Lightning Bringer: (Lighting Seeker Book 2)

Free Falling

A third. There were only enough parachutes for every third person. Jumping up onto a table, Vale shouted above the panic that had ripped through the room. "LISTEN UP!" The girls who had begun to try to rip the parachutes out from the seats, pulling them away from each other as screeches of wild rage bubbled up from inside, stopped.

The girls all turned to look at Vale. "IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE..." She glared at each one, her eyes hard, demanding their attention. "YOU WILL GET INTO GROUPS OF THREE." Vale ignored the whimpers that could now be heard in the otherwise deadly silence. "NO ONE NEEDS TO BE LEFT STRANDED ON THIS THING! TIE YOURSELVES TOGETHER AND THEN JUMP!"

Several girls were staring at her, mouths wide open now. Confusion and hope-filled their delicate features. "The parachutes will hold," Vale finished.

Dropping back down, Vale walked over to Reign, who clutched a parachute to her chest, face pale, eyes wild. The other girls quickly tripled up around them, the energy in the room still chaotic, but with a clear mission in place, the screeching had subsided.

"You have a gift," Reign whispered, her eyes wide. "I've never seen anyone order that many Elites around without getting at least one verbally abusive comeback."

Vale shrugged, uncomfortable with the idea. She just wanted to survive. "You have paired up with anyone yet?"

Reign shook her head. Vale turned and scanned the ship. She spotted Fox and called her over. Once everyone was strapped together, Vale shouted above everyone. "READY...." The girls all nodded, a mix of fear and anticipation crossing their faces. "SET..." Vale placed her hand on the door, reaching for the handle. "GO!"

The door slid open and the air screamed in an aggressive greeting, swooping into the ship and wrapping around the girls with its eager fingers. Vale leaned out, her back towards the open air. Reign and Fox placed their arms on either side of the open door. Vale took a deep breath and after a quick nod, they let go and fell through the open air, towards the thick jungle below.

Reign screamed, or at least Vale thought she did. She could hear whispers of it as the wind roared through her ears. Vale's heart beat fast, attempting to escape her body and save itself from the freefall.

Color bloomed in the sky above, dozens of beautiful wisps fluttering downward as girls jumped from the ship, creating a tapestry of vibrant hues. "How we doing Fox?" Vale shouted. Fox stared past her towards the ground.

Then she looked at Vale and nodded. "Just one thing I have to do first." A knife came into view, glistening in the sharp afternoon light. Fox smiled coldly.

Vale felt her arm transform, her fingers throwing long as they each became individual knives. "If you try to move that knife even an inch in this direction, I will slice a whole new set of holes into that pretty face of yours." A shiver ran down Vale's spine at the cold and easy way her words left her mouth. It felt too easy.

Fox held up her hands, moving them away from Vale, a small teasing smile covering her painted red lips. "I have no intention of killing you," she said with a laugh. Then she shot Reign and Vale a wild smile. "I just plan on getting rid of some of this extra weight." She yanked her hand down and cut through the rope tying them all together. Fox kicked Vale and Reign away, shooting them out to either side, their bodies spinning in a fast set of limbs, a blur of sky and jungle all they could see. 

Vale's vision turned red. Rage surged through her, clearing her thoughts. She yanked her limps to the left, righting her body. She spotted Reign spinning, tears flying upward as she cried. Turning her arm into a hook, Vale took in a deep breath and counted. If she was off, even slightly, she would pierce Reign. 

After several long, calculating moments, Vale shot her hook and yanked Reign towards her. It was a clean catch. Reign threw her arms around Vale, screaming in her ear as they collided. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" 

"YOU AREN'T GOING TO!" Vale reassured her. Then she glanced up and saw Fox, staring down at them with a bewildered expression. She reached for the rope to pull the parachute open when Vale shot her an angry smile and shot her hook again, aiming for Fox's ankle. It was a far less clean catch, ripping through her skin as metal and blood merged. 

Fox's scream only grew as they all jolted to a slow fall, parachute opening, blood pouring down the rope towards Vale. 

Vale ignored Reign's death grip as she clung to her ribs and adjusted the rope, having it pull both of them up towards Fox, who glared down at them with angry tears, a string of profanity reaching Vale's ears for a swift moment before the wind erased it from existence. 

The jungle slowly grew large beneath them, and as Vale finally reached Fox, she yanked yer hook lose and climbed up Fox, half tempted to rip the parachute from her. "ARE YOU INSANE!" Vale shouted. "IT CAN CLEARLY HOLD ALL THREE OF US!" 

Fox's red hair whipped around them, fire and anger cutting everything else from view. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LEG!" 

Vale gritted her teeth, glancing towards the ground, eager to get away from the crazy girl who had tried to kill her. Vale was afraid that if she didn't get away from her soon, she'd rip her to pieces. 

They would be in the jungle in a matter of moments. Spotting a branch, Vale shot her hook again, and let go of Fox, glaring at her as she fell through the air.  "You will live!" Vale shouted sarcastically, uncaring if Fox heard her. She was tired of playing nice. 

She was in the middle of a game where everyone wanted to kill each other over a boy that she was there to retrieve. I need to get out of this soon before I'm tempted to tear them all apart too.