Read Online Recovery: V Plague Book 8 by Dirk Patton - Free Book Online Page A

felt
a thrill of fear looking at the rugged and unforgiving terrain she was steadily
falling towards.  Tall peaks were to her right and she was just now coming
level with the highest summit.  A thick forest blanketed the mountains and
there wasn’t a sign of civilization anywhere.
    The ground
approached faster than she thought it could have.  She was now low enough to
make out individual tree tops and started to panic at the thought of crashing
into one and getting tangled in its branches, left dangling a hundred feet in
the air.  Thinking she was imagining it at first, Rachel looked up when she
heard a faint voice again.
    “Pull the
toggles to slow down!”  It was the pilot, shouting instructions to her.
    What the
hell were toggles?  The handles!  It had to be.  Rachel grabbed and pulled,
surprised how easily they moved.  She immediately began to slow, then started
to move in a broad spiral.  Frightened, she let go of the toggles and the
circling stopped but her speed increased dramatically.
    Reaching up
and pulling on them again she was relieved when her rate of descent slowed, but
she started into a slow spiral again.  This time she realized that she was
pulling one toggle farther than the other and backed off slightly on the one
side.  The turn stopped as soon as her hands came level with each other.
    Watching
between her feet, Rachel spotted a small clearing to her left.  The wind was
from her right, pushing her towards it, but it looked like it would push her
too far.  Beyond the clearing was a thick stand of trees, then a sheer rock
face dropped for what appeared to be hundreds of feet.
    Taking a
chance, Rachel played with the position of the toggles trying to guide herself
to the clearing.  It looked small but was growing in size as she fell.  Her
rate of descent increased as she adjusted. 
    The spiral
started again, the radius of each orbit increasing as she spun faster and
faster.  As the spin rate increased she started to swing out from beneath the
canopy like a pendulum.  Her motion tilted the parachute off horizontal,
spilling air out and letting her fall faster, which increased her spin speed
even more.
    “Let go!” 
The pilot screamed from somewhere above her.  Rachel was terrified.  With every
spin she pulled harder, her brain focused on the only things her hands could grasp.
    “Let go or
you’re dead!”  He screamed out again.
    This time his
words broke through the fear and she released the toggles like they were
burning hot.  She continued to spin but immediately the rate began to slow. 
Her descent also slowed slightly as the parachute came back level and its
entire surface filled with air once again.  Then she flashed by the tops of
some trees.
    “Pull hard now!” 
The pilot screamed.
    Rachel
pulled hard on the toggles and felt herself begin to slow and turn, then she
slammed into the ground only feet from the trunk of a massive pine tree.  Her
legs went out from under her, unable to absorb the impact, and she fell on her
right side.  Fortunately she landed on a thick carpet of dead pine needles,
which significantly cushioned her impact otherwise she would likely have broken
one or both of her legs.
    Lying on the
ground, panting, Rachel was facing the clearing and watched as the pilot controlled
his descent and lightly landed on both feet.  Quickly he shrugged out of the
parachute and raced over to where she was lying.
    “Ma’am, are
you hurt?”  He asked, skidding to a stop on his knees next to her when he saw
her eyes open.
    “If you call
me ma’am one more time I’m going to kick your ass,” Rachel gasped.
    “Yes ma’am,”
the pilot grinned, helping her sit up and remove the parachute.
    After
catching her breath, Rachel stood and looked around.  She had come down at the
very edge of the clearing, missing the closest tree by mere feet.  The sky was
cloudy and the wind was gusting, cold air causing her to start shivering.
    “What do we
do?”  She