A Lost Ghost

Chapter 2: Its A Dog Fight

We fly deeper into the Pacific Ocean until we meet up with the other four Japanese pilots.

"Good morning, Aviators," SuperFly says over the radio. SuperFly is normally our flight leader and our flight instructor for the day. He's honestly the best pilot I've ever met. That being said, I pray to God I don't have to go up against him. The old dudes with years of experience always win in a dogfighting exercise.

Always.
I take in a deep breath, forcing myself to push Blaze out of my mind.

"Today's lesson includes basic fighter maneuvers and dogfighting."

SuperFly pairs me up with a pilot whose last name is Kaneko. Kaneko flew behind me and got in position.

"You sure you want Binky training them?" Dice interjects. "Dude can't fly for—."

My eyes narrow into slits. I know this dude isn't talking about me.

"I'm not the one who's almost been shot down twelve times! Betty probably does all the work for you!" I interrupt.

"Yeah, but you can't hit a target to save your life. Some of us have actually shot down a plane, you know?"

"Ignore him, man," Matrix says.

"Jesus, Dice. Your callsign should've been the agitator," Hurricane adds.

I scoff.

"More like the douchebag."

"That's enough," SuperFly barks.

I shake my head and grit my teeth as I look forward into the never-ending horizon. I take in a deep breath and tighten my grip around the stick, waiting for SuperFly's signal. I'll prove Dice wrong. I can prove right here and now that I'm better than him.

"Three, two, one, fights on!" he yells. I push the throttle forward and yank the stick sideways, turning my jet to the right. I glance in my rearview mirror, seeing Kaneko on my tail. I push my stick to the left, sending the jet into a barrel roll. The g-force pushes me back into my seat. I level out.

"Where's he at, Matrix?"

"Tally! Six 0 clock high!" he yells back. I twist around in my seat to see him behind me, the underbelly of his jet showing. I yank the throttle back, slowing us down. Kaneko's jet flies forward. I drive the throttle forward again as I speed up behind him.

"Knock it off. Knock it off," SuperFly orders. I level back on the throttle and smile.

"There ya go, Bink!" Matrix exclaims.

I glance over at Dice to see him glowering back at me. I fight the urge to raise my hand and flip him the bird. After me, Hurricane and her back-seater Ghost go up against a nineteen-year-old kid. The kid was actually really good, but Hurricane had him beat. I watch as Dice and another pilot go at it. I watch intently, looking for any mistake to throw in his face. My eyes widen as Dice pulls off the cobra maneuver. The nose of his jet abruptly raises vertically. The jet behind him shoots in front. When Dice levels out, that was the end of it. He won.

The other pilots shout with excitement, praising him for pulling off such a move. I roll my eyes. I personally don't see the hype in it. So what, he got his plane to go vertical?

"Big deal," I mumble. "It's not that hard of a maneuver anyways."

"When's the last time you did that move, Bink?" Dice shoots back. I've never done that move. I've never even tried to do it. I shake my head and look away, biting my tongue until the taste of blood fills my mouth. He's always doing this to me, making me feel inferior. It's been going on ever since flight school, and I've had enough of it.