I had luckily taken my medicines other wise the Traveller and Avinash both would have been covered in my puke. After nearly half an hour the car came to a stop. We stepped down on a thin layer of ice, with grass patches in between the white carpet.
"Put on these boots." One of the three employees of the adventure sports shop called out, while his other two colleagues distributed the shoes. The shoes had spikes in the bottom, which helped with the grip, on the moist soil.
They lead us along a trampled path, to a higher land. Avinash held my hand, to help me climb.
This was a bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea! My limbs sweating and trembling at the same time. I gripped Avinash's hand with all my might, slowly climbing along the narrow path. The trail led to a sloping peak, which was partly snow covered.
"You guys will take off second." One of the employees informed us.
"This is their first batch of the day." Avinash informed me. "Five of them are pilots, and five are guests. The rest are helpers."
The helpers and pilots took out the chutes and spread them over the slope. Avi gave them a hand in doing that. Once all the six chutes were spread out, they waited for the wind to catch. I looked at the edge where the grass abruptly disappeared into the sky, and felt the palpitations increasing. My head was spinning making me feel nauseous.
"Its time." Avinash called out trudging towards me. Our chute too had caught the air as its thin red fabric swelled. The suspension lines holding the canopy trembled slightly.
"I can't do this Avi." I shook my head. I was sweating in this cold, my mouth parched from fear. "I am sorry. You go alone."
"Naxi the landing is down in the valley. I wouldn't be able to reach you."
"I don't know. I will crawl back down, to the pickup. The Traveller is there I will wait for you there."
"The Traveller left after we got down." Avinash looked at me earnestly "that is the only way down." He pointed to the abyss beyond the slope.
The first of the pairs readied themselves. The pilot and the passenger ran towards the edge of the slope and jumped. I felt my eyes pop out.
"I cannot do that...no way...please let me go Avi...I cannot do that.... please Avi..." I could feel tears pouring out from my eyes while I begged him with folded hands.
Avi wiped my tears away with the pad of his thumb.
"Look at me Naxi..." He said ardently holding both my shoulders, and I looked in his eye. "Trust me. I won't let anything happen to you." His eyes assured me "Do you trust me?" He asked. I replied with a nod.
"Harness." Avinash shouted to one of the employees, who soon walked up to us with the harness.
Avinash took the sling bag from me and slung it across his shoulder. I stepped into the harness allowing the employee to pull it up and buckle me in it. The employee then grabbed the laces hanging at the back, pulling them over my shoulder, buckled them with the one around my waist.
"I am right here." I heard Avinash call from behind. My harness was linked with his, and I could feel his torso against my back. He touched my upper arm reassuringly.
"Naxi, when I tell you, you will have to run to the edge. If you don't, the chute won't swell and we will both roll down to our death. Ok?" Avinash warned. All I could do was nod. The harness was digging into my shoulder blades since the chute had already caught the wind and the cable pulled at the harness.
"I am right behind you Naxi." I felt him pull my cheeks. "I won't let anything happen to you. TRUST ME."
"Flight 2 ready?" The employee shouted.
YOU ARE READING
The Rules Of Pursuit
RomansaHe uncrossed his legs and leaned forward in his chair. "Tell them partner, who was it?" "It was Natasha." I said unevenly. "Lie." He hissed. "It was me." "You really thought that I was the kind of guy who would leave one girlfriend and jump to anot...
