by A. M. Pierre
Ms. Smith didn’t look like she was joking in the least. “Not a couple of days. You all fly out on the first leg tomorrow night.”
“Even worse! She can’t do it—I won’t let her!”
“You won’t let me?” Against his better judgment, Connor snuck a peak at Kaia. Huh. Those might be actual flames coming out of her eyes. “Since when do you get to make my decisions for me? You’re not my father. You’re not my brother. I’m not even sure—”
“Look, hang on a second, will you? What I’m trying to say is—”
“No, you hang on. I did just fine taking care of myself in London, so I don’t need you telling me what I can and can’t do!”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake—don’t you dare turn this into one of your stupid ‘I’ve got to run head first into trouble to prove something to Connor’ things!”
Silence. A single bead of sweat rolled down the nape of Connor’s neck. At least they were in a room full of people. She couldn’t waste him in here, could she? Well, she could try, but surely someone would stop her. Surely.
Kaia looked directly at Ms. Smith. “Despite what Mr. Rhys seems to think, I am perfectly capable of handling anything you need me to do. If he can do it, I can do it.”
Ms. Smith smiled, and Connor could’ve sworn he saw a hint of twisted glee there. “That’s very good to hear. So I take it you’ve been skydiving before?”
Kaia blinked. “Sky what now?”
This wasn’t really happening. It couldn’t be. It was a dream, or a hallucination, or a bizarre reaction to some cold medicine. She wasn’t actually sitting in a plane at 14,000 feet, breathing oxygen through a tube, and getting ready to jump out into nothing with a few yards of cloth strapped to her back. Kaia looked down at her rig and tapped each piece with her fingers as she reviewed them again. Three-ring system: pull it to cut away the main chute in case of an emergency. AAD: Automatic Activation Device. It releases the reserve chute if I’m still free-falling at 1000 feet. Audible altimeter: tells me how high I am.
Dice’s voice was so crystal clear it made her jump. She’d completely forgotten about the speaker in her helmet. “Your equipment is fine. Right now, Shard, you need to relax.”
Kaia glanced up at the camera in the corner of the cargo bay where they were sitting. She wasn’t sure where Dice actually was at the moment, but she knew it had to be more comfortable than here.
“But, Dice, what if something goes wrong and we need to find you?”
“It’ll be fine, Kaia, don’t worry. The taxi driver will take you two to the airfield, and an agent of The Company will be waiting there. While you’re in the plane and plugged in, I’ll be able to talk to you. The drop will be over before you know it, and you’ll spend the night with a nice local family less than a mile away from the landing zone. You’ll get a good night’s sleep and see me at the rendezvous point the next day. No sweat.”
Sweat ran down the sides of Kaia’s face, but she couldn’t wipe it away with the helmet on. She was sweating under her gear, too—more specifically, under the lead-filled weight vest that would help her and Connor fall at closer to the same speed. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, wishing he had a full-face helmet like her so she wouldn’t have to see as much of his smug expression. “You sure don’t look like you weigh all that much more than me,” she muttered, her voice blown away in the noise of the plane. “Why do you have to be so muscle-y, anyway?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. What? There’s no way he could hear . . . Dice. Connor’s helmet was hooked up to Dice’s transmissions, too—and, knowing Dice, to hers as well. She just hadn’t given it any thought since neither of them had said a word to each other since boarding the plane.
“How’s the training going, love?”
“I don’t think she’s talking to you, Connor.”
“Okay, fine, then I’ll ask you. So, Dice, how’s her training going? Despite our boss, AKA the dragon lady’s insane timetable, I’m glad that, thanks to you, Kaia won’t be completely unprepared.”
“Connor, nothing personal, but I think you should leave. I’ve been monitoring Kaia’s progress on these simulators all day, and she’s followed my every instruction to the letter . . . until you walked in. Apparently, it takes so much of her concentration to ignore you that she isn’t bothered by the fact her AAD didn’t deploy her reserve chute and she’s going to hit the ground in less than 2 seconds.”
“Noted. I’ll see you two when we’re getting ready to head for the airport.”
“. . . Connor’s gone, Kaia. Let’s try it again, and this time we’ll see if you can pull your chute before you’re turned into pavement pizza.”
As nervous as Kaia was, a small part—deep down—felt slightly confident. She had done every last one of Dice’s training exercises, and she had done them well. When Connor wasn’t there, that is. Dice had said she had a real knack for it, and she didn’t think he said it to be nice. You know, what with the nervousness and the terror and everything, I didn’t once thank him for his help. Well, technically, she’d said the words, but . . .
“This can’t be legal, Dice. It can’t. I’m not even 16 yet!”
“Well, you’re almost 16. Which is old enough to get your driver’s license, right?”
“Not in Pennsylvania, it’s not. Sixteen and six months.”
“Oooh, like that’s a big wait time. Poor little Kaia, having to wait six whole months more. In Japan, we can’t drive until we’re 18!”
“How is that supposed to make me feel better about jumping out of a plane, again?”
“Uh, it’s not, sorry, I got distracted. My point was, a lot of places let you get behind the wheel of a car, right? And that’s pretty dangerous, too, so—”
“Dice!”
“Okay, so I don’t know if skydiving’s legal in this particular country for people of your particular age. But seriously, if we get caught sneaking into a country already on high alert for terrorist incidents, I doubt the biggest question on their mind will be ‘was she old enough to skydive?’”
“. . .”
“Oh, come on, this is going to be fun! First, we’re going to a vertical wind tunnel so you can experience what freefall is like. I know, ideally a beginner like you would never ever do a jump like this, but the aircraft will be coming in too high for a static line jump. I would suggest a tandem, but somehow I think you’d be even more resistant to that idea.”
“What?”
“Sorry, it all sounds like gibberish, I know, but it’ll make sense soon. Like I said, vertical wind tunnel first. Fortunately for us, there’s a public one a half-hour’s drive from here, and I’ve made us an appointment. After that, we’ll be training on a Virtual Reality Parachute Simulator which will let you practice for any emergencies that might come up. I bought the rig online awhile back, but we’ll be using my own personal virtual reality goggles and program. I think you’ll find it all feels very realistic.”
“Great. Thanks oh so much.”
“Look, I know I’m probably not your favorite person right now, but I’m not actually doing this for my health. I’m doing it for yours. I want you two to drop in there safely, and if it means you have to hate me for a bit to accomplish that, so be it. Are you ready?”
“Shard? Shard, come in. Are you ready?”
No. No, I’m not ready. How could I ever be ready?
“I’m sorry, Shard, but it’s time, and I have to sign off now. I’ll see you both tomorrow. Don’t worry, though—Typhoon will be with you the rest of the way down.”
Connor was already standing by the opening in the side of the plane, holding his hand out to her. For a moment, their eyes locked, and she thought he might be giving her a look of sympathy, of understanding. And then one of his eyebrows twitched up, and his lip curved into his trademark smirk. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t used words. The message had co
me through loud and clear. You really think you’re going to be able to do this?
Kaia’s mouth pursed slightly as her face hardened into a frown. She pulled the oxygen tube out of her mouth, slapped the face shield on her helmet into place, marched right up to Connor, and pushed on past him, not pausing for a second before leaping into the screaming wind outside the plane.
* * *
Connor knew Kaia’d been having a rough time of it heading up here. Who wouldn’t? He also had been pretty sure he knew exactly what he could do to give her the extra push she needed. His smirk turned into an ear-to-ear grin as Kaia jumped out. “That’s my girl.”
* * *
The wind howled in Kaia’s ears. For a few seconds after she’d jumped, she’d felt like she was still moving forward, but now it was straight down. The weirdest thing was, she knew she was falling, but it didn’t feel like she was falling. She’d expected it to be like riding a roller coaster or jumping off a high-dive, but it felt more like a strong wind holding her up. It felt like the wind tunnel.
It hadn’t even been a minute since she’d jumped, but already the altimeter sounding in her ear was nearing the height where she was supposed to pull her main chute. “A little higher than usual,” Dice had said. Probably to give me extra time to fix any mistakes. Cheery thought.
She tried to keep her breathing calm. She knew the steps—she’d done them dozens of times in the last 48 hours. She would pull out and release the small pilot chute behind her. It would pull out the main parachute. The main chute would open. She would then ride slowly and calmly down to a textbook landing. Easy.
Kaia reached back and felt a sense of relief as her hand immediately found the pilot chute. She threw it away behind her. She felt herself swing around so her feet pointed straight down, like she knew they should be, but there was one small problem.
She wasn’t slowing down.
* * *
Connor’s heart skipped a beat. He’d pulled out his drop chute only a second after Kaia had, but his canopy had already opened up over him. Kaia’s chute had come out, but he knew immediately what was wrong.
Bag lock.
The main parachute trailed above her, but it was still stuck in its bag and wasn’t likely to open on its own. He knew there was no way she could hear him, but it didn’t stop him from yelling. “Pull it! Pull the S.O.S.! Please, Kaia! Do it now!”
* * *
Don’t panic, don’t panic, whatever you do, don’t panic. You know what to do. Dice told you over and over. “Something goes wrong, pull the S.O.S. handle. It will do everything—cut away your bad chute and deploy your reserve.” Don’t panic. You’ve got this.
Kaia pulled on the handle with all she had. Nothing happened. Don’t panic, don’t panic. Try it the harder way. She pulled the three-ring release instead. Nothing.
Panic.
* * *
Too long. It’s too long. Something’s gone wrong. Only one chance. Connor reached up for the three-ring release on his harness to do a cutaway of his own.
* * *
Nothing’s happening. Why isn’t it happening?! Kaia pulled, yanked, tugged on the handle. She screamed at it. Like that was going to help. Empty words, empty threats. Useless.
* * *
Connor had waited a second too long to cut loose his parachute. Kaia had fallen so far beneath him in that handful of moments that he was having a hard time catching up even going head first, what with all the wind resistance.
The wind . . . He wanted to smack himself for not seeing it immediately. You’re not thinking clearly, Connor—get it together! He took a deep breath, forced his hands forward slightly, and immediately sped up as all the oxygen between him and Kaia moved out of the way.
* * *
Kaia could still hear the altimeter coldly reciting numbers in her ear. She knew her reserve chute was supposed to release automatically when she hit 1000 feet, but that didn’t make her feel any better. All those lines were still whipping about overhead, just waiting to wrap around the reserve when it came out. If it came out.
I have to accept the facts.
This is it.
This is—
Something touched her hand. She reflexively tried to jerk away, but it stayed there. She turned her head to see Connor tightening his grip on her fingers. His other hand flicked out slightly, and she heard something—like a blade whistling through the air. The straps above her split like they’d been sliced by an invisible knife, and the useless parachute vanished in the swirling winds.
Connor swung himself in closer. His frantic hand gestures spelled out his plan. You grab on to me. Then I pull my reserve. She nodded to show she’d understood. The altimeter in her ear ticked off 2500 feet. Not much time left—if they weren’t ready by 1000, Connor’s reserve would go whether he pulled it or not. She grabbed for his jumpsuit—
And felt the cloth slip through her fingers as his reserve chute opened and seemingly pulled him up into the sky.
* * *
Connor didn’t stop to figure out what had gone wrong or try to place blame—nothing that would waste precious seconds.
He knew exactly what he had to do. He didn’t need to think about it. He didn’t even hesitate. With one swift motion of his hand, a superfine stream of oxygen, rapidly cooled to the point of liquidity, so pressurized it sang sharp and fast as a blade, sliced through the straps attaching him to his last parachute and sent him plummeting toward the earth again.
Toward Kaia.
* * *
There isn’t anything more I can do. Connor tried his best, but there’s nothing he can do now, either. I’m going to die.
The sound of singing filled her ears. She knew that voice. It was her mother’s. Scenes from her life paraded in front of her. Flashes of the different families she’d lived with, disappearing as soon as they appeared. The few friends she’d had along the way. If she could really call them friends.
And then the newest faces showed up. The faces of people who had somehow worked their way in deeper in a few weeks than others had in years. A stoic-faced Burkinabé boy with deep eyes that said what his mouth didn’t. A fast-tempered French girl whose moods changed like the tossing of a coin. A sweet Brazilian chatterbox with a love of Jacuzzis. A big burly Russian with all the menace of a teddy bear. A handsome Italian with eyes that could drown you in their sadness. A Japanese prodigy with an eye toward all things geek. And an occasionally sweet, occasionally snarky Brit who had the power to drive her absolutely insane.
Connor. Why does it always end with—?
Two strong arms wrapped around her middle and held on tight. He’d caught her. How? She didn’t know, and she didn’t care in the slightest. They rapidly slowed down, and the force of his arms on her stomach made her queasy for a moment, but just a moment. He rotated her to face him. She could see his eyes behind his goggles. There wasn’t anything smug or snarky or sarcastic there at all. Just fear. The shock of a completely unexpected realization hit—that fear was all for her.
Connor mouthed slowly, Okay?
She nodded. He glanced around, and she finally saw it wasn’t a parachute holding them up. It was him. It was all him. She also realized they weren’t descending quite as slowly as she’d thought. He broadly mouthed one more thing: Hold on.
Kaia immediately locked her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms under his armpits and up over his shoulders. She put her head alongside his as best she could with her helmet on and rested her chin on his shoulder. She wiggled her head slightly, hoping it would let Connor know she was ready.
* * *
Connor felt the nod on his shoulder and took as deep a breath as he could manage. In for a penny . . .
He let go of her and aimed both hands straight down. A surge of air came rushing up from below. It buoyed them while also spinning them around like they were in the middle of t
heir own personal tornado. Connor clenched his teeth so hard he thought they might shatter. No. You’re going to do what I say.
The oxygen swirled through the air around him, and he grabbed onto it with his mind. He reeled it in, willing it to form a gigantic air cushion underneath and all around them. He could feel them both slowing down, down to a speed that hopefully wouldn’t kill them both on impact. As he pulled in more and more oxygen from the atmosphere around them, the air beneath their feet almost felt solid, supporting them as he kept it swirling around below them. Connor had never done anything quite like it before—now it was a question of being able to keep it up until they landed.
* * *
Kaia didn’t want to open her eyes. If she did, she might see the ground rushing up. She might see that Connor’s insane plan hadn’t worked. She might . . . but she had to know, anyway.
They seemed to be going down fine. It was maybe a couple hundred feet more—not much at all considering where they’d started. Another few seconds and they’d both have their feet back on solid ground again. They were almost—
She felt a shudder under her fingertips, a violent shiver that seemed to run throughout Connor’s whole body. Then another. Another. All of his muscles were spasming at once, like he was shivering uncontrollably. What is—?
* * *
—happening? Connor felt the panic rising again as he struggled to maintain control. The harder he tried, the more his body seemed to fight him. Please, he pleaded with his screaming muscles. Please give me a little more. I can’t let her down.
The ground was rushing up faster than a moment before, but all he hoped for right now was to make it to a reasonable height before he lost it completely. I can’t drop her. I can’t. She’s counting on me.
A stabbing pain pierced his head—another his eye. Doesn’t matter. None of it.
She’s counting on me.
* * *
Only twenty feet to go. Fifteen. Kaia felt something wet on the back of her neck and automatically moved a hand to feel what it was.
