Jay’s grip on the ladder tore free. Air was crushed from his lungs, and he struggled to stay conscious, eyes open, as he hurtled through space. The helicopter grew smaller and smaller, pitching left. The shocktrooper who’d been climbing the ladder above him was nowhere to be seen.
Jay instinctively tucked his chin to his chest and curled into a ball. This wasn’t a vertical drop, so the usual rules of arching his back to protect his organs didn’t apply. He was flying backward at high speed, his muscles rigid in anticipation of the unknown. The rooftop came rushing up underneath his legs. He forced himself to breathe but his lungs burned in protest. He tried to relax his limbs as he landed on his upper back, rolled off and over his shoulder. Sky and concrete bled around him. He couldn’t bre
