***
Jack saw that Jill was going to be bounced out of the VWT. He quickly floated toward her in hopes of grabbing her and pulling her into the center of the airflow where she would be safe. He almost saved her, but she was moving out of the airflow too fast. His hand was able to reach hers and touch, but he couldn’t close his fingers in time to pull her to safety.
Jack watched helplessly as Jill floated out of the vertical wind stream. He saw that she was moving her arms and feet correctly, but to no avail. The vertical wind stream was winning the tug-of-war. He looked at her face and saw a determined expression. Then, she hit the floor. It was anything but elegant. She landed on her left foot first, and didn’t roll. Her weight, though not a lot, drove straight down on her ankle. She screamed as she collapsed on the cold and unforgiving concrete floor.
Jack tried to stop his own forward motion but couldn’t. He continued moving to the edge of the VWT where the airflow was weak. Like Jill, he was bounced out of the VWT. The concrete floor raced toward him as he fell. He raised his hands to protect his face and break his fall. The concrete impacted both his hands simultaneously. His arms collapsed from the impact, then his head crashed into the concrete floor. The impact nearly knocked Jack unconscious. His body crumpled and pain shot from his head, through his neck, and into his back.
Jack lay motionless on the floor. He slowly turned his head toward the instructor and four other students that knelt around Jill. One checked her pulse while another checked her breathing. Two others gently squeezed the bones above and below both of her ankles to see if anything was broken. The instructor kept saying, “Ma’am, are you okay?” Jack saw that Jill’s eyes were open, but not blinking. She stared straight up from her position, lying flat on her back.
Jack slowly picked himself up from the concrete floor and wondered how Lieutenant Jacobson was doing. As he limped toward her, he passed the big red kill switch on the VWT. He slapped it with the palm of his hand and continued his slow walk toward the lieutenant. The huge fan started winding down. Jack stood behind the five men that were checking her out. Why did those five men rush to her side for a sprained ankle? I probably have a concussion. I should be checked out first. Why does she get all the attention? This is what I have to look forward to when I am in the field with Lieutenant Jacobson. She’ll probably get hurt a lot, and I’ll have to take care of her, maybe even carry her if she’s hurt too bad. Why was I assigned a woman for a partner? This just isn’t going to work. She’s a girl, and they just aren’t as tough as guys. They should stay home, cook meals, sew, and make babies.
Jack saw Jill’s eyes starting to move. Her lids blinked once, then blinked again. She looked at the instructor and said, “Where’s . . . Savage? Is he . . . okay?”
“He’s fine. He landed on his hard head, so no damage was done.” The instructor grinned and the four other students chuckled.
Jack heard the instructor’s comment, and the soldiers’ response. I am not having a good day. I feel woozy. I do not want to go back into the VWT. My headache is getting worse. I want to go back to the barracks and go to bed.
“Good. If Savage is okay, then we should be able to continue with the training,” Jill responded.
The instructor’s eyes opened wide and he looked at the four students, and they stared back at him. The instructor looked back at Jill and said, “Ma’am, you should have a medic check your ankle. It could be a class three sprain, and if it is, you’ll need several months of recuperation.”
“You may be the instructor, but I outrank you. I still have one good leg that I’ll use to hop up to the launch platform on the VWT. Once I launch and get to the middle of the airflow, I will not be using either foot, right?”
“Well—yes, ma’am, that’s true.”
Jack stood still as he listened to the conversation. He wondered why she wanted go right back into the VWT after a nasty fall like that. She would surely be shaken and in a lot of pain. If she was not careful, she could damage her ankle more, maybe even break it. Wait a minute, why am I worrying about her well being? If she is badly injured, she won’t be able to go on the mission. Then Major Phelps will have to assign me a new partner.
“Help me up, and I’ll be okay,” Jill said. All five men standing around her reached out and gently helped her to her feet.
Jack was the only one who did not help. He watched as she slowly stood up. This looks like a circus. Five big tough guys helping a skinny little girl pick herself up off the floor. I want to scream at her for trying to do a man’s job. Maybe she will break her ankle.
Jack watched Jill put some weight on her injured ankle. Her jaw clenched and a groan roused from deep in her throat. On the other hand, she is brave to try it again.
Jack edged between the students to stand next to her. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m a little shaken, but I am not going to let that VWT get the best of me. I almost pushed hard enough. Next time I’ll push a little harder.”
Jack stared at her for a moment. He rarely saw this amount of determination in a man, and never in a woman.
“Well—ah—if you feel up to it, ma’am,” Jack replied.
“Let’s do it,” she said as she began hopping to the launch platform.
All four students, the instructor, and Jack, reached out to steady her as she began hopping on one foot toward the VWT.
Jill stopped, pursed her lips, and squinted at the men. “Thank you for helping me up. But if any one of you tries to help me now, I’m going to make you do push-ups all afternoon!”
Each of the six men stepped back and made way for her as she slowly took one hop at a time toward the VWT.
Jack stared at Jill. With each hop her frown twitched downward. She must be in awful pain.
When Jill got to the steps at the side of the VWT she clasped both hands around the banister next to the steps that led up to the launch platform. She continued using a hopping motion to go up the stairs one at a time on her good leg. She grunted with each hop. By the time she got to the launch platform she was huffing and puffing, and sweat dripped from her brow. She turned, looked down at the six men and said, “What are you guys staring at? Get this machine running!”
The instructor looked at Jack, shrugged his shoulders, and then slapped the run button with the palm of his hand. The VWT roared to life. He climbed the stairs to the launch platform and looked down at Jack. “What are you waiting for? Your partner needs you.”
Jack bounded up the stairs two at a time and launched himself into the VWT. He maneuvered himself to the far side of the airflow. Floating in the airstream, he waited and watched. He wondered how she was going to launch herself with more force when she only had one good leg. Jill looked squarely into Jack’s face. Then she squatted very low on her good leg. With an explosive push and a loud grunt she dove into the airstream. Her speed died to zero again, but this time she got to the center of the airstream where it was stable. Floating almost nose-to-nose, Lieutenant Jacobson and Sergeant Savage looked at each other. Jack was the first to smile. He couldn’t resist. He realized that she was tougher than he ever imagined. Then, she returned the smile.