killshot (bradley bradshaw)

XVIII

7 DAYS UNTIL THE MISSION

Jenna was sitting at a long table that was overflowing with flowers. The room was devoid of people, with abandoned round tables with white table cloths and matching flower centerpieces sitting at the edges of the room, shrouded in darkness. Looking down, she noticed that she was wearing a long white dress. She slid her hands slowly over the soft, cool fabric.

"Killshot, wake up!"

Jenna turned her head to find the source of the noise and spotted something coming out of the shadows. She got up from her seat and stepped around the table towards the movement as the figure emerged. It was Bradley. He was wearing a black suit, and the top buttons of his white dress shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a sliver of his chest. His hair was wild, with a few pieces falling onto his forehead.

"Oh my God, she's gonna burn in."

"One final dance, darling?" he asked Jenna as he caught her hand in his own, pulling her to him. Jenna let him lead her to the center of the room. Bradley slid his free hand around her waist. He led Jenna in a slow waltz, to music she could just barely make out if she strained her ears.

"C'mon, Jenna! Pull up!"

Jenna whipped her head around, looking for the person who yelled for her. "What was that?" she asked. Bradley didn't respond and continues to dance with her. He released her waist, but keeps their hands locked as she moved outwards and then spins into him. Catching her in his arms, he held Jenna's back as he slowly leaned over, lowering her into a dip.

"Pull up, pull up! Pull up, pull up!"

The ceiling above them began to crumble and fall down around them. "Stay next to me," Bradley whispered, still hovering above her. Something hit him in the back of the head and he dropped Jenna, his eyes rolling back. Jenna screamed as she fell away from him, reaching out for him but missing.

Jenna jerked awake in her aircraft, and was immediately met with an onslaught of noises. Mav's voice was coming over the radio, it sounded like someone had missile lock on her, and the automated voice from her aircraft was yelling at her to pull up. It takes her a second to realize that the view in front of her is in fact, not the sky, but a mountain that she was hurtling towards.

"Oh fuck!" Jenna yelled. Grabbing the throttle, she yanked it towards herself as hard as she possibly could. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. The plane narrowly avoided contact with the mountain. Jenna headed back up into the sky above the hard deck, hands shaking slightly as she directed her plane into formation on Mav's left.

"You okay there, Jenna?" Maverick asked her, voice wavering on the coms.

"Did I just go into g-LOC?" Jenna asked, although she already knew the answer to her question.

"Yeah," Phoenix's voice came over the radio. "Maverick had the idea of getting you in missile lock so the tone would shake you awake."

"Jesus Christ," she muttered.

"Alright, that's more than enough training for the day," Maverick said. "Let's all head back to the base."

"Copy that," Phoenix said. As Phoenix pulled her plane to Mav's right, Jenna spotted a dark mass moving towards them.

"What is that?" Maverick asked. As soon as the question left his mouth, it whizzed past the pilots pieces of it hitting Maverick and Phoenix's planes.

"Oh shit! Bird strike! Bird Strike!" Jenna yelled, realizing what was happening.

"Phoenix, left engine's on fire!" Bob said.

"Climbing!" She responded, flying up and away from Maverick and Jenna. She extinguished the fire, then restarted the left engine.