As the Wings Beat

Chapter 9

Jackie was given a list and told to prepare for training on the mountain. It was a packing list of what she was supposed to wear and bring with her for the day. She quickly dressed and gathered what she needed. She brought it to the gym with her, and used it to fill a backpack that had her name on it. Evan grabbed the bag from her and quickly threw it onto the helicopter that was just starting up outside. Jackie was curious as to why the last minute change in her training. 

She zipped her coat up all the way and ran over to the chopper. She ducked down as she approached the door, careful to keep her wings away from the whirling blades. They lifted off the ground as soon as she and Evan were buckled into their seats. Knowing there were only two mountains on the island, she had a good idea as to where they were going. As they headed west, she could see that the dense forest stretched for miles across the island. Not much was visible below the dense canopy. After about an hour, Evan tapped her shoulder and pointed toward one of the mountains off in the distance.

Jackie watched the mountain they were headed toward get larger and larger as they slowly approached its peak. The helicopter was rocking violently as they rose higher. She was clutching at her seat belt and quickly slammed her eyes shut as the chopper suddenly dropped a few feet in the ever thinning air. She kept her eyes closed for the rest of the trip and concentrated on her breathing, hoping her steady breath would take away her fear of the aircraft crashing. She knew the helicopter had finally landed when the aircraft jolted against the flat outcropping that formed the mountain's peak. The wind was whipping through the helicopter's open doors, and made her hair fly around her face. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she quickly grabbed her backpack and heaved it over her head, to have it fall onto her back out of the way of her wings. The packs were designed in a way that made it skinnier in the middle so her wings would not be hindered. Jackie quickly strapped it around her waist and chest so it wouldn't move around on her.

She had practiced for this type of jump many times in the gym, but it still didn't compare to standing atop an actual mountain. She was scared of the heavy wind that was blowing around her. There were so many things she would have to be thinking about while in the air; which way to hold her wings against the wind, when to flap her wings versus when to hold them outright to glide. Gliding was the easy part, staying at a high altitude was a whole other issue. Evan was going to have her start with a simple jump and circular descent to the base of the mountain so she could get a feel for the wind and height. After that, they would jump again, and try to circle the mountain, while maintaining their altitude for as long as possible.

Jackie was slightly light headed and she was breathing heavily just from getting out of the helicopter. Noticing her obvious exertion, Evan had her sit on the ground for a while to get used to the altitude and lack of oxygen. He was being unusually patient with her, and she was waiting for him to start scolding her.

After about an hour, Evan finally signaled her to join him at the edge of the cliff. As she got there, she regrettably looked down. Seeing exactly how high up they were, her stomach seized and she instinctively stepped back from the ledge as her head began to swim with fear. She couldn't seem to take a full breath and started to hyperventilate from her panic. Evan grabbed her by the strap of her backpack and was talking to her, but nothing he said registered. Her fear was overwhelming. A sudden hard slap to the face shook her from her state of panic and she quickly covered the painful area with her hand,  while staring at Evan in shock.

"Pull yourself together Stone," Evan bolstered over the loud winds. "You have wings for gods sake."

She nodded, still in a slight shock from the slap, and tried to focus her mind on her wings and how she would utilize them in the jump, rather than the drastic drop before her.