When twenty-four-year-old Kate first arrived at the military base, many people believed she wouldn’t last long.

She was one of the top graduates of the military academy, an excellent marksman, quick to make decisions, and never afraid to take responsibility. However, those very qualities quickly turned several fellow soldiers against her.

Three soldiers from her unit, in particular, grew to hate her.

For several years, they had been considered the unofficial leaders of the unit. New recruits tried not to argue with them, and some officers preferred to turn a blind eye to their behavior.

Everything changed two months after Kate’s arrival.

During a night shift, she accidentally discovered that these soldiers were taking military equipment from the warehouse and selling it through a trusted middleman.

At first, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Kate spent several days gathering evidence before reporting everything to her commanding officers.

The investigation confirmed her claims.

As a result, one sergeant received disciplinary punishment, two soldiers lost their bonuses, and several others were assigned to the toughest duties.

From that day on, their hatred toward her only grew stronger.

They called her a snitch, tried to set her up whenever possible, and constantly searched for a way to get revenge.

However, they couldn’t do anything openly.

A few weeks later, the unit was sent to a mountainous region for training exercises.

Several groups were scheduled to be deployed near a remote training base.

That was exactly where the military helicopter was headed that day.

The weather was clear.

Below stretched mountains, forests, and a huge lake surrounded by rocky cliffs.

The soldiers sat along the sides of the aircraft, preparing for deployment.

Kate was positioned near the open helicopter door.

One of her enemies kept exchanging glances with his friends.

The expressions on their faces made it obvious they were planning something.

At one point, one of the soldiers stepped closer and smirked.

— So, hero, how are you enjoying military service? — he asked mockingly.

Kate said nothing.

Then another soldier suddenly shoved her in the shoulder.

She lost her balance and nearly fell out. At the last second, she managed to grab a metal handrail beside the door.

— What are you doing?! I don’t have a parachute! — she screamed.

The helicopter continued flying forward.

The rushing air was literally pulling her outside.

Instead of helping, the men started laughing.

— Relax, nothing’s going to happen to you, — one of them said.

Kate desperately tried to pull herself back inside.

Her fingers were already beginning to slip from the rail.

Then one of the soldiers stepped forward and kicked her again.

The kick struck her directly in the hand. She couldn’t hold on any longer. Her grip slipped from the metal.

For a second, she hung in the air before plunging downward at terrifying speed. Her scream quickly disappeared beneath the roar of the rotor blades.

The soldiers looked down and laughed. No regret. Someone even remarked that now nobody would be reporting them to their superiors anymore.

They were convinced everything had ended exactly as they wanted. None of them had any idea what would happen next.

The fall was horrifying.

Kate was plunging straight toward the surface of the enormous mountain lake.

The impact with the water was so powerful that she lost consciousness for several seconds.

She suffered multiple bruises, a dislocated shoulder, and several broken bones.

But somehow, she survived.

She was discovered by fishermen on the opposite shore of the lake.

They immediately called rescue services.

A few hours later, Kate was already in the hospital.

When she regained consciousness, she gave investigators a detailed account of everything that had happened.

At first, her fellow soldiers denied any responsibility.

They claimed that the recruit had simply slipped near the helicopter door.

However, the investigation quickly revealed a very different story.

There were surveillance cameras onboard.

In addition, several soldiers from another unit had witnessed the incident with their own eyes.

A few months later, the case went to court.

In the courtroom, the defendants no longer looked so confident.

When the prosecutor presented the helicopter footage, it became obvious that there was no way to explain their actions away.

Yet even then, they continued looking for excuses.

One of the defendants claimed that nobody had intended to kill the young woman.

According to him, they knew there was a lake beneath the helicopter.

Another soldier insisted that it had only been a prank that went wrong.

The third claimed that he simply hadn’t thought about the consequences.

However, the judge reminded them of one simple fact.

A person without a parachute should never be outside a flying helicopter, regardless of whether there is water below or not.

Any reasonable person understands that such a fall can easily result in death.

In the end, all three were found guilty of attempted murder of a fellow soldier and abuse of authority.

They received real prison sentences.

When they were escorted out of the courtroom, none of them were smiling anymore.

As for Kate, she returned to active duty a year later.