by Nora Flite
Excited prickles coursed through me. “Yeah, of course. Are you saying...?”
His delight made him louder. “Yeah. You're going to take the longest base jump ever. How does that sound for a send off?”
“Amazing,” I answered honestly.
Ellie gave me a small smile, but Corbin's next comment had her fading again. “You know, Pike, you don't have to make this your send off. Things don't have to end between you and Maximal today.”
I wished he could have seen the seriousness in my glare. Reaching out, I brushed my fingers over the back of Ellie's hand. “No,” I said flatly. “It does.”
God, her freckles were like stars when she blushed.
“Fine, fine,” Corbin grumbled. “Meet us at the site. We'll be attaching camera-helmets to you and another guy.”
“Another guy?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah. I want to try and capture footage of Pike in the air. This is the best method. Manny isn't a base jumper, but he's done some stunts. We've got him for today only, he's got some gig over in Europe he has to leave for tomorrow.” Corbin's voice went crisp. “So get your asses here as fast as you can.”
It wasn't a far distance, four hours at most, so Ellie and I packed into my car for the trip. Being on the road like this, with her, it had a hazy comfort to it. Normalcy, maybe.
At one point, she took her shoes off, putting her feet up on the car interior. Her legs were stretched out, gleaming in the sun, tempting me the way the rest of her always did.
“If we weren't in a time crunch,” I said, eyeing her pointedly, “I'd pull into the nearest rest area. Think anyone would hear us in the bathroom?”
Fire and shadow rippled in her lusty wink. “I think everyone for miles would hear us.”
Grimacing at my sudden erection, I chuckled and pumped the gas pedal.
The helicopter was waiting for us by the canyon.
Parking next to a large van, we climbed out into the fresh air. It was the first time I noticed how the atmosphere was pulling at me. It slid in and around my shirt, billowing the fabric. Next to me, Ellie yanked her hair into a quick ponytail. “Windy,” she mumbled.
“There you are!” Dressed in grey jeans and a zipped black coat, Corbin waved at us as he approached. “Come on, we need to get in the chopper and head out.”
Another man came our way. Sizing him up, I noted he was shorter than me, his face weathered by age, but I still put him no older than forty. Most of his head was hidden by a shiny helmet, the circular glint of a lens on the front.
Reaching out to shake my hand, he said, “Manny Southern, nice to meet you, Pike.”
I sensed a kindred spirit between us, one that was hard to explain—but he felt it, too. Squeezing his fingers, I smiled. “Likewise. Ready to get up in the air?”
Casting a look to the sky, he shielded his eyes. “If we're doing this, we need it to be now. This weather is getting too unstable for a glide through a tight canyon like this.”
Turning towards the edge of the reddish rock, I strode close enough to squint into the depths. The canyon was carved in a long, winding path that swung like a drunken snake. There was no water that I could see, just the harsh, somewhat beautiful smear of orange and bloodred stones.
The tight space reminded me of the day I'd crashed in that alley. My toe twinged, a sympathetic reminder of my pain.
“Seriously,” Corbin shouted, waving us towards the helicopter. “We're on a schedule! There are going to be reporters waiting at the end of this, the luxury of fucking around is gone.”
Ellie held her jacket around her body, watching me thoughtfully. I tried to read her face, but she was an enigma in the glowing sun.
Passing near her, I took her hand, a brief gesture of comfort. “You heard the man, let's go. Don't you want to see me fly?”
Her mouth quivered. “Always. I just... I don't know.” Peeking at the clouds, she offered me a sheepish smile. “I have a bad feeling. It's probably nothing.”
Shaking my head, I let my hand fall to my hip. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms, to hold her close and feel our bodies melding. Now wasn't the time... but soon, we'd have all the time in the world. “You're thinking about the weather. Manny is clearly worried, too. If anything looks wrong up there, I won't jump.”
Satisfaction blossomed in the greens of her eyes. “Thanks. I couldn't handle anything happening to you.”
“I know.” Grinning, I shrugged to my ears. “Never imagined I'd be worth so much to someone. Maybe I'll have to start charging you for the privilege of being with me.”
Nudging me playfully, she took a position at my side. With the wind clawing at our backs, we headed into the chopper.
****
The roar of the propellers was maddening. It took a long while for me to adjust to the noise. Ellie was sitting beside me, hands clutched on her knees. I recognized her unease.
Several times, as we'd flown higher and higher, the chopper had convulsed. It was like some monster had grabbed us in his fist, shaking us before letting us free—for now.
“It's getting rougher,” Manny shouted, looking at me pointedly.
Nodding, I tapped the back of Corbin's seat. “Did you hear that?”
Looking back at me, my boss—though not for much longer—scowled. “We're right over the drop point, relax.”
Standing up, Manny leaned close, hunching over Corbin. The righteous anger in his eyes reminded me so much of my father's. “No,” he said, biting the word off. “Can't you tell? This will be too dangerous. The wind will throw off our path, we'll hit the canyon walls and die!”
I expected Corbin to back down. I didn't know him well, but every time we'd spoken, he'd come off as slimy; nothing worse than a little stubborn. As I looked on in surprise, the shorter man rose from his chair to stare Manny down. “I've spent too much time and money organizing this. You're doing this jump, understand?”
Ripping his helmet off and tossing it aside, Manny's frown had turned every vein in his neck into a writhing serpent. “I won't. None of us will. This is a suicide mission.”
The helicopter jerked, the two men stumbling. Jumping to my feet, I threw my arms up with a growl. “Hey! What the fuck is wrong with you guys? This isn't the place for this.” My glare flashed between them. “Manny says we can't do the jump. Tell the pilot to turn around, Corbin.”
He didn't even glance at me. “No.”
“You really want us to die?” Manny asked, sweat popping out over his forehead.
“You're worth more to me jumping out of here than you are if you turn into a fucking coward.”
My fury was coming to a crest. Manny, however, was already there. He launched himself forward, gripping Corbin by the shoulders and shoving him against the wall. Next to me, Ellie cried out.
As the helicopter jostled from the angry wind outside, the two men struggled in front of us. It was so strange to see—this wasn't how I pictured my day going.
Grunting, Corbin started to pull away. I thought he was reaching for his pocket, but I couldn't be sure. The next seconds came too fast, a flicker in my mind. Manny had risen, his fist wrapped in Corbin's jacket. He had the clear upper hand.
A single, sharp wrench of the chopper changed that.
Everything rocked, our momentum shifting. Manny lost his footing, slamming backwards into a metal divider with Corbin's weight on top of him. The sickening crunch of his skull filled the room.
“Oh god!” Ellie shouted, scrambling to get around me. I went to stop her, but she was already kneeling at Manny's side. Cradling his head, she went pale. “He's alive, but unconscious. We need to land and get him help.”
Corbin had moved away, half bent in the middle of the chopper. Tucking his hand into his pocket, he turned from Ellie, to me. The whites of his eyes were too bright—his cheeks flushed, his mouth a pinched wrinkle. “No. This jump is happening.”
“It can't!” she hissed, teeth bared. “Manny is unconscious! Don't you understand how serious this is?”
Freezing where I was, I eyed the pistol in disbelief. “You fucking bastard.”
Corbin clicked the safety off. “Put on Manny's wingsuit and helmet, Ellie.”
I sounded like I'd been eating glass. “No! She isn't doing that!”
She sat there, looking from Manny, to Corbin—then finally to me. “I... I can't. Even if I wanted to.”
Lifting the gun barrel, he aimed it my way. The glint in his twisted glare said he'd figured something out. “Oh, you're going to do it.”
“Don't,” I breathed.
“Get changed,” he said calmly, “Or I'll shoot your lover over here. I was right all along, wasn't I, Ellie? That's the only reason you'd be doing half the dumb shit you were. You care about this guy.” Laughing, he sighed in pretend empathy. “Get changed, or this ends right now.”
Hanging her chin low, Ellie unzipped the suit. Manny moaned, but he didn't stir as she removed the brightly colored gear. It was slightly too big for her, but none of that would matter. This jump was flawed beyond what a proper wingsuit could fix.
I felt a small comfort when she hooked the chute on. You'd think a parachute would be an instant life saver. In this case, it wasn't. The scenarios I had played in my mind since thinking about the wind had told me as much.
If we jumped out of the chopper and plummeted down, simply yanking our chutes open, the wind would throw us so hard into the rock walls, our organs would be stabbed by busted bones.
I knew what the human body could live through.
I also knew what could destroy it.
On that fateful day, I'd watched my father as the wind proved the winner. He hadn't survived the cliff-side. How could we? Living through this was going to take skill I wasn't sure I even had.
What the hell was Ellie going to do?
Facing away, she fiddled with the helmet, then clicked it onto her skull. Tugging the strap of the goggles, she faced Corbin with a new, determined set to her stance. This wonderful woman... even if she was scared, she wasn't going to back down or fret. Not openly, not so he could see.
“There,” he said, using his gun to motion me towards Ellie. “That's better. I'm getting this footage one way or the other. Face away from me, towards the door, and make sure you're recording.”
“You're a fucking bastard,” she growled.
“No,” he corrected her, cocking the gun. “I'm a business man.”
Through the shield of her goggles, the hatred was tangible. I could have scooped it up and tasted the bitterness she was swelling with.
Flicking my attention between the gun and her fists, I was paranoid that she might do something irrational. Picturing a bullet puncturing her body was too much for me. Our situation was dire, but I knew, slim or not, we had a chance with the sky.
In this helicopter, there was only death.
My hand closed on Ellie's. “Everything will be okay.” Somehow, through all the tragedy and chaos, I was managing to smile. I had to. It was the only way to get her to look me in the eye and believe every single word I said. “Trust me.”
Metal yawned, gears announcing the helicopter's door splitting wide.
“Press the record button,” Corbin reminded us.
Clicking the nob, I glanced at Ellie. Had she turned hers on?
She judged me silently, considering, perhaps, all the things I had done since we had met; my flaws, my cocky aura, my damaged soul and my fragmented heart. On that precipice we hovered, her face upturned, the open door demanding we throw ourselves at the mercy of the sky.
Ellie locked her fingers with mine.
The sensation fused us, poured energy into my bones so that I could find the strength I needed. Nothing about this was easy. I wanted to live... but that was no longer up to me.
In one simple motion, I pulled us both out of the plane.
- Chapter Sixteen -
Ellie
I was going to die.
There's something surreal about knowing that fact. This wasn't how I'd pictured it, this wasn't fair or justified. I was going to slam face first into a jagged lump of rocks. Would I even feel the pain, I wondered?
The parachute! Of course, if I deployed it, I would survive. Closing my eyes, enduring the roll of turbulence, I lifted my arm towards my chest. Another force, stronger than me, led me away—squeezed my fingers.
Looking over, I remembered that Pike was floating beside me. In my terror, I'd forgotten I wasn't alone.
He motioned at me, shaking his head. He doesn't want me to open the chute. I didn't get it, but I did know that Pike understood our situation. Did he have a plan? What did he know that I didn't?
The wind screeched at me, a banshee that left me dazzled. Another squeeze from Pike, and I focused. Through his goggles, I recognized the intensity of his blue eyes. He asked me to trust him.
Recalling how we'd fallen together in the past, how he'd comforted me then and shown me not to be afraid... I understood. Here, with nothing around us but sharp cliffs and cruel gravity, trust was all we had.
Tensing my lips, I nodded at him, trying to say I was listening. Pike's smile was one crafted from relief. Making sure I was watching, he lifted his arms, spreading them. The hand of mine that he held went up with him; I lifted my other arm to match.
Wind curled beneath me, filling the strips of fabric running from my wrist to my ankle. This was what the suits were designed for. Suddenly we weren't comets crashing downwards. No, in a simple flex of muscles, we'd become birds.
Our descent shifted, bodies gliding forward instead of purely vertical. When I laughed, it was out of terrified surprise. Pike glanced at me, mimicking my expression. What we were doing was impossible.
Maybe death wasn't our fate today.
Soaring together, Pike struggled to control our angle. I became aware of his tension, and it only grew as we sank further in the canyon. Around us, the walls shrank. The danger of crashing into a boulder, unable to dodge it at our wild speeds, became evident.
I could hardly breathe. I was paranoid that any extra motion I made would ruin our trajectory. On my right, I heard the 'whoosh' of a rock passing near my ear. Fear swelled in my veins, my mouth tasting like rust.
Blue sky spread in front of us. It was abrupt, the canyon ending and spitting us out over a section of sand and stone. I thought Pike shouted something; when I looked over, he was pointing frantically at his chest.
Taking the hint, I gripped my cord and yanked it, my chute bursting free. He did the same, the two of us bouncing towards the clouds. For a moment, I imagined that the sky was trying to call us back. That we'd somehow proven we were meant for more than walking on the earth. We'd shown we had wings.
Wasn't the sky our home, now?
“Ah!” I grunted, tumbling over the sand, remembering to lift my legs at the last second. I still hit hard, sliding to a halt with red dust blocking my vision. Coughing, I rolled to my knees, hurrying to stand. I need to find Pike!
Waving the blinding particles away, I scanned nearby. The bright blue of Pike's wingsuit was easy to spot. “Pike!” I shouted, legs pumping with my distress. Skidding to a halt, I grabbed his shoulders, helping him stand. “Pike, are you okay?”
Standing slowly, he yanked his helmet off of his head. I hurried to do the same, breathing in deep until my ribs argued. Together we stood there, surrounding by nothing but the memory of what we'd just done.
Dropping his helmet, he snatched me up, his mouth claiming mine. Shutting my eyes, I went limp. It was so easy to drift away, lost in his lips and his existence. Through our wingsuits, I languished in the rhythm of his lifeblood.
This was the music of life. We were alive.
Pulling free with a raw gasp, Pike looked down on me. The flecks of silver in his eyes were melting, a frenzy creeping into his long, raspy breaths. Nothing about this moment could get better.
It was funny how I thought that... how certain I was.
Parting his lips—swollen from our rough kiss—Pike spoke the words I had hoped for, but never dared to dream of. “I love you.” He smiled, stunned by his own admission. “I love you more than anything. More than jumping, more than the sky. You're everything to me.” Kissing my temple, he whispered, “This is true freedom. The fall doesn't even come close.”
My heart expanded, so big I worried I couldn't answer him.
In the distance, the beating of a helicopter rose. On its heels came the rumble and squeal of tires. Pike twisted away, staring out at the entourage that was rushing to meet us.
Frowning sharply, I clutched my helmet. Corbin gets his way, I thought bitterly. We'd done his jump, recorded footage for whatever selfish purpose he had planned. According to our contracts, he—Maximal—owned all of it.
Our baffling, insane brush with oblivion would be used to advertise drinks, or hats, or fucking sneakers. He wins. He... Blinking, I stared down at the camera-helmet in my hands.
No. Corbin wasn't going to win.
“I love you, too,” I said softly, straining upwards to connect my lips with his. Through my cells, I endured Pike's furious tremble. Adrenaline had given both of us heightened senses.
Ripping the camera free from my helmet, I sent wires and glass glittering through the sunlight. “What are you doing?” Pike asked, eyebrows flying high.
“Smash your tape!” I shouted, heart thumping madly.
He didn't hesitate, he didn't question. Pike dropped the helmet to the ground, stomping everything into gritty bits with his foot. The crunch was immensely satisfying.
Jamming the tape I held into my armpit, I worked my zipper down. Do I have time? I looked up as the chopper landed nearby. The news vans arrived next, people tumbling free, video cameras lifted so they could ask us a million things.
Corbin, though... he had only one question.
“What the fuck are you doing!?” he screamed, jogging over the dirt to meet us. When I saw that he was watching, I kicked my helmet into the nearest rock. It shattered beautifully. “You—how dare you!?” Breathing heavily, he tore at his own hair. I had a brief second of fear, thinking he might pull his gun out and shoot us with everyone watching. “That equipment belongs to Maximal! All the money we spent on the flight, on arranging this.. you just destroyed everything... everything! Why!?”
