As the Wings Beat

Chapter 8

"Jackie is making good progress, Evan has been training her hard and she is progressing steadily. Her weapons training is lacking but we will be working harder at it. Her gliding skills have improved greatly over the past two months. She is even doing well in the simulator," Arvol spoke steadily into his recorder. "Sheerdrop Peak is her next step in training. She will have to be able to sustain flight for almost four hours to make it back to the compound before dark. If she tires too early she will have to hike back on her own, since she has yet to learn how to take off from the ground. It will also be her survival test. Evan does not expect her to make it all the way back and has been putting her through survival training earlier than usual. She will have a pack of essentials to carry with her in case she doesn't make it all the way back on her wings. We will be keeping track of her vitals, but we will be unable to help if something happens, only Evan will be able to get to her." He hit pause on the recorder. 

As he thought about the upcoming trial, he looked out the window in his office at the sunset dipping below the snow-covered horizon, the fleeting colors of dusk beginning to fade away. He felt a slight pang of guilt at deceiving her, but quickly swept it aside, the project was too important to worry about one person's feelings.

He rose from his chair, donned his thick winter coat, and started the long jaunt toward the storage shed on the far side of the landing strip. The door was difficult to shift from the cold weathered hinges, but he managed to yank it open about halfway. The screaching from the unused doors, echoed throughout the shed. The chilled air was stale inside and a fine layer of dust covered everything. We really need to clean this out he thought, as he walked around overflowing shelves and large piles of unused military grade gear. He stopped beside a pile of specialized backpacks and grabbed two of them. Three sneezes escaped him as he shook the ancient dust from the sacks. He opened and started filling them with items scattered throughout the room, things that Jackie and Evan would need for their upcoming mission.

The bags were only half full as he finished, but that would leave them room for their clothing and other essentials. He looked one last time around the shed for anything he might be forgetting, but found nothing of significance. Locking the shed behind him, he sauntered back toward the compound, leaving a second set of footprints in the newly fallen snow The bags were left in the gymnasium for Evan to find later in the day.

He returned to his office to plan the trek up to Sheerdrop Peak, the top of Ashel Mountain and the highest point on the island. It was named for the peak's large overhang above a near vertical slope on the eastern side of the mountain. It was almost a straight shot east from there to the facility. Jackie would be given a compass and a map as her only points of direction. He hoped she was paying attention to Evan's teachings. He made a list of everything he needed to prepare before the event. He kept adding more and more to the list, by the time he was done, it was almost two pages long. He frowned at its length and started making the necessary phone calls to prepare.

After going through several emails and making even more calls, he was finally able to relax. The trips to the mountain had all been planned, he managed to get a trainer to replace Evan while he was gone, and he was able to retain more of his staff to the island for the winter months than the previous year. No one liked to be stuck on an island through the winter since planes only came once every two months, and even then, only if the runway was able to be cleared.

After a large yawn, Arvol decided it was time for bed. He slowly made his way through the facility to his room, and collapsed on the bed, quickly falling into a deep slumber.