CRASH LANDING!

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  CRASH LANDING!

  "I'm going to take us higher!" George called, raising his voice over the roar of the engine. As the tiny plane began to climb, George looked more relaxed. He forgot all his cares when he was flying.

  Hey, he thought suddenly, his heart skipping a beat as the yoke stopped vibrating in his hand. Something's wrong!

  "What is it?" Enid yelled. But she didn't have to raise her voice. The cockpit had suddenly become very quiet.

  "BA329 to Air Traffic Control," George said quickly into the radio. "My engine's cut out, and I've got no power. Can you read me?"

  "This is Air Traffic Control," a voice announced. "BA329, are you sure you can't get any function from your engine?"

  "I'm sure," George answered. Then the plane started to plummet, and Enid, bracing herself with both hands against the control panel, began to scream.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  A LETTER TO THE READER

  Preview: CAITLIN

  One

  "I can't believe how beautiful it is up here!" Enid Rollins exclaimed, looking down through the window of the tiny plane at the rolling green hills surrounding Secca Lake.

  George Warren glanced anxiously at Enid and sighed as he pulled back on the yoke, gently turning the two-seater Cessna 150 through the cloudless sky. He wished he could share Enid's delight. Despite the joy flying gave him, he couldn't suppress his growing uneasiness. Not about the plane—ever since he was a little boy George had longed to be a pilot, and now that he had his pilot's license, his dream was partly fulfilled. No, it wasn't flying that was making George uneasy. It was Enid. Today's the day, he thought resolutely. No matter how awful it is to do it, I've got to tell Enid about Robin and me.

  One glance at Enid told George that this wasn't the right moment. He green eyes were dancing with excitement, and her face was flushed with the thrill of this afternoon's adventure. "George, thank you so much for letting me come up here with you," she said suddenly, turning to him and smiling warmly. "It means so much to me that I'm the first person you've taken up!"

  "A promise is a promise." George sighed as he turned the yoke to the right to guide the plane gently around the curve of the lake below. Poor Enid, he thought sadly. She has no idea how I feel. If only there were some way I could have kept myself from falling in love with Robin.

  Robin Wilson. Just thinking about her made George's heartbeat quicken. But shame flooded through him as he realized that he'd been thinking about Robin while Enid was talking to him. How could he do this to Enid? They'd known each other for ages—years and years, although they hadn't seen each other during most of the time he'd been in boarding school. But since last fall, they'd been boyfriend and girlfriend. George had looked Enid up when he'd come home to Sweet Valley on vacation from school. He had found her even more wonderful than he'd remembered—a little quieter, maybe, and more studious. But she was as pretty as ever with her curly, shoulder-length brown hair and gentle smile.

  George had graduated midyear from boarding school and had immediately enrolled at Sweet Valley College. He and Enid saw each other as much as possible.

  Yes, George admitted to himself, lifting the plane's nose as they climbed above the hills, the two of them had been through a lot together. Not only had he loved her, but also she'd been the best friend he'd ever had.

  In fact his affection for Enid had kept him from admitting what was happening between Robin and him for a long time. George had known Robin Wilson for some time now. She was at most of the parties he'd gone to with Enid, and he'd always thought she was both pretty and a nice person. But she was a friend of Enid's, one of her classmates, and nothing more to him. It wasn't until they starting spending time together in flying class that things began to change. George had never met anyone like Robin before. They had so much in common. He could tell her everything. Her passion for planes and flying was as great as his; she was the first girl who'd ever understood his dream of becoming a pilot.

  At first George had refused to admit that the feelings he had for Robin were growing beyond casual friendship. When he did realize what was happening, he tried his hardest to stop it. He left flight class early so he wouldn't be able to talk to Robin at all. He avoided her eager smile and made excuses when she asked him for help on take-home preparation material. But when they were paired on their first flying assignment, George knew it was all over. He had fallen in love, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  George and Robin had talked the whole thing out. It hadn't been easy for Robin, either. She had been torn between loyalty to Allen Walters, her steady boyfriend, and her growing affection for George. But the first time George took Robin in his arms they both knew they'd been fooling themselves. This was love, real love. And no matter how badly it hurt Enid and Allen, they would have to be told.

  Earlier, at the awards ceremony marking the end of their flight class, Robin had looked terribly upset. "I told Allen," she had whispered to George. "It was terrible, but I'm glad he knows the truth. I couldn't stand deceiving him for another minute."

  And now it's my turn, George thought sadly, pulling the throttle out as he swooped the plane low over the lake. He and Robin had decided that the last day of their flying class would be the cut-off point. But he had promised Enid he'd take her flying, and he wanted to keep that promise before telling her.

  "Hey, look!" Enid exclaimed, peering down at the sandy beach edging Secca Lake. "I can see people down there. I wonder if anyone from Sweet Valley High is watching us!"

  George bit his lip. He had a feeling Robin was watching from the shore. She knew that he was taking Enid up over the lake in a rental plane that afternoon, and he was sure she was down below now, watching them. Which makes everything even worse, he thought miserably.

  "Do you think they're watching us?" Enid asked, leaning as far forward as her safety harness would allow. The people down at the lake looked like tiny specks of color from so high up.

  "Who cares?" George answered, more vehemently than he'd meant to. He pulled back gradually on the yoke, bringing the nose of the Cessna up.

  "What are you doing?" Enid cried, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  "I'm going to take us higher!" George called, raising his voice over the roar of the engine. As the tiny plane began to climb, George looked more relaxed. He forgot all his cares when he was flying. It was so peaceful up there, he told himself, and the plane was so easy to maneuver. All he had to do was touch the yoke, and it responded perfectly, George thought. Up there—

  Hey, he thought suddenly, his heart skipping a beat as the yoke stopped vibrating in his hand. Something's wrong!

  "What is it?" Enid yelled. But she didn't have to raise her voice. The cockpit of the tiny plane had suddenly become very quiet.

  "The engine," George told her, gritting his teeth as he tried desperately to get it started again. "It's cut out."

  "BA329 to Air Traffic Control," George said quickly into the radio. "Can you read me? We're having trouble up here. The engine's cut out, and I've got no power. Can you read me?"

  "This is Air Traffic Control," a voice announced. "BA329, are you sure you can't get any function from your engine?"

  "I'm sure," George answered. The Cessna was beginning to plummet, and Enid, bracing herself with both hands against the control panel, began to scream.

  "Have you got a clearing?" Air Traffic Control demanded.

  His heart beating wildly, George scanned the landscape beneath him. "Only the lake," he shouted. "Secca Lake. We're falling fast!"

  "Get the nose up!" Air Traffic Control urged him. "Face into the wind and take her down into the lake."

  George had never been so frightened in his life. He had been told over and over again in his flight class what to do in a situation like this, but it sure felt different from up here. He knew a Cessna 150 would fall at the rate of about 750 feet a minute. To slow the descent he had to get the plane's nose up and turn her around into the wind. Then the tiny plane would glide into the water rather than crash straight down.

  "I'm so frightened, George," Enid wailed. "What's happening? What are we going to do?"

  George was frantically scanning the lake below to determine which way the wind was blowing. At last he was able to make out the ripples on the water's surface, indicating the wind was coming from the east. With all his might George moved the yoke. Turn her around, he prayed silently. Please, God, turn her around. Unless he could turn the plane into the wind, George knew he and Enid were doomed. The plane would fall faster and faster without the wind to break their speed, and the impact of the crash would kill them.

  "We're turning!" Enid screamed.

  "Thank God." George sobbed, gripping the yoke with both hands. "Air Traffic Control," he gasped into the radio, "I've got us pointing due east, into the wind. We're in a nose-high attitude, heading for
Secca Lake. Do you read me?"

  "Keep her steady," Air Traffic Control advised.

  "Enid," George said, panting and reaching out to steady her trembling shoulders, "the wind is going to help break our fall. We're going to attempt a crash landing into the lake, but remember—"

  The blue water of Secca Lake seemed to be rising closer and closer beneath them.

  "Remember what?" Enid screamed, closing her eyes.

  "Open your door before we hit the water," George yelled over the rising rush of the wind. "Otherwise, it might jam shut. OK?"

  "OK," Enid yelled back, tears coursing down her cheeks.

  "Are you ready?" George screamed.

  Enid took a deep breath. "Ready!"

  "Now!" George hollered. "Get the door open because we're coming down!"

  His words were drowned out as the tiny plane hit the water. George felt nothing more than the shock of water spraying up around them. He was thrown forward against the windshield, and everything went dark and silent.

  Enid, screaming so loud her throat ached, felt a sickening sensation in her stomach as the plane bounced once on the surface of the lake and flipped over.

  It took a minute for Enid to figure out what had happened. The plane was floating upside down in the middle of the lake, buoyed by the light wings, so that the cockpit sat above the water like a small dome. At first Enid was so shaken she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. But the next minute she heard something that made her eyes fly open in horror.

  It was the sound of water lapping against the cockpit.

  Enid couldn't believe what she saw when she looked around her. She and George were still strapped into their seats, hanging upside down in the tiny cockpit. It was like being in a ride in an amusement park. Her head was hanging several inches above the water, and the only thing keeping her from dropping down was the safety harness. "George!" Enid sobbed, trying to twist herself sideways so she could get a good look at him. Her neck hurt a little, but otherwise she was fine.

  But George wasn't. Enid saw that at once. The impact of the crash had forced his seat forward, and he had been knocked out when his head had hit the windshield. Enid could see a jagged cut across his forehead. He was bleeding, but she couldn't see how badly.

  But Enid knew he was alive. She wriggled her hand across him up to his mouth and nose and felt the warmth of his breath as he exhaled. Thank God, Enid thought. Thank God he's alive.

  Enid's relief was short-lived. The plane was sinking slowly, and she knew it was only a matter of minutes before the cockpit filled completely. We've got to get out of here, she thought frantically, trying in vain to shake George into consciousness. She thought that if she released herself, she'd have a better chance to help George. Her fingers felt unbelievably clumsy as she fumbled with the straps of her harness. At last she managed to undo the buckle, and holding onto the strap with both hands, she lowered herself into the water at the bottom of the cockpit.

  "George!" she cried, trying to reach up across him to unfasten his harness. But the cockpit was too narrow, and the buckle holding George prisoner in his seat was impossible to reach from that angle. "I'll have to get it from the other side," Enid muttered. Without stopping to think, she pushed the door open on her side of the cockpit and jumped into the cool water of the lake.

  Everything Enid had learned in her junior lifesaving class the previous summer came back at once. The lake water made her clothing feel as heavy as lead, and in a flash she pulled off her cardigan sweater and kicked her loafers off her feet. Panting with exertion, Enid swam around the back of the plane to approach George's side of the cockpit. She could feel the blood pounding in her temples as she tried to pull herself up onto the underside of the wing. "Damn!" she cried, falling back into the water. It looked as though the cockpit had sunk even lower since she'd jumped into the lake; she could see the water touching George's forehead now. I've got to save him, she thought frantically.

  The next minute Enid managed to pull herself up on the wing of the plane. Her wet socks didn't make it any easier to move across the metal wing, but she didn't have time now to take them off. She had to get George out of the plane, and she didn't have more than a minute or two left.

  Leaning against the metal strut that attached the wing to the bottom of the cockpit, Enid put one arm around George's upper body while she snapped the buckle open with her left hand. The next instant George fell free of his harness, knocking Enid backward as he fell face first into the water.

  The small of her back hit the metal strut hard, and Enid sucked in her breath as a dreadful pain shot up her spine. The next thing she knew, she had slid off the wet wing into the water. It felt as if her entire lower body had turned to lead, and she tried to balance herself on the wing so she wouldn't go under. Something's wrong with me, she thought desperately as the wing sank beneath her.

  She had freed George just in time. Struggling to keep herself afloat, Enid saw the little plane bob once or twice before it sank.

  "George!" Enid cried, pushing the strands of wet hair from her eyes as she tried to swim toward him.

  "Don't move. I'm coming!" George called. The shock of the cool water had brought him back to consciousness, and within seconds he was at Enid's side.

  "Thank God you're all right," Enid sobbed. "I was so frightened." Trying to stay afloat, she put her arms around George's neck. Something was wrong with her legs. She couldn't feel anything in either of them, and she couldn't seem to move them. Without George to hold her up, Enid was afraid she'd drown.

  "What is it?" George gasped. "Are you hurt?"

  Tears flowed down Enid's cheeks. "There's something wrong with my legs," she told him. "I can't seem to move."

  George paled, tightening his arm around her. "Don't try to," he said urgently. "Just keep still. I'll get you to shore."

  "George, I'm so frightened," Enid sobbed, gripping his arm as he began swimming.

  "It's all right," George said. "It looks like a rescue team is coming out here! Are you in pain, Enid?"

  Enid shook her head, her face ghostly pale. "I can't feel a thing," she whispered. "George, I've lost all feeling in my legs!"

  Todd Wilkins barely had time to think when he saw the little plane falter over Secca Lake. The handsome, brown-haired junior had been kicking a soccer ball around with Roger Patman and Ken Matthews when he heard a piercing scream from the shore. It was Robin Wilson, her face white as a sheet, her fumbling hand pointing at the sky. Shading his eyes with one hand, Todd had spotted the plane instantly. And he knew it was in trouble.

  He ran as fast as he could to Secca Lodge, a shingled outbuilding that served as a changing house and refreshment stand several hundred yards from the lake. "Get me the police," he panted into the receiver of the pay phone inside. "Please," he added, his breath rasping. "It's an emergency!"

  "Thanks, son," the officer had said when Todd had reported what he'd seen. "Air Traffic Control just notified us. There are three squad cars and an ambulance on the way."

  The carefree picnic Todd had been enjoying with several of his classmates had been disrupted by the time he got back to the shore. Two or three groups from Sweet Valley High had had the same idea for an outing at the lake, and by now all were huddled together in the shallow water at the lake's edge, watching the Secca Lake Emergency squad's boat motoring out to the sinking plane.

  "Oh, Todd, it was awful," Olivia Davidson murmured, leaning against her boyfriend Roger Patman for support. "You should've seen the plane hit the water!"

  "Is there anything we can do?" Todd asked helplessly.

  Roger shook his head. "The squad asked us to stay out of the way," he said. "We can't do much now but wait."

  "Does anyone know what happened to the people in the plane?" Todd continued, worried.

  "We don't know yet," Ken Matthews said soberly. "But it's not just people, Todd. According to Robin Wilson it's George Warren and Enid Rollins."

  "Oh, God," Todd murmured, spinning back to scan the lake for the emergency squad's white motorboat. George and Enid! It was impossible! He'd never dreamed the doomed plane was carrying friends.

  Over the school year Todd had become good friends with both George and Enid. George was an excellent guy—great at sports, a good sense of humor—an all-around nice person. And Enid! Aside from being one of the best-tempered, most decent girls Todd had ever met, Enid was the best friend of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Wakefield. Through Elizabeth he'd gotten to know both George and Enid well. And now—