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After the long agonizing months of waiting, the day had finally arrived. Within hours the Percival 3000 would be landing. Grayson was prepared. He hated theft.
During the past few months he had watched his Martian settlement thrive, much to his surprise. He had anticipated Matthews to sever their contract agreement, but instead Matthews had somehow increased the mining operations with fewer miners than what Jonas had done during the past year.
Because Matthews had proven his loyalty, not necessarily to Grayson, but to the prosperous industry, Grayson readily deployed the next hundred miners on their journey to Mars. Senator Johnson had held true to his word and negotiated with New York’s Prison Committee to recruit one hundred prisoners into the Martian Work Release Program. New York readily offered to hand over an additional two hundred miners by the end of the year.
The announcement pleased Grayson and Matthews.
To prevent a potentially massive riot from the established prisoners that were controlled by possibly defective chips, Matthews had designed a flawless Sleeper Chip. He sent the design to Grayson. After Grayson had approved it, he sent it for immediate production.
Grayson smiled and crossed his arms, watching the ocean. Things were looking good.
His earphone rang. Grayson tapped it. “Yes?”
“I’ve lost control of Percival 3000,” Thomas said.
“What? How? You told me earlier that you hijacked back the command.”
“I did.”
“Then what happened?”
“The firewalls have reestablished their control and blocked my access.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Grayson said.
“Actually, it does.”
“How could it?”
“Because the hibernation system was reactivated.”
“What? No one in their right mind would induce sleep upon themselves at this time. Not when they’re preparing to land!” Grayson bit down on his lower lip. A drop of blood swelled and dripped. He grabbed a handkerchief and placed it to his lips.
“My thoughts exactly. Somehow they must have figured out the hibernation program prevents outside computer takeover.”
“Override the system again,” Grayson mumbled, holding the handkerchief to his bleeding lip. “Get control of that shuttle.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Be quick. They should be landing in less than an hour.”
“I know.”
“Keep me posted.”
“I will.”
***
Magnus, Carter, and Sylvia put their arms through the parachute straps, pulled them over their shoulders, and tightened the harnesses. She watched the elevation monitor.
“This is our final orbit,” Sylvia said. “The shuttle is beginning its descent.”
“Where are we now?” Carter asked.
“Almost over Texas.”
Magnus grabbed the handle of the emergency door. “I need to jump now.”
“No,” Sylvia said, shaking her head. “It will kill you. Our altitude is still too high.”
“Grayson will certainly kill us if we don’t jump,” Carter said.
Magnus held the door handle. “How soon before I can jump?”
“Nevada?” she replied. “I really don’t know. But the descent is steadily dropping. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”
Magnus said, “It will have to do.”
Sylvia typed in commands. On the large screen a grid came up that detailed the ship’s speed and the amount of altitude descent. Beside the door was a sign indicating the emergency procedure and at what speed and altitude occupants could safely jump, should it ever become necessary.
Magnus read the sign aloud. “Once we fall to twelve thousand feet and slow enough, we can jump.”
“Not much longer,” Sylvia said, watching the monitor.
Magnus unzipped the front of his suit and slipped Digger inside. He zipped it back up. He gripped the emergency handle again.
“Now!” Sylvia said.
Magnus didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a metal bar beside the door and shoved down the handle. The door dislodged. A strong sucking force pulled at them. He held tightly and used his body to keep Sylvia from being dragged past him and through the open door. The sound of the air being extracted from the shuttle roared.
“See you on the ground,” Magnus said, looking over his shoulder with a broad smile.
He jumped.
Sylvia gripped the metal bar Magnus had been holding. Her knuckles whitened as she clung to it. Her insides quaked as she watched Magnus vanish. She held her breath and wanted to scream.
“I can’t do this,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No way. I’m going back to the cabin.”
“You can’t, Sylvia,” Carter said. “We’re too close to succeeding. I’m not going to let you. Let me get this briefcase situated and then you can hold my hand. We’ll jump together.”
Carter tucked the briefcase into his safety harness and then fastened Velcro security bands around it to prevent it from being blown out while they dropped to the Earth.
Sylvia nervously looked at Carter.
Carter took her hand into his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
“You ever do this before?” she asked. She clutched his hand tightly. Her nails dug into his flesh.
He nodded. “It was a requirement I had to perform before Grayson would hire me.”
“Really?”
Carter nodded with a reassuring smile.
“Why would he require that? I never did, but I’m a prisoner.”
“Grayson wanted his doctors, nurses, and techs to make at least one jump from a plane because it tested our determination of how much we wanted to work for Grayson Enterprises.”
Sylvia shook her head. She was pale but turning green. “Guess I’m glad I was a prisoner. Only, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do?”
Carter pointed to the pull ring. “Okay, after we jump and stabilize, I will let go of your hand. When I do, pull that ring. That releases the chute and you’ll feel it jerk you up.”
“Oh, God.”
“You don’t have to be terrified by this.”
“And how can I not be?”
Carter smiled. “Do you like amusement park rides like rollercoasters?”
“No. Not really. Tilt-A-Whirls make me sick.”
“Okay. Remember when I let go of your hand to yank that ring. You got it?”
“I hope so.”
“Here, put these on.” He handed her protective goggles to put on.
She nodded and adjusted them to fit her face.
He kissed her cheek. “You’ll do fine.”
He stepped ahead of her at the door. Her fingernails dug even deeper, drawing blood. He pulled her beside him. The terrain below seemed so far away. Roads were lines. Buildings looked like miniature toys. Thin layers of clouds looked like strange wisps of white smoke.
Carter stepped forward and pulled her with him. Together they plummeted out the door.
She screamed.
He grabbed her other hand and pulled her so they faced one another. The air rushed and roared in their ears. The pressing air made the skin on Carter’s face appear to ripple. His smile looked deformed. Sylvia couldn’t stop smiling. Adrenaline pulsed through her, and she found herself laughing. It was the oddest sensation to be falling from the sky. She actually enjoyed the rush.
She was less worried about their descent now. She smiled at him. Falling rapidly together she no longer held any fear. Of course, it was too late to be afraid. This was an activity where she didn’t get a second chance should her chute fail.
Carter released her hand. He motioned to his ring like he was tugging and then he pointed to her.
She tucked her chin against her chest to see where the ring was on her parachute. She looped a finger around through the ring and then she looked for Magnus. He was much closer to the Earth than they were. It appeared he was nose-diving to descend faster, and he still hadn’t pulled his chute.
She pointed. “Look at him!”
Magnus’ chute opened, yanking him up quickly.
“We need to pull the rings, okay?” he shouted.
She nodded.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
She crinkled her nose and smiled before yanking the ring. Her chute yanked her into the sky above him and she screamed again. But not from fear. She liked the lofty feeling and the excitement that tickled her stomach. Sylvia’s heart pulsed with excitement. She felt exhilarated from the adrenaline rush.
Two seconds later, Carter yanked his cord.
They floated carelessly on the winds, exchanging smiles.