The helicopter hung on, more shots spraying the plane.He started a loop, then halfway through the move, he inverted the plane, leveling out briefly before starting another loop.
The outer edge of the loop brought him close to the clouds and he did a snap roll into them.
It was worse than he’d expected.
His instincts told him this was not a normal storm.
The plane pitched from side to side.
And spun without his direction.
He didn’t have time to try to see if the helicopter had followed them in.
He was too busy wrestling for control as sheets of rain coated his forward screen.
No way to tell for sure, but it seemed like the horizon was pulsing again.He didn’t have to aim for it.It came to him.
The plane hit the horizon.
They might be spinning.
He’d lost his orientation.Only way to know for sure was if they hit the ground.
Oh yeah, they were spinning.His shoulders felt jerked out of the sockets as he slammed into the straps again and again.
And just when he thought he couldn’t take it, the plane couldn’t take it, they spun out of the storm and into clear sky.
He grabbed the stick and got it back under control.There wasn’t even any turbulence.He craned to look behind.Clear sky there, too.
He had no idea where they were.Again.
He had no idea when they were.Again.
He did a looping turn to check their six.
No sign of the helicopter, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come bursting out of…
He was pretty sure they’d traveled through time again, but why the violent storm?
It was later in the day than when they’d entered the—whatever that had been.
He checked and saw the fuel gauge wasn’t showing empty, but it was close.Whatever had happened, it had burned through his fuel.
He should have had plenty for their next stop, where ever that was.
Again, thoughts of his mom stopped his inclination to swear.
He dropped altitude, looking for a place they could land.Any sign of a place with people in the desert that stretched out—
He squinted.Was that something?He changed course, his gaze roving between his gauges, his surroundings, and the something out there.
It grew clearer and clearer as they drew nearer.If he wasn’t losing it—which he might be—he’d swear it was a landing field with one hangar near it.And maybe a small out building.
He had to be losing it.It looked so much like the silo’s runway, instead of relief, he felt an icy chill run down the center of his back.
It appeared deserted as he lined up to land.The hangar’s doors were closed, so no clues there.
They touched down with more of a bump than he usually managed, but then the plane had taken some damage.
