Project Perses: Redemption

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

There is no way this is going to go well. 

Sure, I had received instruction on what cord does what, but landing…nope. Worse still is attempting a landing in the middle of a large, metropolitan city without being seen.  The parachute is black, I am dressed in all black, but if you think that means no one will see me, you’d be wrong.  Murphy’s Law hates me. 

I am betting even money that the moment I get close enough to the ground that the city street lights find me, it’s all over.

When I spot the secluded park, deep in shadow and completely unoccupied except for a bum on a park bench, covered in sheets of newspaper, I thank my lucky stars.  The angels must be with me, that’s all I can say. 

Five hundred feet, One hundred, fifty, thirty, twenty, ten…and just as I am about to impact with the ground, I bend my knees and start running forward, letting the momentum of the fall carry me forward liked I’d seen people do in the movies. 

It had worked for them, and seems to be working for me…until the breeze catches my parachute and I shoot forward, landing face forward into the ground, getting dragged along for the ride.  I gag and cough as I get a mouthful of dirt, leaves and grass.  Reaching up, I grab the cord on my chute and pull, releasing the damn canopy and letting it blow away from me.  Dropping my torso to the ground, I lay there for a precious few seconds in the cool grass, thanking God I am still alive and waiting for any sound that would alert me that I’d been spotted.

I turn my head and look around.  All is quiet.  Boosting myself up on my elbows, I see the bum on the bench hasn’t even budged.  A smile plasters itself to my face as I get up, dusting off my knees. 

“Aiden? Hey, you okay?”  Teddy’s voice blares into my head, causing me to wince.

“Geez, Teddy.  Turn down the volume.  I’m fine.”  I whisper, checking the bum to make sure he didn’t hear me.  I take a quick glance around and then start moving towards the north end of the park.  It’s a couple of miles to Myra’s neighborhood.  Knowing my outfit will only attract attention; I skirt the houses here and take the back alleys, keeping to the shadows.  The going is slow but at least it’s uneventful. 

“How long until you land?” I question, darting around a dumpster and pausing to check the cross street ahead of me.

“We are on final approach now. Maybe about fifteen minutes to taxi and unload, then we’ll be on our way. Total time should be like thirty to forty minutes I’m guessing. I got your LoJack loud and clear.”

“LoJack?”  I question, my voice rising in incredulity.  “Seriously, Teddy?”

“Hey, call it what you want, but we definitely got you LoJacked because I can see you clear as day on my screen map.”

I speed up when I hear a dog rustling around in the fenced yard to my left, then dive behind a tree when a guy comes out and gets into his car.  I hold my breath until he drives off.  That had been close. “The sooner you get to me, the better.”  I whisper, taking off again.