Five Hundred Feet Above Alaska by Robert Brantner

Author:Robert Brantner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elite Online Publishing
Published: 2019-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Five new pilots arrived at the house Sunday evening, the day before class started. Kevin had already moved into Sam’s place, but the other veterans were there to greet them. Kyle, as den leader, gave each a quick glance up and down before helping them with their bags and ushering them out of the cold. As the rookies piled into the house, they seemed oblivious to their surroundings. Unlike the discomfort Peter had felt when he’d arrived, the new pilots talked amongst themselves like they were returning from a day of work instead than settling into a daunting environment. They chatted boisterously, almost unaware of the veteran pilots until Kyle spoke.

“If you could drop your stuff over there, I’d like to have a few words.”

The new pilots followed his instructions, then found a place to sit as the informal meeting came to order.

“My name’s Kyle, and over here is Chris and Pete.” He pointed to the men on the couch. “We’ve been here for a while now, so we’re your go-tos for any questions as you start flying out here. But first I want to know who I’m working with. Tell us a bit about yourselves.”

“I guess I’ll go first,” one man said. “My name is Jason Sprigg and I got my start flying in the Grand Canyon.”

Peter’s eyes lit up. “Who did you fly for in the Canyon?”

“Air Grand Canyon.”

“No kidding, I was with Scenic. Did you know Roger Stern?”

“Hell yeah. He checked me out in the 207.”

Peter glanced over at Kyle, who stared at him pointedly, and backed down. “We’ll talk later. You were saying?”

Jason resumed his introduction, punctuating his words with gestures and fidgeting in his seat. Peter wondered if he had spent the entire flight over downing coffee as fast as the flight attendants could pour it. He was the youngest of the newcomers, about Peter’s age, with short-cropped, dirty-blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to pop against the man’s fair complexion.

The next pilot to speak was the one everyone had been most anxious to meet: Olivia Spelling, the first woman hired by the airline. Olivia was nothing like what Peter had expected. In his mind he had pictured a large, husky woman with a mono-brow over a set of black eyes. Instead this woman was slender. She looked cozy in her loose, heavy sweater, the cord of her digital camera wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. With her deep red hair, clear green eyes, and infectious laugh, she reminded Peter of a movie star rather than a bush pilot.

“I’m Olivia—or Liv, if I like you— and I’ve done a number of flying jobs over the past five years. I started with the flight instructing thing of course, but I logged the majority of my time flying skydivers and towing banners.” As she spoke she jerked her wrist, catching the camera, then letting it drop again. Peter watched, mesmerized, but when he looked around the room, most of the others seemed far more interested her looks than what she was doing with the camera.

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