Free Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric S. Nylund

sudden bone-jarring deceleration.
    The spinning world stopped.
    Gasping and blinking away his tears, Shane saw the last bit of amber light fade from the edge of the world, and the stars gently rock back and forth around him.
    Overhead the wind whistled and rippled though a black canopy. Ropes connected Shane to this wing, and his hands instinctively grabbed them. As he pulled, the wing turned and angled in that direction.
    The sudden motion made him dizzy again, so he let go.
    Shane squinted and made out shapes swimming around him: black on black like the bats on Harvest. Those had to be the other kids, gliding like he was.
    His face heated as he remembered how he'd chickened out at the last minute in the Pelican… in front of everyone. Even that little girl had jumped.
    Shane never wanted to be scared like that again. Maybe if he imagined that he was already dead, then there would be nothing to be afraid of. It'd be like he'd died with his parents on Harvest.
    He mustered this mental image—dead and nothing to fear— and to test it, he looked down. Past his dangling feet there was a two-centimeter green square. After a moment, he realized it was the field where all the Pelicans had landed. Tiny lines snaked from the field illuminated by tiny firefly pinpoints,
    "Nothing to be scared of," he whispered, trying to convince himself.
    He forced himself to pull the ropes, angle downward, and speed toward the green field.
    Wind whipped through the black silk wing, and tore at Shane's face. He didn't care. He wanted down fast. Maybe if he was the first one down, he'd show everyone that he wasn't scared.
    Shane saw tiny people and scorch marks where the Pelicans had burned the grass. And no other parachutes yet. Good. He'd be first, and he'd land right in front of the Green Knight.
    Shane hit the ground. His knees pistoned into his chest and knocked the wind out of him.
    The black wing caught a breeze, jerked him back on his feet, and dragged him across the grass and dirt. He gasped for air, but he wasn't scared. He was angry that he'd look so stupid having to wrestle with this parachute.
    The Falcon Wing hit the fence, and stuck there, fluttering.
    Shane got up and undipped himself from the harness. Something hot trickled down his legs. There was no way he'd been so scared he pissed his pants. With dread, he looked. It was blood. The skin on the back of his legs was raw. He took a tentative step and fire
    crawled up both thighs.
    He laughed. Blood or piss, what did it matter? He'd made it.
    "Hey, dumbass. What's so funny?"
    Shane turned and saw the kid who had pushed him. He lay on the grass, half tangled in
    his harness.
    Shane marched over to him, ignoring the pain in his legs.
    The kid got to one knee and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Rob—"
    Shane hit him square in the nose. Blood gushed from the kid's face and he reeled over.
    He was going to pay for shoving him. He was the only one who knew that Shane had
    frozen on the edge and chickened out. He'd have to pay for that, too.
    Shane started pounding him with right and left fists.
    The kid held up his arms to fend off the blows, but Shane landed a few good ones,
    skinning his knuckles.
    Robert headbutted Shane, and he fell off.
    Robert stood, shook off his harness, then growling, leapt onto Shane.
    They rolled on the grass, kicking and punching.
    Shane heard a loud snap and he wasn't sure if it was his or Rob's bone breaking; he
    didn't care, he kept hitting and hitting until blood spilled into his eyes and he couldn't see anymore.
    Large hands grabbed Shane and pulled him off. Still swinging, Shane connected with one of the Navy men, bruising the bone over his eye.
    The man dropped him.
    "Stand down!" barked a voice with godlike authority.
    Shane blinked and wiped blood from his eyes. The silver-haired man who had given the order to jump stood between him and the other kid.
    The Navy man he'd hit pressed one hand to his swollen eye and said, "Chief, these two were going