To Be A Killer

Chapter 34: I'm With Stupid

My knuckles are white from the grip I have on my backpack strap.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

I'm in the air. I'm in a plane-a microlight. I'm high up. I'm in the sky.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

My eyes stay trained on Amelia's gun which is resting between us.

"Someone, please!" Jody screams through her headset.

"What the hell just happened?" Sam asks.

"Owen's bleedin'! You've got to help him!"

"Amelia shot him," Simon says, panicked. "She buggared off in a plan with Runner Five heading... um, uh..."

"It hurts," Owen gasps.

"North, due west."

"There's a massive storm!" Sam gasps. "They're flying straight into a storm!"

"Please!"

"Goodness' sake!" Janine exclaims. "She can hear every word you're saying."

Click.

Amelia hums in laughter. "I wondered how long it would take for them to realize that. Just you and me now, Runner Five."

She pauses at the sound of rolling thunder, and my heart stops in my chest.

I'm going to die.

"You, me and this bloody great thunderstorm. Not part of the plan, unfortunately. Still, needs must." She tsks. "Oh, you can stop eyeing that gun so covetously. I can fly one handed if I have to. At least, I think I can, and if I can't, it won't be just me who dies in the fall. I got the impression your survival skills are pretty strong, Five."

I don't answer, not when the microlight starts to shake from turbulence. A strained whimper manages to escape my throat, and Amelia bites her lip in worry, squinting to see through the sudden downpour. More thunder rolls, and my breathing turns erratic when I look out the window.

Dark clouds surround us, but it's so hard to see because of the rain that's falling-beating against the microlight. My throat is tight. I can barely breathe. My fingers are going numb from the tight grip I have on my backpack straps. I grab the bottom of my seat instead to keep me from shaking so much from turbulence. Not that it helps in making me feel any better.

"I'm to come in for a landing, I think," Amelia announces, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Then... it happens.

Lightning flashes through the sky, so bright that I almost think I've died, or that the Messiah has returned, but then it's fine in less than a second. The sky's returned to gray, swirling gray and the sky is now a blur as a loud, alarming sound fills my ears. A startling realization passes over me in silent fear when I see the things we were once below us is now above us.

We're falling, fast.

"Bloody hell! It clipped the wing!" Amelia yells, and I find myself to afraid to move, too afraid to scream.

We fall faster, and faster. Amelia tries to regain control over the microlight, but fails. Her jaw is clenched, her knuckles turning white.

I see flashes of a helicopter.

"Someone's shooting. That's not the township. Who the hell has a rocket launcher in this-"

I feel panic.

"Mayday, mayday, mayday. Jolly Alpha Five Niner going down, three miles east of Abel Township. Two souls on board."

I feel burning heat.