place. And where the cord for her main chute should be was just a hole. Ashley started digging at it, trying to rip tear-proof fabric. And...with a little work...she might be able to grasp the other end of the cord. Maybe...
And she had it!
Sweet! Ashley grasped the stub between thumb and forefinger and yanked. And a frazzled piece of thread came out. Nothing else. And that’s when panic took over. Despite all her training she started hyper-ventilating. Freaking. Looking up into the clouds above her and even shrieking for several moments while she barreled toward impact. And then her level-headed side took over.
Stop it, Ash. Now .
She shut her mouth and started the thought process. She didn’t have much going for her but she needed to use it. She had her motion. She could slow the descent slightly. Present a larger surface against the air current. Ashley flattened her body, riding the wind in waves that lifted and then dropped her. She checked her altimeter again. Five hundred feet? It wasn’t possible. She’d never descended so quickly. That’s when she started looking for trees to hit. Something to break the fall. Evergreens would be best. They hadn’t lost their foliage. They’d have their needles. It was still going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. And she was going to break some bones. But maybe, if she was supremely lucky, she’d survive.
Damn her decision not to wear night goggles! And thank heaven there was a little snow cover at this altitude. The black area to her left just might be trees.
Ashley placed her arms to her sides and streamlined, aiming for the darker patch, and just before impact, she thought she heard the strangest note. Like a long, perfectly pitched note. Sung from a gifted throat. It was a C note.
Oh...hell. This was going to hurt. Ashley slammed her eyes shut and tightened everything...and hit.
She didn’t know what she slammed into first, but it might as well be a brick wall. The second one was worse. That was followed by more and more hits. Countless times. Each one breaking something. Why the hell were all the stories wrong? Huh? She didn’t black out. Things didn’t happen in a second. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes. And it was worse than painful. Each hit as she careened through the trees like a pinball caught in a pinball machine was excruciating. It felt like she was on fire before it stopped and that’s when the real agony started.
Ashley couldn’t breathe. Not at first. And then she managed a gasp. It was choked with liquid that stained the ground in front of her. Shit. That looked like...blood? Bad sign. She couldn’t even tell how she’d landed. On her front? Back? Legs? Oh...God. Her legs were pinnacles of absolute fire. And her head was level with the ground. That meant a couple of things. She’d survived impact. And she wasn’t paralyzed. But...that couldn’t be. Nothing on her body worked. Maybe every limb was broken.
A rustling sound came behind her. Footsteps? Maybe a...moose. Elk? Deer? Anything but a wolf. Or worse. A pack of them. That would be really ironic. Surviving a sky fall only to be eaten by wild animals. Helpless. Pinned.
Something neared her head. She tried to turn her neck and check but a twinge of liquid agony stopped her as it raced down her spine. Okay. That wasn’t remotely good. She might have a broken neck and by a supreme stroke of luck, she’d manage to avoid touching her spinal cord. But...the slightest move could change that.
Her view dimmed, then altered as what looked like a man went to his knees beside her head. She couldn’t tell what he looked like exactly. He was wearing a robe with a large hood that shadowed his features. And he had a walking stick thing that he placed across his knees.
Or a scythe.
Well. That was that. She was about to meet the grim reaper. But maybe he’d take the pain away.
“Hello there.”
She opened her mouth to answer. More liquid gushed out. He put a hand up.
“No. Don’t say
And she had it!
Sweet! Ashley grasped the stub between thumb and forefinger and yanked. And a frazzled piece of thread came out. Nothing else. And that’s when panic took over. Despite all her training she started hyper-ventilating. Freaking. Looking up into the clouds above her and even shrieking for several moments while she barreled toward impact. And then her level-headed side took over.
Stop it, Ash. Now .
She shut her mouth and started the thought process. She didn’t have much going for her but she needed to use it. She had her motion. She could slow the descent slightly. Present a larger surface against the air current. Ashley flattened her body, riding the wind in waves that lifted and then dropped her. She checked her altimeter again. Five hundred feet? It wasn’t possible. She’d never descended so quickly. That’s when she started looking for trees to hit. Something to break the fall. Evergreens would be best. They hadn’t lost their foliage. They’d have their needles. It was still going to hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. And she was going to break some bones. But maybe, if she was supremely lucky, she’d survive.
Damn her decision not to wear night goggles! And thank heaven there was a little snow cover at this altitude. The black area to her left just might be trees.
Ashley placed her arms to her sides and streamlined, aiming for the darker patch, and just before impact, she thought she heard the strangest note. Like a long, perfectly pitched note. Sung from a gifted throat. It was a C note.
Oh...hell. This was going to hurt. Ashley slammed her eyes shut and tightened everything...and hit.
She didn’t know what she slammed into first, but it might as well be a brick wall. The second one was worse. That was followed by more and more hits. Countless times. Each one breaking something. Why the hell were all the stories wrong? Huh? She didn’t black out. Things didn’t happen in a second. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes. And it was worse than painful. Each hit as she careened through the trees like a pinball caught in a pinball machine was excruciating. It felt like she was on fire before it stopped and that’s when the real agony started.
Ashley couldn’t breathe. Not at first. And then she managed a gasp. It was choked with liquid that stained the ground in front of her. Shit. That looked like...blood? Bad sign. She couldn’t even tell how she’d landed. On her front? Back? Legs? Oh...God. Her legs were pinnacles of absolute fire. And her head was level with the ground. That meant a couple of things. She’d survived impact. And she wasn’t paralyzed. But...that couldn’t be. Nothing on her body worked. Maybe every limb was broken.
A rustling sound came behind her. Footsteps? Maybe a...moose. Elk? Deer? Anything but a wolf. Or worse. A pack of them. That would be really ironic. Surviving a sky fall only to be eaten by wild animals. Helpless. Pinned.
Something neared her head. She tried to turn her neck and check but a twinge of liquid agony stopped her as it raced down her spine. Okay. That wasn’t remotely good. She might have a broken neck and by a supreme stroke of luck, she’d manage to avoid touching her spinal cord. But...the slightest move could change that.
Her view dimmed, then altered as what looked like a man went to his knees beside her head. She couldn’t tell what he looked like exactly. He was wearing a robe with a large hood that shadowed his features. And he had a walking stick thing that he placed across his knees.
Or a scythe.
Well. That was that. She was about to meet the grim reaper. But maybe he’d take the pain away.
“Hello there.”
She opened her mouth to answer. More liquid gushed out. He put a hand up.
“No. Don’t say
Similar Books
