By Beka Gremikova
You okay? Eli’s voice tickled Iris’s mind.
She rubbed the itchy spot behind her ear where the purple telepachip had been inserted. Just nervous. About the dive, about this new telepathic technology…
He chuckled. Aren’t you a pilot?
She glanced out the plane window at the clear lilac-blue sky. Somewhere, thousands of feet below them, lay the earth. Being a passenger is… different. Less control.
It’s okay. He patted her shoulder. You’re perfectly safe. He nodded to the plane’s locker, where extra parachutes peeked out in hues of yellow, orange, and red. Our parachutes are in great working order. Did you read our company guarantee on the website?
Errrr… It was a very long-winded website.
He buckled himself to her harness. The gist is, we may be a new company, but DiveCo takes customer safety very seriously. He tapped his own ear. That’s part of the reason why we’re using the telepachip. If you start to panic during freefall, I can guide you through it.
She exhaled. Oh… okay.
Don’t worry, we’re not trying to get your deepest, darkest secrets. He laughed, but Iris’s throat closed.
She turned to Sandra, the work friend who’d dragged her here to begin with. You go first.
Sure thing! Sandra grinned, adjusted her light purple harness, and stepped up to the open plane door. You’ll be fine, girl. I’ve done this hundreds of times. Then, before Iris could blink, Sandra jumped forward—and fell.
Iris peered out the door, her pulse racing. Then, a few heartbeats later, a puff of plum appeared as Sandra’s parachute bloomed. Iris locked her legs and gripped the threshold of the doorway.
It’ll be all right. Eli pushed her gently forward, closer to the edge. It’s only scary for a moment, and then your telepachip will activate the parachute.
Wait, they’re connected to the parachutes, too? I thought they were just communication devices!
Eli chuckled. You should have read the website. We’re using a multifunctional prototype. Pretty handy. We’re aiming for a world where… incidents… will happen less.
A newspaper headline popped into her head: Tragic Skydiving Accident—Young Man Dies From Parachute Malfunction.
Yeah, incidents like that, Eli said. You ready?
She swallowed. Thankfully the telepachip couldn’t access her deepest memories. But she’d have to be careful to control her thoughts. She closed her eyes, breathed out once… twice.
Yes.
She pried her eyes open as they jumped.
They plummeted toward the earth. The wind beat against Iris’s face, and she choked on a breath.
Spread out your arms. Eli demonstrated.
She obeyed, mimicking his outstretched limbs. Cloud wisps streamed away from her reaching fingers. The world below looked almost… shimmery, like a desert mirage.
She counted the seconds in her head. Just as she reached sixty, Eli, sounding breathless with anticipation, announced, Deploying parachute… now!
Iris waited for the break in the fall, for the dizzying floating sensation, for that puff of purple to appear above their heads.
Nothing happened.
Her pulse spiked.
It’s going to be fine. We’ll be okay. Eli’s calm, reassuring tone did nothing to assuage her.
She was going to die. And unbidden, the thought popped out. Just like Garrett.
“I’m so excited!” Tiana’s voice echoed through the tiny plane to where Iris sat in the cockpit.
“It’s just skydiving, Tia.” Garrett sounded annoyed. Iris’s fingers clenched around the control wheel.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.” Iris could picture Tia crossing her arms.
Garrett’s voice lowered. “Well, why did she have to be our pilot?”
Iris kept her eyes focused on the soft lavender clouds that swirled in the blue sky.
Chills swept along her skin.
“Listen, I know you don’t like her, but she’s my best friend, and she’s taking us up for really cheap.” Tia’s voice wavered, then sharpened. “No, don’t take the purple parachute! I want it. Iris told me to use her favorite color. For luck.”
“Fine, I’ll take the yellow one then.” Garrett’s stomping footsteps shook the small plane. Iris heard buckles snap and Tia doing breathing exercises.
The outer door opened with a thud, and air swelled through the plane. Then, sixty long seconds of freefall later, Tiana’s scream rippled as Garrett plunged to his death.
You were there? When someone—this Garrett—died? Eli’s question snared her like a mousetrap.
Iris’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to die without telling someone what happened. Garrett… was awful. A cheater.
He cheated on you? I’m so sorry. Eli’s voice was soft, cajoling. As comforting as a handhold.
She latched onto that comfort, tears stinging her eyes even as the wind ripped them away from her. No, he was my bestie’s boyfriend. She didn’t believe me when I tried to tell her. She paused. He started getting between us. It was just so easy to mess with the parachute…
The sky blurred into a blue-purple smudge. The earth closed in—so little time. Her thoughts tumbled into one clear, cold statement: I killed him.
A sudden, blinding flash. Then she hit a cloud—hard. She lay there, blinking as the sky faded into a lavender interrogation room. Her ears throbbed.
Eli’s weight lifted from off her back. “Damn,” he muttered. “Guess the reality-altering feature overloaded the chips.”
Reality-altering? Fear skidded through her.
“Oh well. We got our confession.” Sandra sat at a small table in police uniform, her hands folded primly.
Iris struggled to breathe, her mind scrambling to what little she knew of law. “It—what I said wouldn’t be admissible in court!”
Sandra adjusted her collar as Eli hauled Iris to her feet. “You gave up the information. We didn’t force it out of you.”
“You trapped me. Tricked me! I was hysterical.”
Sandra’s brows rose. “Really? Seems like a pretty clear confession to me. Not our fault you didn’t realize it was a virtual skydive.” She swiped at a speck on her uniform. “You really should’ve read the website.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yeah, not reading the fine print will get ya every time. Great story!
interesting way to get a confession!
Reminds me a little of “And Then There Were None”… very psychological!
That was really good. I didn’t see several of those twists coming.
As someone who recently went Skydiving, I so enjoyed this story!! XD Awesome job, Beka!
Yessss I love this one!!! So unique and suspenseful!! 😱
Oh this is clever!
Just when I thought I knew what was going on…. another twist! Well-done on your placement of clues without giving away the secrets too soon!
Mmm, yes! This one really kept my attention.