A Little Dinged Up (gxg)

Chapter 15

Son of a bitch! No wonder she kept pushing the collaborations with him at me, he was her son! Did Trish know that? Had Juliette set this all up to hurt me and promote him? Of course, that made perfect sense. She was the one who would have arranged the stealing of the book too, so Max wouldn't have to worry about planning anything again for a year.

How did I not know this? Well because I'm doing this on my own and can't really do background checks. I was furious at the deception though, and really couldn't wait for the award show now. I wanted to rub it in their faces. I looked outside, the pale moonlight shining down on the mountain and knew we were getting close.

"We're going to the same place Max fell, right? I need to put the sign in the right place!"

"We are! I'll even point out the rock so you can do it. I wish I could be with him when he sees the video!" Jill laughed long and hard at the thought. I chuckled along with her, as it was some well deserved humiliation.

A few minutes later, we were hovering over the rocks on the slope, and I could see my new friend. I liked that rock! Jill took us straight up to the summit, and I gave her a little wave before sitting on the edge of the door, and then clutched my little bundle before jumping down into the snow. I had two go pro cameras going, one with a light for what I was seeing, and one back at my face so you could see me. When I did my editing, I could put them side by side, and make it look great. I even had all my sponsor patches on my gloves, so they would be in the picture a lot. Everyone wins.

Except Max, because fuck him.

I hurried down to the rocks where Max landed, and unwrapped the bundle I had with me, revealing a sign that read 'The Max Cox Memorial Rox' in blood red letters. Perfect. Now everyone would know where the dickless wonder became a one legged wonder. I picked up a rock and hammered into the ground as deep as I could, not wanting it to blow away of course, and then I was off on my trek down the mountain.

It was so quiet now that Jill had headed back to her airfield. She was kind enough to keep the copter ready in case I called her, but it wasn't necessary. The board cut clean lines through the snow as I played slalom around trees and stuck to the open areas. I didn't need to do too many crazy jumps on this run, it was nighttime after all, but I did a few just to keep the fans entertained. But still, I used the run as self-therapy after hearing about the Juliette news. It took all my willpower to not just fly down the mountain and drive to LA and track that bitch down. But this run was showing the world that her son could steal my ideas and it wouldn't matter. I'd still do them better than he ever could.

I posted that edited video yesterday, and it was already getting a lot of traction. Not only for the night run, and doing the same stunt as Max, but better, but the sign was getting major props from people that knew my team went over to Max. He had been strangely silent on it, no doubt having his entire team working on a witty comeback.

The sun was rising in the east now, and all the passengers were getting excited at the prospect of jumping out of the plane. The canyon was looking gorgeous this morning, and they would all have an exceptional view as they fell through the air. It was a good bucket list item for them, and no doubt they would be thrilled with the experience. I mean, they wouldn't just parachute into the canyon of course. That was just stupid.

But I might.

Since I was in disguise as a standard worker, I helped check all the harnesses and straps for the jumpers as they headed out over the jump zone. When they were in the right place, the back ramp was dropped, and everyone started walking aft to jump off. Yes, there were some nerves, and a lot of hesitation in some cases, but within ten minutes the plane was empty.

With the passengers gone, I didn't hesitate to start peeling off the bulky green overalls that covered up my gear. That gear was a bright red wingsuit that would let me glide like a flying squirrel down into the canyon. As many fun and stupid things I'd done in the past, this was right up there near the top of the list.

"Yo, Jeremy, are you almost ready?" I called up to the pilot.

"Yeah, just let me bring it about to the east so you can jump with the sun behind you, the cameras will work better!" he yelled back.

"Perfect! Thanks!" I checked my watch and was happy to see we were right on time. Assuming I didn't completely mess things up, I should be able to meet my scheduled ride this afternoon. I felt the plane bank to the right, and then Jeremy dropped the ramp again. Looking out the back, I could see the immense canyon to the right. I took a few moments to scan it, picking out the landmarks I needed. It wasn't easy, the damned thing was called the Grand Canyon for a reason, and therefore it was damned big. I'd hiked it once, but this would be much faster.

I finally found the big rock I needed and took a deep breath. I could admit, this was a really stupid and crazy idea. I know Ava had wanted me to get back to my old self, but this might not be something she would approve of. "Okay Jeremy, I'm off!"

"Good luck Ly! Text when you land or I'm calling 911!"

I couldn't argue with that, I might need it. I shook out my arms and legs, getting a little loose, the fabric rippled between all my limbs, and I felt a surge of adrenaline. I turned on my cameras and prepped the feed. "Here we go, people! A flying squirrel suit jump into the Grand Canyon! Fuck yeah!" I took a running jump and flew right off the rear cargo deck, spreading my arms and legs to get the maximum air for my suit.

Fuck I loved this.

It puts everything else to shame. Parachutes, roller coasters, planes, nothing could compare. I wasn't in a rush, so I circled and dipped here and there on my way north towards the canyon itself. No, you're not supposed to do this kind of stuff in there, they will most definitely fine you. But I wasn't planning on sticking around for that to happen. If I was lucky, nobody but a few surprised hikers would even see me, and they'd be in no position to stop me.

I dropped down lower as the woods bordering the canyon passed underneath me at high speed. I banked a few times to reduce speed a bit, then lined myself up with the trailhead I wanted. I was hoping to cruise right down the South Kaibab trail, passing by Ooh Ahh Point and Cedar Ridge before landing at Skeleton Point. There was a big rock there that was a good landmark, though I wanted to land on the trail, not the rock! I didn't need to end up like Max.

I flew over a group of people that were at the trailhead, causing a chorus of screams behind me and I couldn't help but scream and laugh in glee. Passing over the edge of the canyon just caused everything to open up in front of me, and the vista was spectacular. I let out an involuntary whoop of happiness as I glided downward, marveling at the sight before me. A hike that would normally take hours was taking me under a minute and I had to quickly line up a spot to land at. I tried to slough off more speed, but it wasn't working too well, and I suddenly began to worry. My chute would carry me down the rest of the way, but I hadn't expected to be moving this fast!

With no other choice, I pulled the ripcord, which slowed me quite a bit, but also dropped me much quicker than expected. I gripped the toggles and turned to the left towards the trail, because the right was a deep drop down to rocks, and I didn't want that! A little updraft caught me by surprise, and lifted me right over the trail, and I had to swing back to the right to get back to it. At this point, I just wanted to feel the ground under my feet, and I was really regretting combining crazy and stupid in the same stunt.

But I got my wish when the wind dropped and I landed with a harsh bump onto the trail, skidding right into a boulder and making me feel just like that asshole, Max. "Fuck!" I screamed as my right side crunched into the boulder and could only think that Skeleton Point must be named after my undoubtedly broken ribs.

Damn, that hurt!