“Why is that bad?”
“Because we’ll be flying straight into the Black Hills.”
She turned to her right. The dark forested mountains taunted her.
“We could always land, right?”
“Sure, but someone’s going to notice a plane landing and Kramer’s sure to be listening for unusual plane activity. We’re still close enough that we run the risk of being caught.
She pointed out the window. “Three o’clock.”
He swung the plane to put ample space between them and the ridge. Another valley appeared and Will angled the plane into the wind and dove.
“Are you sure we can’t fly higher?”
He didn’t answer. Looking at the gauges, then out the windshield, tension crinkled his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He sighed. “The storm to the west is worrying me. It’s approaching faster than I expected.”
She looked above to see dark gray clouds choking out the stars, rolling toward them.
“We can’t fly in clouds?”
“Without radar contact, no. We’d want a control tower to help us.” He raised an eyebrow. “Obviously, we don’t want that. Another option would be to try to climb and fly over the clouds but I have no idea where they top out. We run the risk of flying into something by flying blind like that. But right now, that’s not an issue. We’re flying below the clouds. What I’m more concerned with is thunderstorms. They can produce wind shears that could rip our wings off.”
“What?”
“I’m not flying into a thunderstorm. Not if I can help it.” He tapped a screen low on the instrument panel. “See this? It’s a storm scope. It’s radar for lightning strikes. Right now the lightning is about thirty miles west of us, so we’re still good. We want to avoid the lightning.”
“Oh, God...”
The patter of rain hit the windshield. “This just keeps getting better and better.” Will grumbled. “Hang on, more hills ahead.”
He lifted the nose and they rose. She looked out the window dismayed to see her visibility had diminished.
“I can’t see anything.”
“That’s the better and better part.”
The onslaught of rain flooded the windshield. The flashing lights on the wings lit the streams of water that hit the plane, filling Emma with a sense of dread. Water dripped into the cabin from the bullet holes in the roof. “Can’t we just land?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Emma, where are we going to land? On top of one of those hills? Keep a look out.”
The plane swung to the right, avoiding a tall ridge on Will’s side. She tried to focus on the darkness outside the window, but the flashing lights on the wing obscured her view, adding to the throbbing in the back of her head. She turned to look behind and swung back to the front. A large point rose up to the right of the plane, closer than she would have liked.
“Oh, God! One o’clock!” She shouted, pointing.
“Son of a bitch,” Will groaned as he saw the obstacle. The plane lifted and banked a hard left, turning the plane sideways. After he swung around it, he struggled with the yoke as he straightened it. “Try to let me know sooner.”
“I didn’t see it!” Emma’s breath came in short bursts of panic.
“Emma,” Will growled. “I need you. You can freak out later.”
“I’m trying.”
“Not hard enough.”
The plane banked again to the right and jolted with a gust of wind, throwing her in to the door. Her head banged into the window. She caught the sight of a peak directly in front of the sideways plane.
“Twelve o’clock!”
“Son of a fucking bitch.” The plane turned left and to the right again. A flattened peak passed by Emma’s window, slightly below the plane.
“I’m gonna have to climb,” Will said as the nose lifted and the pitch of the engine roared higher.
They flew for half a minute before the plane lowered slightly. Will released a measured breath. “I think we’re about done with this set.”
“There’s more?”
“I don’t know.”
She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. The plane dove. It was so sudden that it caught her by surprise and a gasp escaped before she could hold it back.
“It’s okay. Another valley.”
The way he said it implied what she already knew. “There’s more.”
“Yeah.”
When the plane lifted, she was prepared. The rain had increased, coming down in sheets but she used the flashing lights to aid her this time, pointing out numerous obstacles before they descended again.
“I think that might have been the last one.” Will sighed, relaxing in his seat. “I wish visibility was better, but according to the GPS we’re almost to the Nebraska border. This is where I planned to turn into Wyoming. We’re good here, pretty much grasslands with hills now, nothing like what we just went through.”
“And then where?”
“We’ll just keep going for now.”
***
When grasslands appeared on the horizon, Will let out a sigh of relief. He needed to start thinking about where they were going to land.
He pulled out his cell phone. He still hadn’t checked in with James.
“Who are you calling?” Emma asked in disbelief.
“James.”
She scowled and shifted her gaze out the window.
James answered on the first ring. “Where the fuck are you?”
“Somewhere over Wyoming.”
“Excuse me?”
“We borrowed a plane.”
“Borrowed?”
“It’s a relative term. Where are you?”
“Driving around aimlessly in South Dakota. Did you know they have a palace here made entirely of corn?”
“No kidding?”
“Where do you want to meet up?”
“We need to go to Montana.”
“Oh, hell no. I signed up for a week in South Dakota. I did my part. I got you information and I helped you break into the compound. Now I’m done.”
“Just one more job. Even you can’t say no to this one.”
James was silent for a moment. “What is it?”
Will heard the defeat in his voice and grinned. “We’re going to rescue a kid.”
Emma turned to him, her eyes hopeful.
“Oh, God… how did I know?” James groaned.
“How can you say no to saving a kid?”
“Fuck.”
Will knew he’d won. “Just start driving Interstate 90 and we’ll meet somewhere in Wyoming. I’ll call you when I know where somewhere is.”
“You’re going to owe me so much.”
“Tell me about it.”
Will stuffed his phone in his pocket, looking out the window again. The storm was moving northwest and they were moving west, just at its base. The rain had stopped for the moment, although he wasn’t sure how long the break would last. Emma seemed more relaxed, her hands merely resting on the edge of the seat rather than trying to claw the cushion out with her nails.
Will glanced down at the instrument panel and noticed the oil temperature gauge pointed to high. He tapped the plastic and the needle didn’t move.
“Emma, where’s that flashlight?”
She pulled it out of the backpack. “Here.”
“Keep an eye out and let me know if there’s anything ahead I need to worry about.” He turned sideways, shining the flashlight out the window and up to the wing overhead. “Shit.”
“Goddamn it, Will. One word I don’t want to hear while flying is shit.”
“We’ve got a gas tank leak. See?” The beam of light shone on a string of droplets trailing behind them.
“What does that mean?” He heard the panic in her voice.
“It means we’re running out of fuel.” The fuel gauges read half full. He tapped them and both fell to empty. He shook his hea
d, swearing under his breath “But that’s not our biggest problem.”
“What could be worse than that?”
“I think there’s a hole in the oil tank. The oil temperature is high.”
“What does that mean?”
“That we’re going to have to land soon.”
***
“Are we going to crash?” They couldn’t die now. Not after everything they’d been through. What would happen to Jake?
“Not if I can help it.” Will said, pulling back on the yoke. The plane rose several hundred feet. He looked over the dash.
“What are you looking for?”
“Someplace to land before the engine seizes up and forces us to.”
“Why are we higher?”
“In case something happens and we need more time to find a place.”
“But won’t they see us?”
“I don’t think so, Emma,” he snapped, then ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Sorry. No, they shouldn’t see us since we’re still pretty low. But the higher we are, the more space there is between us and the ground, which is a good thing in this situation. The problem is, although the land here is relatively flat, there’s too many trees.”
He banked right, flying north toward the storm.
“Why are we flying this way? What about the storm?”
“Trust me. We’ll be on the ground before we reach the storm. I know there’s grassland up here, pretty remote, too. I used to camp here with my dad when I was a kid.”
The engine sputtered.
Emma gripped the seat and her heart pounded. “What can I do to help?”
“Look for a road or a field with no trees. We’re not going to last much longer.” Will lifted the plane higher. “Buying us more time,” he answered before she asked.
Off in the distance, she saw a field. “There!” She pointed.
Will leaned over in his seat to look out her window. “Yep, that’ll work.” He turned the aircraft in the direction of the grassland.
Within a few seconds the engine sputtered again, then stalled. “Here we go.” Will gripped the yoke.
Emma took several deep breaths, forcing her constricted airway to expand. They glided toward the field, but she wasn’t sure they would reach it. A huge patch of trees lay between them and their intended destination. “Will, in case we don’t…”
“We’re going to land this fucking plane. Got it?” he growled through gritted teeth, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes.”
Emma took off her headphones, the interior eerily quiet without the roar of the engine as the aircraft glided to the field.
The plane lowered and the branches beneath them barely cleared the bottom of the plane, the field agonizingly out of reach. The moonlight cast deep, menacing shadows in the trees, increasing her rising anxiety. Emma gripped the seat and held her breath. Will’s taut face told her all she needed to know.
They cleared the trees, leaves brushing the tail as they floated to the ground. She wasn’t prepared for the jolt when the back of the plane touched down. The ground tossed them around as she clung to the seat and tried to look out the window, the view obscured by their shaking.
“Son of a bitch,” Will said through gritted teeth as the nose lowered, the vibration increasing. “Bend over and cover your head!”
She obeyed him as the plane bounced off the ground, landing with an impact that rattled her head.
“Come on. Come on,” Will mumbled. His knuckles whitened from his grip on the yoke.
The plane slowed and the vibrating lessened. She began to think they might make it out alive when the nose pitched forward and to the side. The collision threw Emma into the door, her head smashing into the metal frame of the window. A sharp pain shot through her skull. Then nothingness.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Will hung from his seatbelt for several seconds before he realized they had come to a halt. The plane leaned forward and to the right, nose tilted down. Emma slumped against the door. Her arms dangled and her hair hung over her face. “Emma.”
His chest constricted when she didn’t respond. He reached for her shoulder. “Emma!”
She groaned and shifted her weight.
He released his breath. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Her hand reached to her head. “I just have a headache. Did we stop?”
“Yeah, but we need to get out of here. I’m going to get my pack, then we’re going to try to go out your door, okay?”
She nodded, pressing harder on her temple.
Will unbuckled his seatbelt and braced his feet against the floor. The plane creaked and groaned as he reached into the back. He grasped blindly on the floor until he found a nylon strap and pulled the backpack onto his lap. “Can you open the door?”
She fumbled with the latch, her movements sluggish.
His heart beat faster. He had to get her out of the plane and figure out if she was really hurt or not. He reached his arm around her waist and held onto her as the door popped open. Her body sagged and his grip tightened. “I don’t want you to fall out. Can you see how far down the ground is?”
She paused. “It’s close, but I don’t think the door will open all the way,” she mumbled.
“We only need to open it far enough to climb out. I’ll undo your seatbelt and you step down.”
She nodded again and his thumb pressed the metallic button. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped down and ducked through the opening, standing next to the plane.
Bracing his arms on the dashboard and the chair back, he swung his legs down through the door. He bent down, clearing the door and the wing overhead.
Moonlight found a break in the clouds and lit the field. The plane had ended in a shallow ditch, nose forward. Will searched the vast grassland that lay in all directions for any signs of life then looked at Emma. Blood covered the right side of her face and drenched her shirt. Swiping it with her hand, she rubbed the blood on her jeans.
“Got another piece of gauze?” She tried to grin, but her lips turned into a pucker and her non-bloodied cheek appeared pale in the moonlight.
Trying to keep calm, he picked her up in his arms and moved away from the plane.
“Will, I can walk.”
But he noticed that she didn’t protest with her usual vehemence.
The fuel tanks were empty, so he doubted he needed to be concerned about an explosion. But he didn’t care to press his luck. When he thought they were a safe distance away, he dropped her legs. “Emma, sit down and let me look at your head.”
She sank to the ground, facing the plane. “Thanks for keeping us alive.”
He reached into his backpack as he knelt beside her. “I told you I’d land the plane.”
“So you did.”
Will pulled out the first aid kit and removed several gauze squares, wishing for a bottle of water to wash off the blood. His fingers cradled her chin as he gently lifted, her eyes searching his. He turned his gaze to her cheek, dabbing the smeared blood.
“Why am I always cleaning you up?” he asked, his finger carefully lifting the hair matted to her face.
The encroaching clouds obscured the moonlight so he pulled out the flashlight. Her pupils were even and reactive—no concussion—but he found an inch-long gash close to her hairline. A scar ran close to it, healed but slightly pink in the harsh light. Had it only been a month ago that he had tended to her nearly the same way?
Will cleaned and patched the wound as best as he could with what he had. When he finished, he lifted her chin again, inspecting his patch job. “You scared the shit out of me too many times to count tonight,” he whispered.
She smiled. “You scared the shit out of me too, so we’re even. Let’s go. What’s your plan?”
Pride filled him that she trusted him to have a plan. “I glanced at the GPS going down. There’s a small town to the northeast. I’ll call James and tell him to meet us there.”
“How far?” she asked.
“Hard to say. At least five, maybe ten miles.”
Determination hardened her face. “Then let’s get going. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”
Will reached down a hand to help her up. He called James, the call broken by the spotty cell phone coverage, but good enough to get the message through.
Following Will’s compass, they headed northeast. The grass was only knee high, but the trek was rough going in the dark. Emma stumbled several times, Will there to grab her arm and keep her upright. Clouds rolled in and the wind gusted. They had reached a good stride when the rain began, a light pitter-patter that turned into a downpour. Emma trudged on, but he could tell she was tiring. He was surprised she lasted this long.
Lightning streaked the western horizon. An outcrop of rocky hills rose to the east and Will steered her in that direction. Thunder rolled across the valley as they neared the hills and Will hoped that they could find shelter in time. They risked getting struck by lightning out here.
He found a hollowed area, deep enough for them to climb into and get out of the rain. Emma crawled in first and Will followed behind as thunder shook the ground. The space was just large enough for them to sit with their legs tucked in. He wished they had dry clothes to change into or wood to start a fire, but he had neither. Not even a blanket.
“Emma, take off your shirt.” He reached the bottom edge of her t-shirt, tugging upward.
“I know I rarely say this, Will, but I’m really not in the mood,” she said but lifted her arms.
Her banter eased his mind a little as he pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it aside. “Aw, just when I found the perfect getaway spot.” His soon joined hers and he leaned back against the rocky wall, pulling her to his chest. “This isn’t much, but it will help warm you up.”
“I’m warmer already,” she murmured into his chest, her breath soaking into his skin and settling into his soul. “Should we look at the book?”
02 Hunted - The Chosen Page 23