The Race

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

We got back in the air about a half an hour later and I finally got to fly.  Kier was still complaining about it, but I shut him up…in a more fun way than I thought it would be.

“Come on,” Kier said.  “I just want to fly!”

“You’re going to later,” I said, taking off from the ground.  “Now, shut up so I can take off.”

“Please,” he said, giving me the pouty lip and all. 

Hm, what could I do…?  Grinning, I lifted my hands away from the controls and the helicopter started whipping around. 

“Fine, you take it then!” I yelled

“Take the freakin’ controls!” he yelled at me.

I laughed as I did and got the helicopter back under control. 

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he asked, eyes narrowed at me. 

“Maybe…” I said, grinning as I looked out the windshield and at the course that my glasses were showing me.

He was still fuming when a few hours passed.  A storm looked like it was heading straight for us since the sky was darkening at an alarming rate.  Lightning lit up the sky in the distance, illuminating both of us. 

When the rain started pounding down and the wind was trying to whip us around, I started to get a little nervous.  I tried to hold the helicopter steady as we flew, but the wind just wasn’t letting me do it. 

“Kier, we’re going to have to put it down!” I yelled over the pounding rain.  “We can’t hold up in this weather!”

“Do whatever you have to do!” he yelled back.

“Help me find somewhere to land!”

Taking control of the spotlight, Kier tried to find us a place to land.  From my viewpoint, I couldn’t see anywhere. 

“There’s nothing!” he yelled, looking over at me.

“Well, find something!”

The wind was still tossing us around as I started going down closer and closer to the trees.  Before I knew it, I could hear the tops of them skimming the bottom of the helicopter.  I looked over at Kier, shaking my head.

“I’m going to have to put it down here,” I said.

“But then how are we going to fly back out?  It’s going to ruin the blades,” he said.

I just shrugged.  There was nothing we could do about it.  I looked ahead then, trying to see which way the course was going.  Off into the distance, past the sheets of rain, I could see mountains in the distance…and the course going right over it. 

“We’re going over the mountain,” I said.  “If the helicopter can’t get back up, we’ll just have to walk.”

I saw Kier shake his head out of the corner of my eye.  “At least we’ll get our ‘on foot’ part of the Race over with if it comes to that,” he said.

I grinned and nodded.  “Just keep looking for a kind of clear place.  We can hit a couple of trees and still be okay, though,” I said.

“Then do it,” he said, nodding back.

Kier and I both watched as he swept the spotlight over the trees.  Then, not far ahead of us, there was a break in the trees.  It was small, but I knew that I’d probably be able to fit the helicopter in without damaging it in any way.