The Dropoff

Date: 5/31/2019

I was on a hike through a luscious, green forest with about 8 of my friends, including Davin and perhaps the Dunkins. Large, powerful, tropical trees flowered around us, though we were on an enormous floating island that hovered around 800 feet above the rocky ground below. It was an exciting class trip, especially the part we were about to experience. Entering the cylindrical metal structure splayed before us, we made our way to the right wall, where our parachutes were. Before us was a circular opening in the floor, with mesh walls (like climbing rope) hanging down from all sides of the hole for a couple hundred feet. The instructor asked us over the roaring wind to strap on the backpacks, because we would be allowed to free-fall soon. My classmates and I prepared, the Night sky above us contrasting with the bright LED's of the cylindrical walls. The dark hole below us beckoned, it seemed, when we started jumping off in ones and twos. On the first 2 jumps I was tensed, not going far before quickly pulling my parachute to land on the ropes and return to the landing. However, on my third jump I felt almost bored as I flopped through the hole, not bothering with the parachute as I plummeted through the Night. I activated my Flying Abilities then, slowing myself to a halt in midair as I looked to the light, before shooting up past other free-falling classmates and friends to the cavernous room again. There was a web of ropes above the hole that I hadn't previously seen, and I landed in them, several others already there. Suddenly, I realized something with a flash of fear. I hadn't been wearing a backpack on that last jump, and wasn't wearing one now! I looked down through the cavernous opening below me, thinking about the thousand foot drop onto rocks I could have taken. Who cared if I had flown, I had almost died! All other classmates were now in the ropes above the hole with me now, all having frantically realized they no longer had parachutes. We made our way slowly across the web of ropes to the entrance platform, safety. There was a small swinging platform before me as I climbed across, and I had to leap over empty space to reach it. I jumped across the chasm, feeling as though everything had slowed down. I nearly fell off the other side from centrifical force. I continued my way down after, and soon all class members were safe again. We then exited the building, and continued our sunlit walk through the tropical forest.