Descent into Darkness

One

Jack McCarthy surfaced, expecting rich, plentiful oxygen, but instead received a mouthful of something coppery and tangy. It was thick, and it went down his throat distastefully without his permission. Then air that could be as valuable as gold filled his lungs, but did nothing to remove his utter disgust of blood.

His feet kicked below the dark blue water while his arms flailed, reaching for anything, anything at all to support his body. They latched on to a white piece of exterior, or would've been white if not for the oil covering it. his shaking fingers tightened on the side away from him; the bottom of his chest still in the water. He tested this new object that was supporting him, he pulled his body up more on top of the thing, then stopped as it wobbled. The part where his chest was resting on tipped, threatening to flip over, but he wrapped a leg around to steady it.

With now a somewhat stable support ( yet exhausting to stay on), he looked at his surroundings. It was so many things to process, Jack had to break it down.

The water... it was what took up the horizon, stretching on and on and on...

Next to him was a very dark shade of the stuff. But then he realized it wasn't water, he was surrounded by oil. It must've leaked out of a ruptured fuel tank.

And yet, where was this tank? There was no sign of the plane that had brought them here, it had been swallowed by the ocean just a little bit ago. The sound it had created was enough to make you shiver, the crunch of metal and torrent of air bubbles as it descended into the depths of the sea.

And now little islands of plane parts drifted on the surface. It wasn't neat, and it wasn't what society envisioned a plane crash as. Hundreds of random objects were spilled out into the deep dark waters of the Pacific. Suitcases must have opened up, and the interior of the Boeing 777-300ER must have spilled its contents.

The Boeing 777-300ER. Jack had read about it in the flight manual before the crash. It could seat 458 passengers, being one of Air Canada's largest commercial aircraft. As for the other 346 passengers he did not know who they were. It had been a school trip, bringing Montreal Intermediate School's eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. The destination was Brisbane,Australia, to "give the kids a learning experience they'll never forget." What a trip so far.

Jack gagged on the blood still caught in his throat. He was almost positive it wasn't his own, but he shoved that idea aside for fear of what it would do to him. As far as he knew he didn't have any injuries, minus several bruises and oil coating him from the sternum down. However, the sun was strong and it bounced off the always changing waves. If he kept his eyes on the water for too long they would burn. But where was everyone else? Near him, about 30 meters away, was a cluster of moving shapes. Someone else.

This wasn't right. Out of 458 people, he could only spot 5 or 6? To his right was another couple people scattered around. That makes 9. 9 people. Did they all disappear? It could be likely... saying that there was barely enough time to bail the sinking plane. Impact speed was just too fast for everyone to get out...

No. He could not think like that. The deaths of hundreds of people, right in front of him one minute and gone the next was unthinkable. They just must be lost...

Or maybe he was lost? He noticed that he was farther away from a random floating structure than he was before.

No, he couldn't be lost... when he had surfaced he was sure he was right over the plane. Or where ever the plane sank to. The object he was holding on to suddenly slipped, dropping him in to the ocean waters. He gasped, throwing his arms at a handhold. His feet started up, kicking wildly to get back on. He couldn't survive for long without this support. Jack finally pulled himself on top. his bottom resting on the top, which was now 3 inches underwater. Jack knew it was done for , and would start to sink soon. His eyes were peeled to the distance, away from where the plane sank and away from people. He needed to get there. Now.