Parachute Problems
"Okay, we're nearly at the right altitude for you to jump. You ready for this?" the instructor called, turning back towards the sole participant in the session's skydiving experience.
"As ready as I'm ever going to be!" Phil said, putting on his helmet. The American football-loving youth was decked out from head to toe in green gear, barring a few white stripes on his body suit, and the silvery colored gloves he had equipped. "I gotta admit...I am a little nervous about doing this!"
"That's totally understandable, but I can assure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about! We take pride in knowing that the parachutes we use for this work pretty much one hundred percent of the time!" the instructor responded proudly.
'Pretty much? That doesn't sound too assuring...' Phil thought, withholding a gulp.
"Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine!" was the response he got. The instructor could tell from the look on Phil's face that he was having doubts. "Just trust me, alright?"
"I trust you, but believe you me, if something DOES go wrong, I'll be making a complaint!" he answered in a serious tone.
"Right, right! Anyway, it's about time you put on your parachute!" The instructor handed him one which was neatly packed up, which Phil quickly put on his back. "If something does go wrong with that, remember to use the emergency parachute on the front of your suit as well!" He tapped against the one strapped to Phil's front.
"Okay!" Phil made sure they were both tightly secured - the last thing he wanted was for them to fall off while in freefall. "I'm ready whenever you are!"
"We've reached the correct altitude, so get ready!" The instructor opened up the side door of the plane, the sound of wind zooming by assaulting Phil's ears. "In your own time, dude!"
"Right..." Phil looked out the door, seeing the sky all around him, as well as the ground several thousand feet below. He did feel slightly nervous at the prospect of doing this, not to mention he doubted now if his parachute would even work...but at the same time, he did pay a hundred dollars to do this, and he'd feel horrible if he chickened out at the last minute. "On my marks... get set..." He took a few steps backwards, taking a deep breath before charging towards the door. "Go, go, GO!" he yelled, leaping off the floor as he dove into the great blue. "WHOO-HOO-HOOOO!!!" he cheered, gliding gracefully through the sky, slowly but surely descending towards the earth. Of course, he knew his way around the sky thanks to his frequent metamorphoses into various winged beasts, but being able to do this while human was something else to say the least, even if it didn't match up to being in a more animalistic form – but how many people would actually be willing to do this?
He pulled off a few graceful spins and twirls, cannonballing through the air. When he got close to the 1.25k feet mark, he knew it was about the right time to open his parachute.
"Alright, time to slow down!" Phil reached for the parachute release cord on his pack, grasping it in his hand as he pulled it tight - only for the cord to break off in his hand. "Oh crud..." he gulped, seeing it had been torn right off. "Okay, no need to worry; I've still got the emergency chute!" He reached for the one on his chest - it'd suck to have to float towards earth on his back, but it was better that than hitting the earth at full speed. He tugged at the cord, and once again, nothing happened. It didn't break off like the one on his back, but it didn't do anything at all to help.
"Come on, come on!" He tugged at it several times, praying that it'd open up soon, only for nothing to happen. "Crap!" he exclaimed. "Trust me to get the two parachutes that don't work! If I survive this, I'm gonna kill them!" he growled. Alright, maybe kill wasn't the best choice of word, but if you were plummeting towards earth with no means of saving yourself, you'd probably be thinking that, too. Well, that, screaming hysterically or cursing a blue streak that'd make even the most foul-mouthed individual blush.
