He stared at me. “I guess if you survive you can take a share of the money. Is that what you want?”
Not exactly. “If I survive… then I’ll kill you.”
He giggled. “Okay.”
I wish I’d listened to my mum when she told me not to do anything stupid.
We positioned ourselves in the rear of the plane. The backpack was heavier than I expected. It ached against my shoulders. Lance was already clutching his big duffle bag of cash. The weight was crushing him. I wondered how it would feel when the staircase opened. Would we be immediately sucked out like in the movies? What would the air pressure feel like? What if I peed myself midway through falling? Would it land on someone on the ground? What if I somehow landed by being impaled on a tree?
“You need to carry the bag,” he sighed.
“How do you know I won’t just steal it?”
“Don’t.”
“Alright then. If you tell me why you’re doing this I’ll hold it for you.”
He went silent. “Ugh fine, but good luck carrying it with your weak as arms-”
“I want to see my dad again.” He threw the bag at my feet. “Ready?”
Ready for what exactly? I thought.
The floor a few steps in front of me retracts, making me stumble backwards. It sounded like air being released from a gigantic balloon. Heavy and high pitched. The stairway clicked into place, giving off a thick smell of burning rubber. I remember thinking that there’s only air to protect me from the earth’s surface right now. It’s much like that feeling of when you’re standing on the top of a mountain, and you think one gust of wind might sweep you off your feet. Before I could prepare myself or change my mind, Lance took my hand and pulled me down the steps.
Pressure. Like when you open the roof of a car at high speed. Every hair on my body stood up. The weightless feeling was terrifying. The bag felt like it was pulling me down, even though it was the other way around. My teeth chattered, and the sound was deafening. I wondered if Lance was above or below me, though I was too paralysed to check.
My first thought when I woke up with a sharp pain in my back was… ‘wow, Lance's eyes are much brighter than before’. They were a yellowish green, like mountain dew. That thought was immediately followed by ‘why is Lance leaning over me like he's about to give me SPR?
I coughed into his face and rolled over onto my side. My head didn’t hurt, but it felt light and drifted.
Lance shook me. “You’re alive right? Are you going to kill me?”
Comments (0)
See all