To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 48 (Eric's POV)

I look to Amar in question, raising my eyebrow.  "Our turn?" I ask.  "For what?"
Amar laughs in response and climbs into the truck we arrived in. He signals me to join him. Everyone else approaches the vehicle.
"Let's go!" Hosanna says excitedly reaching for my hand and pulling.
"Should I be concerned?" I ask hesitantly.
"No, of course not, silly. Trust me, you'll love it," she confirms. Well, if she thinks I'll love it, she's usually right. In fact, I can't think of a single occasion when she's been wrong. I follow her into the truck and we drive to an area a distance away.
We arrive at the opposite side of the fenced in area to a small freestanding brick building. There's a minuscule airplane compared to the one my parents just flew out on off to the side with a smaller landing strip than the ones on the other end of the airport. I glance again at the airplane and think it looks incredibly familiar.  Hosanna and I step out of the truck and follow everyone else up a cement walkway with a manicured lawn on either side of the path. We approach the front door of the small building.  I read the sign posted above the door.  It says, 'Skydiving.'  I smirk.
"This is a present from all of us, including David," Hosanna says threading her fingers with mine.  "I hope you like it."
I shake my head in amazement laughing.  "This sounds perfect," I tell her.

*****

There was a simple demonstration in the building about what to expect while skydiving. Rick, my instructor, explained 'the how to' of everything, even if an emergency should occur, which are supposedly rare. It was all for my benefit, of course, since everyone else here has gone previously.
Since it's my first time, I'm required to go down strapped to someone else more experienced. I chose my wife since she's the only person here that I fully trust with my life. No offense to anyone else, but who would pick someone they're not as close with? I guess if there's an emergency, I'd rather we go through it together, than one of us having to watch and not be able to do anything.
We change into the thin, flexible jumpsuits provided. When we're all ready, we line up outside of the small aircraft. I can barely stand still out of excitement. We pose for a couple pictures together and that gets us all psyched.  Amar and my wife are whooping and cheering as the engine starts up. A door with an attached ladder is opened for us. I follow everyone in. There's barely enough room in the cabin to stand up straight. My head almost touches the roof but at least I don't have to crouch down. We all buckle into some harnesses on the seats. They run parallel to each other along the outer walls. Matthew, Hosanna, and I are seated on one side while George and Amar are across from us on the other. Rick checks to make sure each of us are secured in our seats properly before pulling in the ladder and securing the door. He disappears into the cockpit for a moment before returning back to sit beside Amar. He buckles in himself, then bangs on the metal wall three times.
It must've been the signal that we're all set to go because we lurch forward awkwardly. My wife giggles beside me. I reach out for her hand. She accepts it smiling at me. "Are you excited?" she shouts over all of the noise of the engine.
"Yeah," I respond.
She looks over to Matthew who doesn't look half as pale as the last time, at least from what I saw from the pictures. Maybe he's doing better because he knows what to expect or maybe he's not as scared as previously. She pats his back and turns to me smiling.
"I think if he had to go through a fear landscape, he'd have one less fear this time," she tells me. I laugh. That's pretty good. It's difficult to overcome those.
The aircraft turns and drives down the landing strip. I watch as we move through a nearby window. The airplane starts to accelerate quickly and I hold on tighter to my wife. I can feel when we start to rise up. It feels like jumping and coasting into the air, but the power behind it is magnificent. It's a similar feeling of almost weightlessness to the zip line but so different at the same time. There's no wind blowing past us, inside the cabin is as calm as can be except we're thrown back a bit from the force.
When we arrive at the proper height, we're allowed to unfasten our seat belts and move around. I look out the different windows and observe the city in the distance. I can see the whole of Amity surrounded by a massive tree line. There is an empty dark space just past it on the far side that I've never been to. The ruins we walked through are in our sight. The Bureau looks huge but probably because we're still somewhat close to it. Green trees are on the other side of the plane with some ruins but mostly just empty land. The marsh extends as far as I can see, but I know the lake is out there. I can see the curve of the earth, too. It really is round. It's funny how we didn't even know that inside of the wall. We were told such limited information in the city. This whole experience is opening my eyes to the vastness of everything, beyond our fences and how much I've been in the dark.
We head further away from the city to an area where we prepare to jump. My wife and I are strapped together, me choosing to be behind her. I hold on tightly to her while our suits are connected together by Rick. The pack is buckled onto both of us with the rip cord at her reach. There are actually two with an emergency one behind me. She can easily reach both of them. I kiss her head when we're left alone. She slips her hand up behind my neck and leans her head back on my shoulder. I put my hands around her waist, while she caresses my arm. Everyone else is preoccupied with getting their packs ready.
I see a flash go off in the corner of my eye. I turn my head to notice Matthew taking a picture of us. He laughs and waves before turning to photograph everyone else.  He seems pretty excited this time. 
Amar starts to get pumped again once everyone is geared up.  He starts hooting and hollering.  Hosanna cheers back.  George whistles and Matthew joins in shouting as well.  The atmosphere is infectious and I'm getting pumped up about this, too—more so than for zip lining.  This is so much more dangerous, and higher for that matter.  I'd have to say that this is probably more Dauntless than anything I've heard of inside the fence.  I watch as everyone around us is full of smiles and cheers.  This really is the atmosphere we should have at Dauntless. 
Rick signals that it's time.  He pulls the door open and the wind rushes in.  This is insane.  I have to hold onto something.  I grasp some notches in the wall and ceiling.  It feels like it could knock me over, and I thought it was harsh on top of the Hancock Building.  That's nothing compared to this. 
Amar approaches the door and jumps first, then George.  Matthew is next.  It all happens so fast.  I blinked and he was gone.  Now we're up.  Hosanna and I shimmy over to the door.  The strength of the wind is even greater here.  I hold onto the sides of the open doorway and glance down to our falling friends.  Hosanna gives my fingers a squeeze.  Rick nods and we jump out together. 
The feeling of free fall is amazing.  The wind whooshes past up so quickly rattling our clothes and making my eyes water.  I can feel Hosanna shake with laughter underneath me.  She angles her body and we're moving quicker, catching up with our friends.  She levels out as we approach them and grasps Amar's arm.  Matthew is beside us and he grabs my forearm laughing.  George is opposite of us—a chain of friends.  We fall together linked for a moment.  When we release each other, I see Rick is beside us, trying to take a picture of my wife and I.  I try to smile and Hosanna gives two thumbs up. 
We separate from everyone and space out like we were instructed.  Amar is the first to pull his rip cord.  Then Matthew does his.  I see Hosanna pull at ours and we're thrown back as the parachute catches the air.  We soar together, my wife directing us somewhat.  I look around and just enjoy the beautiful view surrounding us.  This moment feels unreal.  That was so different from the zip line.  There is no comparison to this.  By far it's one of the greatest experiences of my life.  We get closer to the marked landing point and I see Amar already on the ground.  He's crowing to us.  My wife screams back just before we hit the ground.  She actually is standing and I'm the one that sends us to the ground.  I laugh as we try to climb up.  I'm shaking like she was before and in awe of the whole experience. 
"So... how was it?" Amar asks me. 
"Now that's something we ought to do in Dauntless," I laugh.  He chuckles too.
"Maybe someday," he responds patting me on the back.

*****

We returned back to the apartment after that amazing experience.  George made me a meal that was fabulous.  It's Korean—one of his family's recipes.  It's called bulgogi.  It was a kind of beef stir fry with a sweet sauce and vegetables.  He made rice and some kind of spicy pickled cabbage with it.  He steamed dumplings, too.  All I had to do was look at my wife and she nodded that she has the recipe.  She knows me so well. 
We all decided to go out afterward, drinking and dancing.  None of us can have much to drink though since we're all going out to the fringe early in the morning.  Well, George and Amar are coming with us but Matthew isn't.  He said he's not much of a drinker anyway though.  Apparently he has a low tolerance like my wife, which is fine.  We all just want to have a little fun. 
I try to teach my wife a swing dance that I know and she picks up on it quickly.  The music goes well with the dance and we're laughing and sweating like crazy before the night is over.
When we head back to the apartment, Amar and George instantly crash in their room for the night while Hosanna and I decide to rinse off in the shower.  I know I wouldn't sleep very well without one.  It also helps me unwind from the excitement of such an amazing day. 
I'm laying down with the dim lamp on beside the bed waiting for my wife to join me.  Hosanna enters the bedroom, quietly shutting and locking the door.  She's wearing some very short shorts and a tank top.  She smiles at me as she sets a bottle of something on the nightstand.  Sitting down in the small gap next to me on the bed, she kisses me softly.  She pulls away slowly and looks me in the eyes. 
"How was your birthday?" she asks quietly.
"One of the best I've ever had," I admit.  It started out with my parents and everything else was amazing and unexpected. 
"Good," she whispers on my skin as she kisses my cheek, then my forehead.  "I did order you a gift in Dauntless a while ago.  I'm sorry you'll have to wait to see it."
I laugh.  "There's more?" I question. 
She nods as she tugs my shirt up gently, pulling it over my head. I just watch her amazed that she's doing this.  Normally I've been the one to initiate most intimacy we share lately.  "I need you to lay on your stomach," she whispers in my ear. 
I comply and roll over, not sure of what she's doing.  I turn my head to see that what she set on the nightstand is a bottle of lotion.  She takes it and puts a generous portion into her hands.  I can smell the scent from it.  It's actually quite manly.  It smells similar to my shampoo.  It has a cedar scent with mint but this one is more citrusy and some other fragrance that is rather soothing.  Rubbing her hands together, she sits down beside me again.  She begins to massage my shoulders first and then my back.  She's never really done this for me before except the one time with the sunblock.  The movement of her hands on my skin is incredibly soothing and relaxing.  This definitely puts me at ease and releases some tension I've had built up for a while.  She continues on for so long massaging me that I almost fall asleep.
She gently rolls me over when she's finished and begins to run her fingers up my neck near my tattoos.  I stare into her eyes for a moment until she leans down and kisses me again.

*****Thanks so much for reading!*****

Words of Wisdom:
I love Eric and Hosanna's physical relationship.  They're so close with each other and so madly in love.  The interaction they have is incredibly encouraging. 

"My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely."
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you."
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I've always enjoyed their skydiving scene together, how Eric desires to be with her no matter what.  He wants all of his life experiences to be with her whether pleasant or not.

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:31‬ ‭NIV‬‬