INTEGATES (Original Story)

CHAPTER 12 - PROPHECY

Raiden opened the helicopter door when we felt its halt in the air. There was a full-on view of enormous and thick trees that had different shades of green. Their radius was enough to block any sight of the ground below.

The two guys in the group quickly began attaching the rope chains onto the two metal hooks at the near end. The small indoor window that separated our area from the front seats of the helicopter opened, but we couldn't see the one driving.

"You have five minutes. We couldn't go over that or else, we would be detected." A man's voice yelled.

I wasted no more time on throwing any more doubts and questions, instead, I commanded Raiden and Wyren to go down first so they could clear the grounds where we would land. Which they immediately followed. They wrapped the straps around their waist and sealed the locks before jumping off with their backs facing the view. There was a bit of anxiety that dawned on me as I realized the vertical distance we had to travel. We were at least 400 or 500 feet above the ground.

It took less than a minute for the young men to reach the surface while Alianna and I helped lower them. When we felt the weight unraveled off the rope, we hastily hoist up the other end. Mitchell and Beale spent another second to attach the chain to the belt around their waist, and went to take their turn.

"You got to hurry. There's no more time. Forty five seconds." The man in the driver's seat alarmed us.

As soon as he yelled those words, the rope I was holding went lighter again, signaling that the girls have landed. We increased our speed, as if already panicking. I didn't even stop to think. The next thing I knew, Alianna and I were lowering ourselves from the helicopter. I felt the pain around my waist which made me realize that I didn't secure myself properly. Yet I didn't have time to adjust anything anymore. I just dragged myself as quickly as possible. We were running out of time. My calculations knew that we wouldn't make it if we don't cut the strap and take the fall from the remaining few feet distance. I could already see the four members of my team below yet our elevation was still high.

For a second, I took note of my surroundings, and I saw several thick tree branches which we could hold on to. Before I could even process how dangerous it would be, I yelled out to Alianna who was not far from my position. I ordered her what to do and she didn't even doubt my words. The teenage girl just nodded before looking for a branch to grab a hold of. I did the same. When I found one, I took the small knife in the side pocket of my backpack to cut the strap.

If I wouldn't be able to hold on to the tree branch, I could actually get some of my bones broken when I land on the ground. Or worse, die. It was a high fall. But fortunately, I managed to save myself as my hands clutched around my target. My body collided on the rough stem of the tree. I let myself catch my breath before glancing down and then looked around to check if Alianna made it. There was a feeling of relief when I saw her a couple of trees away, already making her way down by dropping to the other branches of her chosen one.

I was about to mimic her actions but I soon realized that I didn't have any more to fall onto. They were too thin to carry a human's weight. So I had to go the hard way. One of my hands searched for a crack on the stem, wide enough to be a handle. My feet and other hand wrapped around the tree as I let go of the branch. I heard the questions of concern from below while the sound of helicopter blade rotor slowly faded above.

My heart was hammering. The mission has yet to begin and I was already pouring out efforts to survive. Slowly, I made my way down. As if I was mountain climbing, except not really climbing. More like the opposite of it. It almost felt like forever that my uncovered hands started to hurt.

When my team's voices became louder, I knew that I was already close to the ground. So I looked down for a second, and instantly, I regretted the decision. Because it caused me to slip, and all I could do was yell. The rough texture of the tree scraped my cheek. My long sleeves and pants protected the rest to get wounded. Before my mind could prepare my body for the collision, I already landed with my front on a surface softer than I expected. My left side hurt, but the pain was quickly forgotten when I processed that my team piled their bags to lessen the force of my fall.