Chapter 3

"Do you think it's her then?"

A females voice, piercing the air like a knife, doubtingly clear. Who do they think I am? I'm not important, not worth anyone's time. Certainly not this sort of attention.

Me? Why me?

"She acts like it, not many kids can do what see did last night"

She was the only person talking, her accent strong against the silence that followed. I could hear some movement, like someone moving there arms, possibly trying to get comfortable.

"I suppose, but she wouldn't have been there if she wasn't, would she?"

There was a long pause.

"I know, but she was never found, it's still a possibility, you know that!"

She was almost crying. From this strong woman I saw to a broken girl I hear, it must be bad. She's sniffling, trying to hold back tears.

"Rebecca's body was found, but Anna's wasn't, it's not confirmed that she shared the same fate"

A males voice, British this time, spoke up. An awkward silence followed. This was horrible, why was I here, I don't deserve to be here, I haven't done anything to be here.

I heard someone get up and leave abruptly, without giving any explanation or reason why to the others in the helicopter. I don't know who or where they went.

What was happening? Why me?

I opened my eyes lazily, blinded by the harsh glare of the lights above me. I knew they were bright but this was worrying. I felt like I was on an operating table.

"What about DNA? That would prove whether she is or isn't. Lifeline?" The female piped up again.

I was now able to see my surrounding. I was still in the helicopter, with the buttons and screens showing pointless numbers and letters.

"Hello?" A voiced from above, still American, so I instinctually looked.

The doctor was right above me. My heart rate instantly increased, flashing up on one of the many screens. He quickly held a bag of clear liquid above my head; a cable dangled down, ending below my range of sight. I tried to drop my chin to see where it was connected to but to no avail as a neck brace limited my movement. Scared, I tried to move my arms but they were fastened down by my sides.

I was captured again.

"Shhhh, please, calm down. We're here to help, relax"

Relax. Relax?

"Who are you?" My voice quivered as I tried to appear strong. "Who are you? Where am I going?"

The doctor looked at me, then to the others in the room.

I panicked. Using all the strength I could, I pulled at both my wrists. Red with strain and sore, my left wrist came loose. Quickly I pulled my right free.

The doctor was now on me, his arms pinning my shoulders down. The others were strapped down to their seats but were trying to unbuckle themselves. If I was going to get out I had to do it quickly.

Placing my hands on the doctor's shoulders, I pushed up. Giving myself some room, I twisted and turned until my right leg was free. I swung out to the left, then up, dislodging the doctor and throwing him onto the padded floor.

I sat up quickly and undid all the remaining restraints, but before I could get up the doctor was back on me. This time he held me form behind and wrapped his arms around me. Simple, I slammed my head back into his forehead and then my elbow into his ribs. He let go and fell to the ground.

Turning to face the others, the girl was already up and coming closer and a man dressed all in black was coming out of the cockpit. I had to think quickly. I stepped back, leaning right up against the wall. But this part of the wall wasn't covered in screens, but instead had several backpacks and a leaver. It was a door.

"No!"

I didn't think. The next thing I knew was that I was falling.

The air was rushing past me, the ground below a blend of greens and browns.

The helicopter above me was already miles away it seemed, the door just a small hole compared to the sheer size of the craft. I never realised how huge it was from the inside.

A figure jumped out, all in black, like a bullet heading straight for me.

I realised how slow I was falling, how his straight, pencil like shape meant that he fell faster and was catching up.

Putting the backpack I assumed contained a parachute on my back, I did the same in the hope that he wouldn't catch me.

All I could hear was a ruffling of my clothes, the sound so load it seemed impossible to come of soft cotton. I dared not look above to see how close my captive was getting, but looked instead to the quickly approaching ground.

For reassurance I put my hand to my shoulder, hoping for a strap or something to pull so my parachute deploys. I found one to my relief. It was a parachute I grabbed and not some pointless bag full of rubbish.

I now could see a river below me, meandering left and right. I could also see the contours of the land, the hills and the plains. I was getting ever nearer to it.

When do I pull my chute?

I didn't want to pull it too soon as it would mean I slow down and my pursuer would catch me, but to late and I wouldn't slow down enough before I hit the ground.

Seconds turned to minutes, closer and closer, waiting for the moment I pull my parachute.

I heard a ruffle from above and instinctively looked. He had pulled out a parachute. He was still some distance away but he had gained enough for me to worry.

I pulled my strap and braced myself. It was like someone had grabbed my collar like at school and slammed me into the lockers. The sudden jolt made my head spin and a scream to escape.

I had never used a parachute before, I had no clue what I was doing.

I looked up to see the cloth fill with air and the ropes tense. However two of them weren't.

A moment had passed before I realised that's what steers the thing, I released a gasp of air I forgot I was holding and reached up.

After a bit of pulling I got the hang of it. Pull the left one to turn left, pull the right to turn right.

It was actually quite graceful and elegant, flying through the air. The sun above beaming over me, a torch to guide me through this chaos.

How could this have all happened?

My legs hit the trees as I forgot I was still descending. The force and momentum from the parachute dragged me across the tree tops, scraping away at my legs and hips, moving up to my chest, head and arms before some of my lines broke.

I fell between the trees, bouncing off one branch to the next, stopping abruptly about 14 feet off the ground. My parachute had snagged on one of the branches. I was temporarily safe.

Hanging in the trees, I was helpless. I could now feel the blood trickling down my face, the iron taste thick in my mouth.

But I couldn't stay here, my pursuer would be coming for me.

Swinging, left and right, forward and backward, I tried to reach one of the trees.

Miles away it seemed, then only metres, then just centimetres, my finger tip scratching the bark, gotcha. Pulling myself closer, I tried to undo the clips holding me to the parachute. The lines were too tight it seemed so I had to climb up the tree about a metre to loosen them. The clips and buckles came off and I was free.

Climbing down, taking care with every step, slowly I reached the bottom. The ground was damp and covered in dead vegetation. It was a forest, and a big one for that.

The sound of birds and insects around me was deafening, but a nice sound never the less. It was beautiful in comparison to the city sirens and traffic.

I started walking, I don't know what direction I went in or where I planed to get to, just that it was down hill and away from here.