As we left the airport I heard the others being released from their boxes. I don't know why I had to be the last. Rubbing my aching legs, happy to be out, I gazed out of the cabin window at the volcanic landscape below. The General and Lena were shut in the cockpit with Boris. Only Dmitri was with me, sitting in brooding silence.
Dmitri came over... "You alright?"
"Fine. But where are we going?"
"Boris said they would drop us off at Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky. That's where the General wants to go."
"But if we are heading for Alaska, wouldn't it have been easier to leave from Klychi?" I asked.
"Vassily wants to go there, I'm sure he has his reasons."
"Hey Dmitri, weren't things better when there were just the two of us? I'm getting tired of being dragged around by that lunatic, I don't feel safe with him, and he never asks us what WE want to do. It's driving me mad!"
"Ivan, I was leading a quiet inconspicuous life as a tractor driver before you called at my farm. In the last 3 weeks I have been trapped in a plummeting airliner, forced to vandalise another one and tie up its crew, shot down by a MiG into the sea in a third, hunted by helicopters and endured death threats and abuse. Do you think you've brought anything good into my life? Am I complaining? At least the General has a plan, which is more than what you came to me with, risking my life....so quit whining!"
"Anyway," said Dmitri, "at least you like spending time in planes. I'm terrified of heights and I hate flying. This whole adventure has been torture for me!!!"
"Good grief Dmitri," I said, feeling rotten..."I'm sorry."
"It's okay buddy. I know it's not your fault. I just hope that soon I'll have my feet on solid ground and never have to get in a plane again!"
Just then, Lena appeared in the cabin, dressed in a yellow suit and wearing some kind of rucksack on her back. "We can't land there" she said. "Put these on. Sorry they're yellow but they're all Boris had"
"By the blood of Trotsky is that what I think it is" said Dmitri, staring in horror at the yellow suit in his hands.
"What? What?" I panicked.
Ten minutes later we stood by the open door with the wind rushing in. "You first" said a haggard Dmitri. What could I do... I took at deep breath and leapt.
The wind filled my ears and eyes, and buffeted me about. I was terrified.
The four of us tumbled through the sky, seeing sunset, sea, clouds, ground, volcano, city, sunset, over and over... then I pulled the string I was told to and was dragged upwards... it opened!
Floating down to earth, we saw the Li-2 rock its wings in farewell before climbing into the clouds, leaving us alone in the chill wind above the darkening landscape. If no-one had spotted us then the last stage of our journey out of Siberia lay ahead.
to be concluded in ID6 HERE
http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... 1132361727
in about a week's time... thanks for looking!!!!
Ps. If your interested in what Kamchatka looks like there are some nice, no, AMAZING pics here:
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/R ... Kamchatka/
It's beautiful!
Krigl
) for people but... why not 
the pictures are quite nice anyway, the writing can be ignored. 
