Nearly Nuptials

I've got 500 words for Dude Write Flash Fiction! This month's prompt is an image given by Joe Cawley:

As she ran, she realized what a bad idea it had been. No matter how much she bunched it, held it, or hiked it, the dress was in the way and in the wind.

It wasn't just a bad idea. It was her bad idea. He'd wanted to tandem jump, how had he put it, "take the leap of faith together."

Skydiving in a big dress had been her worst idea. Blown almost immediately away from her groom from the moment she stepped from the plane, she hadn't had the chance to say two words, let alone her carefully rehearsed vows.

He'd given chase, but without sails, it was pointless. Even tucked into an aerodynamic position, he couldn't keep up. Like a falcon chasing an F-18, he was doomed from the beginning, needing to trade altitude for speed. She secretly hoped he hadn't given up, but that fleeting thought gave way to concern. Did he pull up? How far away was he?

How far she'd gone off course was hard to fathom. It felt as though she was caught in the winds of a tornado. What had the pastor said in their pre-marriage counseling, "life will do everything you let it to pull you apart."

She knew she had to wait a certain amount of time before pulling her chute which further compounded her problem. On a good day, she would have had a tough time getting down in the reception area, but with the limited range walkies she had a ride waiting.

Now, she was beyond the limited range and past even the open range, she had run nearer to the mountain range. These woods seemed endless. Bushes with thorns reached out at every turn to grasp her dress, hoping she would fall. She had the light of the sun to guide her in a consistent direction, but was it the right direction? She stopped to check her walkie, it was silent yet seemingly functional. She gave a brief plea for help, knowing it likely fell on deaf ears. God was listening, but she was sure he was also laughing.

Soon it would be dark and she could probably camp beneath her dress, but she would be by herself, in the woods, in the dark, a feast for whatever life had to offer.

She stopped and looked up to get her bearings and though how amazingly fast an adventure turns into a nightmare when you face it alone.