A Party Trick at Thirty Thousand Feet Chapter 05

Caleb is the first to react.

He lunges forward and grabs Ryan by the collar, the veins on the back of his hand bulging from the force of his grip.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“That was the backup parachute we personally took off the rack before we left yesterday!”

Ryan’s eyes turn red with panic as he struggles to break free.

“Why the hell would I lie to you?”

“The backup parachutes on that rack were sent out for maintenance two days ago!”

“I needed something to fill the empty spot, so I just hung a retired display pack there.”

“That thing was practically weightless. Didn’t any of you notice when you picked it up?”

The smile on Jonathan’s face completely falls apart, leaving him looking like a man wearing a

cheap clown mask.

“No… That’s impossible.”

His voice trembles as he takes two steps backward.

“When she jumped, I even pulled the main chute cord for her.”

“And all that came out was the confetti we stuffed inside…”

Ryan stares at them as if they’re insane.

“You modified the main parachute pack yourselves. That’s your business. But that retired display pack contained nothing but a wad of foam padding!”

“You sent her plummeting from ten thousand feet with absolutely no protection!”

Will’s face turns deathly pale.

He spins around and rushes to the all–terrain vehicle, digging out the footage from yesterday’s

recording device.

He connects it to a tablet and fast–forwards to the exact moment I jump.

He zooms in on the image.

On the screen, I’m biting my lip, my eyes filled with terror.

Along the edge of the red parachute pack on my back, a white number is clearly visible.

04.
Ryan points at the screen, his finger shaking uncontrollably.

“Number 04…”

“That’s the empty pack.”

The tablet slips from Will’s hands and crashes into the snow. Its screen shatters instantly.

Caleb releases Ryan and stumbles backward.

He stares at his empty palm, as if he can still feel the warmth of my hand from the moment I

jumped.

“Search and rescue…”

A guttural sound tears from his throat.

“Call search and rescue!”

Over the next few hours, the base at the foot of the mountain descends into chaos.

Three rescue helicopters take off again.

I follow Caleb, watching him practically throw himself against the cabin window, his bloodshot eyes desperately scanning the old–growth forest below.

He keeps calling my phone, even though every attempt ends with the same automated message.

[The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.]

Rebecca curls up in the corner of the cabin, covering her face as her whole body shakes with sobs.

Will grits his teeth, his jaw clenched so tightly that not a word escapes his lips.

At three in the afternoon, sunlight barely reaches the forest floor beneath the thick canopy.

The rescue dogs stop in front of a dead forest at the bottom of a cliff, barking frantically.

The rescue team leader reports over the radio.

“Target located.”

Caleb practically tumbles out of the helicopter.

He scrambles to his feet and rushes into the dark woods.

I float after him.

A thick smell of blood hangs in the air among the dead trees.

Caleb pushes aside the final layer of thorny bushes, then suddenly freezes.

Ahead of him, my body hangs from the trunk of a dead tree.

After the violent fall from such a height, a thick branch has pierced straight through my abdomen

and chest like a spear.

My arms hang limply at my sides.

My fingernails are torn off, the marks of my desperate attempts to claw at the empty parachute

pack while falling.

My blood has long since dried, forming a dark, ugly crust over my body like a suit of armor.

My eyes are still open.

They’re fixed on the empty space to my left.