Chapter 1 - Rally
“We’re going on a mission, boys, suit up and roll out”
That’s the last thing that I heard before I left. It was the captain’s loud booming voice that echoed through the plane. My helmet strapped so tight around my head that I could barely move my jaw to reply. My goggles were loose, but it’s fine; if they slip, I can catch myself. My rig was strapped tight to my chest; it wasn’t going anywhere. I’ve triple checked this stuff; it won’t fail on me. We all got up and moved to the back of the plane. It was a fairly skinny plane, the most streamlined one we’ve got, but it still has a lot of room. It didn’t feel like it with 40 troops all crammed together. We were shoulder to shoulder, the air was stuffy and hot, everyone’s heart racing even though we’ve done so many drills on it. It always feels like it’s my first time.
The metal groaned as the hydraulics pushed the massive hatch open. The air rushed past my face as we ran out. We all jumped. My mouth opened to gasp as I trip on my foot on the way out and i start tumbling through the air, I close my mouth and start stabilising myself like I’ve had to learn, I push my hips towards the ground, my body curves, I keep my back arched so that I’m facing the ground, and I look at the horizon. I put my arms out, I bend them at the elbow, around 90 degrees-ish. I do the same with my legs. I’m level again. Once I’m stabilised, I pull my arms in and angle my body down, and I dive with the others. From 50,000 feet in the air, it looks peaceful. The long open fields and birds flying underneath you. The air rushes past my face as I dive, tucking my arms and legs in tighter so that I fall faster. My vision splits for a moment as my goggles slip, which makes me stumble, but I catch myself just in time.
When I hit 2,500-ish feet, I pull the chord and my parachute shoots up into the air, unfolding and yanking my rig to slow me down. It pulls on my chest, knocking some wind out of me. The air slows, and my breathing regulates back to normal, well as normal as it could be with my heart pounding. But I look around, and the other men around me drop to the ground, gun in hand. Their minds were lost in this endless battle. I settle myself down slowly, pulling the bits of string I attached to my handles to make my grip better, to guide my movements to the ground. Nothin- well, nobody was here… not even an escort? Where’s the person who needed to be rescued? I look around, suddenly worried. This wasn’t right. There was a distress call from around this area; they described it as a delicate place. They said men were holding them at gunpoint. And they called us here, specifically us-
“RUN, IT’S A TRAP! EVERYONE SCATTER”
I shout as it clicks in my head. I watch the men dive and run just as a bomb dropped down on the field. It explodes, the force breaks a few trees, and I can tell that it’ll leave a hole. Wait, I forgot to run! The force sends me back, smacking me 15 yards back, my back smacks a tree. Head pounding. Tiny rocks cut my face as my vision blurs. Blood drips down my face, my head spinning as my knees weaken. I fall to the ground, knees splitting as they hit the rocks and tree bark that had flown around. Definitely have a splinter. My torso falls forward as I’m too weak to hold myself up. My head hits the ground, and everything goes black. The last sounds are my men shouting, guns firing…
