VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 08:38:46 03/26/03 Wed
Author: dqfan
Subject: Re: Say the Words - ch.49
In reply to: dqfan 's message, "Re: Say the Words - ch.48" on 08:35:35 03/26/03 Wed

CHAPTER FORTY NINE


Peter could sense his fall rate increasing as the earth's gravitational force reached out to him. It was time for him to pull his ripcord...time for him to unfurl his parachute and float just as safely, into Sophie's waiting arms.

"C'mon…you can do it…" The phrase slipped from Sully's lips but it was unspoken in the minds of everyone watching from below. Michaela clutched her husband's hand tightly, hoping he was right.

As a slightly singed but stalwart Josh adamantly refused medical attention, all eyes became focused upon Peter.

Deliberately, he took a deep breath, giving himself a moment to prepare. Then, placing his hand on the cord, Peter gave it one single, crisp, even, jerk.

As before, every experience from Peter's cliff jump became magnified ten-fold. The parachute's sudden pop, and thrust of his body up and back, though welcome, was worse than any whiplash Peter had ever incurred.

Again, Peter sought the security of his harness, gripping the straps so tensely that the knuckles of his hands were white, his relief at the parachute's buoyant appearance obscuring the dangerous beginnings of the gear's creeping decay.

The euphoria Peter enjoyed as the parachute stopped his freefall was felt a million times over by everyone in the crowd…by everyone who loved him…but, most especially, by Sophie. For the first time today, it seemed that something had gone right - Peter was going to be okay.

As Charity and the Cliffhangers offered their hugs of congratulations, Sophie bit her lip, still too afraid to move. Gradually, she hazarded a tiny, hopeful smile at her Mountain Man's expected, safe return. Relaxing ever-so-slightly, Sophie's eyes left Peter for a moment as she accepted the well-wishes of her devoted friends.

"Sully, he's all right!" Michaela beamed with joy.

"Seems so…" Sully had the strangest feeling this day wasn't over yet.

Then, as is inevitably the case when tragedy strikes, it happened without warning…

Someone in the crowd shouted and Sophie's head turned back in horror.

"He's strangling!" the terrified spectator caught sight of Peter in his binoculars.

Desperate, Sophie snatched the binoculars from the man's grasp without a second thought, her hands trembling wildly.

"Dear God…" Michaela whispered, unprepared for the brutal hand of fate.

The harness' snap had been clean and fast. Peter's continuous tugging had seen to that. His brief moment of triumph was eclipsed in an instant by the unrelenting force of the yoke's breach as it tore from his waist and lunged ruthlessly at his neck.

The Cliffhangers' smiles and laughter dissolved chaotically into shouts and cries. Responsibly, Frank attempted to shield them from the grizzly, unfolding scene, but they refused to leave.

Charity had been present at the passing of her parents and watched as death claimed both her best friend and her beloved husband. She'd seen many horrible sights in her life and read of countless others - atrocities of the white man, inflicted upon the Cheyenne - but nothing, nothing, in all her life, could have prepared her for this.

To be forced to standby helplessly as Peter choked to death in the sky above her was more than she could bear. Charity flinched, shutting her eyes from the horrific accident.

There was only one other person who could possibly understand her maternal despair and Charity invoked her name in private desperation.

"Rachel…please!" She prayed with all her soul, remembering the day Rachel first placed Peter in her arms and asked if she would be his godmother. "Please let me have him a little longer… Please help him…"

While Charity's eyes were closed, Sophie's were wide open. She couldn't move…she couldn't speak…she couldn't do anything but stare. Charity's hand was clutching hers so tightly that it should have hurt, but Sophie couldn't feel a thing, not even the beating of her own heart.

She supposed that what was happening to her was what happened to a person when they died. For Sophie was dying. Willingly, she had given Peter the best of herself - her love…her trust…her joy in living. If he died, those parts of her died, too. There would be nothing left.

Already, her father was very possibly dead in a fireball of flames on what should have been the proudest day of his career. And now Peter…strangled before her eyes? What reason…what wisdom…could there be in this?

"Sophie…" Frank's gentle touch on her shoulder, a harbinger of all the sickeningly tender offers of sympathy to come, provoked an even more uncharacteristic vitriol than Sophie's last, milder eruption.

"DON'T!" she shouted, rejecting Frank's comforting hand with a fierce look in her eyes.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed again, breaking Charity's grasp, unable to accept any human touch but Peter's, any love but Peter's.

Though her heart was breaking, too, Charity's eyes met Sophie's and she nodded with understanding. Tears were beginning to fall involuntarily down Sophie's cheeks now, her breathing coming in rapid spurts. Reality was making its ugly way into Sophie's consciousness.

Swiftly, Charity waved the Cliffhangers, and everyone else, away from Sophie's vicinity. Only she remained silently by, refusing to leave. It wasn't stubborn Lawson pride - it was just what Peter would have wanted her to do.

Dazed, Sophie turned to fight for what she held dear. With all the fire inside her she gulped back her tears, focused her sights firmly on Peter, and uttered what was in her heart.

"I love you, Peter…" Sophie's emotions were powerfully simple.

"Please, don't leave me…"

^^^^^^^^^^

"Please don't leave me…"

Amidst the stunning shock and agonizing pain of having a rough, thick, strap of leather shove itself unmercifully at his throat, Peter could have sworn he heard Sophie's voice cry out to him.

Leaving Sophie was the last thing Peter wanted to do, but he wasn't sure he had a choice! The strap's chokehold on his neck, however deadly, ironically, also happened to be his only connection to his parachute. Savior and executioner in one - it remained his only hope of surviving the fall.

His first instinct - kicking and flailing - left him dangling so precariously Peter felt like a puppet on a string. Immediately, he realized the danger in trying to extricate himself too quickly, in spite of his need for air. With time running out, Peter struggled for a means of escape. If he could grab hold of the harness by either strap alongside his head, then maybe he could claw himself up, easing the yoke downward in the process.

Valiantly, Peter reached blindly above his head, afraid to turn even an inch.

"Easy…" he cautioned to himself, trying to control his panic.

First his left hand, then his right...

The veins in Peter's forearms pulsed a deep blue as, slowly, he grappled upwards until, at last, he could lift his neck enough to take one single glorious swallow.

That small but precious accomplishment renewed Peter's hope, but it was Sophie's voice inside his head that gave him the courage to go on.

"I love you, Peter…"

His arms were stiffening, his grasp weakening, and his chin was sagging dangerously nearer to the harness. But, inspired by Sophie's words, Peter continued to cling to the straps. The incredible strength required for him to keep his head that mere fraction of an inch from disaster sent ripples of fire burning deep within his throbbing biceps.

Peter wasn't sure he could hold on much longer, especially as he felt the wind begin to shift once again. He was close enough now to make out shapes and buildings: the grandstand, populated by Lilliputian-size friends and family…the flashing red lights of Curtis' squad car and fire brigade, infinitely more glorious than any Christmas light display or Fourth of July fireworks celebration he had ever seen. Yes, the tiny town of Agnes stretched before Peter like nothing short of Shangri-La. But, his joy was fleeting… The wind was veering him away from the drop zone and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

Peter lifted his eyes toward the parachute's steering cords, currently so high above his head. They might as well have been at the top of Mount Everest for all the hope Peter had of reaching them. No, the parachute was under nature's control now, an unruly giant answering to no one, and Peter…he was Jack - on the beanstalk ride from hell.

"Those winds are too high. The downdraft's gonna pull him into the woods." Josh's tactical assessment was precise and accurate. "You'll need a search party."

Before Curtis could so much as nod, Sophie replied freely, "I'll go…"

Her eyes never left Peter but her voice was strong, filled with every ounce of hope in her body.

"So will I…" Charity seconded with typical determination.

"We'll go, too!" Daisy spoke for the Cliffhangers, who were, for a surprising change, in complete agreement.

"Now, wait a minute…" Curtis struggled to maintain control of the situation. "We can't all go."

"Curtis is right…" Sophie's remark took everyone off-guard.

"He is?" Auggie couldn't help wondering.

"Could somebody please ride out to Silver Lake and see about my Dad?" Sophie asked softly, never forgetting for one minute that she still might lose both men in her life today.

"I'm on my way there now," Josh responded briskly, just as anxious to learn of Alex's fate.

Knowing how much it meant to Sophie, Frank volunteered as well, in spite of his concern for Peter. "Sure, Honey, if that's what you want. I'll go with Josh," he agreed quickly, wanting to do anything he could to ease her mind.

Frank's sweet offer, his tender approach, warmed Sophie's heart. Instantly, she regretted her earlier tirade and the way she'd lashed out at him.

"Frank…about before… I'm sorry…" she apologized, reaching for his hand, as they both looked upward into the sky.

"Nothin' to be sorry about…" Frank smiled. Then with an encouraging wink, Frank pointed to Peter. "He brings out the worst in everybody…"

Sophie found herself smiling in spite of her fears, listening as the rescue plans were finalized hastily. Curtis' deputies would concentrate on crowd control - emotions and tempers were still running high. Josh and Frank would drive out to Silver Lake. Curtis and Stephanie, along with Sophie, Charity, and all the Cliffhangers, would spread out into the woods in teams of two. Radios and signal flares were distributed to aid in the search.

The grandstand was fading from Peter's view now with nothing but green as far as the eye could see. In seconds, the harness' cruel blow would be delivered once again. Combined with the force of the fall, it would undoubtedly kill him. Grimly, Peter imagined the sound of his neck snapping as easily as a twig underfoot. With his options limited, Peter decided on a last, risky, course of action.

Methodically, he inched his hands downward, allowing his neck to sink almost level with harness. Though far more dangerous overall, the strain on his muscles wasn't quite as severe from this lower position.

Cautiously, Peter slid his fingers first, followed by the palms of his hands, in between his neck and the harness, until he could grab the leather securely in both hands, his knuckles providing a layer of cushion against the strap. Then, he pushed with all his might, as if he were swinging from a trapeze.

Close enough to the ground, he'd jump, freeing himself before the harness could snap his neck in two - in theory, anyway. His plan certainly wasn't foolproof but it was the best and only solution he could hope for as his first skydive seemed destined to end as dramatically as it began.

Sophie's eyes stayed riveted on Peter for as long as possible, until he had almost disappeared over the grandstand.

"Hang on, Peter…" she pleaded with him as she raced into the woods.

"Please hang on…"

^^^^^^^^^^

Silver Lake was a steaming pit of fire and smoke as Frank and Josh arrived in tandem with the emergency rescue team from the Vancouver airbase.

The crash scene sent a shiver through Frank's body. So close to Hope Falls…so close to where he'd lost his son... Silently, Frank prayed that Sophie hadn't lost her father there as well.

From the banks of the lake, they could see the Aeromax fighter jet, partially underwater, its nose deep beneath the surface. Eerily, the wings and rear fuselage were pointing straight up, like a cross, suspended over a burial site. Was Alexander entombed beneath its marker?

Josh noticed it first…the film of white beneath the black smoke, bobbing atop the roughened waters like a sheet on the wind.

"Over here!" he shouted, running along the shore.

"Get your men over here!"

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Post a message:
This forum requires an account to post.
[ Create Account ]
[ Login ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.