Sour tears well up beneath my glasses and my lips part in a shriek of pain. No noises reach my ears save the rushing wind. Blistering, searing heat scorches my flesh and nulls all other sensations. Despite the agony my mind continues to work as it usually does; considering first the air blasting past me, second the intense heat, and third HOLY GODDESS IT”S HOT! My bruised and swollen eyelids slowly wrench themselves unshut but the darkness remains as wholesome as before. The tickling flames recede while the wind brushes past ever faster. I was last in a Humvee in the middle of a supply convoy where, without doubt, I’m no longer positioned. Wind slaps at my exposed flesh as dust etches grooves into my rough skin. My vision slowly returns but no familiar sights come with it. I’m not home, but I’m not in Iraq either, I’m in…

“SHIT!”

My mind races into overdrive as blues click in; wherever I am it’s certainly not the Iraqi dessert, that grueling heat was from the fires of the ambushed convoy, and this wind sure as hell ain’t from cruising down the back roads of the Middle East at sixty. Nope, it’s from falling to my death. I can’t tell how fast I’m going, not that such trivial matters are of any concern at the moment, but I know enough to figure out I have but seconds before I collide with the ground below. I haven’t a clue how I managed to fall from such great heights but I’m sure it won’t end well for me.

My vision falters as I tumble down but I catch glimpses of a small village beneath me, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise any moment now. I notice the clouds pass me by; it almost seems as though there were things on them, shapes and figures, how odd. Not nearly as odd as my current predicament but odd all the same. Just above the whistling of the wind I can hear noises, screams by the sound of it. Wait… Wait, who the hell would be screaming up here? Gracelessly I flip myself to look into the sky where I’d so recently plummeted from and a startled grunt works its way from my lungs. Hovering above me is the largest pair of wings I’ve ever seen, far too large to be those of any bird I’d ever known of. Deciding to ignore the falcon of such immense size I turn back and prepare for my approaching fate.

“What are you doing?” a stunningly clear voice calls out.

I twist about in time to see the great, blue tipped wings and their owner barrel roll away leaving me alone as I near my end. All consideration of my strange encounter is ripped from my mind as the ground comes clearly into sight. I sure feel sorry for whoever has to clean up the mess once I land… I close my eyes and scream mightily as I hurtle towards the town square. Memories of failed belly flops fill my sickened head as I land with a series of sharp cracks. I was hoping that emptying my lungs of air would somehow lessen the pain of impact I know that little trick from experience. I remember jumping off a diving board and hitting the water stomach first, I remember the sudden pain as the air was violently forced from my lungs, I remember nearly drowning. Fortunately my friends, the same ones to dared me to pull the stunt, had dove in and saved me.

My friends aren’t here to save me now. And I don’t think they could save me even if they were.

The wretched agony of that miserable dive returns to me as I never thought possible. My flesh slams into the ground hard enough to leave a sizable dent. I thought I’d bounce, I once saw a man jump from his apartment building and bounce five feet after the initial impact, but no, I just lie there in pain. I feel as though every bone in my body has been shattered and every organ liquefied. I had expected black out before the real pain could hit. But of course that isn’t what happens; nothing ever goes the easy way for me.

My field of vision blurs red but I watch as villagers crowd around my broken and battered body. I blink wearily as a single civilian kneels down to get a better look at me.

“I guess that’s all for me.” I mumble softly.

My head swivels and slams to the ground with force that feels equivalent to my recent tumble. I smile to myself as darkness encroaches upon my sight.

“Here we go.”

And all fades away.

Author's Note

Here is a short sample of what I intend the rewrite to be like (Spoiler: no it's not). Expect more once summer begins.

The real rewrite will be quite similar to the original but better, in my own mind, and will get me in the groove to write the sequel. It will Literally be 85% identical but with a few much needed edits. But read it anyway to find out what's new and get in the groove yourself!