Luke turned to Sam. ‘I reckon we should do some of the formation stuff with Ethan. He knows it now. All he’s got to do is put it into practice in the air.’

Sam looked at Ethan. ‘Couldn’t agree more,’ he said. ‘You OK with that, Ethan? Reckon your shoulder is up to it?’

Ethan nodded. ‘Totally. Never felt better.’

‘I’ll make sure I’m careful,’ said Luke. ‘The movements are pretty slight anyway. It’s not like I’ll be trying to pull your arm out of its socket.’

‘I’m OK with anything so long as I get to jump,’ said Ethan.

‘Ah, just listen to him,’ said Johnny. ‘He’s all excited!’ Then he hugged Ethan dramatically. ‘I’m so… proud of you… son…’

Ethan pushed him away, smiling and shaking his head. Then the minibus set off and he felt his stomach lurch. This was it…

The call came through – they were over the DZ. In the minibus, Sam had given them the order of things: Luke was to do some simple two-person formation stuff with Ethan; Johnny, Kat and Natalya were free to do whatever they fancied; Sam was going to follow Ethan and Luke, just to keep an eye on things and assess Ethan’s performance.

Johnny, Kat and Natalya were at the door of the plane. They nodded at Ethan, then jumped.

Ethan took his place at the door with Luke. He wasn’t even given time to think about what he was doing. It was all instinctive. He followed Luke’s hand signals, got into position.

Jumped.

Ethan didn’t need to scream – the adrenaline searing through his veins was doing it for him. As he accelerated to terminal velocity, he looked up to see the plane above become nothing more than a black dot.

Seven and a half seconds later, he was doing 120 mph.

He arched his back, flipped over, got stable. Luke was just away to his right. On seeing Ethan get into the stable freefall position, he tracked over.

Luke gave a hand signal and they both flicked themselves into the first position – facing each other, holding hands. With a nod, they switched to the next position – Ethan holding Luke’s left ankle with his left arm, Luke doing the same to Ethan. Then back to the first position.

Luke grinned. Ethan smiled back as he spotted Sam, who was tracking in to join them. And so they finished their freefall as a three-point star.

Ethan looked at Sam, then back at Luke. Jumping alone was a rush, but jumping with others, people who trusted him in the air… this was something else.

Sam nodded at Luke and Ethan. They checked altimeters, then broke the star formation, bursting away from each other like fire crackers.

Ethan made sure he had clean air above and around him, checked his altimeter, pulled the ripcord.

The unmistakable crack of his canopy catching air filled his ears as he was pulled into a steady glide. Then everything was peaceful, and he could enjoy the gentle return to Earth.

Back at the hangar, everyone was talking. Ethan loved everything about being back in the air – even being on the ground afterwards. After a jump, it was impossible to come down from the high for hours. It was a rush like nothing else. And, he realized, this was the first time that he’d felt a part of the team, rather than just a tag-along.

Sam called for everyone’s attention. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Next weekend you’re all going to the skydiving competition in France. I’ve got some business of my own in France so I’ll head out earlier, but I’ll meet you there.’

‘What skydiving competition?’ asked Ethan.

‘The one in France,’ said Johnny. ‘The one Sam’s talking about. Jeez, how you gonna learn anything if you don’t listen?’

‘So how come you all know about it and I don’t?’

‘Because I didn’t tell you about it,’ said Sam.

‘But I’m invited?’ asked Ethan, unable to hide his smile.

Sam gave a nod. ‘Not just invited; I’ve booked your ticket.’ Ethan wasn’t given a chance to respond as Sam was already speaking to the whole team again. ‘Let me make one thing clear,’ he said. ‘You’re not there to compete as a four-way team, with Ethan instead of Jake, and Johnny filming. Despite what you all might think, Ethan isn’t ready to take Jake’s place just yet… He will be soon enough, but we’re not going to rush it. Got it?’

Everyone nodded and Ethan grinned. A skydiving competition in France! Fantastic! Ethan realized he’d progressed quickly, but knowing that Sam was considering him as Jake’s replacement felt amazing. He opened his mouth to say something, but the look Sam gave him made him shut it immediately.

‘You’ll all be doing this for the experience. Go out there, get a feel for how a competition runs, and check out what you’re up against for when you do eventually enter as a team. Right?’

Nods all round.

‘Good,’ said Sam. ‘Now, to make it interesting…’ He paused, and everyone leaned closer. ‘I’ve already entered you in a couple of categories – call it your instructor’s prerogative.’ He looked at the gang, one by one, then explained, ‘Johnny, you’re in for freestyle solo, Luke you’re on accuracy, Kat and Natalya, you’re on two-way.’

Ethan looked at the team. They were all smiles.

Sam stepped back and winked. ‘And if you find a way to win something in the process, that’s a bonus. Right, travel arrangements…’

Ethan, like the rest of the team, was hooked on Sam’s words. He knew he’d have to get his mum to agree to let him go, but couldn’t think of a reason why she’d say no. This was such a great opportunity – he knew she’d understand that. And Dad wouldn’t have any say in the matter.

‘As I’ve said, I’ll meet you out there,’ said Sam. ‘Everything is arranged and paid for. Your tickets are in my office, as are details of the accommodation. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave Luke to deal with all that, as usual.’

‘Don’t you trust me?’ asked Johnny.

‘In a skydive, yes,’ replied Sam. ‘In my office, no.’

‘It’s a fair point,’ said Johnny.

‘And well made,’ added Kat.

Ethan couldn’t help himself. ‘But how’s all this being paid for?’ he asked.

Sam’s look was steely. ‘I have my contacts. They like sponsoring the right team. Perform well, they’ll stay on board.’

‘They the same contacts who covered my AFF?’ Ethan wanted to know.

‘They are. And before you ask, they like staying anonymous.’

‘But you booked my tickets without asking,’ said Ethan. ‘How’d you know I’d be free?’

‘I didn’t,’ said Sam. ‘I just made a big assumption.’ He turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at the team. ‘One more thing,’ he said. ‘Any takers for a night jump?’

‘Night jump?’ asked Ethan. ‘I’m guessing that’s exactly what it sounds like, right?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Sam. ‘These guys haven’t done one for a while and it’ll do them good to have a little refresher. You’ve not got enough experience yet so I’ll take you tandem.’

‘When are we doing it?’ asked Ethan.

‘At night,’ said Johnny. ‘That’s why we call it a night jump.’

‘And to think I once found you funny,’ said Ethan, sighing theatrically.

‘I’ll arrange it for tomorrow evening,’ said Sam. ‘I’ve already checked with the pilot and he’s free. Luke?’

Luke looked at him enquiringly.

‘Can you sort out the LEDs and glow sticks?’

Luke nodded, and Ethan asked what an LED was.

‘If you’re flying a plane at night, spotting a skydiver is pretty impossible,’ said Sam. ‘LEDs – light-emitting diodes – are bright enough to make sure we stand out well enough to be avoided.’ He turned back to Luke. ‘Give Ethan an idea of what a night jump involves. The rest of you read up on it. I doubt any of you can remember much about the potential effects of hypoxia on your night vision, or anything about the dark zone.’

Natalya spoke up. ‘Hypoxia is a restricting of oxygen to the brain that happens in most people above seven thousand feet. It can potentially make your vision cross-wire and slow your thinking, but this is usually not a problem unless you are doing a high-altitude jump. At night, however, it can make it difficult to focus or judge distance. This can be very dangerous, particularly when coming in to land.’