V Plague (Book 11): Merciless Read Online Free PDF Page B

more.  Sometimes to my left, sometimes to my right.  Once, I was sent into a somersault and wound up falling back first.  Panic had set in, but luck was with me as that was exactly the way I needed to be oriented.  The chute wound up pressed against me by the force of the wind, and I was finally able to work my arms through the straps and fasten them. 
    A few more contortions and the straps between my legs were in place and secure and I gave everything a quick, hard tug to pull it as tight as possible.  Glancing down, I cursed when I saw the ground.  Much too close if I could see it in night vision.  Reaching behind me, I slapped my hand around looking for the small pilot chute, before remembering this was an emergency pack.
    Fumbling on the chest of the rig, I found the large D-ring that would release the pilot chute and gave it a hard yank.  There was a faint fluttering above my head as a small drogue filled with air and pulled the bridle.  A pop preceded the main canopy deploying, then there was a hard jerk as I was suddenly slowed.
    Staring between my feet, I saw the ground swiftly approaching and grabbed the toggles and pulled for all I was worth to slow my fall.  The NVGs didn’t provide good depth perception, and it was longer before my boots hit the dirt than I’d expected.  But not much.  I hit hard, and only years of experience saved me from a serious injury.
    I pulled my legs up so my knees were bent and let my body fall into a roll the instant my weight came down.  Rolling over twice, I came to rest on my back, staring skyward, tangled in the canopy lines.  My heart was racing and I was breathing like a freight train, but I was alive.  Now, where the hell was I?
    I could have lain there and pondered that question for a while, but a freezing wind was gusting.  The canopy filled and snapped off the ground, starting to drag me along with it.  Rolling to unwrap myself, I quickly began pulling on lines to spill the wind out of the fabric and collapse the chute.  I had no idea where I was, but knew the tough fabric and all the lines connecting it to the pack might very well mean the difference between survival and death.
    Shrugging out of the pack, I got the canopy and lines stuffed back inside.  Not neatly, it kind of looked like a giant bird’s nest, but I wasn’t going for style points.  I made a slow, 360-degree survey of my surroundings.  A stiff, frigid wind was blowing across a barren, rocky landscape.  No trees, no bushes.  Nothing other than bleak emptiness.
    Glancing down at the pack, I saw a strobe light that was flashing brightly.  Raising the goggles, I confirmed that it was Infrared when it was invisible to my naked eye.  It hadn’t been on when I’d been chasing the pilot in the air, so it must have activated when I pulled the release.  I was reaching for it to disable the beacon when I heard the sound of a jet approaching from behind.
    Turning, I scanned the sky, but even though it sounded low it was still too high to see.  Taking a chance that it would be one of the Navy fighters that had been trying to force my plane down, I held the pack high in the air, the strobe positioned so it would be visible from any direction.
    The jet passed, then turned and came back at a lower altitude.  This time, it flew directly over my head, and I could see a faint outline in the NVGs.  Not enough to identify the type, or nationality, but I’d shown the strobe.  It was too late now.
    If this was the US Navy, how long before they could get a helicopter to my location?  Or could they?  Just because there was a fighter up there didn’t mean I was anywhere they could get a rescue flight into.  I could hope, but couldn’t count on it.  While I was waiting, I needed to take care of myself.  Survive.
    I stood there, listening to the jet’s engines until the sound disappeared.  Shivering, I re-slung the parachute and turned another slow circle.  This time, I was looking for the