Failed Projection

5…” The voice counted, the number blipping up on a panel close to his face, dimmed to a comfortable level. The panel projected itself onto a window, which currently let no light in.

“4…” He exhaled deeply, eyes shutting as the last 3 numbers passed by.

Before he knew it, he was launched upwards into the air with his small now-airborne pod, hurtling towards the sky. The pod had launched from a classified location (which wasn’t very far from upper manhattan), a location concealed by thick oak trees and tall growing green grass. The pod, which he was currently travelling in, was honestly not much bigger than him, but nearly indestructible. The test they were running was to find out if it was safe for human travel, to find out if the small jets on the underside of the pod utilizing jet fuel were strong enough to carry someone a distance.

The test was a succe- A loud bang rippled through the compartment, interrupting his thoughts.

One of the jets went out, sending him spiralling down to earth through the clouds. He rapidly dropped, 50,000 feet, 40,000 feet, a loud blaring alarm sounding in his ears, the headset built into his suit screaming at him. He tried to double the power in the working jets, but all it managed to do was burn through fuel like no tomorrow as it hardly stopped his descent. Panic coursed through his veins, he wanted to scream, cry or shout, he didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to die...

Within seconds, the metropolitan concrete jungle of upper Manhattan came into view through the window behind the screens, it suddenly being open for his eyes to take in his surroundings - possibly the last he’d see before he hit the earth. He barely had a moment to absorb the tall skyscrapers, the mass of concrete and windows and cars, as his pod smashed into the road, knocking the air out of his lungs.

Immediately he heard cars screeching to a halt, and he was shocked to find himself alive and well, okay. He clambered out of the barely ruined pod, fire that had lit up in gas pooling from cars catching onto his suit, though he hardly felt it, the thick insulation protecting his skin. He stumbled, dazed through the streets, looking at the roads built up with traffic. He couldn’t smell the cloud of black smoke burning off him, he couldn’t even see it, but everyone around him stared in awe as he stumbled down the street, a haze of smoke following his movements.

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