His knuckles whitened underneath the rippling surface of his skin. Increasing his stony grip upon the metal controls, he jerked the stick back toward his ribs, fighting for stability. Yet even as he wrestled for control of the helicopter’s erratic dance through the atmosphere he felt his world tipping forward. The screaming torrent of air pushed him forward with alarming swiftness. Icy droplets of rain were hitting the windshield with a ferocity that blurred the world below into a confused existence of color. Dread seeped through his chest, spreading out like poison in his marrow. His heart fell into his stomach as the vehicle dropped below the clouds.
With a scream and a hollow roar, the tail of the helicopter twisted and shriveled as it hit the top of a tree. The defeated pilot relinquished his grip from the controls and sat back in the ancient chair as the vehicle fell ever downwards. Impact with the frozen earth was defeaning. Shards of glass throttled into the cabin, cutting into flesh and upholstery. The steel wall to the right was bashed inward, wrinkled and creased. The cabin rolled over and over in a whirlwind of crushing steel and startling red.
His shoulder shrieked in pain as it slit open, exposed to the fierce coldness of the air. Dark, cloudy spots rolled into the edges of his vision. His head throbbed. Closing his eyes, he sank into the snow and let the world disappear.
