another jet.
“It's getting busy up here, fellas. Watch yourselves,” Eric said.
“This is worse than chow time on the boat,” Adonis said.
“I knew you were getting hungry for lunch,” Eric said.
Explosions rocked the sky. Eric and the other pilots might have been outnumbered, but they were better trained. One by one, they picked off the Mexican fighters, exposing their bombers like sitting ducks.
After forty minutes in the air and the loss of more than thirty of their aircraft, the Mexican fighters finally hightailed it out of the airspace. Shouts and cheers filled the radio waves all the way from the cockpits to the tower.
“WOOOO!”
“We had some tigers up here today, boys.”
“Just in time for lunch.”
Eric looked down at his fuel gauge. He was low. He wasn't sure if it was enough to get him all the way back to base.
“Hey, Adonis, I'm running low on fuel here,” Eric said.
“Head on back, Hawk Seven. We'll keep an eye on things,” Adonis said.
“Roger that. Hawk Seven retuning to base.”
Eric cruised at twenty-nine thousand feet, attempting to make it to the base as quickly as possible.
“Hawk Seven, we have you on radar. You are clear for landing,” Tower said.
“Tower, I'm coming in on fumes, so you might want to have the SIB forms ready,” Eric said.
“I don't think the safety board will be investigating you anytime soon, Lieutenant.”
Eric started his approach. The runway was half a mile in the distance. The altimeter's level decreased. He had just engaged the landing gear when his left engine cut out.
“Tower, I've lost engine two,” Eric said.
Engine one shut off immediately after his transmission with five hundred feet left to descend. The controls shut down. Eric did his best to glide the aircraft the rest of the way, but it was like trying to land a brick at two hundred miles per hour.
The nose of the F-18 dipped. The lines of the runway came into view. Eric braced himself for impact. The front wheel of the jet hit the runway first then snapped in half from the pressure, causing the front of the plane to smash against the concrete. The cockpit crumpled from the pressure like tinfoil. The rear landing gear broke from the angle of the front of the jet and crashed into the runway. The jet skidded a few hundred feet, sending sparks flying behind it, until it finally came to a stop.
Smoke rose from the plane's engines, clouding Eric's view outside the cockpit window. He removed his helmet and pressed his hand to the throbbing pain piercing the left side of his forehead. He could feel the warm, slippery texture of blood.
Eric removed his straps and forced the cockpit open manually. He stood up but collapsed back into the pilot seat. He felt dizzy. He coughed from the smoke filling his lungs and the air around him. In the distance, he could see the flashing lights of an ambulance and fire truck heading his way.
The lights looked blurry. Eric squinted, trying to steady himself and control the pounding in his head. His fingers gripped the sides of the cockpit, and he forced himself up. He brought one leg over the side of the cockpit, then the other, and slowly set himself down on the runway, where he collapsed after a few steps.
Chapter 7
Once the sun went down, the temperature dropped dramatically. Brooke was always amazed at how quickly the desert environment changed. During the day, she did everything she could to stay cool, but at night she found herself yearning for the morning sun.
It was their first night camping since they'd left home. The solar station had been equipped with enough power to run the A/C and heat, which all of them were missing at that moment.
“Couldn't we have just stayed at the station?” John asked.
“I know it's hard, but we have to keep moving,” Brooke answered.
Brooke unfolded a space blanket and wrapped it around John's
“It's getting busy up here, fellas. Watch yourselves,” Eric said.
“This is worse than chow time on the boat,” Adonis said.
“I knew you were getting hungry for lunch,” Eric said.
Explosions rocked the sky. Eric and the other pilots might have been outnumbered, but they were better trained. One by one, they picked off the Mexican fighters, exposing their bombers like sitting ducks.
After forty minutes in the air and the loss of more than thirty of their aircraft, the Mexican fighters finally hightailed it out of the airspace. Shouts and cheers filled the radio waves all the way from the cockpits to the tower.
“WOOOO!”
“We had some tigers up here today, boys.”
“Just in time for lunch.”
Eric looked down at his fuel gauge. He was low. He wasn't sure if it was enough to get him all the way back to base.
“Hey, Adonis, I'm running low on fuel here,” Eric said.
“Head on back, Hawk Seven. We'll keep an eye on things,” Adonis said.
“Roger that. Hawk Seven retuning to base.”
Eric cruised at twenty-nine thousand feet, attempting to make it to the base as quickly as possible.
“Hawk Seven, we have you on radar. You are clear for landing,” Tower said.
“Tower, I'm coming in on fumes, so you might want to have the SIB forms ready,” Eric said.
“I don't think the safety board will be investigating you anytime soon, Lieutenant.”
Eric started his approach. The runway was half a mile in the distance. The altimeter's level decreased. He had just engaged the landing gear when his left engine cut out.
“Tower, I've lost engine two,” Eric said.
Engine one shut off immediately after his transmission with five hundred feet left to descend. The controls shut down. Eric did his best to glide the aircraft the rest of the way, but it was like trying to land a brick at two hundred miles per hour.
The nose of the F-18 dipped. The lines of the runway came into view. Eric braced himself for impact. The front wheel of the jet hit the runway first then snapped in half from the pressure, causing the front of the plane to smash against the concrete. The cockpit crumpled from the pressure like tinfoil. The rear landing gear broke from the angle of the front of the jet and crashed into the runway. The jet skidded a few hundred feet, sending sparks flying behind it, until it finally came to a stop.
Smoke rose from the plane's engines, clouding Eric's view outside the cockpit window. He removed his helmet and pressed his hand to the throbbing pain piercing the left side of his forehead. He could feel the warm, slippery texture of blood.
Eric removed his straps and forced the cockpit open manually. He stood up but collapsed back into the pilot seat. He felt dizzy. He coughed from the smoke filling his lungs and the air around him. In the distance, he could see the flashing lights of an ambulance and fire truck heading his way.
The lights looked blurry. Eric squinted, trying to steady himself and control the pounding in his head. His fingers gripped the sides of the cockpit, and he forced himself up. He brought one leg over the side of the cockpit, then the other, and slowly set himself down on the runway, where he collapsed after a few steps.
Chapter 7
Once the sun went down, the temperature dropped dramatically. Brooke was always amazed at how quickly the desert environment changed. During the day, she did everything she could to stay cool, but at night she found herself yearning for the morning sun.
It was their first night camping since they'd left home. The solar station had been equipped with enough power to run the A/C and heat, which all of them were missing at that moment.
“Couldn't we have just stayed at the station?” John asked.
“I know it's hard, but we have to keep moving,” Brooke answered.
Brooke unfolded a space blanket and wrapped it around John's
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