The night sky tore open with fire.
The jet spun violently, alarms screaming as the fuselage split under the impact. Lydia's scream vanished into the roar of the wind.
Jaden's arms locked around her, pulling her against his chest as oxygen masks dropped and debris flew like shrapnel. Cassandra struggled toward the cockpit, shouting orders through the chaos.
"Engines one and two are gone!" the pilot yelled. "We're losing altitude— fast!"
"Stabilize us!" Cassandra barked. "Dump all auxiliary power to navigation!"
Jaden ripped open the emergency locker, his voice sharp and calm. "Parachutes. Lydia, listen to me."
Her eyes were wide, terrified. "We're not jumping out of this—"
"Yes, we are," he snapped. "It's the only way."
He strapped the chute onto her, fingers working fast even as the cabin lights flickered red.
Outside the window, the world was a blur of clouds, lightning, and fire.
"Jaden—"
He cupped her face for just a second, eyes burning into hers. "No matter what happens, you survive. You hear me?"
Tears stung her eyes. "Not without you."
The jet jolted violently again, and Cassandra's voice cut through the chaos: "We're at three thousand feet! If you're jumping, do it now!"
Jaden looked at Lydia one last time — then pulled the release lever on the side hatch.
The door blew open, wind screaming through the cabin.
"Go!" he shouted.
She hesitated only for a heartbeat — then he pushed her, hard, out into the storm.
---
Freefall.
The sky was a fury of wind and flame. Lydia's body spun through the night, heart hammering, air burning against her skin. The world below was darkness — endless, terrifying.
She yanked the cord.
The parachute burst open above her with a violent snap, jerking her body upward.
"Jaden!" she screamed into the void. "Jaden!"
There was no answer.
Only smoke, debris, and distant thunder.
Then — through the chaos — she saw another chute deploy.
A flash of white against the storm.
Her chest tightened with desperate relief.
---
Ground impact – somewhere in the mountains of northern Turkey.
Lydia hit the wet earth hard, rolling through mud and gravel. Pain shot through her shoulder as the parachute tangled around her.
She tore herself free, gasping for breath. The forest was eerily silent — except for the faint hiss of something burning in the distance.
"Jaden!" she shouted. Her voice echoed through the trees. "Jaden!"
No answer.
Rain began to fall again — soft at first, then heavy, washing over her face as she stumbled through the darkness.
A few meters away, she saw something glint under the faint moonlight — a shard of twisted metal, part of the jet's wing. And next to it… a body.
Her heart stopped.
"Jaden—"
She ran, falling to her knees beside him. He was half-buried in debris, unconscious, blood streaking his temple.
"No, no, no…" she whispered, hands trembling as she checked for a pulse.
Then — faint, steady — thump-thump.
She exhaled a shuddering breath. "You stubborn bastard."
Pulling his body clear, she tore a strip from her sleeve and pressed it against the wound on his head.
The forest around them flickered with distant orange light — the wreckage burning somewhere nearby.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
A familiar one.
"Well, I'll be damned," Cassandra said, stepping out from the trees, pistol in hand, her coat torn and face streaked with mud. "You two actually made it."
Lydia's head snapped toward her. "The pilot?"
"Didn't make it," Cassandra said quietly. "We're the only ones who got out."
She knelt beside Jaden, eyes scanning his injuries. "He's alive. But we can't stay here. They'll send recovery drones by dawn."
Lydia frowned. "Where do we go?"
"There's an abandoned comms relay about two miles east," Cassandra replied. "We can contact one of my old intel links from there."
Lydia hesitated. "You really expect me to trust you now?"
Cassandra met her gaze. "Trust me or not — but if we stay here, we die."
---
Hours later, they reached the relay — an old Soviet outpost, half-swallowed by vines.
Inside, flickering screens came alive as Cassandra powered up the emergency generators.
Jaden stirred at last, groaning as Lydia knelt beside him.
"Hey," she whispered, brushing his hair back. "You're safe. You're with me."
His voice was weak but steady. "Lydia…"
"Shh. Don't talk. You hit your head."
He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on her face — the concern, the relief, the warmth that never left even in the storm.
"You jumped," he murmured.
She smiled faintly. "You pushed me."
His lips curved just a little. "Best decision I ever made."
Cassandra's voice broke the moment. "We've got movement. Three blips inbound — drones."
Jaden sat up weakly. "Can you jam them?"
"I can try," she said, hands flying across the keyboard. "But it'll only buy us a few minutes."
Jaden turned to Lydia, urgency returning to his eyes. "There's something in my jacket pocket. Take it."
She reached in — pulling out a small metallic drive.
"What is this?"
"The key to the Zurich archives," he said. "If anything happens to me, you get it to that facility. The truth is on that drive, Lydia. Everything my mother died for."
Her throat tightened. "Stop talking like that. Nothing's happening to you."
But the window shattered before he could reply — a drone's red laser cutting through the night.