Part 17 (2/2)

Ethan heard his mum murmur, 'Leave it now, Ethan, go on,' but he had something else to say.

'You're a loser, Dad,' he said evenly. 'And you hate the fact that you haven't been able to drag me down with you.'

'I'm warning you...'

Ethan looked at his dad and smiled. 'Warning me? How?' he demanded. 'You're p.i.s.sed, Dad. You can't even pull yourself out of that sofa.'

His dad rolled himself onto the sofa arm to push himself to his feet. 'I'm going to give you such a kicking, you little...'

And as Ethan watched his dad struggle to stand up, he knew he would never have a hold over him again. 'Really?' he said, then he reached out, and with a gentle push sent his dad falling back onto the sofa.

The last thing Ethan heard as he left the flat was his dad swearing and Jo's stifled laughter.

It was 2200 hours the following evening and they were all gathered in the hangar for the night jump.

'Listen up. Here are your altimeters,' said Sam, handing them out. 'You'll be using your usual audible ones as well, but these are back-lit, for obvious reasons... Torches,' he went on, handing out small, rubberized ones. Ethan watched as the team clipped them to their jumpsuits.

'The torches are so you can check your canopy in the dark,' Johnny told him.

'Everyone's got their LEDs strapped to their legs,' said Luke, looking at Sam. 'And I've checked each one to make sure they're regulation brightness.'

'Regulation brightness?' said Ethan. 'Seriously?'

Luke nodded. 'They have to be visible for three miles in every direction we're not the only ones in the sky.'

'Remember, everyone,' said Sam, 'we don't want those things activated until we're in the air.' He then pulled something from his pocket. 'The final bit of kit... Glow sticks.'

Even Ethan knew what these were simple plastic tubes with two chemicals inside separated by a thin sliver of gla.s.s. All you had to do was bend the tube to break the gla.s.s, the chemicals would mix and the thing would glow blue or green or red or whatever for about eight hours. He smiled, remembering how his mum had given him one at Halloween and how he'd used it to read comics under his duvet.

'Finally,' said Sam, 'the dark zone. Luke?'

Ethan saw Luke open his mouth but Johnny got in first.

'Allow me,' he said, and turned to the team as though addressing a cla.s.s. 'Above a hundred feet you've a good view of the DZ because of all the ambient and moon light. The lower you get, the darker the ground looks, and once you get really close, this light is lost because of the low angle of reflection. Below a hundred, it feels like you're landing in a black hole and you can experience ground rush which is where it feels as if the DZ is flying up at you out of the darkness. Be prepared, guys, and don't let it faze you!'

'If it's so dark, how do we see the DZ?' asked Ethan.

'It's lit,' said Sam. 'Any other questions?'

No one spoke.

'Good. It'll be lights out in a couple of minutes. Everyone activate your glow stick and cover it with this.'

Sam handed out a roll of thick duct tape, then looked at Ethan. 'We go for lights out so that our eyes are acclimatized to the darkness when we jump,' he explained. 'The lights will be off in the plane as well.'

'And the duct tape?' asked Ethan.

'The glow sticks are activated now so that we can check they're not duds. Once we're sure they're all OK, the duct tape goes on to stop the light s.h.i.+ning in people's eyes we pull the tape off just before we jump.'

It was yet more information for Ethan to take in, but that didn't bother him. Anything to do with skydiving and he lapped it up.

'Right... lights,' said Sam, and the room was plunged into darkness. They all sat there in silence for a few minutes; eventually Ethan's eyes adjusted to the gloom and he could make out the rest of the team.

'Remember,' Sam told them, 'maintain your night vision by not looking at any lights, even faroff ones. The only light in the plane will be red as that won't affect your eyes. You need to be sharp for this, OK?'

The team murmured a yes.

Sam checked his watch. 'Good,' he said. 'Let's go.'

As everyone stood up, Kat looked at Ethan. 'Excited?' she asked.

Ethan nodded. 'How many night jumps have you done?'

'Not enough,' said Kat. 'It's amazing. Everything looks and sounds and feels completely different when you jump at night. It's like you're just floating. Makes you wish it could last for ever.'

'I can make any night last for ever,' said Johnny, winking at her.

'Yeah, and for all the wrong reasons,' she said.

Everyone laughed.

'Don't knock it till you try it,' said Johnny.

Ethan grinned. 'So what's it like, jumping in the dark?'

Johnny stopped and came close, as if he was about to pa.s.s on the biggest secret of his life. 'Better than s.e.x,' he whispered. 'Almost.'

'Now load up, everyone,' said Sam. They had driven to the plane in his Defender, lights out all the way. 'I want us up there and jumping asap.'

The team lined up and clambered on board the plane. Ethan glanced at the pilot. He wasn't the usual one. In the strange red light, he looked like the man who Johnny had once told Ethan was Gabe, Sam's friend. Ethan figured maybe Gabe was a night pilot.

Sam pulled the door shut, locked it, nodded at the pilot and sat down. Ethan looked across at Johnny, who winked before pulling on his skydiving helmet. Kat, Luke and Natalya did the same they all had full-face helmets, Kat's still s.h.i.+ny new. And as the plane taxied round for takeoff, Ethan decided he had to get a full-face one too, if only because it would make him look so b.l.o.o.d.y cool.

Ethan, like the rest of the team, heard the pilot say that they were coming up to the DZ. Adrenaline fizzed through him. He wondered if it would ever feel any different; if one day he'd skydive and not get the buzz. He hoped not.

Everyone stood and lined up. Luke first, then Natalya, Kat, Johnny with a camera helmet and finally Ethan. Sam came over and clipped their harnesses together, pulling Ethan in tight.

Luke looked over to the pilot for the thumbs-up, then pushed open the door.

Ethan felt the air burst into the plane. All he could see beyond the door was a thick, tarry blackness. It seemed utterly impossible, unreal almost, as though they weren't flying at all, just sitting on the ground with the engines running.

He wasn't given much more time to think about it. With a nod, the rest of the team tumbled through the door in quick succession, and Ethan soon found himself staring into utter blackness.

Then he felt Sam pull his head back. He crossed his arms.

And jumped.

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