The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 5

The peak of Autumn arrived near the end of September, filling the landscape with an explosion of color. The Adirondacks had a reputation for their seasonal flood of reds, yellows and greens as maple trees began their slow drift into the burial ground of winter. This was the time of the ‘leaf-peepers’, those deeply connected with the earth. They arrived from all over the state to witness what they believed to be a miracle of nature. For them, there was nothing close to the sight they witnessed as they made the annual pilgrimage to the sixteen million acres of untouched forest. Some would travel from other parts of the country to take in the spectacle, while others chose the more daring trek into the water-colored mountains of the high peaks. They spent hours hiking into the wildness that a few sometimes did not return from, absorbing the cool air and breathtaking scenery that only the Adirondacks could provide – a gift from Mother Earth.

It was on one of these glorious days that the universe paused in its celestial movement to observe an event it could not prevent, as a small group of first-time skydivers took to the air. After a month of classes, they were paired off with separate instructors, and each pair tethered together rolled out of the side door of a single engine plane at ten thousand feet. All was going as planned as each pair became stable in their fall towards the grass-covered ground below when, as a surprise, the instructor steered them towards each other and formed them into a ring. The excitement was overwhelming, and for each of them, it was the high point of their lives, but soon this would turn to tragedy as unforeseen circumstances closed in. It was also on that day that a pilot instructor was giving an airborne lesson to a new student when, due to a sudden heavy downdraft, the plane dove towards the circle of skydivers. By the time the instructor recovered the aircraft, both student and instructor found themselves wide-eyed with the realization of the horror they were about to create. Caught up in the shock of what was to be perceived as a momentary event, the flight student sat frozen in his seat as death came. It would be quick and selfish, sparing no one, only to leave those unfortunate enough to fall into its grasp strewn over acres of fresh green grass.

The collision happened so quickly that one of the skydiving instructors, still tethered to his student, didn't enough time to break away from the circle. And with the wind loud in their ears, none of them heard the plane’s engine as it closed in on them. Not a moment’s fear had passed; not a scream had been made as the spinning propeller chewed its way through nylon, flesh, and bone. For some of them, unconsciousness arrived quickly as their bodies were ripped apart, their blood painting the fuselage of the single-engine plane. For others, death was unnecessarily cruel, as arms and legs were torn off, leaving their minds intact as the ground rose up to end their lives. The only saving grace was that the speed of impact would be faster than their minds could process. Although they would experience the trauma of being shredded alive, they would be spared the horror of dying on impact. For them, the glimmering light of consciousness simply winked out, but only when they had buried themselves in the cool autumn earth below.