Between a Rock and a Hard Place Pt. 1

>"Are you sure she's ready to go?" She says as she jabs a finger towards the ultralight aircraft.
"I've checked her twice now. All good to go" You say as you give the Bunyip an affectionate pat.
>"And your stuff? All packed up?" She inquires.
"Yeap. Got everything stashed here" You assure her. "Three days' worth of food and clothes plus my carbine."
>"Are you really sure that you can handle yourself all on your own?" She looks at you worryingly.
>You just scoff at her question as you tighten the straps on your sports bag.
"I'm sure there's nothing I can handle. See you in three days I suppose" You say as you give the propeller a good turn.
>The little Rotax engine quickly fires up. Why shouldn't it? You do take good care of her anyways.
>"Okay! See you in three days! If something happens to my baby I'll skin you alive!" She shouts over the drone of the engine.
>You just give her a grin and flash her a peace sign. You release the brakes a bit and slowly build up the throttle.


>Damn she flies like a dream.
>Not too sluggish like a Cessna. If only she had a closed cockpit then she'd be a winner.
>Plus maybe a baggage compartment.
>And maybe the designers should've placed the propeller behind the aircraft. Shit's making you a wee bit too dizzy.
>You force those thoughts away as you put the Bunyip in a slight bank to the right. You didn't bother to bring a map since all you had to do was to follow the coastline then try to look for the island with that funky looking cliff face. A short dirt runway ought to be on top of that cliff.
>Now if you could only find that cliff.
>After scanning the group of islands for a bit, you finally find the one you were looking for.
>You were only about a few minutes away from the runway when the fog suddenly gets too thick for comfort.
>Fuck this wouldn't do. The fog is making the landing a very dicey proposition.
>And then you remember how near the airstrip is to the cliff.
>Screw this up and you'll be skewered on the rocks below.
>You increase your altitude a bit and circle overhead the airstrip hoping to look for a window to land.


>Ten minutes has already passed yet you still can't find a break in the fog. You really need to land real soon.
> ...
>There! The fog clears a bit and you can now see some greenery.
>You put your aircraft in a shallow turn as you lower your altitude.
>You eyeball the terrain a bit as you try to look for that airstrip.
>Something seems a bit..off
>Have you overshot the runway? You were pretty sure that you stayed within eyesight of the runway before the fog hid it from view.
>Now what? Fuck..
>You bring the aircraft into a slight climb so you can get ahold of your bearings. Next time you really ought to bring a map.
>The fog has cleared quite substantially now. Have you strayed back to the mainland again? You can't seem to find the coastline again.
>And then the severity of your situation finally hits you.
>You're almost out of gas and you're flying over a fairly thick jungle with no clearing in sight.
>You were too worried about your situation to notice something flying right beside you.
>A blur of brown suddenly dives in front of you and that gets your attention.
"....What the fuck?" You blurt out as you try to crane out your neck to see what it was. And then you notice the creature flying beside you.


>The creature looks as if it was trying screeching or was trying to tell you something but you can't make it out over the drone of the engine.
>You creep in closer to see "it" better. It's head looked like an eagle's yet its body was from a cat's. It flexes its claws menacingly at you.
>Whatever it is, it looks very hostile. Not a very good situation to be in since you were practically defenseless in your open cockpit.
>Your carbine is strapped behind your seat. You really don't have the luxury to turn around to free it.
>THE FLARE GUN!
"Come on you piece of shit!" You scream as you try to undo the latch of the storage bin under you seat. .
>With the control stick on your left hand and the flare gun with your right, you warily scan the skies for the creatures that tried to assault you.
>As if on cue, you feel your aircraft lurch down as something gets ahold of your wing. The aircraft shudders again as the "thing" tries to rip the wings off the aircraft.
>You jerk the control stick hard to the right in an attempt to dislodge the creature from it's spot. It loses it's grip on your wing and it goes to a spiral dive. You fire your flare gun at it's direction and you can see that it was surprised by the sudden flash of light.
>It stops attacking your aircraft and slinks away from view. You were sure that the ultralight wouldn't last another beating after this.
>You move the stick about to assess how much damage the creature has done. The Bunyip banks a bit to the left but you think you can manage by leaning the stick to the right a bit.

>"KRNWOOOOOOP!" The wing supports finally give way as the creature goes back to assault your left wing.
>After a few more tugs, The wing finally separates and it sends your aircraft into a violent nosedive.
>Everything is already a blur at you and you're not even sure what to do anymore.
>Looks like this is the end of the line for you,pal.
>You just force your eyes shut ans you steel yourself for the inevitable.