salute [james conrad] 1

Chapter 8

Warning: mild cursing on this Chapter!

The second that they dive into the storm, Charlotte knows she's going to die. 

It's not those kind of  'I just know it feelings.' no. It's more of the probabilities that she gets swung off the Helicopter in a strong gust of wind, or even better, the whole Helicopter goes down with her, and into the depths of the ocean. 

First the Helicopter starts to rattle, the wind becoming to strong for the blades. Charlotte looks at Mason, who is gripping the handles of the Helicopter. 

"You might wanna hang on" One of the pilots says as he switches a control. 

Charlotte scoffs, coming up with a witty remark, but she is cut short, because they enter further into the storm.  

 There is no light. Only random streaks of red lighting, flashing in between the mist and dangerously close to the Helicopters.  

The Helicopter rattles even harder, making Charlotte grabs the edge of her seat, trying to steady herself. 

She clutches her eyes shut, in order to keep the thick drops of water from entering her eyes, and her hand clutches her seat in order to keep her from getting blown into the dark sea. 

The Helicopter swings from side to side, and Charlotte is jerked forward, only to be stopped by a strong hand that holds her in place. 

She opens her eyes to look at Conrad, who is staring at her, his striking blue eyes holding a hint of worry. 

The wind whips her hair into her face, but they still hold eye contact. 

And just as the storm began, it stopped. What was a dark abysses sea is now a glorious warm, glistening sea. 

Charlotte exhales a relieved breath, still looking at Conrad. 

"Thank you. For that" She breaths out, giving him a glimpse of a smile. 

Conrad smiles back briefly, and lets go of her, going back to his original seat. 

"It was nothing, really. What everyone would do" He says simply before looking out the window. 

Charlotte looks out the window as well, amazed at the sun, and the amount of land that she is seeing. 

She turns back to look at Conrad, who is also seeing around them in a excited expression.  

They both make eye contact and smile slightly, before they turn back to see the island, which has an aura of mystery and enhancement surrounding it. 

Charlotte then laughs. She thought she was going to die. Maybe not after all. 

She watches the green mountains, rising from the sea, and the high peaks that rise into the sky.

"Look at that" She wonders under her breath, exhaling a breath she didn't know she was keeping in. 

"Let's take them down low and level" Packard orders from the radio, and the helicopters lower at once, flying close to the ground.  

Charlotte hears Mason exhale a happy breath of air. 

She turns to look at her with a smile, which Mason returns as she turns back and starts taking pictures. 

As they head deeper into the Island, the soldiers start playing music. 

The music, loud, upbeat and happy, resonates with the feelings of all the people in the Helicopters, and Charlotte can't help but hum to the music.