The Shock of the New

Chapter 57: The Intellectual Circle

Sam Hopkins opened his eyes and coughed. The world around him had become a twisted wreck of metal and glass. The air smelled smokey and felt cold. Sam coughed again and attempted to stand up, only for a shooting pain in his leg to cause him to sit back down.

Dazed, Sam tried to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was Charlie telling him to hold on tight as the Sky Bus plummeted towards the ground.

"Charlie..." Sam then realised that Charlie was nowhere to be seen. He began to panic. He was marooned in the middle of nowhere, injured and alone.

For a second, he began to sob

"Don't start that up!" he told himself "Right now the important thing is finding your bearings and getting to safety"
Sam quickly realised that if he was going to do so, he'd have to ignore the pain in his leg and get away from the crash site. Sam put his hands on the floor to help himself up and counted to three. Then he carefully pulled himself up from the floor, wincing at the pain that blasted through his leg.

When he stood up, Sam wobbled a bit and grabbed onto a nearby control panel to steady himself. Then he slowly hobbled his way out of the wreckage.

When he stepped outside, it was night time and the air was even colder. Sam could see his breath misting as he exhaled.

Sam stumbled briefly, but managed to get his balance. As he looked around, Sam could see no signs of anybody. The scenery consisted entirely of barren hills without a single sign of human settlement anywhere

"Hello?" Sam called out "Is anybody out there?"
"Only me!" replied a familiar voice.

"Charlie?" Sam called out "Is that you?"

"Who else could it be?" Charlie's voice laughed "I'm over on the other side of the wreck!"

Slowly but surely, Sam made his way around the remains of the Sky Bus. When he reached the other side, he saw Charlie sitting by a campfire. Sam staggered over to it and sat opposite him. When he sat down, Charlie laughed with relief

"We're a real pair of tough old boots, ain't we"
Sam smiled and shivered. Charlie proceeded to hand him a blanket

"Here take it. It's an emergency fire blanket I found back in the cockpit"
Sam quickly wrapped it around himself. Then he looked at Charlie

"Why'd you leave me back in there?"
"Sorry bout that" Charlie smiled sheepishly "Thought you'd bit the dust"
Charlie then noticed Sam's leg

"Lemme take a look at that" Charlie produced a first aid box (which was commonly supplied on a Sky Bus in case of situations like this) and leaned over to Sam's leg. He lifted up the trouser leg and made a disappointed sucking sound

"Dear oh dear, that's a nasty wound. Hold still, I've got a couple of things that should help."
Charlie then produced a bottle of antiseptic and carefully applied it to the wound. Sam winced as it stung at his skin, but held his tongue.

After cleaning the wound, Charlie applied a bandage right around it. When that was finished, he stood back

"There we are. It should be a little sore to walk on for a while, but at least you'll still have your leg"

Sam smiled at him "Thanks"

Charlie then reached into his coat and produced a glass bottle of strong smelling clear liquid. He handed it to Sam

"Drink it. It'll get your head on straight"

Sam took one whiff of the bottle and squinted "What is this stuff?"

"Just a nice bottle of rum" Charlie told him "It won't hurt you"
Although he was apprehensive, Sam took the bottle and took a little sip. He then coughed before handing it back to Charlie who proceeded to pocket it