright white light from its core. Unsure of what it is, he suspects it may have something to do with the power outage inside the shuttle. He does the only thing he can think of and smashes the device rendering it inoperable. The moment he does the shuttle is back online, and with only moments to spare, he punches a series of commands to activate the ERP. Instantly, he hears the parachute deploy, causing a noticeable change in velocity. The series of protocols are underway. With their impending doom averted for the time being at least, Noah allows himself a moment to breathe. He closes his eyes and empties his head while slipping the mysterious device back into his trouser pocket, exhaling in the process. He braces himself for the impact that is only seconds away.

Chapter 5
     
    Phoenix Space Shuttle
    Excerpt taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    The Phoenix Space Shuttle is a marvel of modern aviation. Phoenix is the first and only private company to provide commercial sub-orbital transport to twenty-two locations around the world. The luxury airline, owned by Chinese philanthropist Bao Sang Zhào, was founded in 2014. His inaugural fleet consisted of seven shuttles, each named after a famed winged reptile from the ancient Chinese fable “The Seven Dragons.”
    On its maiden flight in the summer of 2017, the first shuttle traveled from London to Los Angeles in under four hours, shattering all previous records for commercial air travel. Powered by a supersonic hybrid rocket-propelled engine and a modified hull inspired by NASA’s defunct Space Shuttle Program, the airship can climb to altitudes of 110 kilometers and can reach