Cradle of Oblivion by Helliesen Gunnar

Author:Helliesen, Gunnar
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781733045322
Publisher: Graabein Publishing
Published: 2023-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

Jane felt his bones break. It was a sickening feeling, and one he’d felt before. He saw the fuselage of the Flying Tortoise crumble around him, before one of the rotor blades suddenly sliced through it and came to rest mere centimeters from his foot. Then everything stopped moving and a deep silence fell over the scene.

He knew he was badly hurt. He could also smell fuel. If the wreckage caught fire, there was nothing he could do to save himself or the others. He looked around. As far as he could tell, Kii, Ødegård, and Thoreau were fairly unhurt, but they were also not moving. He was worried they might have internal injuries. The Navy surgeon was dead, her head missing. There were no signs of Commander Harris and he couldn’t see the cockpit from where he lay.

He could hear a jet engine in the distance coming closer. Kutel’s henchmen were coming back to finish the job and there was nothing he could do about it. He looked up through the opening the rotor blade had cut in the fuselage and saw the enemy aircraft dropping lower and lower as it approached.

A single gunshot rang out, sounding like it came from somewhere very close. To his astonishment, Jane saw a puff of black smoke and then flames coming from the plane’s engine. Seconds later, it aborted its run, banked hard to the left, and seemed to struggle to regain altitude. Soon it was gone from view.

“Anyone alive in there?” a voice said.

“Over here!” Jane replied.

A face appeared in a small hole in the fuselage opposite from where Jane was lying.

“You sure you’re alive? Cause you look pretty dead to me.”

“Thanks, I’ve felt better. Please call Chief Warrant Officer Lothgren at the Golden Gate Coast Guard station and tell him what happened. He’ll know what to do. But please hurry, they’ll be back.”

“Sure thing. Anyone else alive?”

“Yes, at least three others. And one confirmed dead, three missing.”

The man’s eyes found the dead Navy surgeon, and he winced.

“I got one dead lady out here, civilian. And one of your pilots is dead. I’ll make that call now.”

It was Jane’s turn to wince. He’d only known Commander Harris for a few hours, but he’d really liked her. And now she was dead, along with two other service members. For what? Because of him? For one man’s political ambitions?

“She’s not a civilian, she was a commander in the US Navy,” was all he said.

The other man nodded and put a cell phone to his ear.

“They said someone’s on their way,” the man said after he hung up.

“Was that you shooting at the other plane?” Jane asked.

“Yup. I saw you were US Navy, and my dad was in the navy. He fought in the water wars. Least I could do.”

“Thanks. That was some impressive shooting.”

“To be honest, it surprised the hell out of me. I must be a better shot than I thought.”

Jane attempted to laugh, but it hurt too much and turned into a cough.

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