Andy McNab - DropZone

The altimeter pinged again – he’d just passed 2,000.

He didn’t like leaving things up to fate and his equipment. He gritted his teeth and went for the toggle. But, as expected, the movement of his good arm spun him violently to the right, straining his neck. He tried again and again, but each time he came within inches of the toggle, then spun again.

Ethan heard his altimeter ping. He’d zipped past 1,000 feet. Everything was now down to the AAD.

Ethan closed his eyes…

… and felt himself yanked from 120 to 10 mph in seconds. His knackered arm flapped around, then smacked him hard in the face. The sensation stung. He didn’t mind though. It meant he was alive.

As Ethan glided gently to the ground, in the silence underneath his reserve canopy, he screamed. It was all he could do. He’d saved someone’s life, nearly killed himself in the process, but survived none the less. It was definitely something to scream about.

When he landed, he was still screaming. The reserve, not being very manoeuvrable, had placed him a few hundred metres away from the DZ, so he just lay there for a few moments, trying to take it all in. He’d never been so close to death. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to experience again. But now that he had, now that he’d been seconds away from oblivion, he felt that something monumental had changed for him. OK, so the skydiving had given him a chance to see what he was capable of, to realize that there was more to life than worrying about exams and his dad. But what he’d just done – saving Kat, saving himself – had made him feel more alive than ever before. In fact, it was as though he’d been asleep his whole life and had only now fully woken up. He took a deep breath, held it, breathed out. He felt absolutely and completely aware of every part of his body, like every single bit of who he was buzzed with life. Everything around him looked clearer, the colours brighter, the air fresher. He knew then that skydiving wasn’t just a part of his life, it was his life.

Ethan heard a motorbike pulling up close, then someone jogging over.

‘I hope you’re not dead, because if you are I’ll have to ride back and get the minibus to shift your sorry carcass.’

Ethan looked up to see Johnny grinning down at him. ‘Nope,’ he said. ‘Not dead. Not even slightly.’

‘Anything broken?’

Ethan waved his one good arm. ‘This one works fine, the other one doesn’t. I felt it pop when I bumped into Kat.’

Johnny sat down, helped him to sit up. ‘You saved Kat’s life, Eth.’

‘And the AAD saved mine,’ said Ethan. ‘Kat OK?’

Johnny nodded. ‘Yeah, but she’s gone to the hospital for a check-up. Sam spotted her first. He was watching the plane when she jumped. He knew something was wrong right away.’

‘So he saw me jump out after her?’

‘It was unbelievable, Eth, just insane…’ Johnny paused. ‘You know you could’ve been killed?’

‘Wasn’t really thinking about that,’ said Ethan. ‘I saw Kat fall from the plane unconscious; didn’t really have much choice but to go out after her.’

They heard the rumble of a large engine and turned to see Sam’s Defender come to a standstill a few metres away. Sam got out, leaving the engine running, jogged over, nodded. ‘Ethan.’

‘Sam…’ Ethan nodded back.

‘Can you walk?’

Ethan nodded again.

‘His arm’s shot though,’ said Johnny. ‘Guess he’ll be following Kat to the hospital.’

‘Help me get him into the Defender,’ said Sam, looking at Johnny.

Johnny nodded, unclipped Ethan from his rig, then helped Sam pick him up and walk him round to the passenger side.

‘I’ll leave the bike at the café and then get in the back,’ said Johnny.

Ethan watched as he jumped on his bike, kicked it into life, spun it through 180 degrees, flinging dirt skyward, then sped off back to FreeFall, kicking out a quick wheelie on the way.

Ethan laughed, even though it hurt.

‘He’s a one-off,’ Sam muttered, gesturing at Johnny. ‘Don’t think I’ve ever seen him without a smile on his face.’ Then he clambered into the driver’s seat and looked Ethan dead in the eye. ‘What you did, Ethan, was absolutely bloody idiotic.’

Ethan opened his mouth, closed it, didn’t know what to say.

‘You are extremely lucky that you both survived. I’m not even going to bother listing the number of things that could’ve gone wrong. I’m amazed nothing did. You should, by all accounts, be dead. Both of you.’

‘But-’ said Ethan.

‘No buts,’ interrupted Sam, his voice hard. ‘You need to understand that it’s as much luck as skill that you got away with it. By jumping out after Kat you put both your lives at risk – I could have been dealing with two dead skydivers.’

Ethan looked at him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Sam really saying he’d have done better to let Kat fall – possibly to her death?

‘You shouldn’t have tried to go after her, Ethan. It was very brave and it took a lot of skill, but also, you got lucky. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it before and I hope I never do again. Understand?’

Ethan nodded.

‘Good,’ said Sam, and put the Defender into first gear. But before he pulled away he turned back to Ethan.

‘What?’ snapped Ethan. He was still reeling from the bollocking he’d just been given.

‘Well done,’ Sam said, reaching out to rest a heavy hand on Ethan’s good shoulder. ‘Bloody well done.’

Having picked up Johnny, Sam drove Ethan to the hospital. On the way he asked Ethan, ‘Got a mobile on you?’

Ethan nodded.

‘Good,’ said Sam. ‘Then I suggest you call your parents. They’ll want to know what happened.’

‘No chance,’ said Ethan. ‘Mum’s working and would only freak if she knew. She’s got enough to worry about as it is. If she starts thinking skydiving’s dangerous…’ His voice faded and he stared out through the windscreen. If his mum found out about this, she’d panic, maybe want him to stop skydiving. He couldn’t let that happen.

‘What about your dad?’ asked Sam.

‘What about him?’ Ethan countered.

Sam looked across at him. ‘Like that, is it?’

Ethan nodded.

‘Your call,’ said Sam. ‘If you’re sure.’

‘I’m sure.’

It wasn’t long before Sam pulled into the A &E bay. It seemed that the story of what had happened in the air had already swept through the medical staff like wildfire.

Ethan was soon sitting with Johnny and Sam as a doctor examined him. The doctor listened quietly while Ethan told him what had happened. Ethan noticed his eyes widen at specific points in the story. But then he did something to Ethan’s shoulder that not only hurt like hell but sounded pretty horrible too. Something slipped into place and Ethan found he could move his arm again, though it felt sore.

The doctor stood back, adjusted his stethoscope, then turned to look at Ethan. ‘I’m assuming, young man, that I don’t need to tell you just how lucky you are to be not simply alive, but pretty much unscathed.’

Ethan shook his head. Sam had made that fact all too clear.

‘Normally,’ explained the doctor, ‘I would expect two people who’d essentially collided in mid-air to be in various bits and pieces in the morgue. However’ – he shook his head wonderingly – ‘it seems that you have come as close to dying as is possible – and lived to tell the tale.’

Ethan attempted a smile, and the doctor smiled back.

‘Your young lady friend, as is to be expected, is somewhat grateful for what you did,’ he said.

‘Where is Kat?’ Ethan asked. ‘I’d like to see her.’

‘She’s in better shape than you,’ said the doctor. ‘Mild concussion. Doesn’t remember much apart from standing up in the plane and then waking up on the ground. I’ll have a nurse take you to see her.’