Dragon Hunters

Unfortunate Landing

Peter clung to the straps connecting him to his parachute and watched as the burning Junkers Ju 290 transport plane lost altitude and disappeared behind the rising treeline. He didn't have time to wonder if anyone else would make it out before the inevitable crash, he had his own landing to worry about. Broken legs certainly would not help in this already dire situation.

Peter's parachute snagged on branch after branch, deforming the perfect umbrella shape which caused him to fall faster. He tried to grab a nearby branch to stop his fall but wasn't able to get a good enough grip and ended up scratching his hands. Finally his parachute caught on something sturdy.

Peter looked up to find the parachute had indeed gotten tangled on a thick branch. His legs were saved but now he was left dangling from a tree five meters from the ground.

CRASH!!

Peter looked towards the sound knowing exactly what it was. The Junkers had finally met the ground, no doubt leading the pilots, and probably a large chunk of the troop, to their demise. It sounded distant, the plane might have glided all the way to the other side of the island before crashing.

Peter heard no explosion. The fire hasn't reached the fuel tanks yet. Any survivors will be lucky if it never does, there sure is a lot of fuel on that plane.

Peter refocused on his own predicament, getting out of this tree. He was too high up to drop, else he'd risk breaking a leg. He looked to his left to find that the trunk of the tree was only about a meter away.

I can make that, Peter thought. He swung his legs back and forth, gaining momentum. Forward... back... forward... back... forward...

Peter reached out for the trunk, touching the side but not getting any grip. Back... forward...

He reached out again, this time getting a better grip on the trunk. He wrapped his arms around the tree and held tight as the momentum tried to rip him away again. He found purchase on a few knobs scattered along the trunk. Then he just held on for a second, catching his breath and preparing for the climb down.

Peter began removing the harness holding him to the parachute. It had saved his life and for that he was grateful, but now it was trying to hold him hostage in the canopy of this forest.

Straps loosened and buckles undone, Peter let the harness swing away. Then he carefully climbed the rest of the way to the forest floor. The parachute would have to be left behind, there was no way he'd be able to get it down on his own.

Safe on the ground Peter removes the green jumping smock and leaves it on the ground next to the tree holding his parachute. He then does a quick inventory check.

One Luger P08 and three magazines with a total of 24 rounds.

One flare gun with one shot.

One flimsy gravity knife meant for cutting parachute lines.

Two stick grenades.

A pair of boots, field gray trousers, a field blue tunic, and an M36 helmet.

And that's it. His rifle and other gear were in one of the supply canisters on the plane. Weapons, ammo, entrenching tools, rations, and everything else were supposed to be dropped in canisters with their own parachutes. They had smoke signals attached so they would be easy to find.

I'm sure the smoke from the crash will be a big enough indication of where to look. The gear was probably destroyed in the crash, if not then it will be gone soon due to the fire. Unless of course enough people survived the crash to save the gear. I guess it's possible someone dropped the canisters before the crash.

Peter didn't see anyone jump out before he lost sight of the plane, but there was plenty of time between then and the crash, some of them must have made it out. .

Peter stops for a second to take in his surroundings. He's in a forest, that's for sure, surrounded on all sides by oak trees, or something similar, he doesn't know the flora of this island. In terms of fauna, there aren't any animals nearby, the forest is eerily quiet.

The plane must have scared off all the nearby wildlife, or maybe it was me flailing around while hanging from a tree.

With only one option, Peter orients himself in the direction of the crash, takes one last glance at the parachute dangling from a tree, and starts hiking.