Yesterday in English we had to construct a story titled "A matter of life and death" based on a plot we made day before yesterday.
The word limit was 500 to 600 words, but since you all know what I did, I "just extended" it to a minimum of 1000.
I've to rewrite it but I thought of posting it so that I can submit it to the Writing forum when I get unbanned...also TL;DR warning.

A matter of life and death

"Hey, Peter", I asked, "why not we go skydiving? It's currently on my bucket list, and from what I've heard it's pretty fun."
"Well....okay, I guess, seeing how dull our lives are, skydiving would be a good change; I'll be renting an airplane. See me at the CliffHanger airport at 4:30pm. Don't ask any questions."
I accepted reluctantly, as I wanted to ask Peter where he had learnt to fly a plane, but I knew one thing: We were going skydiving!
At 4:30, I saw Peter at the CliffHanger airport, and he motioned to me a deserted strip of runway a half-kilometer away from the airport; I didn't even know it existed! Anyhow, we boarded the small plane just a few metres from the strip; I figured this was the plane Peter had rented.
As I pulled up our supplies (including one parachute), I noticed there was a small tear on the lower right-hand side of the parachute holder (a big bag). Me being the optimistic person I was, I shook it off and ignored Peter's remarks about it.
Peter started the engines, increased the power on the plane, and we took off.

Chapter 1.5 :: Jay

The feeling of flying is surreal and rare; it is what Man has always dreamed of. This was not possible until recently. While people think they may fall down and plummet to the ground, it is a wonderful experience: It's not about the flying.

It's never about the flying.

Chapter 2 :: Jay

My time had come. It was my duty to jump, and since Peter was the only one out of the two of us who knew how to fly the plane, I had no choice either way. Maybe I'll fly the plane next time.
As I yanked the lever on the door, Peter tightened his seat belt and handed to me the parachute holder. I calmed myself and waited for the signal, at which point...
...I jumped. It felt lovely: The wind tearing through my face, the whooshing noise of the wind, and the sense of altitude.

Except I wasn't going down.
Then it struck me: Remember the tear on the bag? That must've let some wire loose, which may have attached itself to the plane. The problem is, if I tugged too hard at the wire, I'd strain it too much...and the secondary parachute (for emergencies) would open...pulling my head off with it. So here I was, hanging by a wire, no way of knowing whether it was flimsy or not, about to be killed.

My only help was Peter.

Chapter 3 :: Peter

I noticed that, despite me going forward and leaning out, Jay's parachute wasn't visible.
Then it struck me.

The tear on the bag he gave to me. It must've let some wire loose, and that must've attached to the plane. I looked around, scanning every nook and cranny with my eyes while stationed in the cockpit of the plane I flew.
And I found it. It was on the wing.
I frowned. If I flew any faster, I'd strain the wire too much and kill Jay in the process. If I flew too slow, the plane would stall and take both of us down with it.
Not wanting to endanger the life of my friend, I slowed down the plane slightly, accounted for the slight increase of pitch due to my weight, and searched for an instrument that would be able to cut the wire. And I found it. It was at the back of the plane, in a cupboard.
Now knowing where the instrument was, I slowly stepped -- the plane was in a slight nosedive -- and tried to grab the instrument.
Before I could open the cupboard, the plane's nose shot up. I scampered back to the cockpit, and the plane's nose stabilized. I tried again.
And again, each time failing; eventually I realised that I didn't account for the change in pitch because of Jay's weight! I set the plane into a firm nosedive, and ran to the back, opened the cupboard, grabbed the instrument, and scurried back to the cockpit.

Now I had to go to the wing and cut the wire.

Chapter 3.5 :: Jay

During the course of the flight, I rapidly swung to and fro, the only thing holding me a wire which was indeed getting strained a lot; I thought to myself, dear God, cut this thing already and let me fall!
As I peered over the edge of the wing, I noticed Peter was not in the cockpit. Was he going to cut the wire? Did he even know I was here? Or had he ditched the plane? My mind was flooded with thoughts, of fear and understanding; of concentration and worry.
I feared this was the last breath I may breather, and closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the unknown to catch me.

Chapter 4 :: Peter

As I secured the safety-catch over my stomach, I stepped out onto the wing, clutching tightly the edges. That's when I thought I was going to pass out: Not only was the plane too high, there was almost no oxygen! I wonder whether Jay had died.
I scrambled back to the cockpit where I set the nose to a mild nosedive, and waited.
Soon after, when we reached 8000 feet (where I guess there was enough oxygen to breathe) I brought a hook connected to a wire, apart from my safety-catch, so I could pull Jay back up easier than pulling it with my arms and hoping I was strong enough.

Teeth clenched, I attached the hook to Jay's rogue wire and cut the wire with the instrument ever so deftly, not wanting to stress the wire -- it was already strained a lot -- any more.
After cutting the wire, I pulled the hook slowly -- by this time the plane was turning and could thus potentially crash -- at which point I realised the effort was fruitless. I had to jump with him, and pull the wire -- for him -- and hope the parachute would deploy.

I jumped.

Chapter 4.5 :: Jay

The swell feeling of falling through the sky. The wind in your face, tears streaming down your eyes, not out of fear, but out of joy.
My eyes started flickering, and opened after 2 seconds, only to be closed by the gushing wind. I had't felt this before, I thought. I was in a state of euphoria. To the side of me, I saw Peter, who merely waved.
Then I thought about it. Was I dead? What was Peter doing here? Was I dreaming? Did I finally snap?

Chapter 5 :: Peter

After I saw Jay become conscious, I waved to him: the air whooshing past us was too loud, so speaking wouldn't work.
I counted down to 50, and tugged at the ripcord. Hard.
The parachute deployed, and we drastically slowed down in seconds, but something was not right.
We were going too fast, and it was because the parachute supported only one person.
As we reached 5000 feet, I decided whether I had to jump away or Jay had to. I wanted neither, but only one of us could stay.

Chapter 5.5 :: Jay

I was like a lightbulb. Always either conscious, or unconscious. I was hanging by a thread, and a flimsy one at that. I had the willpower, just not the strength. My heart was slowing down, each beat loosening that very thread.
I saw a white light in the distance, headed towards me. Far away, it became brighter and closer every second.
It was the last I saw of Peter, and the last breath I breathed on this planet before heading to my unknown destination.

My soul was free at last.

Chapter 6 :: Peter

Trying to fight back tears, I watched Jay breathe his last, at which point I realised I was the only one left. I pulled all the wires connecting Jay to the backpack, and strapped them onto me. I pushed Jay aside, and he just flew high up in the air. It was the last I saw of Jay's remains, and his location will be forever unknown to me.

As I touched ground, I realized what an exhilarating experience that was, and how I managed to save a person from the clutches of death, yet watch him die at the mercy of the winds.

The end.

Alternate ending (for those of you who like happy endings)

Chapter 0 :: Jay

My heart surged back into action. Blood surging through me, I was able to open my eyes.
The white light.

That's what it meant. I saw a roof in front of me, enlarging as I fell, and since I had no equipment, I could only watch as I tore through the roof.
After I tore through the roof, I landed hard on a white bed. The springs on the bed broke, and I could feel many, if not all the bones in my body crunch, snapping like twigs from the impact.
But who cares? I was alive. I was ALIVE!

Criticism is always welcome.