Wicked Comet part 14
The Comet slowly began to descend out of the storm, smoke pouring out of the right wing due to the destroyed engines number 3 and 4. The Controls had partially jammed too and the Comet seemed to want to keep turning right so Rich had a very hard time keeping the jet in the air.
Fiyero had joined Rich in the Co-pilot's seat and even with his help, the Comet was becoming even more difficult to control by the minute.
Rich was also trying to re-establish contact with Elphaba through the radio but all attempts failed.
"The radio antenna must have been damaged by debris from the house" Rich thought to himself.
The Comet continued its descent and slowly but surely, the Comet exited the storm and the fields of Munchkinland became visible from the Comet's windshield. Those fields were approaching fast!
"We're descending too fast!" Fiyero exclaimed.
Rich pulled back on the control column but there was very little response!
What Rich didn't know was that the elevators had been partially jammed by pieces of debris from the house.
"Ah, we've got hardly any pitch control. Looks like we are going to have to have a bumpy landing" Rich said to Fiyero as calmly as he could but failing.
Rich then pulled the landing gear lever down in preparation for landing. The gear didn't extend!
Rich had built in a back-up gear extension powered by gravity for such an eventuality, so he activated that.
Even though the both landing gear extension systems were working, the landing gear doors had been jammed shut by several massive dents caused by debris from the house and even the powerful electrical motors used for lifting and lowering the landing gear couldn't shift them.
"Oz-dammit! The Gear's jammed. Looks like we're going to have to have a controlled crash!" Rich cursed loudly.
"Well then manage it! We're about to hit the deck!" Fiyero yelled back.
Rich immediately gave one last mighty heave on the control column and the Comet leveled out and pitched up slightly but still continued to descend. The ground was approaching fast and just before impact, Rich shut down the Still Working engines 1 and 2 and deployed their fire extinguishers to avoid any post-impact fire.
Both Rich and Fiyero tightened their seatbelts and braced themselves. The Comet landed tail first with the nose 5 degrees in the air with a massive force that sent a powerful jolt through the entire airframe as it suddenly lost speed and the nose connected with the ground. The Comet slid at high speed across the farmland and Rich managed to use the Comet's undamaged braking parachute and the rudder in order to increase the deceleration rate and to keep the Comet in a straight line. It seemed like an eternity but finally, the Comet lurched to a halt in a massive cloud of dirt and metallic noise. Rich and Fiyero were thrown forward by the impact but were caught by their seat harnesses which pulled them back into their seats.
There was utter silence around the Comet and inside the aircraft for some time until Fiyero groaned,
"Ugh my head!"
Rich was not feeling much better himself but he pushed those feelings aside as he unbuckled his seat belt and helped Fiyero with his.
"C'mon, we need to get out of here before the fuel goes up!" Rich said urgently as both himself and Fiyero climbed out of their seats, grabbing their respective firearms and ammunition as they climbed out of the crashed Comet.
Once outside, Fiyero whistled loudly,
"Whew, the Comet is really smashed up"
Fiyero was right; the Comet had ploughed a massive trail through some unfortunate farmer's field and had severely damaged parts of the airframe. Overall, it was highly unlikely that the Comet, Oz's first powered aircraft would ever fly again.
Rich looked extremely upset at the loss of one of his greatest achievements but he held back his tears as he stood up to his full height and said,
"First and foremost, we've got to find Elphaba"
"Sounds like a plan" Fiyero replied and at that, the two men set off through the cornfield that the Comet had crashed in. Whilst moving, Rich loaded his ex Ozian Army mk1 revolver with his special knockout gas bullets and Fiyero loaded his Gale Force Eagleshot service rifle with conventional ammo.
Cornfields are a very expansive bunch and Rich and Fiyero had a hard time navigating through them. That was until they both saw the angled roof of the very house that had wrecked the Comet!
"So that was where the house landed" Rich thought aloud.
The sounds of metal clashing against metal and boots stomping met both Rich and Fiyero's ears and the sounds of Elphaba and Glinda shrieking at each-other!
Both men sprinted as fast as they could to the edge of the cornfield and through the gaps in the plants, they could see that Elphaba had been restrained by several gale forcers and Glinda was standing nearby.
"I can't believe you would sink this low! To use my sister's death as a trap to capture me?!" Elphaba spat at Glinda.
"Nessa is dead?!" Rich exclaimed.
Fiyero however wasn't listening and swung right into the clearing on a rope attached to the house!
"LET THE GREEN GIRL GO!" Fiyero shouted at the Gale forcers.
Rich face palmed as he saw Fiyero's sheer stupidity first hand.
"Looks like it's up to me to sort out this mess" Rich said to himself as he snuck around the clearing, using the corn plants as cover until he was behind Glinda, (who was wearing a sparkly silver dress that looked like a bubble, Rich thought that Glinda looked very beautiful in that dress). Once behind her and was sure that she wasn't looking behind her, Rich snuck out from his hiding spot and without warning, he wrapped his left arm around Glinda's throat and pressed the barrel of his revolver into Glinda's back.
"Don't worry, just be calm" Rich whispered into Glinda's ear.
Fiyero, spotting Rich said to the Gale forcers,
"Let the green girl go or watch as Glinda the good was slain!"
Fiyero pointed his rifle at Glinda to show he wasn't messing about; Rich pulled back the hammer on his revolver with an audible snap to add to the effect.
"Fiyero..., Rich…." Glinda said as calmly as she could, not trying to let the fear of the situation get to her.
"I said, let her go!" Fiyero shouted at the Gale Forcers who promptly released Elphaba.
"Rich get Elphaba out of here" Fiyero said to Rich.
"Not without you!" Elphaba replied, terrified for her love.
"Fiyero please" Glinda interjected.
"Hush! Now Go!" Fiyero said in a commanding tone.
Elphaba hesitated for a moment before Rich decided to help her up and escape. Moving carefully, he released Glinda and made his way to Elphaba but before he could reach his cousin, before anyone could do anything, one gale force soldier pulled out his sidearm and fired it at Rich!
Rich collapsed to the ground in sheer agony as the bullet hit him to left part of his stomach, miraculously missing anything vital but causing a lot of blood loss that could cause severe harm if not treated soon.
"RICH!" both Elphaba and Glinda shrieked in pure horror.
"Get Rich out of here!" Fiyero said to Elphaba as she ran over to Rich and held him close.
"Do it!" Glinda insisted as she tossed Elphaba's hat and broom to her.
Elphaba placed her hat on her head and slowly helped the badly hurt Rich to his feet.
With one last look at her love and her best friend, Elphaba hurried off, helping Rich move as she went whilst Fiyero distracted the Gale Forcers.
As quickly as she could, Elphaba took to the skies on the broom with Rich holding on behind her, she swooped over the Comet's wreckage as Elphaba climbed and accelerated the Broom as fast as she physically could go.
Elphaba knew she had not just the life of Rich in her Emerald Green Hands, but the life of Fiyero as well since the Gale forcers would torture him for information until dead; she forced the broom to fly as fast as humanly possible to Kiamo Ko. Elphaba now was in a race against time!