The Atlantic

Chapter one: The Triangle

The static of the radio buzzed as white noise beneath the start of the motoring plane engines. I gave a nod to my crew and stepped into my plane. Closing the hatch I gave one last wave to them, a few would be joining me in separate aircrafts, though I didn't seem necessary. This was a simple mission to Florida. We needed to drop in supplies to help with the most resent hurricane disaster. One of my crew members, Rufus, made jokes all through last night about how him and I had to fly through the Bermuda Triangle to make it to the drop zone. Not sure if it was to kid himself or scare me. I wish I could say the thought of lost aircrafts and ships didn't stick with me but it did. I tried not to let such a thing get to me though, after all it's mainly superstition.
Within the cockpit I prepped and triple checked everything before finally racing off the track into lift off. I spoke with Rufus over our radios as a way to pass the time on our way to the drop zone.
"Hey we're nearing the Triangle of death." He said mockingly as we were near Bermuda's entrance.
"Shut it Rufus those things aren't real." I said back.
"Just make sure all you're systems are in che-" A click followed by static interrupted him.
I called back a few times before I heard him laughing, "Got you, gullible as always." I could practically see the smirk on his face.
We continued to fly a bit within the Bermuda Triangle's parameters without issue. However it didn't take long till things went wrong.
"Hey are your compasses malfunctioning?" I called to Rufus.
"You're not going to be able to scare me back you know that right?" He said.
"No I'm serious! They're jacked up I'm practically flying blind." I paused and watched a few other mechanics malfunction after, "You seriously have nothing going wrong right now?"
"Look let's just make it to the drop zone and I'll help guide us both back." He said.
"Alright, alright, fine. Let's hope you're tech doesn't go down too." I said.
We kept flying forward, a few minutes with again no issue aside from my tech being a bit wonky. Rufus was able to correct me of any major errors in trajectory but otherwise it wasn't too difficult.
What happened then is a blur. I remember suddenly the clouds becoming heavier, and everything seemed to happen at once.
"Hey let's try and get to the drop zone quick there's more cloud cover." Rufus said.
"Yeah I see that trust me I don't want to stay in it. Just keep your cool pilot." And that was the last transmission he heard from me.
The clouds seemed to encircle my plane, my wings scrapping along the edges of a cone of clouds, as if flying through the eye of a storm. I heard static coming through my radio as my compasses went bizark.
Between it I could hear my comrade, "Where'd you go?! You disappeared into the clouds what happened! Do you read me over! Do you read me!!"
I responded but it was useless, "I read you! I'm not sure where I am I've lost site of everything. I'm somewhere in the clouds, they've-"
"Do you read me?!" He couldn't hear me.
It was a few more minutes of this before finally my radio cut all together. My machines dropped dead, and every light in my plane went dark. I could hear the wind against the plane, and my breathing, slowly growing faster at the realization that my engine had died. I spoke over the com repeatedly trying to reach through.
"I'm flying dead, I'm not sure where I am, someone in the Bermuda Triangle near the drop zone off the coast of Florida."
My plane's nose dripped and pierced through the cloud cover before I was nose diving straight for the water. I saw no land nearby. My plane began spiraling downwards rapidly and I felt around for my ejection seat button.
"If anyone is reading me. It's been a pleasure." And I rocketed off from the jet, nearly seconds before impact. The parachute barely caught, as I watched my plane crash and sink into the ocean waters. I soon followed. The parachute, being my savior was now a death trap. It laid over the water like a blanket just as I dove off my seat into the water. I tried to remain calm, but luck wasn't on my side. I swam down to avoid any tangling and felt a snag around my ankle from the parachute strings. I floated up a little to try and free it, only to be caught more. I felt my helmet filling with water and managed to wiggle it off, holding my goggles to keep my vision as I tried to free myself. The more I tried to free the more got tangled. I eventually gave up and just tried to swim away, I wasn't thinking at this point, I just needed to get air fast. The strings seemed to pull me down and away with my seat as I struggled to break surface. My body began working against me and forced me to open my mouth to breath a short gasp. Water fell into my lungs burning my throats and chest. I stifled back the urge to cough as I clawed at the waves overhead. I felt my vision blur around the sunlight glistening on the surface. My body relaxed and I felt my body surrender to the water in and around me. My eyes slowly closed as I fell back into the strings of the parachute, my head gently turning to the side in relaxation. The moment before unconsciousness, as I sunk downwards slowly into the depths. I saw my plane, mirroring me in a nose dive beneath the waters. And then, there was nothing but the quiet darkness.