Siren In The Sky // Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter 16

"Rooster you take the one on the eastern side. I'll take west," Maverick commands. "Copy." I eye the controls around me, spotting the button for flares. "Separate in 3, 2," Maverick counts down. "One." Bradley pulls up quickly as Maverick spirals to the side, shooting his guns at the back of the plane. Our MiG immediately rises to follow us while Maverick's is already falling, the shots having penetrated the back engines.

"Tell me when you see smoke in the air!" Rooster calls back. I swivel my head around trying to get a good look behind me. The fighter gets a lock and releases a missile. "Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air!" I exclaim. Rooster changes course and nosedives downward. "Should I hit the flares?" I yell nervously, watching the missile gain on us. "No, just trust me!" I grip the straps holding me in as Rooster heads straight towards the other MiG. "Rooster.." He doesn't answer, increasing his speed. "Rooster!" Just before the missile hits us he swings us to the right, narrowly missing the falling aircraft. Consequently, the missile hits it. "Splash one! Splash one!" One down, one to go. 

"I swear to god, Bradshaw. Just wait til we get home," I grumble at him. "Good work, Rooster. The other one is still hot on your tail." My dad's voice echoes over the headset. I turn to look behind us but have to stop and shut my eyes. Nausea sweeps through me and settles in my stomach. I glance down at my leg. Red is starting to form against the thickly wrapped fabric. I'm starting to bleed out. "Siren! Hit the flares! Now!" I zone back in and realize we're about to be hit. I pound my fist against the red button to my left, setting them off. 

The flares flood the air behind us, protecting us from being hit. Maverick follows closely behind the fighter, trying to get tone. "I've got him in my sights! Taking the shot!" He announces. He launches, but instead of a direct hit, the fighter does something I've never seen before. It drifts sideways and clockwise like it's a lilypad being spun in the water. "What the fu-" Rooster starts, but my eyes widen as I realize Maverick's missile is going to hit us now. "DESCEND. QUICKLY, DESCEND!" Rooster follows my instructions, quickly flying downwards to avoid the shot. 

"Shit, that was close," Striker says breathlessly. "Too close. We can't fire on him when the other is in front. Who knows what other tricks this guy has," Maverick states. "So, what do we do?" I question. "I'll lead him to the terrain to screw up his targeting system. When you get a lock, I'm going to pull up and you can fire." "Copy." Maverick flies towards the mountains and the fighter quickly follows. Rooster catches up and stays right behind him. The quick maneuvers enhance my nausea. My vision sways and black spots dance in my eyesight. I blink rapidly to try and stay focused on the task at hand. 

"I've got tone. Firing!" Mav pulls up at Rooster's words. The MiG releases defensive flares, blocking our shot. "Damnit!" I grunt. I don't know how much longer I can take. We stay on his trail, zipping back and forth between the steep rocks. Maverick stays behind us. We try again but to no avail. "We're all out of missiles," I announce over the radio. "So are we. Switch to guns." Rooster follows Striker's input and switches to guns. Spraying them on his back, we manage to clip him a little. Soon enough, we're out of ammo. "Pull up and switch." Maverick's orders cause us to fly upward as he replaces us in the chase.

"Come on dad, do your piloting shit," I mutter to myself. Maverick sprays three rounds, still not getting him. "We've got one last chance," He grunts. "You can do this, Mav." He aims and fires. The bullets tear up the metal protecting the engine on the back of the plane. The left side begins to catch on fire, causing the pilot to eject as his aircraft crashes into the mountain. "YES! SPLASH TWO!" Striker cheers. Everyone follows after, celebrating our little victory.

 Unlike everyone else, I don't feel much relief. I keep my mouth shut as we head back south, in the direction of the carrier. I don't want to alarm them. We're on our way back, stressing them out will be pointless. Taking deep breaths, I try to keep my anxiety at bay. I don't feel so good. My body is shaking, and I keep switching between hot and cold. The blood seeps through more prominently now, soaking the once yellow parachute. I tighten my clammy hands into fists. We're almost there. We're almost there.

I fiddle with the buttons around me, trying to distract myself. After flipping a few switches and pressing something, I'm pleasantly surprised when the old screen lights up. "Hey, I got the radio working," I say happily to Bradley. "Good job, babe. Get us in touch with the boat," He responds. "You can't call me babe when we're in the air. It's unprofessional," I tease him. Bradley scoffs. "I'll call you babe when I want. No protocol can stop me." A light laugh escapes me. Before I can answer an alarm beeps. Striker and Mav's alarm blares as well. The four of us blindly look around, hoping to see where this new plane is. "Where the hell is this guy?" Regina asks. Maverick freezes. "He's on our nose."

My breath is caught in my throat. We're out of ammo, we can't fight another. The enemy doesn't waste any time firing in our direction. Maverick and Striker use their last round of flares. We're completely defenseless. "What do we do?" Bradley frantically asks. "Gain altitude. We're going to have to eject." Rooster pulls up swiftly, alongside Maverick. The 5th-gen fighter follows, hunting us down like we're prey. The first shot speeds its way to Bradley and me. "EJECT! EJECT NOW" Maverick's screams are all the invitation we need. Pulling on the handles above the seats we fly out, watching as our plane bursts into flames. I watch as Striker and Maverick pull at their handles, but nothing happens. The ejection is not working. I shout for them to eject, despite the fact they can't hear me Just as the shot begins to be launched, the fighter is destroyed. I watch an f-18 fly by and give a little salute. I know that helmet anywhere. Hangman.

I sigh, knowing that everyone else is going to be safe. My body drops into the cold ocean, salty water immediately burning and attacking the gash in my leg. I cry out from the sensation, pathetically pushing the parachute straps off my shoulders. Bradley lands and swims over to me, pulling out the tiny raft we have to float on. He lays his back upon it and pulls me to lay back on his chest. Only now does he see that I've bled through the cloth. 

"Oh my god, Selene. Why didn't you say anything?" He scolds with concern clear in his voice. He sits up slightly to pull my helmet off. "Fuck you're burning up." I don't have the energy to say anything. My eyes glaze over as I look up. The sun is setting, making the sky light up a beautiful orange and pink. The steady waves reflect the colors around us. 

I could feel it. Starting from the hairs on my head and sliding down to my toes- I was losing. A vacuum was sucking the fight out of my veins along with the blood, draining it until it danced on the surface of the ocean. "Selene? Hey, hey! Look at me!" Bradley taps my face. I flit my eyes to his worried ones. "Search and rescue are on their way. I need you to hold on a little longer." I nod feebly, trying to convince myself to follow his demands. I begin to tense and release my muscles over and over, fending off the blackout that threatens to consume me. Every tightening of my arms and legs comes with the price of sickening pain, and every time it gets weaker and weaker until I can't bring myself to do it anymore. The life has been emptied out of me leaving a pale, feverish, hollow body in its place. 

I've spent some time pondering what it feels like to die. When you choose a dangerous profession, your mind can't help but wonder. I always thought that I'd be afraid. That I'd be alone and scared- and then I'd just die. That there would be excruciating pain and fear shooting through me until the moment I finally give out. But the pain has numbed, and I'm too tired to be frightened. 

"Selene! Selene! I need you to stay with me. They're almost here!" My vision comes back into focus during his words, and I catch sight of his eyes. His honey brown eyes. Tears gather at the corners of my eyes. He's here. He's holding me and I get to stare into his honey brown eyes as I drift to another place.

They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you die. It's true. I feel like I'm watching a personal slideshow of all the best moments. My mom reading me a bedtime story. My dad coming home from a mission. 4th of July with the Kazansky's. Meeting my freshman roommate at the naval academy. The two of us earning the names Siren and Striker together. Being serenaded at a bar by a handsome stranger. Falling in love with him while dancing in the kitchen and cooking spaghetti. Coming in first place at Top Gun. Sharing drinks and laughs with my friends at the Hard Deck. The drive-in movie. Waking up to Bradley telling me he loves me.

 It's been a beautiful story, hasn't it? I didn't realize.

Bradley's broken voice pierces my thoughts. "Please, baby. I just got you, I can't lose you." I weakly raise my hand to hold his cheek. He nuzzles his head against it, tears drip down his cheeks. "I love you." I wipe his cries with my thumb. "I love you too," I whisper.

"You'll feel me when you take off," I murmur. His eyes crack back open to look at me."You'll find me in the very air that forms the clouds." I give him one last reassuring smile. "In life and in death, I'll always be Siren In The Sky."