I looked down. There was an endless line of cars below me, spanning from one end of the Golden Gate to the other. All mindless commuters. A bumper-to-bumper stream of nameless individuals whom are on their way to their endless jobs, to get their minimal paychecks, try to keep up their meaningless lives, all so the next generation could do the exact same thing.
I knelt down, checking my backpack, making sure everything was packed properly. The adrenalin was beginning to pump through me. My breathing sped up; short, shallow breaths as fast as my heart was going. Anticipation surged though me, as I tried to prepare myself for the jump.
Here I was, up atop one of the Golden Gate towers, ready for my greatest BASE jump yet. Two hundred twenty-seven meters to the water. I would need to pull the chute after a 6 second freefall. Any more and I’d double my chances of hitting the water at terminal velocity. That’d be a shock for the people on the bridge. They probably don’t get any excitement in their lives, probably the most thing to happen to them was getting a raise at work.
I’m glad I’m not one of them. I’m glad that I have a life to call my own. I’m glad that I have the money I need at my fingertips. Hell, I’m glad that I never had to raise a finger to get it, my parents’ money provides everything I’ll ever need. So I get to live my life full of excitement and adventure, and everyone below me just wasn’t lucky enough. Sucks to be them, right? They should have worked harder, been smarter, and shine brighter. Their fault for being a commuter, really. Their fault for not having a name for themselves.
I slipped the backpack on, testing my harness one more time. I turned my back on the drones of today and tomorrow, and get ready to jump. Here’s to being better then everyone else! I took a quick step back to gain momentum, two, three. My leg muscles were tingling; I was waiting for the explosive moment when I would hurl myself over the edge. Another wave of anxiety washed over me, making me feel more alive. I took my final step back, and commanded my legs to hurl me over the edge.
My leg obeyed, pushing forward with all of their strength. One leg did. The other one had no grip on the heel, causing me to slip and fall flat on my face. I had stepped back too far. The towers were a lot thinner than they were wide. I did an awkward half-roll and fell off the side.
My speed picked up, and by the time I had gotten any sense of direction, I was falling and rapidly picking up speed. I was also falling on the wrong side of the bridge, hard concrete beneath me instead of flowing waves. I had cut my fall distance by sixty-seven meters by making one stupid error.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the chute cord. I felt the workings tumble and the parachute release. I was jerked up instantly, but I was still going to fast. I plummeted toward the ground, watching the cars below me. I would give anything to be in one of those cars. My eyes became a blur with tears. I was too young for this! I hadn’t even lived yet! I was barely twenty years old and already about to die. I closed my eyes and held my breath.
There was a sudden jerk. My breath exploded out of my mouth and the straps on my harness cut into me, painfully. I felt myself falling backwards for a second before I slammed my back on something, winding me. I had gotten stuck on the suspension cord that held the bridge up. I couldn’t breathe. I was being held by my cords, one around my neck, more around my arms. I was in a deadly spider web of ripcord and rope, having the life choked out of me by my own weight. I could see below me. I was no more than ten meters from the ground. Cars below me slowed, stopped. People got out, a sea of faces that I would never have the pleasure of knowing by name. My eyes began to go black around the outsides, my vision focusing and un-focusing. I was so desperate to call for help. The release catch from on the harness was so close to my right hand. If I could just pull it my backpack would come undone, and I would fall the final ten meters back to earth.
Directly below me, a young woman got out of her car. She walked over to the suspension wire and began to climb it. I couldn’t get a good view of her face as she slowly made her way up to me. My senses were overloaded, every sight tinged black, every sound having its own echo in my ears, my rapid breathing slowing down, becoming dry heaves. I had no feeling left in my limbs. I could barely feel my own heartbeat. Then I felt a slight pressure on my chest. That girl had made her way up to me, wrapping one arm around me while she tugged on the release cord on my harness. The backpack instantly disengaged and fell to the ground, and I instantly passed out of oxygen deprivation.
When I came to, I was lying on the ground, that girl kneeling over me. She was slim, tall, Asian, athletic, and looked like she was a part-time ninja. I felt the blackness return to my eyes, began to pass out again. I My ears were ringing, but I could still hear what she said to me.
“Hey, my name is Johanna.”
I didn’t even get to introduce myself before I passed out.