Page 125 of Life To My Flight

“Come closer,” he ordered.

He was just standing there.

In full gear.

The helicopter’s blades were spinning slowly as if they’d turned off only moments earlier.

I crept closer, slowly placing one foot in front of the other until I came to within a few feet of him.

He was wearing his flight suit. His helmet. His aviator sunglasses.

“What’s going on?” I asked in confusion.

He held his hand out to me, and I walked forward, taking it without thought.

He gripped my hand hard, and pulled me into his chest.

Effortlessly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked up into his eyes, seeing my face reflected in his glasses.

My face looked just as confused as I felt.

“Wanna come for a ride in my helicopter?” He asked with a smile.

Tilting my head, I said, “I’m working.”

His face lifted, and his eyes caught on something behind me. “Do you mind if I steal her for an hour?” He yelled to someone behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to see nearly the whole ER behind me, all watching the show.

Danita waved her hand in a shooing gesture. “She’s all yours.”

With that, he turned and started walking towards the helicopter, dragging me in his wake.

“Nonnie didn’t die, did she?” I asked worriedly.

He shook his head. “No, she’s still hanging on. I have something to show you.”

I followed closely behind him, coming to a stop near the side door which he opened.

He picked me up easily, and sat me down on the seat before grabbing the helmet at my feet and placing it securely on my head.

After strapping it on, he started on my belts, anchoring me down securely before he closed the door, and walked around to his own side.

I watched in silence as he did much the same, strapping himself in, followed by hitting buttons then flipping switches.

The large blades above us started spinning, the noise getting louder and louder as the blades spun faster and faster.

Once it reached a crescendo, we started rising, my belly crawling up into my throat as I watched the ground get further and further away.

Cleo kept his eye on the gauges, and his hand on the stick between his thighs as he lifted up, and turned a hard right, taking us out of town.

“Where are we going?” I asked again, my disembodied voice sounding funky through the mic’s speaker in my helmet.

He looked over at me, grinned, and didn’t say anything.

So I sat in silence, watching the buildings pass under my feet.

Something changed once we were fifteen minutes out.

---