7-6-21 - 30 is the New Dead

 30 is the New Dead

IDEA - 7-6-21

by

Patrick Ryan

Jennifer, 29, was in a terrible accident eight years ago. She has no memory of her life before the accident, and all she remembers is being in the middle of the woods, bleeding from her head. She was rescued by Jerry, now 62, who she fell in love with. Despite their age difference, Jennifer's love for Jerry persisted as he visited her in the hospital every day while she was recovering, and they married. 

Eight years later and Jennifer is about to celebrate her 30th birthday. Jerry isn't a good-looking man, he's not wealthy, and he doesn't have any unique skills; however, Jennifer adores him, and he saved her life. For her birthday, he is taking her to the island of Saint Martin. Jerry made sure to include parasailing in the island excursion because she had always wanted to try it. 

Jennifer and Jerry appear to be as in love as they were when they first met in the hospital. Jennifer starts parasailing lessons, and she's a natural. Jennifer inquires as to what she might do if the parachute fails. Her instructor jokes that he once survived a parachute failure while skydiving when his chute didn't open. He told her that he tried to land on the balls of his feet to absorb the force and aimed for trees to slow his fall. 

"Good thing I tucked and protected my head; I would be dead," the instructor says. 

"You're in good hands; I've been in tough spots before," the instructor reassures.  

When the training is finished, they take to the skies as the boat heads out into open water. The wind picks up, and Jennifer and the instructor soar 20 to 30 feet in the air; it's just as much fun as Jennifer had imagined. A break in one of the ropes holding the parachute in place occurs just as the boat is about to turn around. Jennifer and her instructor take off 50 feet higher in the air. When the wind stops, Jennifer and her instructor fall 50 feet into the ocean because there is nothing holding the parachute to the boat anymore. The instructor crashed awkwardly and died instantly. Jennifer was able to direct her fall at an angle that saved her life, but she passed out in the middle of the ocean. The boat radioed the Coast Guard, who responded by sending a crew to the area. Jennifer was airlifted to the nearest hospital in an unresponsive state. 

Her brain was swollen, and the surgeon initially thought she wouldn't survive; however, just as he was about to leave the operating room, a spike on a monitor indicated brain activity. The surgeon takes a risk by resetting Jennifer's brain with electroconvulsive shock. The surgeon connects the electrodes and uses electricity to zap her. Jennifer is initially unresponsive, but the monitors come to life after a few seconds, indicating that she will survive. 

Jennifer is in the recovery ward, slowly waking up in the presence of doctors, nurses, and her adoring husband, Jerry. Jennifer's memories from before the accident eight years ago are starting to come back to her, unbeknownst to everyone in the room. 

Jennifer recalls that her husband, Jerry, kidnapped her rather than rescuing her. He held her captive in his basement for three months, brainwashed her, erased her memory with electroshock treatments, and took her to the hospital, claiming to have discovered her in the woods while on a hike. Jerry was not the caring husband Jennifer had thought; he was a sociopath. 

Jennifer didn't know how to handle the situation and didn't want Jerry to know she was aware of what he had done, so she pretended everything was normal. Jennifer was eventually discharged from the hospital after a week. 

She begins to look into Jerry's past after the couple returns home. She eventually discovered that Jerry had previously been married twice, both times rescuing a woman in her early twenties and playing the role of the hero, which helped the young woman fall in love with an older, unattractive man. They were all killed in an accident while on vacation, just before their 30th birthdays. This was no coincidence to Jennifer; she had no doubt in her mind that Jerry had rigged the parasail to fail and was attempting to murder her before her 30th birthday. Nothing could keep him from killing her now that they were back home. 

Jennifer knew that if she wanted to exact revenge on Jerry for everything he'd done to her and the other women, she'd have to keep the lie of their marriage going. Jerry would only suffer if he was caught in the act of attempting to murder her. Jerry wanted to make amends for the accident in Saint Martin a few weeks later. He had the brilliant idea of taking the couple up to a remote mountaintop hotel for a weekend alone. This was, without a doubt, his second attempt to murder Jennifer. 

On the way up the mountain, Jennifer noticed that the guardrail on the narrow road leading up the mountain was missing as the couple drove through the snow. She remembered one of Jerry's previous wives had died while attempting to change a tire on this same narrow road. Just as Jennifer noticed this coincidence, Jerry pulled over to the side of the road and stated that something was wrong with the car; Jennifer became terrified and quickly exited. Jerry followed her out into the snow-covered mountain top.

"Where are you going?" Jerry inquired.

"I know what you're planning to do; I know everything; my memories from before the accident have returned," Jennifer responded.

"This is insane. What am I up to?" Jerry inquired.

"You're going to murder me just like the others. Oh, you didn't think I knew about the others, will I do, and it's not going to work," Jennifer screams back.

"Hmm, I see someone's been playing detective," Jerry says threateningly.

Jennifer tries to flee, but Jerry tackles her into a snowbank opposite the rail-free cliff. They struggle and begin to wrestle, Jerry attempting to pull Jennifer over the cliff as Jennifer attempts to avoid the fatal fall. She starts to lose traction as Jerry pushes her towards the edge of the cliff. Jerry cannot drag her over completely, as Jennifer grabs him by the shoulders and hurls both of them over the cliff. Jerry perishes in the fall, but Jennifer recalls the skydiving story from her parasailing instructor in Saint Martin. She tucked her chin into her chest and aimed for the trees below. Jennifer tries to land on the balls of her feet, but she collides with several branches on her way down to the ground. A car drove by a few minutes later and noticed the abandoned vehicle. Jennifer had survived; she had broken both legs and would need months to recover, but she was still alive, and Jerry, the psychopath, was dead.