Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎 |xx

After what felt like an eternity of floating through the sky, the wind pulling me to and fro like a rag doll, I spotted a brilliant, green canopy of trees. I turned on my watch, only to gasp at the time. I averted my eyes quickly. I didn't know why I had even bothered to check. Of course, it was two minutes past our expected arrival time in Brussels. The Director would be wondering why we hadn't checked in with him. Well, I guess it's my job to be aware of the time, I sighed.

I floated down slowly, too slowly for comfort. I felt my muscles twitch with energy. I'd never felt so claustrophobic in all my life. And yet, I was in the great, expansive outdoors.

To pass the time, I reviewed the procedure for Operation Esc-ep.

Wherever we land on the ground, our goal is to locate each other as quickly as possible. Every member has a tracking device built into their watches. It is the crew's job to locate me, as I am the Team Lead. Then, we must locate the nearest city, rent a car, and drive the rest of the way to Brussels.

That was it. That was the plan. Hopefully, it would get us all the way to Brussels without more hiccups. Up in the clouds, the situation had seemed surreal. But as I floated to the ground, reality was beginning to set in.

Our plane was shot down. We are stranded.

I hope this isn't a test set up by the Director to test my skills. I highly doubted it, but at this point, I would be surprised at nothing.

The trees grew larger and larger, until I was able to make out the distinct shapes of leaves on towering, spindly trunks. The parachute meandered its way through a space between the twisted boughs in the forest. To my delight, I thought that I was going to be lowered all the way to the forest floor. But my descent was suddenly halted. I craned my neck to see that the parachute was stuck by the branches above. Well, you certainly did pick a fine time to get stuck. I was dangling several yards above the forest floor.

Hmm, how on Earth do I get down from here? If I had been lowered into a tree, I could have climbed down. But I was in the center of the forest path, nowhere near the trunks that surrounded me on all sides. If I attempted to jump, I'd probably break my neck. The Director definitely would not be happy about that. Who would complete the mission? There had to be an easier and less painful way down.

I bent my arms behind my back and slowly unzipped the bottom compartment of my bag. I grappeled my way around the various emergency items until I grasped the rough texture of rope. I pulled it out before zipping the pouch up again.

And now to scope out my trajectory. My eyes zeroed in on a nearby woodland pine that looked stable, compared to its wiry brethren. I quickly knotted one end of the rope.

Please land on a thick branch!

I breathed, eyeing my target. It was one of the highest, thickest branches on the tree, and didn't extend too far over the forest path. I had to make sure that I used just the right force to latch onto that singular branch. I focused and tossed the rope upward with all my might. The rope flew through the air. The opening I had made wrapped around the branch. Yes! I quickly tightened the knot like a lasso.

I fastened the other end of the rope around my waist. Once it was snug, but not constricting, I reached into my bag one more time and retrieved a pair of scissors.

Here goes nothing.

I reached above my head and gathered the strings that attached me to the parachute. Before I could think twice about it, I snipped the wires all at once and dropped the scissors to the ground.

My muscles tensed as I went flying backwards. I pivoted to my left side. Breath normally. Inhale, exhale. Inhale...

I slammed into the tree. All of the oxygen in my lungs escaped at once.