Chapter 8 - The Descent
"I cannot pull it up alone, the hydraulics are completely gone!" Tyler yelled over the screaming proximity alarms.
I leaped into the empty right-hand seat, not even bothering to fasten the complex harness.
I grabbed the heavy dual control yoke with both hands, my knuckles turning instantly white from the extreme pressure.
"On three, you pull back with everything you have!" Tyler commanded, his face twisted in absolute agony.
"One, two, three, pull!" he roared loudly.
I threw my entire body weight backward, hauling the heavy control column toward my chest with desperate, screaming effort.
The massive aircraft groaned violently, the metal fuselage shaking as if it were about to tear completely apart.
Through the front windshield, the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the mountains rushed up to meet us at a terrifying velocity.
"Keep pulling, Sarah, do not let go!" Tyler strained, his wounded shoulder bleeding freely over his white uniform shirt.
The proximity warning system screamed "Terrain, Pull Up!" in a robotic, unforgiving loop.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, thinking only of Mason waiting for me in the cabin behind us.
Slowly, agonizingly, the nose of the massive airplane began to pitch upward against gravity.
We cleared the highest mountain peak by what felt like absolute inches, the powerful engines roaring as they caught the updraft.
I collapsed forward over the yoke, gasping for air as the plane finally leveled out into a stable flight path.
"You did it, honey, you saved us," Tyler whispered weakly, slumping back into his own heavily padded seat.
The Air Marshal dragged the unconscious co-pilot out of the cockpit and secured him in the forward galley.
"I have military command on the emergency frequency, Captain," the Air Marshal called out. "They are clearing a runway at a heavily fortified base thirty miles north."
Tyler nodded tiredly, his face growing incredibly pale from the continuous blood loss.
"Take the radio, Sarah, and tell them we are coming in fast and hot," he instructed quietly.
I grabbed the heavy headset, pressing the transmission button just like Tyler had shown me years ago in a flight simulator.
"Mayday, Mayday, this is civilian flight 442, we have multiple casualties and a wounded pilot, requesting immediate medical upon landing," I spoke clearly into the microphone.
A calm, authoritative military voice crackled instantly back through the headset.
"Copy that, flight 442, you are cleared for an emergency landing on runway niner, crash crews are fully mobilized and waiting."
I looked over at Tyler, feeling a massive wave of overwhelming relief finally wash over me.
We were actually going to survive this terrifying nightmare and go home as a family.
"I love you so much, Tyler," I cried quietly, reaching over to squeeze his uninjured hand.
Tyler looked at me with deep, sorrowful eyes, a tear rolling slowly down his pale cheek.
"I love you too, Sarah, more than anything in this entire world," he whispered sadly.
May you like
He reached over with his good arm and suddenly flipped the massive fuel cutoff switches on the overhead panel.
The deafening roar of the jet engines instantly died completely, leaving us gliding in terrifying, absolute silence.
