DropZone Read online

  Before I die? thought Ethan. Well, that puts it in perspective.

  ‘And if Nancy can do it, so can you.’

  ‘Nancy?’ said Ethan, stopping dead halfway through the doorway to the café. ‘Nancy did a jump?’

  ‘Too right! You should’ve seen her face afterwards!’

  ‘But, Nancy . . .’ said Ethan. ‘It just doesn’t seem . . .’

  Kat turned to him and leaned in conspiratorially. ‘She reckons that that one jump has got her more action than she’s ever had in her whole life! Apparently it’s the perfect way to impress men!’

  Ethan laughed and headed over to the counter, then turned at the sound of the café door bursting open behind him. A guy stood in the doorway, his hands raised in the air like he was some kind of returning dignitary. He was wearing the same outfit as Kat and Johnny; another team member, Ethan guessed.

  ‘It’s OK, everyone, I’m here,’ the guy said, a smug smile slapped across his face. ‘You can all relax.’

  Ethan couldn’t help but notice that no one in the café seemed in any way interested in whoever this idiot was.

  ‘That’s Jake,’ said Kat as the figure turned, winked and strutted over. When he reached Kat, he rested his arm on her shoulder like he was doing her a favour. They were clearly an item – though Ethan noticed that she seemed to shrink a little, like a candle fighting to stay alight. Not that Jake noticed. All he seemed to care about was whether everyone else was watching him.

  ‘Hey, babe,’ said Jake loudly to Kat. ‘Missed me? Course you have!’

  Kat nodded and sort of smiled as Jake leaned over to kiss her cheek. ‘This is Ethan,’ she said, gesturing towards him.

  The look Jake gave him wasn’t exactly friendly.

  ‘Oh, the new boy,’ he said dismissively, addressing Kat as though Ethan didn’t exist. ‘Busy tonight?’ he asked, moving in to nibble her ear.

  She shook her head, pulled away from him a little, and shrugged.

  ‘You are now,’ said Jake. ‘We’re out tonight. Just you and me. I’ve got a table booked. I’ll pick you up in the Porsche. It’s gonna be amazing, trust me!’ He leaned in for another kiss.

  ‘You own a Porsche?’ said Ethan, not quite believing what he’d heard. Jake looked no older than Johnny. How the hell could he own a Porsche?

  Jake glanced at him, nodded, then turned back to Kat, pulling her close.

  ‘Ethan’s going to do a jump too – aren’t you, Ethan?’ said Kat, smiling. ‘Sam’s got him working all over the centre.’ She gave a laugh, but it didn’t sound quite as happy and full of life as the last time Ethan had heard it.

  Jake released Kat, and this time he looked Ethan up and down like he was really checking him out. Then he shook his head. ‘Great,’ he said. ‘That’s all we need; another rookie in the sky.’

  ‘I didn’t know people were born skydiving,’ Ethan retorted, before his brain kicked in to tell him to keep his mouth shut.

  ‘You what?’ said Jake.

  He shrugged. ‘We’ve all got to start somewhere, haven’t we? I mean, I know it’s hard to believe, but I guess even you had to do a first jump once upon a time.’

  Ethan saw Jake’s eyes narrow as he came closer, until there were just inches between them. ‘You haven’t even jumped yet. What would you know about anything?’ he said icily.

  Ethan suddenly felt very sure that he and Jake hadn’t just got off on the wrong foot, but were about to use those feet to kick each other round the café – but then Johnny strolled in and put his arm round Kat.

  ‘I see you’ve met some of the team,’ he said easily, grinning at Ethan. ‘Natalya’s disappeared again, but she does that. And Luke’s around somewhere. Probably ironing the creases in his forehead.’

  Kat laughed; Jake didn’t. But Johnny had drawn his attention away from Ethan and now he grabbed Kat again, dislodging Johnny’s arm.

  Ethan smiled at Johnny. ‘I’m doing a tandem,’ he said, and just saying it felt completely amazing, like he’d taken a sudden and definite step into something that was completely different from the rest of his life. ‘Sam’s taking me. Perk of the job apparently.’

  Jake shook his head, but Johnny buzzed at this. ‘That’s awesome!’ he said. ‘You’ll love it! When’s the jump?’

  Ethan shrugged. ‘Need to get the forms signed first, then I guess it’s just down to Sam. Does he always take new staff up for free?’

  Jake frowned. ‘Sam’s losing it,’ he said. ‘I mean, it makes sense to take people like us up, but he can’t go around giving just anyone a free jump, can he? What’s wrong with him? Age getting to him? Gulf War Syndrome finally kicking in?’

  ‘I’m not complaining,’ said Ethan. ‘I can’t wait, to be honest.’ Then he turned and looked at Jake. ‘It’s not like you have to be superhuman, is it? Even Nancy’s done it.’

  Jake opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything Kat pulled him away, turning back to wink at Ethan. ‘Well, you certainly know how to make friends and influence people, don’t you?’ she said softly before following Jake out of the café.

  Ethan looked over at Johnny, who laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about Jake,’ he said. ‘He can’t help being a total dick.’

  Ethan laughed. ‘So what’s with him and Kat then?’ he asked, thinking that they just didn’t seem right together. ‘And what’s with the attitude and the need to mention the Porsche?’

  ‘Jake’s deluded,’ Johnny told him. ‘Bit of a tosser in most ways really. Thinks he owns everything he can see, including people. And he loves everyone to know just how rich he is.’

  ‘And he and Kat . . . ?’

  Johnny shook his head. ‘They’ve a history, that’s all. Doesn’t make sense to anyone, least of all me.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  Johnny grinned, his eyes glinting. ‘What, with me around? How does he even get a look in?’

  Ethan was about to reply when Nancy called over from the serving hatch. She was running low on chips – would he be a love and nip round the back to get some out of the freezer.

  Ethan made his way outside. Johnny followed, jumped on his motorbike, pulled on his helmet and kicked the engine into life.

  ‘See you tomorrow?’ said Ethan.

  Johnny nodded, then spun his bike round and floored it.

  Ethan watched as Johnny wheelied out of the centre, one-handed. He shook his head and smiled. Something told him that if he had a bike, he’d probably do just the same – or at least try it and fall off.

  Overhead, the clouds started to break and the sky cleared. Ethan breathed in deeply. He felt happy, but it was more than that. Now that he was doing a tandem skydive he felt like he belonged. He had a reason to be there at FreeFall; a purpose.

  And Sam had given it to him.

  6

  ‘Honestly, Mum, I’ll be fine. It’s totally safe.’

  It was early the following morning and Ethan was doing his best to persuade his mum to sign the forms for Sam. He’d managed to get up in time to catch her before she headed out to work. Dad was nowhere to be seen. He’d probably dossed at one of his mates’ places after drinking himself into a stupor.

  ‘Totally safe?’ Ethan’s mum was looking at him dubiously.

  Ethan nodded. ‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘Totally.’

  ‘But if anything happened to you . . .’

  ‘It won’t, Mum, really it won’t,’ said Ethan. ‘Sam’s an amazing skydiver. Ex forces. He knows what he’s doing.’

  He watched as his mum looked at the forms again. Nowadays the tiredness seemed etched into her face permanently, like it would never leave. He simply couldn’t understand why she didn’t just kick his dad out once and for all. Having him around was wearing her away little by little.

  At last she reached for a pen and signed the forms. ‘Does your dad need to see these?’

  ‘No,’ said Ethan, and took them – scanning them quickly to make sure that his mum had signed in the r
ight places. He didn’t want Sam to find any mistakes: this was too important. Then he folded them up, slipped them in an envelope and pushed it deep into his bag.

  As he turned to leave for work, his mum gently held his arm and looked up at him.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ said Ethan, turning to go, but he wasn’t quick enough to escape a kiss. ‘Mum!’ he moaned jokingly.

  She smiled, and for a brief moment Ethan saw a flicker of the person she used to be. He grinned back, waved, and was gone.

  It was still early and FreeFall was quiet. Sam hadn’t even arrived to open up yet, so Ethan took a walk. It was a crisp morning, and as he strolled out onto the DZ, his feet left faint scuff marks in the dew on the grass, like finger smudges on a wet window. It was strange being out here alone, wandering around a place he was used to seeing filled with people, all chatting noisily, rushing around with whoops of amazement.

  He stretched and breathed in the morning. Yep, there really was something about this place – something that felt right. It was like he was discovering something about himself.

  The roar of an engine broke into the moment. Ethan turned.

  Sam had arrived. His Land Rover Defender 110 King Cab rolled to a halt beside the office. It was the very definition of the word ‘beast’, Ethan thought. He couldn’t work out how something so huge could actually be road legal. The tyres looked ready to chew up and spit out a mountain, and the suspension had been jacked up to an impossible height. Aluminium checker-plate covered the bonnet, the wings, the bottom of the doors and various other bits Ethan didn’t know the names for. A winch sat out front. Inside was a world of dials and gauges. And it was black.

  It looked, thought Ethan, pure evil.

  Sam clambered out, waved a salute to him.

  Ethan jogged over, pulling the envelope containing the forms out of his bag on his way. ‘All signed,’ he said, and handed it to Sam.

  He felt he should have said more, because it felt like an important moment, but no words came, and for a second he just stood there, feeling a little awkward.

  Sam took the envelope, checked the forms and nodded. ‘Good,’ he said, and looked back at Ethan, a rare smile on his face. ‘How do you feel?’

  ‘Like I want to get up there and do it now,’ said Ethan. ‘I can’t bloody wait.’

  ‘Right answer,’ said Sam, walking round to the back of the Defender and pulling down the tailgate.

  Ethan followed and asked when he would be jumping. Sam pulled a huge rucksack from the back of the Defender, then slammed the tailgate shut. ‘Soon as possible,’ he said. ‘Over the next couple of days, if the weather holds out.’

  ‘Really? That soon?’

  Sam nodded. ‘No point hanging around. Once you’ve set your mind on doing something, best to get it done. Right?’ And slapping his hand on Ethan’s shoulder, he headed off to his office.

  As Ethan set off after him to get his work assignment for the day, he looked up at the sky. He was going to do a tandem skydive. There was no turning back now, not with someone like Sam. And he couldn’t stop grinning, no matter how much his cheeks ached.

  Lunch time came round so quickly Ethan almost forgot to grab a bite to eat. It was a good day for jumping, and FreeFall was heaving with people excited and nervous about taking their very own leap into the unknown.

  Like a flock of geese, another group of tandems were coming in to land. The air was filled with the sound of cheering families and friends, cameras clicking, whoops, applause.

  Ethan heard his name and turned. He saw Johnny standing some way from the DZ on an open area of grass. He was with Kat, Jake, and two others Ethan hadn’t seen before. Natalya and Luke, he assumed, remembering the names of the other two members of the team. Sam was standing slightly apart from them, supervising.

  Luke seemed to be a couple of years older than Johnny – probably twenty or so. Natalya was about the same age as Ethan. Her skin was pale, and she had rich red hair.

  Johnny waved at Ethan, then pointed up at the sky. He shouted again and Ethan caught three words: jumping; five; formation.

  Ethan gave a thumbs-up and watched as the team got themselves into a circle. He knew they were practising their formations on the ground before jumping. He’d seen other groups do it, but never Johnny’s team. They started spinning themselves into different shapes. Sam was directing them, observing, correcting. Johnny was strolling around the group; Ethan noticed that his helmet had a camera strapped to it.

  Then the group burst out of their formation and jogged off to the minibus that would take them to the plane. As they clambered in, Johnny turned and gave Ethan an exaggerated salute, like a pilot heading off on some death-defying mission. Very tally-ho.

  Ethan laughed. God, he wanted to go with them and jump!

  The minibus revved and drove off, a plume of grey smoke spluttering from an exhaust that was held on by an old wire coat hanger.

  Sam came straight over to Ethan. ‘You’ll need these,’ he said. ‘Binos.’

  He handed Ethan a pair of binoculars that looked almost as mean as his Defender. They were covered in a rubberized skin which had clearly saved them more than once from getting smashed up.

  The sound of the plane’s engine ripped through the air and Ethan followed it as it took off. He put the binoculars up to his eyes. Their clarity and magnification was unbelievable. He zoomed in, and could see the pilot in the cockpit. Soon, though, there was little point following the plane. Best to wait for that drop in the sound of the engine, like Johnny had told him, then spot it again and watch for the sky to fill with black dots.

  ‘Still want to do it?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Can’t wait,’ said Ethan, and nodded at the plane. ‘How long have they been jumping?’

  The question he really wanted to ask was how long would it take for him to be as good as they were, and how much would it cost, but he didn’t want to sound too cocky.

  ‘Luke’s the most experienced,’ said Sam. ‘He’s been jumping for three years. The rest just under two. What’s more important though,’ he went on, ‘is the number of jumps. The more air time you get, the better the skydiver you become. Some people are better at it though . . . natural.’

  ‘Like Johnny?’ said Ethan.

  ‘Like all of them,’ said Sam. ‘That’s why I chose them for my formation team.’

  ‘Must be amazing up there.’

  ‘Trust me, it is.’ Sam turned to Ethan with a faint smile. ‘You spotted the plane yet?’

  Ethan listened. The thrum of the engines was still audible. He looked up, and Sam did the same – just as the sound dropped a little.

  Ethan put the binoculars to his eyes and stared skyward.

  Nothing.

  The sky was clear.

  Then he found the plane; it was clearly visible. That’s 12,000 feet away, thought Ethan, remembering some of the stuff he’d picked up already since working at FreeFall. And that’s a hell of a long way to fall . . .

  Skydivers filled his vision, spilling from the plane. He caught sight of a group speeding through the air. They drew together in one formation, then moved smoothly into another. Ethan tracked them, straining his eyes through the binoculars to see what they were doing. He imagined doing it himself, racing towards the earth with Johnny and the rest, pulling moves like a pro.

  The formation burst, and the black dots split off from each other – zip-zip-zip-zip-zip . . .

  ‘What do you think?’ asked Sam. ‘Any good?’

  ‘Looked fine to me,’ said Ethan, still gazing through the binoculars. ‘At least, I think it did.’

  ‘Were the formations stable? Did anyone break off too early?’

  Ethan replayed in his mind what he’d seen. ‘No, it was all good. Looked amazing.’ He paused and lowered the binoculars to glance at Sam. ‘Wouldn’t mind doing it myself.’

  Sam looked at Ethan as canopies burst into colour above. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘That’s just the right attitude. Shows me that you’re not just
thinking about the tandem. You’re thinking beyond it, to the next level. Just what I’m after.’

  Ethan was just wondering what on earth Sam meant by that final sentence when he spotted something strange. He quickly raised the binoculars again.

  While everyone else was now gliding in, doing turns, one skydiver was plummeting towards the ground, canopy pulled but flapping uselessly above, like a bedraggled windsock. And the ground wasn’t exactly getting further away.

  Ethan lowered the binoculars and pointed. ‘Sam?’

  Sam was already looking, his eyes narrow, his face hard.

  ‘That can’t be right,’ murmured Ethan.

  ‘It’s not,’ Sam replied.

  Ethan held his breath. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from the falling skydiver. Morbid curiosity had him by the throat and was forcing him to watch: this was someone with seconds to live.

  ‘He’s going to be under a thousand any second,’ said Sam. ‘Why hasn’t he cut away? If his AAD pings his reserve, it’ll get tangled with his main canopy! What’s he thinking?’

  Ethan had no idea what Sam was talking about. But then, as if on cue, a crack sounded through the air, and he saw the skydiver’s twisted canopy snap free and drift off like a deflated balloon: the skydiver had at last cut his main canopy away. Momentarily he was in freefall again, but then he was pulled back hard by a smaller canopy, which burst open above him, pulling him into a slow descent just a few seconds short of death.

  Sam put out his hand. ‘Binos, Ethan. Now.’

  Ethan handed them over, then looked at the figure as it drifted safely to the ground.

  Sam put the binoculars to his eyes, then growled, ‘Jake . . .’

  7

  Ethan didn’t even bother trying to keep up with Sam, who had turned and raced off towards his office. The man could seriously shift.

  A hundred metres away from the DZ, the skydiver Ethan now knew to be Jake drifted down onto the long grass. Moments later, the other skydivers came in to land, but Ethan didn’t have time to wait for them; he was due in the café and Nancy would be waiting. He wanted to see what had happened to Jake, to talk to Johnny and the rest about it, but seeing the mood Sam was now in, he didn’t fancy making it worse by not being where he was paid to be. It wasn’t long before Johnny and the rest of the team found him in the café.