T.N - Chapter 60

Well, I’m not sure if I would agree with the “Angry Magic School Bus” description, but I can work with it. I was hoping for a more realistic analogy rather than one taken from a children’s show, but it seemed to be the only really viable one at the moment.

After I got over my disbelief (I’ve had a weird past month…I don’t think much more can shock me for very long) I started debating with myself as to what the next course of action would be. I mean, this mystery person managed to destroy all of the men down there who were chasing after us. So quite possibly we didn’t need to run away and we could find out whom our new ally is. But then again, they or he or she or whatever was after us and gaining quite a bit of ground (which is usually not a good sign).

Finally, I came to a decision: better to be safe than sorry. I urged Charlie to keep us going as far away from the truck. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” I muttered, watching as the corpses of Kyle’s men started disappearing out of sight. I shuddered, and thought about how that easily could be us in a few seconds.

“Well then, out of the pot and into the fire,” said Dennis, trying his best to be lighthearted.

“I believe it’s out of the frying pan, not a pot,” replied Kent drily, and there was an awkward silence. Dennis started tapping his fingers on the window rhythmically, and Charlie started humming some obscure tune.

“Well either way, we’re screwed unless we lose that truck,” I said, and the others nodded their heads in agreement. I looked back, and the truck was still tailing behind us, slowly gaining on us. “Take a sharp turn,” I told Charlie.

He stopped humming and glanced over at me. “Why?”

“Since we’re a smaller aircraft, we should be able to outmaneuver something so bulky, correct?” I asked the others.

“Logically, yes,” replied Dennis, “but right now, logic isn’t really in our favour.”

I couldn’t argue with that, but it was worth a try. I turned to see that once again, Charlie wasn’t at the controls, but rather looking behind him. “You idiot, if you’re going to pilot, stay focused!” I leaned over and yanked the throttle towards me. The helicopter took a very sharp bank to the right, and I could hear sudden complaints as Heathcliff and Kent were flung onto Dennis.
"Watch what you're doing!" said Dennis, pushing the two off of him.
"Well maybe next time be more prepared," I said. I looked over at Charlie, who looked a little startled. He was back at the controls again.
I looked behind me, and saw that the truck was still behind us. "Ok, turn left this time," I said. Charlie did so, causing a pile-up in the backseat with Kent getting squashed this time. 
"Oh come on, stop it already," complained Dennis. 
"I said it out loud that time didn't I? And I'm doing it again in a few seconds." I couldn't help but smile at my brother's obvious discomfort. "Charlie, do another right." 
This time, Kent was able to hold onto the back of Charlie's seat to prevent himself from toppling over, but Heathcliff was still too intoxicated to comprehend my warning. I could hear a clunk as Dennis's head connected with the window, and a muffled "Oof!" as the two collided.
I looked behind me and giggled. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Bah," said Dennis, pouting childishly. "After all that, we better have lost the truck." He looked through the window, where to my surprise the truck still was. He sighed. "Looks like we're out of luck."
Of course, at that moment, the helicopter suddenly decided to drop. Several lights on the dashboard started flashing, and there was an insistent beeping noise. I screamed, and I'm sure I heard a yelp or two from the others.
I calmed myself down, as screaming wasn't going to help the situation. "What is that?" I asked.
"It appears we have run out of fuel," replied Kent. "I knew there was a problem with the engine type."
"What do you mean, you knew there was a problem? Haven't you used this before?"
"Actually, I did mean to say that this was a prototype..." mumbled Kent.
I could nearly not believe my ears. A prototype? "You're kidding, right?"
"Uh, no...we've been meaning to test it out the last few days, but with you and your trouble there was no time to. This is the first time it's been flown."
I leaned back and covered my eyes. Great, we were either going to die by falling or by the truck. Absolutely fantastic.