The helicopter didn't just dive; it screamed. The g-force pinned Nala against her seat, her lungs collapsing under the weight of the descent. Outside the glass, the morning sun was replaced by the suffocating orange glow of the volcano’s throat. The heat began to seep through the airframe, smelling of sulfur and melting plastic.
Nala looked at the back of the pilot’s head. The scorched skin of Leo’s neck was visible above his flight suit, and the blue light from the earring in her hand was pulsing in perfect sync with the flickering lights of the cockpit.
"Leo!" Nala roared over the whine of the engines. "Pull up! You’re going to kill us all!"
Leo didn't pull up. He didn't even flinch. He turned the stick harder, banking the chopper into a steep spiral that sent Dante’s stretcher slidin
