I could feel adrenaline washing into my bloodstream like ice water. My hands were shaking on the controls and my pulse was hammering madly, but none of the stuff seemed to reach my head. My eyes were locked on the grey pinwheel outside of the canopy, patches of blurred green resolving into individual trees as I watched, paralyzed.

Finally the voices of the kids reached my numbed ears, and with all my strength I pulled back on the steering column, easing the throttle to avoid a stall. We leveled out, but I think I left my heart somewhere back there.