The helicopter jolted violently as its metal wheels lifted off the ground. The rotors roared like a beast, forcing the steel body up into the night. Below, the jeeps that had lit up the runway with automatic fire shrank into the distance, but their presence lingered in every body onboard: bullet holes in the cabin walls, the stench of gunpowder, and blood that hadn’t yet dried.
Dan lurched in his seat, the harness digging into his chest as the aircraft tilted upward. His breath came in short bursts, ears ringing from the engine’s scream and the chaos still echoing around him.
“We’ve got two down!” a soldier across from him shouted, his hands slick with blood as he tried to plug the wound in his buddy’s chest.
“Keep climbing! Get this thing higher, make it harder for them to track us!” t
