Touch the Sky (Young Underground #8) (2 page)

             
“
I don
’
t know about your Eretz Israel, Matthias,
”
Henrik said,
“
but I love this plane! Feels like we could fly right to the moon.
”

             
Matthias grinned his agreement while Peter gripped the back of the seat in front of him once more. He thought about the gun, and his stomach churned even worse. He put his head down on his hands to keep from looking out the window.

             
“
I know what you mean,
”
agreed Matthias.

             
They continued their climb, and Peter could feel the pressure on his chest like a giant hand.

             
“
This little De Havilland was built for speed. I
’
ve clocked it at up to 125 miles an hour. And with the pontoons I put on, we can land on just about any body of water. In fact
...”

             
Matthias paused for a moment, put his hand to his forehead, then shook his head as if he were getting dizzy. He looked over at Henrik and squinted.
“
In fact
...”
he repeated, but he could not seem to finish his sentence. His lips moved, but nothing came out. Then his eyes widened, and his head fell backward.

             
“
Matthias!
”
Henrik screamed.
“
What are you doing? Are you all right?
”

             
Matthias, however, was not answering. Peter grabbed the pilot
’
s shoulders to keep him sitting up, but he could do nothing to wake the man or keep his head from flopping backward like a rag doll. Not even a slap to his face helped.

             
Somehow, Matthias had kept his grip on the plane
’
s steering stick and had pulled it back even farther. Their plane seemed to be climbing straight into the sun; then they slowed to a crawl even while the engine roared as loudly as ever.

             
“
Grab the stick!
”
Peter yelled to his friend.

             
As Henrik pulled Matthias
’
s hands free, the heavy feeling on Peter
’
s chest suddenly fell away. Peter frantically looked around to see where they were, but he couldn
’
t tell if they were right side up or upside down. For a moment, his stomach seemed to float, as if they were at the top of a roller
-
coaster ride about to plunge down the first big hill.

             
“
We
’
re falling backward!
”
Henrik yelled, gripping the stick awkwardly.

             
All Peter could do was hold fast to the unconscious pilot
’
s shoulders and pray as they spun wildly. It was as if they had come to the end of a giant rubber band and were being pulled back to earth, fluttering out of control.

             
“
Steer!
”
Peter wasn
’
t sure how Henrik could do that from the passenger side and over the limp body of Matthias, but it was the only thing he could think of to say.

             
A second later, the airplane fluttered around, wobbly and uncertain. But instead of looking at dark blue sky out the front windshield, suddenly they saw the ocean far below. On the control panel, the compass was rocking and the hand on a dial was spinning madly. This time Peter was pinned back in his little seat by the sheer force of the fall while the water rushed closer and closer, filling his vision.

             
“
Come on, Matthias!
”
Peter again shook the man
’
s shoulders.
“
Wake up, Matthias! Please. You have to wake up.
”

             
Henrik still struggled with the steering stick. His hands shook, and sweat ran down his face.

             
“
Pull back!
”
Peter screamed. He stared down at the water as it rushed closer and closer. Any minute, they would hit like an egg on concrete.

             
“
I
’
m trying!
”
Henrik shouted, tugging even harder.
“
Come on, please
...”

             
The plane jerked to the side, then seemed to slide sideways, then pulled into a long, looping glide.

             
“
You did it!
”
whooped Peter, but they were still going down.

             
“
Not
...
yet.
”
Henrik gritted his teeth and struggled with the controls to keep the plane upright. They were still hurtling nose down toward the water, only not spinning out of control anymore.

             
“
I can
’
t do this.
”
Henrik looked as if he was about to cry.
“
I can
’
t land this thing. I can
’
t even keep it pointed straight.
”

             
Peter would have tried to help, but he knew he couldn
’
t do any better. The airplane jerked and pulled and bobbed as if it had a mind of its own.

             
“
Well, at least we have pontoons instead of wheels,
”
Peter said.

             
“
Pontoons?
”

             
“
Floats.
”

             
“
That
’
s not going to do us any good when we crash. I
’
m sorry, Peter.
”

             
Peter held his breath as they dropped out of the sky
—
more slowly now but just as surely. They were going to crash. Then suddenly, Matthias gave a jerk.

             
“
He moved!
”
Peter shouted.
“
Keep this thing up just a little longer, can you?
”

             
Just before they would have slammed into the ocean, Henrik somehow pulled up the nose, and the plane rolled up like a roller coaster. Peter held on even more tightly as he felt himself lifting out of his seat. Matthias
’
s head was jerked around, and he groaned. An instant later, his eyes were wide as he looked at the two.

             
“
Matthias!
”
Henrik yelled at the man as he struggled to steer their bucking airplane. They were coming back down, and Peter could see their wing tip was about to catch a wave. If it did, he could imagine how they would tumble into the ocean.

             
Matthias was awake now. He looked confused, but he grabbed the control stick from the frightened Henrik, stomped at the rudder pedals, pulled back the nose of the airplane, and yanked out the throttle to full power. Peter could have reached out his side window and touched the top of a green, frothy wave, but he just hung on and ground his teeth together.

             
“
What happened?
”
Matthias asked as they straightened out. He pulled them up and around to the left, skimming smoothly over the shipyard buildings of
Helsingør
Harbor. A group of workers on their lunch break below looked up in surprise.
“
Last thing I remember, we were at three thousand feet.
”

             
Peter looked at Henrik, waiting for his friend to say something. Henrik looked as pale as Peter felt.

             
“
We thought you were
...”
Henrik whispered, trying to catch his breath.

             
Peter looked down at his hands and realized that he had been digging his fingernails into Matthias
’
s shoulders. One by one, he unhooked his fingers from the man
’
s brown leather jacket. But he didn
’
t want to look out the window anymore. He didn
’
t want to see anything else. He just wanted to stop the plane and get off as fast as he could.

             
“
We thought you were dead,
”
finished Peter.
“
And Henrik was trying to fly the plane. You woke up just in time.
”

             
“
How long?
”
Matthias searched their faces. He glanced down at his wristwatch for a clue.
“
A minute? Two?
”

             
“
I don
’
t know, Matthias,
”
Henrik finally answered, crossing his arms and shivering.
“
But can
we stop this thing now?
”

             
“
I am so sorry, boys.
”
Matthias shook his head.
“
This hasn
’
t happened to me since I was a little boy.
”

             
“
You just
...”
Henrik searched for the words.
“
You just fainted or something. Only we couldn
’
t wake you up.
”

             
Matthias circled around so they could land in the still water of the harbor, the same stretch where they had taken off only an hour before.

             
“
I am so sorry, boys,
”
he repeated.
“
You know I would never do anything to put you in danger, if I could help it, that is. I
...
ah
...
I just never thought I would pass out like that.
”

             
“
It
’
s not your fault,
”
Henrik told him.

             
Matthias only shook his head again.
“
Well, you see, it
’
s my heart. When I was young, they said I wasn
’
t going to live. I fainted a few times when I was a kid, but it hasn
’
t happened in a long time. The doctors told me I
’
d grown out of it. I guess maybe I haven
’
t.
”

             
“
Your heart?
”
asked Peter, looking over at Henrik.
“
You too?
”

             
“
That
’
s how I met your father, Henrik.
”
Matthias looked down at the water as they neared the harbor.
“
Right after he had his first heart attack, I was in for a regular checkup, and we started trading heart stories. We had something in common.
”

             
“
Oh.
”
Henrik
’
s voice sounded very small, and he bit his lip.

             
Without another word, Matthias expertly guided the small plane to a soft touchdown on the water. Peter let out his breath with a sigh. Now they were a boat, taxiing into the middle of the harbor. They would tie up at the Andersens
’
dock behind the
Anne Marie
.

             
Peter
’
s twin sister, Elise, was sitting on the rear deck of the fishing boat dangling her bare feet over the edge. Her straight, blond hair flowed just below her shoulders and fluttered like a flag in the gentle breeze. Except for the fact that she was a girl, and a few inches taller than her brother, she looked a lot like Peter. Her knees and elbows seemed to poke out, and her long legs looked even longer because she had rolled up the bottoms of her pants. It was summer vacation, after all, and the sun was out. Her deep blue eyes matched Peter
’
s, but of course that was only obvious closer up.