Welcome, Raven. Power systems on. Manual override mode activated.
I'm lifted into the air and flown over vegetation. Red forms wave, their outlines blurred. Water surrounds their vehicles. I am programmed to scan for Kyla, Ben, Alex, Audrey, and Alice Robinson. I switch from heat mode over to facial recognition. My lenses zoom in on each face, analyzing each facial characteristic.
Match located. Alex Robinson.
Alex Robinson's feet are submerged in water. I'm lowered toward him, deploying my safety harness. Other drones lift the humans around him to safety, as well as the humans on the other cars.
Alex grasps for the harness, but he sinks farther into the water and falls on his hands. I'm jerked to the left before being steadied again. I draw closer to Alex, and this time he manages to gain a hold of the harness. He's able to strap himself into it.
Return the human to the following coordinates. . .
I pull him higher into the air, carrying him over the water and cars. As we head farther from sea level, the water grows shallower.
The human screams.
His harness is unbuckled, and he grasps the sides of it, his knuckles pale. He emits whimpering noises.
Head for the ground.
"Ava?" he asks. "Ava, can you hear me? Are you on the other side? I'm going to fall if we don't land now." Water leaks from his two eyes.
I near the ground, and the human rolls out of the harness and into the grass, clutching the strands of it.
He presses his lips into the dirt repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he utters.
Return Alex Robinson to the following coordinates. . . Manually buckle the human into the harness.
Incoming voice transmission: "Alex, Alex, I need you to listen to me. It's me, Ava. The drone is going to strap you in itself so that it doesn't come undone this time. You have to allow it to do this. I need you back here so the drone can rescue more people."
Alex Robinson nods his head. "I trust you, Ava."
"It's the drone you're going to have to trust."
Alex Robinson allows me to approach him, and I strap him into the harness. Again, I lift him into the air, heading for my assigned coordinates, and once I get there, I ease him onto the grass.
Return to the following coordinates. Assist humans in distress.
YOU ARE READING
Raven's Flight
Science FictionAfter finishing her college journey, Ava returns home. For her, home happens to be a high tech island city, and her uncle has offered her a job working with him on drones. It's not long before she runs into her high-school boyfriend, Lee. There's s...
