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"On three, Jimmy!"
"'K pop!"
"Three!... Two!..." I didn't wait, I just gave Jimmy a grin and a shove and he was gone, falling away below me. Kid had to learn sometime that you can't trust everyone. One second later and I was falling too, being dragged along in the wake of the Cessna temporarily before starting to feel the effect of gravity pulling me down towards the Earth.
Glancing below me and to the left I could see Jimmy in a perfect arch, just as we'd discussed. This was his fifth freefall, no mean feat at the tender age of 18, but I guess it was still sheer terror that made him follow instructions so closely. A few more jumps and he'd be larking about like the rest of us tended to do at his age.
I straightened my body out into an arrow shape and allowed my hands to guide me in his direction, feeling just a slight acceleration as I was already at terminal velocity.
13,000
We had eye to eye contact now. Jimmy had managed to turn so he could see my approach. The kid was a natural. Sometimes it took ten, twenty even more attempts before a freefaller learned to turn in the air without breaking their posture and tumbling out of control. Jimmy got it on his second jump.
I eased my head up and curved my fingers into a scoop so I'd glide in slowly, didn't want to scare the kid into thinking we were going to collide at speed. Jimmy's hands were outstretched ready to lock fingers with mine, and as I closed in and watched his eyes it suddenly struck me how much he and his little sister resembled each other.
Jenny was only 5, but already her smile could charm anyone into doing her bidding, just like her mom. Jimmy was just the same and he'd been using this to his advantage over the last couple of years at high school, seemed he was seeing a new girl every week. Their mother, Karen, seemed to take all of this in her stride, but being 8 months pregnant with son number two I guess she had to take everything in her stride.
12,000
Fingers interlocked, we were both now truly flying, albeit straight down at 120mph. This is what freefallers live for, that short time between acceleration out of the plane and deceleration from deployment. The inbetween is what you dream about sometimes, weightlessness, zero acceleration, light as a feather and a view like no other.
Of course when you're solo you can do whatever you want, quite literally you can fly like a bird, but in tandem it's a different matter, especially when you're lead jumper with another life depending on you.
Jimmy's grin was as wide as a barn door now and I couldn't help but answer with a similar smile. Anywhere else and we'd have been accused of being drunk.
11,000
Gently I unlocked my fingers from Jimmy's right hand and gave him an OK signal. This was his first attempt at somersaulting and we reckoned we'd have a chance for two attempts, maybe three, before we'd have to call it a day. Jimmy nodded and released his left hand, still maintaining his arch, so I paddled air back a little and waited.
10,000
He did it! Perfect first time, although a little on the fast side, but he'd managed a forward somersault and regained arch position without the slightest wobble. Total control. I wondered if he could hear me whooping for joy. Just to showboat a little I did a quick forward somersault with a twist then spun around to face him again, had to show the kid his old man still had something on him.
9,000
I started to paddle forwards again, then saw Jimmy hold his palms up, looked like he wanted another go. We weren't planning to deploy until 3,000 feet so I gave him the OK signal again, in truth I wanted to find out if his first attempt had been a fluke or not.
Jimmy brought his arms in and started his roll, but to my amazement (and, it must be admitted, pride) I saw him dip his shoulder as he did so, preparing to add a twist just to prove that he really was a chip off the old block. I was grinning inanely as I watched, but then realised that if something went wrong with his manoeuvre I was a little too close in case he lost it and we collided before he could regain a safe posture.
8,500
Flash...blinding...white...
6,000
Red mist. Intense pain. Instinct kicked in and I regained position, ripping off my goggles as I did so, watched droplets of blood fly up past my eyes. We'd collided. Turning, slowly, looking for Jimmy. Found him.
5,000
He was spinning out of control about 50 feet away from me. If I could close in to stabalise him then deploy his canopy we might just get out of this alive. I formed my body into an arrow, ignored the stabbing pain from my jaw (was it broken?) and narrowed the distance.
4,000
He was out cold. I screamed his name into his face a few times while I clung to his limp body but no response. There was a gash in his forehead just below his helmet and his face was completely red from the blood which the wind had splayed across his skin. I had a sudden vision of Spiderman, put this down to being slightly hysterical. Had to concentrate.
3,500
I had Jimmy above me now, my left hand fumbling for his pilot chute, right arm clinging tightly around his shoulders, legs wrapped around him ready for the fierce deceleration. But I couldn't find the pilot chute.
3,000
No time. I managed to clasp his reserve toggle, spin him around, then tugged hard. Instant deceleration, the reserve had deployed and Jimmy was ripped out of my arms as the air caught and he was jerked upright just as I kicked away from him.
2,500
Minimum distance. Pilot deployed. I heard the quick swish of nylon as the pilot dragged the bridle cord through the main canopy holding pin and the main chute followed in a controlled release, feeding each of the four main groups of lines through the slider. Four Gs of force as my body was brought from terminal velocity to 12mph in the space of a few seconds. Spiking pain from my lower jaw straight into my brain. A sudden lurch to the left. Something was wrong.
1,500
Jimmy's reserve line had tangled with mine, I hadn't kicked far enough away when I deployed and I had to make a snap judgement. Even if I popped open my reserve the two of us would spin out of control and into the ground at 80mph.
1,000
Amazing how difficult a simple choice can be. I cut my cord, there's a chance Jimmy will float free and survive even though he was still unconscious. I cut his cord, I survive. It's that simple.
800
If my son dies I'll never forgive myself. If I die I'll live on through my son. If my son dies at least he won't know about it, he's unconscious. If I die who will provide for my wife, Jenny and my son to be, due in about 4 weeks from now? Who will pay to put them through college? Who will put food on the table? Who will teach my son to play football? Who will help Jenny with her math?
400
No time. I could see the grass rippling in the field below. Reaching down I unsheathed the Bowie from its leg sheath. Reaching up I cut Jimmy's cords away, stabilised, and floated down.
2:00am
Dark. Hot. Sweat bathing the pillow. I looked over at Karen, asleep on her back. She'd managed to flop her left arm onto my chest, her elbow nestling in the crook of my neck. I gently moved her arm back to her side, then reached over and ran my hand carefully across her bulging belly, hoping to feel a little thump in response from the entity inside. Nothing, looked like for once they'd got in synch and were both getting a good night's sleep.
I slid out of bed and crept down the hallway. Pausing outside Jenny's room I could just make out her soft breathing through her slightly open door. On past Jimmy's room, door closed, the guilt from my nightmare weighing me down.
Downstairs, into the kitchen. Glass of milk to help with the heat, staring at the refrigerator light for a long time. Thinking.
Out through the utility room, pausing to take what I needed. Through the screen door onto the porch. Sitting in the swing-seat. Cloudless night. A million stars in the firmament. I remember my father telling me there was one star for each human being. I wondered which one was mine.
2:10am
Toe...trigger...flash...blinding...white.
"'K pop!"
"Three!... Two!..." I didn't wait, I just gave Jimmy a grin and a shove and he was gone, falling away below me. Kid had to learn sometime that you can't trust everyone. One second later and I was falling too, being dragged along in the wake of the Cessna temporarily before starting to feel the effect of gravity pulling me down towards the Earth.
Glancing below me and to the left I could see Jimmy in a perfect arch, just as we'd discussed. This was his fifth freefall, no mean feat at the tender age of 18, but I guess it was still sheer terror that made him follow instructions so closely. A few more jumps and he'd be larking about like the rest of us tended to do at his age.
I straightened my body out into an arrow shape and allowed my hands to guide me in his direction, feeling just a slight acceleration as I was already at terminal velocity.
13,000
We had eye to eye contact now. Jimmy had managed to turn so he could see my approach. The kid was a natural. Sometimes it took ten, twenty even more attempts before a freefaller learned to turn in the air without breaking their posture and tumbling out of control. Jimmy got it on his second jump.
I eased my head up and curved my fingers into a scoop so I'd glide in slowly, didn't want to scare the kid into thinking we were going to collide at speed. Jimmy's hands were outstretched ready to lock fingers with mine, and as I closed in and watched his eyes it suddenly struck me how much he and his little sister resembled each other.
Jenny was only 5, but already her smile could charm anyone into doing her bidding, just like her mom. Jimmy was just the same and he'd been using this to his advantage over the last couple of years at high school, seemed he was seeing a new girl every week. Their mother, Karen, seemed to take all of this in her stride, but being 8 months pregnant with son number two I guess she had to take everything in her stride.
12,000
Fingers interlocked, we were both now truly flying, albeit straight down at 120mph. This is what freefallers live for, that short time between acceleration out of the plane and deceleration from deployment. The inbetween is what you dream about sometimes, weightlessness, zero acceleration, light as a feather and a view like no other.
Of course when you're solo you can do whatever you want, quite literally you can fly like a bird, but in tandem it's a different matter, especially when you're lead jumper with another life depending on you.
Jimmy's grin was as wide as a barn door now and I couldn't help but answer with a similar smile. Anywhere else and we'd have been accused of being drunk.
11,000
Gently I unlocked my fingers from Jimmy's right hand and gave him an OK signal. This was his first attempt at somersaulting and we reckoned we'd have a chance for two attempts, maybe three, before we'd have to call it a day. Jimmy nodded and released his left hand, still maintaining his arch, so I paddled air back a little and waited.
10,000
He did it! Perfect first time, although a little on the fast side, but he'd managed a forward somersault and regained arch position without the slightest wobble. Total control. I wondered if he could hear me whooping for joy. Just to showboat a little I did a quick forward somersault with a twist then spun around to face him again, had to show the kid his old man still had something on him.
9,000
I started to paddle forwards again, then saw Jimmy hold his palms up, looked like he wanted another go. We weren't planning to deploy until 3,000 feet so I gave him the OK signal again, in truth I wanted to find out if his first attempt had been a fluke or not.
Jimmy brought his arms in and started his roll, but to my amazement (and, it must be admitted, pride) I saw him dip his shoulder as he did so, preparing to add a twist just to prove that he really was a chip off the old block. I was grinning inanely as I watched, but then realised that if something went wrong with his manoeuvre I was a little too close in case he lost it and we collided before he could regain a safe posture.
8,500
Flash...blinding...white...
6,000
Red mist. Intense pain. Instinct kicked in and I regained position, ripping off my goggles as I did so, watched droplets of blood fly up past my eyes. We'd collided. Turning, slowly, looking for Jimmy. Found him.
5,000
He was spinning out of control about 50 feet away from me. If I could close in to stabalise him then deploy his canopy we might just get out of this alive. I formed my body into an arrow, ignored the stabbing pain from my jaw (was it broken?) and narrowed the distance.
4,000
He was out cold. I screamed his name into his face a few times while I clung to his limp body but no response. There was a gash in his forehead just below his helmet and his face was completely red from the blood which the wind had splayed across his skin. I had a sudden vision of Spiderman, put this down to being slightly hysterical. Had to concentrate.
3,500
I had Jimmy above me now, my left hand fumbling for his pilot chute, right arm clinging tightly around his shoulders, legs wrapped around him ready for the fierce deceleration. But I couldn't find the pilot chute.
3,000
No time. I managed to clasp his reserve toggle, spin him around, then tugged hard. Instant deceleration, the reserve had deployed and Jimmy was ripped out of my arms as the air caught and he was jerked upright just as I kicked away from him.
2,500
Minimum distance. Pilot deployed. I heard the quick swish of nylon as the pilot dragged the bridle cord through the main canopy holding pin and the main chute followed in a controlled release, feeding each of the four main groups of lines through the slider. Four Gs of force as my body was brought from terminal velocity to 12mph in the space of a few seconds. Spiking pain from my lower jaw straight into my brain. A sudden lurch to the left. Something was wrong.
1,500
Jimmy's reserve line had tangled with mine, I hadn't kicked far enough away when I deployed and I had to make a snap judgement. Even if I popped open my reserve the two of us would spin out of control and into the ground at 80mph.
1,000
Amazing how difficult a simple choice can be. I cut my cord, there's a chance Jimmy will float free and survive even though he was still unconscious. I cut his cord, I survive. It's that simple.
800
If my son dies I'll never forgive myself. If I die I'll live on through my son. If my son dies at least he won't know about it, he's unconscious. If I die who will provide for my wife, Jenny and my son to be, due in about 4 weeks from now? Who will pay to put them through college? Who will put food on the table? Who will teach my son to play football? Who will help Jenny with her math?
400
No time. I could see the grass rippling in the field below. Reaching down I unsheathed the Bowie from its leg sheath. Reaching up I cut Jimmy's cords away, stabilised, and floated down.
2:00am
Dark. Hot. Sweat bathing the pillow. I looked over at Karen, asleep on her back. She'd managed to flop her left arm onto my chest, her elbow nestling in the crook of my neck. I gently moved her arm back to her side, then reached over and ran my hand carefully across her bulging belly, hoping to feel a little thump in response from the entity inside. Nothing, looked like for once they'd got in synch and were both getting a good night's sleep.
I slid out of bed and crept down the hallway. Pausing outside Jenny's room I could just make out her soft breathing through her slightly open door. On past Jimmy's room, door closed, the guilt from my nightmare weighing me down.
Downstairs, into the kitchen. Glass of milk to help with the heat, staring at the refrigerator light for a long time. Thinking.
Out through the utility room, pausing to take what I needed. Through the screen door onto the porch. Sitting in the swing-seat. Cloudless night. A million stars in the firmament. I remember my father telling me there was one star for each human being. I wondered which one was mine.
2:10am
Toe...trigger...flash...blinding...white.
"On three, Jimmy!"
"'K pop!"
"Three!... Two!..." I didn't wait, I just gave Jimmy a grin and a shove and he was gone, falling away below me. Kid had to learn sometime that you can't trust everyone. One second later and I was falling too, being dragged along in the wake of the Cessna temporarily before starting to feel the effect of gravity pulling me down towards the Earth.
Glancing below me and to the left I could see Jimmy in a perfect arch, just as we'd discussed. This was his fifth freefall, no mean feat at the tender age of 18, but I guess it was still sheer terror that made him follow instructions so closely. A few more jumps and he'd be larking about like the rest of us tended to do at his age.
I straightened my body out into an arrow shape and allowed my hands to guide me in his direction, feeling just a slight acceleration as I was already at terminal velocity.
13,000
We had eye to eye contact now. Jimmy had managed to turn so he could see my approach. The kid was a natural. Sometimes it took ten, twenty even more attempts before a freefaller learned to turn in the air without breaking their posture and tumbling out of control. Jimmy got it on his second jump.
I eased my head up and curved my fingers into a scoop so I'd glide in slowly, didn't want to scare the kid into thinking we were going to collide at speed. Jimmy's hands were outstretched ready to lock fingers with mine, and as I closed in and watched his eyes it suddenly struck me how much he and his little sister resembled each other.
Jenny was only 5, but already her smile could charm anyone into doing her bidding, just like her mom. Jimmy was just the same and he'd been using this to his advantage over the last couple of years at high school, seemed he was seeing a new girl every week. Their mother, Karen, seemed to take all of this in her stride, but being 8 months pregnant with son number two I guess she had to take everything in her stride.
12,000
Fingers interlocked, we were both now truly flying, albeit straight down at 120mph. This is what freefallers live for, that short time between acceleration out of the plane and deceleration from deployment. The inbetween is what you dream about sometimes, weightlessness, zero acceleration, light as a feather and a view like no other.
Of course when you're solo you can do whatever you want, quite literally you can fly like a bird, but in tandem it's a different matter, especially when you're lead jumper with another life depending on you.
Jimmy's grin was as wide as a barn door now and I couldn't help but answer with a similar smile. Anywhere else and we'd have been accused of being drunk.
11,000
Gently I unlocked my fingers from Jimmy's right hand and gave him an OK signal. This was his first attempt at somersaulting and we reckoned we'd have a chance for two attempts, maybe three, before we'd have to call it a day. Jimmy nodded and released his left hand, still maintaining his arch, so I paddled air back a little and waited.
10,000
He did it! Perfect first time, although a little on the fast side, but he'd managed a forward somersault and regained arch position without the slightest wobble. Total control. I wondered if he could hear me whooping for joy. Just to showboat a little I did a quick forward somersault with a twist then spun around to face him again, had to show the kid his old man still had something on him.
9,000
I started to paddle forwards again, then saw Jimmy hold his palms up, looked like he wanted another go. We weren't planning to deploy until 3,000 feet so I gave him the OK signal again, in truth I wanted to find out if his first attempt had been a fluke or not.
Jimmy brought his arms in and started his roll, but to my amazement (and, it must be admitted, pride) I saw him dip his shoulder as he did so, preparing to add a twist just to prove that he really was a chip off the old block. I was grinning inanely as I watched, but then realised that if something went wrong with his manoeuvre I was a little too close in case he lost it and we collided before he could regain a safe posture.
8,500
Flash...blinding...white...
6,000
Red mist. Intense pain. Instinct kicked in and I regained position, ripping off my goggles as I did so, watched droplets of blood fly up past my eyes. We'd collided. Turning, slowly, looking for Jimmy. Found him.
5,000
He was spinning out of control about 50 feet away from me. If I could close in to stabalise him then deploy his canopy we might just get out of this alive. I formed my body into an arrow, ignored the stabbing pain from my jaw (was it broken?) and narrowed the distance.
4,000
He was out cold. I screamed his name into his face a few times while I clung to his limp body but no response. There was a gash in his forehead just below his helmet and his face was completely red from the blood which the wind had splayed across his skin. I had a sudden vision of Spiderman, put this down to being slightly hysterical. Had to concentrate.
3,500
I had Jimmy above me now, my left hand fumbling for his pilot chute, right arm clinging tightly around his shoulders, legs wrapped around him ready for the fierce deceleration. But I couldn't find the pilot chute.
3,000
No time. I managed to clasp his reserve toggle, spin him around, then tugged hard. Instant deceleration, the reserve had deployed and Jimmy was ripped out of my arms as the air caught and he was jerked upright just as I kicked away from him.
2,500
Minimum distance. Pilot deployed. I heard the quick swish of nylon as the pilot dragged the bridle cord through the main canopy holding pin and the main chute followed in a controlled release, feeding each of the four main groups of lines through the slider. Four Gs of force as my body was brought from terminal velocity to 12mph in the space of a few seconds. Spiking pain from my lower jaw straight into my brain. A sudden lurch to the left. Something was wrong.
1,500
Jimmy's reserve line had tangled with mine, I hadn't kicked far enough away when I deployed and I had to make a snap judgement. Even if I popped open my reserve the two of us would spin out of control and into the ground at 80mph.
1,000
Amazing how difficult a simple choice can be. I cut my cord, there's a chance Jimmy will float free and survive even though he was still unconscious. I cut his cord, I survive. It's that simple.
800
If my son dies I'll never forgive myself. If I die I'll live on through my son. If my son dies at least he won't know about it, he's unconscious. If I die who will provide for my wife, Jenny and my son to be, due in about 4 weeks from now? Who will pay to put them through college? Who will put food on the table? Who will teach my son to play football? Who will help Jenny with her math?
400
No time. I could see the grass rippling in the field below. Reaching down I unsheathed the Bowie from its leg sheath. Reaching up I cut Jimmy's cords away, stabilised, and floated down.
2:00am
Dark. Hot. Sweat bathing the pillow. I looked over at Karen, asleep on her back. She'd managed to flop her left arm onto my chest, her elbow nestling in the crook of my neck. I gently moved her arm back to her side, then reached over and ran my hand carefully across her bulging belly, hoping to feel a little thump in response from the entity inside. Nothing, looked like for once they'd got in synch and were both getting a good night's sleep.
I slid out of bed and crept down the hallway. Pausing outside Jenny's room I could just make out her soft breathing through her slightly open door. On past Jimmy's room, door closed, the guilt from my nightmare weighing me down.
Downstairs, into the kitchen. Glass of milk to help with the heat, staring at the refrigerator light for a long time. Thinking.
Out through the utility room, pausing to take what I needed. Through the screen door onto the porch. Sitting in the swing-seat. Cloudless night. A million stars in the firmament. I remember my father telling me there was one star for each human being. I wondered which one was mine.
2:10am
Toe...trigger...flash...blinding...white.
"'K pop!"
"Three!... Two!..." I didn't wait, I just gave Jimmy a grin and a shove and he was gone, falling away below me. Kid had to learn sometime that you can't trust everyone. One second later and I was falling too, being dragged along in the wake of the Cessna temporarily before starting to feel the effect of gravity pulling me down towards the Earth.
Glancing below me and to the left I could see Jimmy in a perfect arch, just as we'd discussed. This was his fifth freefall, no mean feat at the tender age of 18, but I guess it was still sheer terror that made him follow instructions so closely. A few more jumps and he'd be larking about like the rest of us tended to do at his age.
I straightened my body out into an arrow shape and allowed my hands to guide me in his direction, feeling just a slight acceleration as I was already at terminal velocity.
13,000
We had eye to eye contact now. Jimmy had managed to turn so he could see my approach. The kid was a natural. Sometimes it took ten, twenty even more attempts before a freefaller learned to turn in the air without breaking their posture and tumbling out of control. Jimmy got it on his second jump.
I eased my head up and curved my fingers into a scoop so I'd glide in slowly, didn't want to scare the kid into thinking we were going to collide at speed. Jimmy's hands were outstretched ready to lock fingers with mine, and as I closed in and watched his eyes it suddenly struck me how much he and his little sister resembled each other.
Jenny was only 5, but already her smile could charm anyone into doing her bidding, just like her mom. Jimmy was just the same and he'd been using this to his advantage over the last couple of years at high school, seemed he was seeing a new girl every week. Their mother, Karen, seemed to take all of this in her stride, but being 8 months pregnant with son number two I guess she had to take everything in her stride.
12,000
Fingers interlocked, we were both now truly flying, albeit straight down at 120mph. This is what freefallers live for, that short time between acceleration out of the plane and deceleration from deployment. The inbetween is what you dream about sometimes, weightlessness, zero acceleration, light as a feather and a view like no other.
Of course when you're solo you can do whatever you want, quite literally you can fly like a bird, but in tandem it's a different matter, especially when you're lead jumper with another life depending on you.
Jimmy's grin was as wide as a barn door now and I couldn't help but answer with a similar smile. Anywhere else and we'd have been accused of being drunk.
11,000
Gently I unlocked my fingers from Jimmy's right hand and gave him an OK signal. This was his first attempt at somersaulting and we reckoned we'd have a chance for two attempts, maybe three, before we'd have to call it a day. Jimmy nodded and released his left hand, still maintaining his arch, so I paddled air back a little and waited.
10,000
He did it! Perfect first time, although a little on the fast side, but he'd managed a forward somersault and regained arch position without the slightest wobble. Total control. I wondered if he could hear me whooping for joy. Just to showboat a little I did a quick forward somersault with a twist then spun around to face him again, had to show the kid his old man still had something on him.
9,000
I started to paddle forwards again, then saw Jimmy hold his palms up, looked like he wanted another go. We weren't planning to deploy until 3,000 feet so I gave him the OK signal again, in truth I wanted to find out if his first attempt had been a fluke or not.
Jimmy brought his arms in and started his roll, but to my amazement (and, it must be admitted, pride) I saw him dip his shoulder as he did so, preparing to add a twist just to prove that he really was a chip off the old block. I was grinning inanely as I watched, but then realised that if something went wrong with his manoeuvre I was a little too close in case he lost it and we collided before he could regain a safe posture.
8,500
Flash...blinding...white...
6,000
Red mist. Intense pain. Instinct kicked in and I regained position, ripping off my goggles as I did so, watched droplets of blood fly up past my eyes. We'd collided. Turning, slowly, looking for Jimmy. Found him.
5,000
He was spinning out of control about 50 feet away from me. If I could close in to stabalise him then deploy his canopy we might just get out of this alive. I formed my body into an arrow, ignored the stabbing pain from my jaw (was it broken?) and narrowed the distance.
4,000
He was out cold. I screamed his name into his face a few times while I clung to his limp body but no response. There was a gash in his forehead just below his helmet and his face was completely red from the blood which the wind had splayed across his skin. I had a sudden vision of Spiderman, put this down to being slightly hysterical. Had to concentrate.
3,500
I had Jimmy above me now, my left hand fumbling for his pilot chute, right arm clinging tightly around his shoulders, legs wrapped around him ready for the fierce deceleration. But I couldn't find the pilot chute.
3,000
No time. I managed to clasp his reserve toggle, spin him around, then tugged hard. Instant deceleration, the reserve had deployed and Jimmy was ripped out of my arms as the air caught and he was jerked upright just as I kicked away from him.
2,500
Minimum distance. Pilot deployed. I heard the quick swish of nylon as the pilot dragged the bridle cord through the main canopy holding pin and the main chute followed in a controlled release, feeding each of the four main groups of lines through the slider. Four Gs of force as my body was brought from terminal velocity to 12mph in the space of a few seconds. Spiking pain from my lower jaw straight into my brain. A sudden lurch to the left. Something was wrong.
1,500
Jimmy's reserve line had tangled with mine, I hadn't kicked far enough away when I deployed and I had to make a snap judgement. Even if I popped open my reserve the two of us would spin out of control and into the ground at 80mph.
1,000
Amazing how difficult a simple choice can be. I cut my cord, there's a chance Jimmy will float free and survive even though he was still unconscious. I cut his cord, I survive. It's that simple.
800
If my son dies I'll never forgive myself. If I die I'll live on through my son. If my son dies at least he won't know about it, he's unconscious. If I die who will provide for my wife, Jenny and my son to be, due in about 4 weeks from now? Who will pay to put them through college? Who will put food on the table? Who will teach my son to play football? Who will help Jenny with her math?
400
No time. I could see the grass rippling in the field below. Reaching down I unsheathed the Bowie from its leg sheath. Reaching up I cut Jimmy's cords away, stabilised, and floated down.
2:00am
Dark. Hot. Sweat bathing the pillow. I looked over at Karen, asleep on her back. She'd managed to flop her left arm onto my chest, her elbow nestling in the crook of my neck. I gently moved her arm back to her side, then reached over and ran my hand carefully across her bulging belly, hoping to feel a little thump in response from the entity inside. Nothing, looked like for once they'd got in synch and were both getting a good night's sleep.
I slid out of bed and crept down the hallway. Pausing outside Jenny's room I could just make out her soft breathing through her slightly open door. On past Jimmy's room, door closed, the guilt from my nightmare weighing me down.
Downstairs, into the kitchen. Glass of milk to help with the heat, staring at the refrigerator light for a long time. Thinking.
Out through the utility room, pausing to take what I needed. Through the screen door onto the porch. Sitting in the swing-seat. Cloudless night. A million stars in the firmament. I remember my father telling me there was one star for each human being. I wondered which one was mine.
2:10am
Toe...trigger...flash...blinding...white.
Wow, enjoyed that. Confess I didn't get the 2:10 bi, something didn't click for me at the end. Otherwise fantastic.
Meka Dragon wrote:
> Confess I didn't get the 2:10 bi, something
> didn't click for me at the end.
When he woke from his dream at 2:00am he was so guilt ridden about the fact that he could even dream about killing his own son that he picked up a shotgun and killed himself at 2:10am. (One end of the shotgun in his mouth, the trigger operated by his toe).
> Confess I didn't get the 2:10 bi, something
> didn't click for me at the end.
When he woke from his dream at 2:00am he was so guilt ridden about the fact that he could even dream about killing his own son that he picked up a shotgun and killed himself at 2:10am. (One end of the shotgun in his mouth, the trigger operated by his toe).
I think it was the toe that confused me, I just didn't relate it to the trigger at all - guess I've just never considered how one would do themselves in with a shotgun... ;o)
This was quite good actually, although I feel the end does let it down a bit. There's 'show don't tell', and then there's 'leaving the reader in the dark', and I think that last line falls on the wrong side a little.
Plus I think it a little extreme to kill oneself due to overwhelming guilt over a dream...
Plus I think it a little extreme to kill oneself due to overwhelming guilt over a dream...