Page 11 of Blue Moon

He strapped me in and then positioned himself. After checking the controls, he spoke into a radio.

“Blue Angel Two to maintain.”

I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about or who he was talking to, but I didn’t want to ask. I took another deep breath and said a prayer.

And off we went—soaring into the sky over San Francisco. The takeoff was smooth, just like a typical plane ride. This wasn’t too bad—I could do this.

“We’re going to go upside down. Breathe for me.”

Just kidding. Get me out of here!

I did my Hick maneuver just like we’d practiced. Hick hick hick, but this was no laughing matter. The blood rushed to my brain, and I couldn’t see straight. But that momentary disorientation quickly went away.

“How are you feeling?”

“Good! Never better. This isn’t too bad. I could get used to this.”

“Great. Now we’re getting set up for a loop.”

A loop? Is he out of his mind?

“It’s going to be three Gs. I need you to breathe with me. Hick hick hick.”

I exhaled and squeezed my thighs. Nausea pooled in my stomach, and I could taste bile in my throat. I was going to puke. I reached for the bag.

“All right—how are you feeling?”

I couldn’t speak because I was about to vomit so I gave him a thumbs-up.

“You’re doing great. Time to go supersonic—take the throttles and push them. We’ll be going the speed of sound, which is seven hundred and sixty-seven miles per hour.”

Oh my gosh! Why would someone ever want to do this voluntarily? Sawyer must be insane!

A robotic female voice began speaking in the plane. “Warning, warning.”

Warning? What did that mean?

“Don’t worry about that, it’s just something the automated system does. Ignore it, we’re fine.”

Clearly, we were not fine. Even the plane was warning him to stop.

Save me!

The plane seemed to accelerate at the same pace as my heart. The sudden change in air pressure suffocated me, and I gasped for breath.

But then a sense of euphoria overtook me.

We were floating on top of the clouds. My body felt lighter than air.

“You having fun?”

“Yes! This is incredible.”

I couldn’t believe how calm and cool he was, not to mention how professional and kind. Seeing this man in his element was incredible.

But my momentary elation quickly evaporated as my head began to pound. I couldn’t take it anymore—I puked into the bag, right in front of the camera.

“You okay?”