A leap of faith.

That's what you call jumping from a dinky old KC-130J from 35,000 feet into the frigid sky.

a HALO Jump

High Altitude

Low Opening.

The staple of your unit, the 22nd Airborne Infiltration Operations.

As you hurtled down back to earth, gravity ripping you towards the clouds, you felt a strange sense of peace. You had come to terms with death in this moment. The moment you had taken that leap, you had accepted all the chances. Of your parachute failing, of you going unconscious or simply pulling the cord too late.

Emerging down from the deep blue, you could see the world rushing up to meet you. The wind ripping and howling like a pack of feral wolves against your helmet. You could hear your own breathing as your mask provided you with the oxygen that was so thin up here.

As you spread your body, you could feel the air catch beneath you, letting you soar across the air. A feeling of flight that sent shivers down your spine, making you feel a billion times lighter than you were.

It was freeing.

You could've imagined this was heaven, the infinite expanse of fluffy white and blue as far as the eye could see. This was a para-

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Crud.

Him.

A man ripped by you at Mach One, the thunderous slap of the sound barrier blasting by you as you watched him descend a thousand feet in just seconds before spreading his body and decelerating rapidly. Then suddenly Spinning around violently through the air like a top

That... Was Lieutenant Alex.

Your HALO Jump instructor.

And he was acting like a complete idiot.

Moments later, he had straightened himself up and soared back up to you, waving at you like an idiot, and hand miming gods know what.

For a second, he continued before noticing your confusion

He made an exasperated gesture before he slapped the side of his helmet, your radio suddenly buzzing. You could hear his dramatic voice on the other end as you both continued to rocket toward the ground

"SO, HOW ARE YA FEELING?!"