Volume 1, Chapter 17 – The Jump!
Snap.
A small (compared to the Hercules) Armed Black Hawk appeared.
"Hop in, COMMANDER!" he shouted, walking briskly and twirling keys on his finger. (Does he really have to shout "COMMANDER" every time?)
Looks like I'm going to get an earful from the duke for this new "illegal" deforestation. But I didn't touch those trees with my own hands. Well, technically I did — I shot at them. But I didn't cut them down!
I headed toward the helicopter with a sense of weariness. There was no fear at all — but that was until the cabin door opened and I saw Lelik behind the controls.
"Wait! The vehicle is supposed to be operated by Soldier-functions," I objected, watching him busily flipping switches.
"Bro. I am a Soldier-function. If I want — faceless ones will sit here. If I want — I'll take the controls myself. I'm Army Aviation Officer!" he said, and the wind picked up — but it was the rotors starting to spin. "Bro, get in. Buckle up. Put on the headset. Once we're at altitude, you can unbuckle," he gave instructions, already shouting over the engine noise.
Fine... I sat down.
Loud, sharp cracks sounded overhead — and a rhythmic hum appeared.
[Lelik]: Base, this is Lelik, Armed Black Hawk. Requesting takeoff.
[Base]: Lelik, takeoff approved.
(What base?)
[Me]: What base?
[Lelik]: CUB. The tadpoles.
Everything started shaking: the seat, the harness, my fingertips.
I felt the helicopter begin to tilt sideways — like it was gliding across the ground. A very unusual feeling. Then I saw through the open door how the ground was pulling away. It felt like every second something was letting go of me and then grabbing me again. Unfamiliar. There was a feeling of lightness, but my head started to ache a little.
(How does he do that? Nothing under my feet — and we're just hovering. Then suddenly I was pulled sideways — the helicopter turned.)
The cabin was filled with a mix of heavy smells. Personally, for me — oily and acrid. There was also a metallic smell and something else I couldn't identify.
Huh. It became hard to breathe, unfamiliar. My stomach kept rising to my throat and dropping back down.
It's strange: like I'm standing in the center of the world, and the world itself is spinning around me.
We slowly tilted forward — my body pulled in the opposite direction.
[Lelik]: Bro, we're in a hover. You can unbuckle. Just grab a parachute from the tail, just in case.
[Me]: Hover? Parachute?
I peered out the open door — everything down there was green and far away. Scary to unbuckle, this is my only protection.
[Lelik]: Bro-oh... Hold on! — he said and appeared from behind me, calmly walking through the cabin and pulling out a parachute.
(What? Wait! What's happening?)
"YOU'RE AT THE CONTROLS!" I shouted right in his face.
Lelik was surprised, pressing his chin to his neck slightly.
[Lelik]: And?
I looked at the controls — a faceless Soldier was sitting there. I exhaled.
[Me]: How? What do you mean?
[Lelik]: As soon as I leave the controls, a Soldier-function appears there. — He shoved the parachute into my hands. — Watch what else I can do.
And he disappeared. In the sky opposite, a identical helicopter appeared, with Lelik waving from the cockpit.
The helicopter disappeared, and Lelik appeared next to me — and we suddenly found ourselves in some huge thing, where along the metal walls were benches running the full length, for about thirty people probably, and in the center of the ceiling was a cable.
[Me]: What? Where are we?
[Lelik]: Hercules. We're climbing to drop altitude.
[Me]: WHAAAT?
I was still clutching the parachute, and I was already in a different location. (What's happening? How did I end up here? And why does Lelik already have a parachute? And where's my harness? There are no harnesses here at all. There's so much space here you could park two cars comfortably.)
Lelik walked over to me, balancing skillfully, riding the motion but feeling above it.
"Parachute! Put it on!" he shouted in my ear.
Parachute? Right! I frantically started putting it on, trying not to get to my feet.
A loud, heavy roar pounded my ears. My teeth vibrated like it was minus fifty degrees. My whole body was shaking. I was becoming like everyone else here — trembling. (I need to calm down! I dreamed and planned to skydive! And now I'm here. I can't back down because of fear! I'll take this damn parachute, get on my feet, put it on properly, and jump! I'll do it — and that's not up for discussion. Not today, not in this world. Here, only I decide what to do and how to do it!)
I got to my feet and almost flew into the wall, but Lelik grabbed me with his hands, holding me steady and letting me put on the parachute properly.
"Thanks!"
"You're welcome, COMMANDER!"
Lelik walked around me, inspecting the parachute, touching it. He clipped the chest strap and attached the ring to the cable on the plane's ceiling.
Snap. — (Must be his thing: doing everything with a snap. Right now — opening the ramp at the plane's tail.)
Bright sunlight and a wild rush of air burst inside, attacking me. I barely held my footing. Probably the fact that I didn't immediately fly out like a piece of paper was thanks to Lelik, who was holding my elbow.
"First one out!" he shouted.
I waited. No one jumped. I looked around. (Who was that for? No one's here. Wait... Is that for me?)
"How do you open the parachute?" I asked in fright, scanning the open sky visible from the ramp.
"It opens on its own," he tugged the cable above my head and subtly pushed me toward the edge.
I didn't even notice how I was already seeing the ground — fields, forests, even some villages, and a tiny dot that looked a lot like the fort (but I wasn't sure). The wind lashed against my shirt and pants, my white tie flying in different directions trying to escape.
I also saw to the left, in the distance, a huge city standing by an endless sea.
"On your own?"
"Yes!" I said confidently and loudly, untying my tie and handing it to Lelik. "You can keep it... Please."
Lelik nodded. I noticed he wasn't attached to anything at all. But I also noticed how I was already standing right at the edge. He pushed me even closer.
I closed my eyes. (I can do this. I can do anything. This is my life, and right now it's in my hands. No one else touches it. No one owns it or tells me how much time I have left. Only I decide what to do now. And I decide — to jump.)
Step.
Whoosh.
The sounds of the plane stopped deafening my ears — everything was replaced by rushing air around me. I was falling down into the green. Gazing at the world from above. The plane immediately disappeared, and next to me, like an "air" shark, Lelik flew by — without opening his parachute, diving downward.
My insides were rising up, my eyes watering from the wind. I was flying! And it was terrifying and beautiful. The world below — villages, forests, fields, the city somewhere to the left — all of it was before my eyes. Here and now, it all seemed so small and insignificant compared to what I was feeling.
Tug.
I was jerked sharply — I slowed down.
Am I happy? Of course! It doesn't even matter what's under my feet, that the ground is approaching. The main thing is — in just one day, I shot a pistol and a rifle, flew on a military helicopter and a cargo plane, and skydived. Twenty-nine years of my life weren't enough to do even one of these things. And here, in one day, I did it all! I feel truly free. Truly alive. Truly... real.
And the ground was approaching. And all my joy was interrupted by one thought: "How do I land?"
(What do I do? Curl up? Tuck my legs? What? How and when? Do I roll? Try to unclip the parachute? Straighten out like a soldier? I don't want to break my legs! I don't want to! I don't want to be disabled like the last two years. Not at all. Not a single bit!)
And I just instinctively tucked my legs — and landed.
I closed my eyes and hit the ground roughly, immediately tumbling forward unconsciously like a ball. My whole body began to ache even more. Old injuries — my back and shoulder — reminded me of themselves with greater intensity, pulsing. My legs burned with pain and trembled.
I opened my eyes — a white parachute slowly settled over me, blocking out the world.
"COMMANDER!" Lelik shouted, lifting the fabric. "Congratulations!"
I lifted my head, spitting out dirt I'd scooped up like a shovel. He stood there like an angel. His figure stood against the bright sun, not letting me see any emotions or anything around — only blinding light.
(Now — rest. That was the only thought spinning in my head.)
—
Updated list:
— Get into sports.
— Fly in a helicopter (completed).
— (NEW) Fly in a military plane (completed).
— Buy or build my own house.
— Start some kind of business.
— Find a partner.
— Plant a tree.
— Learn a new craft.
— Go skydiving (completed).
From this world:
— Try to learn magic.