AncilChapter 10: Skyfall
“How did I end up in this?” Megan complained. “What did I do wrong? One Sunday morning I just decided to go to the market with my boyfriend and the next day I’m in the army. In the army!”
“It was one of the few options we had,” I said.
“I don’t even know how to fire a gun.”
“Firing a gun is just like flying a kite. Trust me,” I said trying to encourage her.
“I don’t know how to fly a kite.”
“Oh well,” I said attempting to end the conversation.
“If we go out there and we fail what’s going to happen to my sister?” Megan asked. “Where’s mommy, where’s Megan?”
“We’re not going to fail, why are you so worried?” I said as I began stuffing my backpack with some food and water that Roy James gave to us. It was two o’clock in the evening and we had to leave soon.
“I love how you are always so positive Jed,” Megan said. “I like that.”
“You can’t let your roof fall off in the rain,” I joked.
Megan chuckled.
“When you get the urge to give up, just remember that your baby sister is counting on you,” I said.
“So what is your motive?” Megan asked.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s just my will to survive and have my people surviving with me.”
Megan smiled. “That’s noble.”
I just nodded and continued packing.
The day raced on and all twelve of the soldiers including Megan and I gathered on top of the Red House on the landing pad. We were all wearing the same army uniform. A black leather exo-suit that was zipped up all the way from the back with the red, white and black colors of the national flag as a diagonal sash across the front. The exo-suit provided wearers with a boost in strength without any extra bulk or weight. With it, you could run faster and longer, punch harder, and withstand the recoil of power guns. It was a work of art and a wonder of modern-day technology.
The First Lady and the Minister of National Security saw us off as we entered into jets with a salute. Megan and I entered into one of the jets and it carried us to the large hovercraft that just seemed to be waiting for us in the air. We all huddled together in a small room in the hovercraft. I could see some of the men shaking in their boots but I pretended like I didn’t notice. Even captain Roy James was shaking and it wasn’t that cold.
It didn’t take long for us to actually reach Tobago. It took 5 minutes for the most. Roy James told us that the hovercraft would have stopped right outside Tobago and that we were going to have to use jetpacks the rest of the way in order to remain as quiet as possible. The hovercraft was still moving but he assured us that it would have stopped soon. But it didn’t seem as though we entered the Tobago waters without being noticed because the co-pilot stormed into the room and shouted, “We got hit!”
I could have heard the explosions from where I was but nothing was felt, not even a jerk.
“Everybody grab a jetpack!” Roy James ordered as he opened the small cabinet that had about 20 jetpacks. He threw me a jetpack but before I was able to catch it a sudden force pulled me into the air and out into the sky. I let out a loud blood-curdling scream as the sky whisked me away into its arms. It took me a little while to realize that I was falling and I had nothing to stop the fall. When I looked up I saw a fiery blaze engulfing the giant hovercraft. Things didn’t look too good.
I fell from the sky without anything to hold on to but hope that I could fly. I had no parachute or anything to stop me from falling. Every single memory of my life passed through my head in a flash. I was about to disappoint everyone without even much of a fight. We hadn’t even reached Tobago yet. There was little hope for The Twin Republic now. I, along with Megan and ten of the best soldiers in the country were plummeting down to Tobago about to be a splattered mess. It seemed as though there was nothing I could do as I fell. The fear of death struck me but it quickly transformed into a zen-like peace in my mind. I felt hopeless and something in me was grateful for this opportunity to end it all.
“Is this how you end? Not even a fight?” My father’s voice in my head scoffed.
“There’s nothing I could do?” I said.
“Big soldier like you and you’re just going to let yourself be a stain on the ocean floor!” My father’s voice in my head said.
“But…” I was arguing with my father’s voice in my head again. One part of me wanted to fight back while one part just wanted to accept that this was the end. Death provided more peace than what was in store for us in the Twin Republic.
“Figure it out, Soldier!” My father’s voice in my head said.
I knew falling from this height provided no real solutions for survival but I decided to entertain my father’s voice in my head.
I opened my eyes and scanned the open air.
The sky was littered with pieces of the hovercraft, falling jets with no pilots, soldiers, weapons, suits, jetpacks….jetpacks! There were jetpacks in the sky. My hope rekindled for a bit with a blazing fire. However, I still had to get it. It was a little way below me. I didn’t know much about aerodynamics but in a few movies that I watched I learned that keeping completely straight with your arms on the side caused you to move faster downwards. I decided to give it a shot and did as I saw in the movies. It worked a bit. I was moving faster but not fast enough. I had to grab hold of the jetpack before falling to the ground. I stretched and forced every will in my body to reach the falling jetpack until I finally grabbed hold of it.
“Good job, soldier! Now get that on your back!” My father’s voice in my head said.
I fumbled around to put the jetpack on my back in mid air and continued falling. It was a long way down still but my plan was to activate the jetpack as soon as possible. When I secured the jetpack on, I flicked a switch that was located on the strap and I instantly spiraled out of control.
“Ahhhh!!” I screamed as I zig-zagged through the air.
