The Paraglide

"So boys," said Amanda sailing into the doctors' lounge where Mark, Steve and Jesse were sitting eating lunch. "Who's going to sign up?"

"Sign up to what?" asked Jesse with a mouth full of pasta.

"This!" said Amanda producing a flyer from behind her back and laying it on the table.

"Paragliding?" stated Jesse in bemusement. "Why would anyone willingly want to jump off a cliff?"

"You've never been paragliding?" said Steve incredulously. "You don't know what you're missing. It's fantastic. Great views, a cool breeze, it feels like you're flying."

"Great, I'll put you down," said Amanda, adding Steve's name to a very short list at the bottom of the flyer.

"Put me down for what exactly?"

"For the paragliding. It's a charity event that's happening this weekend. It's being organized by the hospital to raise money for our new burns unit. You get sponsors and then people turn out to watch you jump."

"Yes, to your death," said Jesse.

"It's really not all that dangerous," said Mark. "Far more people die in road accidents."

"True, but fewer people choose to jump off cliffs so I'm guessing the ratios are a little different," said Jesse.

"Does that mean I can put you down too?" Amanda asked Mark.

"Oh no. Not with my old back, but I'll sponsor these two."

"These two? Have you not been listening to me? I think it's a crazy idea."

"I don't remember agreeing to this either," said Steve. "But…" he added at a look from Amanda. "I will do it if Jesse does."

"Wonderful," said Amanda, beaming and writing down Jesse's name.

"But I'm scared of heights," protested Jesse. "And what about you? I notice your name isn't down."

"Well I have my two children to think of. Whereas, you two have no dependants and if you get mutilated in some horrible accident it's not going to matter so much. I'm kidding Jesse," said Amanda at the horrified look on Jesse's face.

"Go on Jesse, be a sport," said Steve. "I'll buy you a beer afterwards." Jesse took a look round at his friends and sighed.

"I'm not going to win this argument am I?"

"Nope," said Amanda happily.

"Oh ok then," said Jesse. "But you all owe me one."

"You'll love it," said Amanda, standing up. "Mark, I believe you know what's involved with this event don't you?" Mark nodded, grinning. "Right, then I'll leave you to explain the finer points then, bye."

"What finer points are those then?" asked Steve turning to look at his dad as Amanda hurried out the room.

"Well," said Mark allowing the huge grin he had been suppressing to spread onto his face. "As it's for charity, you do the jump in fancy dress."

"WHAT?" proclaimed Steve and Jesse together.

"Yes. You get to choose between Superman, Batman, Robin, Spiderman or The Hulk. Apparently it draws quite a crowd." Both Jesse and Steve sat looking at each other horrified.

"Where's Amanda?" said Jesse pushing his chair back and rushing out the door, closely followed by Steve. Mark laughed as they tore down the corridor and helped himself to Steve's apple pie.

XXX

The day of the event was warm with clear skies and a light breeze drawing a large and interested crowd of spectators in a field about half a mile away from Marianne's Edge where the jump was taking place. The participants, five men and two women dressed as Wonder Woman and Cat Woman, had all been given training and a safety talk to prepare them for the jump. Jesse had been petrified on his first practice jump but declared on landing that it was amazing and was now looking forward to the real thing. Amanda and Mark entered the marquee where Steve and Jesse were waiting to be called. Amanda entered the tent and upon seeing Jesse and Steve in their capes and costumes she let out a laugh which she unsuccessfully tried to turn into a cough.

"You see. I told you I look ridiculous," protested Jesse to Steve who had been trying to reassure him all afternoon.

"You look great, both of you," said Mark.

"Steve does," whined Jesse. "He got to be Batman. I wanted to be The Hulk, at least that's sort of macho, but they insisted I had to be Robin!" and he plucked at his red and lime green Lycra suit.

"Well you're perfect for it," said Steve. "With the mask no one will know it's you and besides, now we're a team."

"Hmpf," said Jesse, completely unimpressed.

"What order are you going in?" asked Amanda.

"I'm fifth and Steve's seventh."

"Well we'll go and get good viewing from the field," said Mark. "See you both at the bottom, good luck and enjoy!"

Hmpf," said Jesse again.

X X X

When it was Jesse's turn he made his way to the edge and looked out over the land. There was a small stream directly below him and woodland to his right. Then in the distance he could make out a big red cross on a white background that had been laid out as a landing site in a field. To its left he could make out a sea of spectators and could just see Spiderman, one of the interns called Jason Green, coming into land. There was a large safety crew who double checked his harness and led him near to the edge.

"You ready?" asked one of them with a pair of binoculars round his neck. Jesse nodded, feeling butterflies in his stomach. "Then go after three. One…two…three!" Jesse ran forward down a short slope with the glides attached to his back and immediately felt the wind pick him up. His feet left the ground and he was soaring out into open space. He took a few deep breaths and let himself relax, knowing the initial hard stage was over. He could now just enjoy the experience until it came to landing. Steve, peeking through the tent flaps watched him go. "He's taken to it like a duck to water," he thought and grinned. It would have been awful if Jesse had hated it.

An assistant came to collect Cat Woman, meaning Jesse must have landed safely. "Wind's picking up a bit, will you two be ok?"

"I'll be fine, I've jumped before," she said and Steve nodded his agreement. He wasn't going to drop out now. He would never hear the end of it from Jesse. She left, leaving Steve alone in the tent.

X X X

Jesse saw the red cross racing up to meet him and picked his legs up in front of him as he had been instructed and let the wind deposit him on the ground. He slid a little way before coming to a stop amid loud cheering. Helpers rushed in to remove his gliders and help him to his feet. Jesse stood, feeling euphoric and waved at the crowd, finding Mark and Amanda right at the front cheering away. Amanda had her camera in her hand and started taking photos as he approached.

"Well, how was it?" inquired Mark.

"Amazing," said Jesse grinning from ear to ear. "It's such a rush, but then so relaxing at the same time. It feels like you're flying."

"Yay!" said Amanda and gave him a hug. "Now we just need to wait for Steve."

X X X

At that current moment in time Steve was waiting on top of the cliff with the gliders strapped to his back. Even though Cat Woman had landed safely they were delaying his jump due to strong sideways winds. People were crowded around him, hanging onto the gliders to stop Steve being buffeted off his feet while he waited. They had wanted to cancel his jump but Steve had insisted they go ahead. They had agreed to wait a while and see if the wind died down. So far he had been waiting nearly 10 minutes and he found himself becoming increasingly anxious and tense. The wind suddenly dropped and everyone stopped talking and looked between Steve and the head director of the event.

"I'm making this jump," said Steve firmly as the director looked unsure. "It's for charity, I've been sponsored, people have turned up to watch me do this, I can't let them down. If I don't jump we don't get the money."

"I'm sure people would understand considering it's down to the weather and not that you pulled out."

"I've jumped many times before," protested Steve. "The wind's practically gone, we have to take this chance, I'm off." And he took a step towards the edge.

To be continued... Reviews appreciated!