So that I could still see what was going on, I made my way to a cluster of computers set up on a table, which showed a live stream of all the different cameras set up to film the stunt.
The show’s host was about to start the countdown. I looked into the screen showing Kiegan’s face. He was determined, focused. So was Antoine. A second later both men were on the edge of the helicopter. I never would have guessed that I could have been that nervous about this stunt. After all, it was possible that things could go horribly wrong. I knew there were a couple of boats with scuba divers ready to go get either one of the men if they got into trouble if they fell in the water, but at the same time, it seemed so unlikely. Kiegan especially had this fire about him, he seemed invincible. Still, as I watched him begin to climb down the cargo net, making sure to get his ankles securely wrapped in the netting before moving on with his arms, my heart began to pound in my chest.
Antoine was definitely going much faster than Kiegan. When Antoine got to the bottom portion of the net, rather than put his feet in the netting he just hung from his hands and began to swing from square to square of the cargo net, like a kid effortlessly making his way across a set of handlebars.
I watched as Antoine was almost at the end, when suddenly a gust of wind from the helicopter’s rotors blew him off balance. My breath caught as I watched the incredible athlete hanging from one arm, dangling high above the water.
Full credit to Antoine, he didn’t panic at all. He didn’t look down. Instead, he looked up at the cargo net and made a huge effort to reach up and grab it once more with his other hand, but as he missed he lost his grip with the hand still holding him to the net and began to freefall.
“Oh my God,” I whispered to myself as I watched the screen. Antoine’s huge body plunged towards the earth, his arms and legs swinging around just a tiny bit. Just before he hit the water Antoine put his arms up into the air to avoid hurting them on his landing. The splash for such a big man hitting the water at such a high speed was surprisingly small.
While one of the boats began making its way to where Antoine went in, throwing a lifesaver out to him, I re-focused on Kiegan. He was slowly, but surely, making his way across the net, and had almost made it over to the other side. Now he was slowly turning himself around, having to make a 180 degree turn so he could go from feet first to head first to get back into the other side of the chopper.
I watched with bated breath as Kiegan seemed to take ten minutes to move those final three feet, before finally grabbing something inside the helicopter and pulling himself back inside.
One of the cameras grabbed a closeup of his face as he lay down on the floor of the helicopter, a sheen of sweat over his face, obviously completely exhausted.
Five minutes later both men were back on solid ground, Antoine brought over on the boat, Kiegan by the helicopter which he had successfully crossed, winning the stunt.
Both men embraced when they saw each other, Antoine said something to Kiegan, who patted him on the shoulder in that way men do.
When Kiegan saw me, he flashed me a grin.
“Impressed?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I guess so. I gotta say, I didn’t think you were going to win that one.”
“Neither did I, little sis, neither did I.”
I grabbed a coke from one of the coolers full of drinks and went back to the outskirts of all the happenings. It was crazy just how many people were needed to shoot one episode of a reality TV show. I found a giant box to sit on and sipped my drink while I watched the crazy happening around me.
Suddenly, I felt someone near me.
I looked over to see Antoine King holding a beer.
“Hey, mind if I join you?” he asked. I scootched over to make enough room for the monstrous man to sit down next to me.
“Not at all. You deserve that,” I told him, nodding to his beer.
“Thanks,” Antoine laughed. “I think so too. That was hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“If it makes you feel any better, if it wasn’t for that gust of wind you would have romped it in. Kiegan had no chance, you were so much faster than him.”
“Yeah. Oh well, finishing is half the battle.”
“Did it hurt when you landed in the water?”
“Definitely. I’m going to be sore for a few days.”
I shook my head. “I could never do that. I mean, even if I had the physical strength to even try, I could never dare do something that could result in me falling over a hundred feet into the water.”
“It’s all about training your mind. You can’t let fear control you. Kiegan says you’re his new personal assistant.”
“Yeah. Tina.”
“Antoine. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. So why did you decide to go on the show?”
“I figured there’d be a good chance a bunch of pro scouts would be watching. Even if it’s just a couple, if I made a good impression for one or two of them, well that’s enough, isn’t it?”