By the Blood of Heroes by Joseph Nassise

Author:Joseph Nassise [Nassise, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Zombies
ISBN: 9780062048752
Amazon: 0062048759
Barnesnoble: 0062048759
Goodreads: 12902367
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-four

IN THE WILD BLUE YONDER

Graves gave them all a thirty-second crash course on how to operate the funny-looking devices. While they appeared rather complex at first glance, their use actually turned out to be quite simple.

The MPPGD was essentially just a big coat with metal wings. At this height the air was too thin to provide enough lift, so they would free-fall for several seconds before deploying the wings. To do so against the force of the air through which they were falling, they needed a sudden sharp burst of energy. That’s where the second part of the device came into play. The glasslike tiles sewn into the sleeves of the coats were designed to pull electrical current out of the air as it rushed over them. When a strong enough charge had been built up, the globe attached to the belt running across the center of the chest would glow an electric blue, indicating it was safe to activate the wings. At that point the operator was supposed to slap the globe with the flat of his hand, releasing the charge into the electrical conduits running through the frame to the control box in the center of the backpack. This in turn would open the wings with a snap, and the resulting lift caused by the air rushing over the flat surface of the wings would allow the operator to glide for great distances.

When the wings extended, two control arms would drop down in front of the pilot. To maneuver, all the pilot had to do was pull down on one control arm or the other, depending on which direction he wanted to go. Landing was achieved by pushing forward on both arms at the same time; this would raise the nose of the glider and spill the air out from beneath the wing, stalling it.

There was just one critical command to remember.

“Don’t hit the charge release too early,” Graves cautioned. “If you do, you’ll waste the energy buildup and the capacitors will need to charge themselves all over again. Depending on how close you are to the ground, you might have time to complete the recharging process before you strike the ground at terminal velocity and become part of the local terrain. Then again, you might not.”

Burke stepped in at that point and addressed the men. “I’ll be going first, so keep your eyes on me and make sure you don’t trigger your wings before the man in front of you. If something goes wrong, don’t panic, just wait for the charge to build up and try again.”

And pray, he thought to himself.

“I want you all to watch the wings of the man in front of you and try to head in the same direction he’s going. Once on the ground, we’ll regroup and get ourselves organized before heading out. If you get separated from the group, don’t waste time searching for us, just head to the rendezvous point and we’ll meet there. Questions?”

Thankfully, there weren’t any. Burke didn’t know if he could have answered them if there were.

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