Flight 259

Chapter 4- Charlie

I awake to the acrid smell of jet fuel. I've got to get out of here. Somehow I survived the crash, but if the plane explodes I will defiantly not wake up again. I push my jacket off of me and gasp at the horrors surrounding me. Bodies. So many people dead. Some are burned, and some must have died when we hit the ground. If it wasn't for the leather of my jacket I would probably be dead. It had protected me from the fire that must have started as we slid along the ground. I try to stand but collapse in pain. My calf has a gash that is at least six inches long and deep enough to need stitches. Slowly rising on one foot I reach up and grab my carry on. Thank the gods it's still there. I grab my first aid kit, the rubbing alcohol and a bandage. This is going to hurt. I soak the bandage in alcohol and before I can think about it, I press it against my leg. I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood but I do not scream. I'm too well trained to make loud noises without knowing where I am. I then quickly wrap the wound in a clean bandage and attempt to stand. It's still excruciating but I will be able to do what I have to do.
I walk along the aisle. Every once in a while glancing to my left and right to see if I could spot the rise and fall of a chest, the twitching of a finger. Nothing. No signs of life. I exit the plane through a gaping hole and can't believe what I see, or rather, what I don't see. The entire mid-section of the plane is gone. The plane must of split into three parts. The front, middle, and back. I can see the front part of the plane about 200m ahead of me, but the middle part of the plane is nowhere to be seen.
I look towards the front of the plane and see movement.
"Hello?" I call.
"Help." I hear in response.
Whipping around I see a burned hand rise up from one of the seats.
"Please."
I rush over and assess the situation. The man is trapped in the torn wreckage of the seat in front of him. I can't see a way to get him out without help.
"I'll be right back." I say.
I run out of the plane. I can only save him if I can find my suitcase. I look around. There! I see an opening to the baggage compartment. Or at least what's left of it. First though I take off anything metal. One spark could blow everything up.
I pull myself into the baggage compartment and look for the tell-tail reflective tape on my luggage. I see it! But it's underneath a huge pile of luggage that must of been thrown around in the crash. I can get it but if will take time, and time is something I'm lacking at the moment. Well, what else am I going to do. I walk over and start pulling luggage off of the pile.
Finally! I grab my bag and run out of the plane heading towards the man. I'm exhausted but my body is rushed with adrenaline.
"Hey! I'm back, I've got some tools here that can cut you out." I call.
No response. A ball of cold forms in my chest. I drop the bag and sprint to the seat. The man lies there unconscious.
"Hello? Can your hear me?" I say.
I watch for the rise and fall of air going in and out of his lungs. Nothing.
"Buddy?" I whisper.
Slowly I reach over and touch two fingers to his neck. There's nothing. I'm to late.
***
Out of the over three-hundred people on the plane fifty-seven survivors have gathered, and I know immediately that at least ten of them won't make it through the night and many more won't last very long without help. But I know none of us will last without water.
I walk over to the group of survivors.
"Anyone who is mostly unharmed come here." I say in a commanding voice.
About fifteen people walk over. I quickly glance over and immediately tell five of them to go back because of their injuries.
"The rest of us need to go find water." I say handing out some containers I found.
"What makes you in charge?" says a girl with choppy black hair and a nose ring.
"Do you know how to survive in the Amazon Rainforest?" I shoot back.
She stares at me but doesn't say anything
"That's what I thought. As I was saying, we won't last more than 3 days without water and once it hits a plant it may not be safe anymore. So we must find a river or stream."
"Ok, let's go." says a man in a torn suit.
We walk into the forest.
***
We have been walking for 2 hours. I've been marking my path along the way.
"Ok people, let's take a break." I say.
"I'm hungry." Someone whines.
"We can survive three weeks without food, but we won't last three days without water." I say.
"Breaks over." I say about ten minutes later. "Let's move."
***
Eventually we come across a stream.
"Ok, fill up your containers, do not go into the water. There could be any number of dangerous animals." I say.
I go to the filled containers and pull out my bottle of water purification drops.
"What's that." Someone says.
"Drugs." I say sarcastically.
"It's water purification drops, right?" Says the man in the suit.
"Yes, how do you know that?" I inquire.
"I run canoe trips at camp during the summer."
I look him over once more. He must be younger than he looks.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Elijah" he responds.
"Ok people, the walk back is going to be a lot harder than the walk here. I will lead and Elijah will bring up the rear because he seems to know at least something about survival." I say.
***
We return to camp to bad news. Two people have died while we were gone. I'm not happy, but I can't say I'm surprised either, one was missing their entire hand while the other looked like she had internal bleeding.
I hear someone crying. I look over my shoulder and much to my surprise see the girl with the nose ring sobbing.
I walk over.
"Did you know one of those people?" I ask.
"Yes." She chokes out. And point to the girl with possible internal bleeding.
"Your friend?" I say.
She nods.
"What do you want to do?" I ask.
"She deserves a burial." The girl says.
"If she's buried here then she can't go home once help arrives. How about we put her body in the baggage compartment where she will be safe and cold."
The girl nods slowly.
"Actually." I say to the whole group. "If we can get as many dead into the baggage compartment as we can they're bodies will stay nicer until help comes and they can get a proper burial."
Many people nod.
"But remember, there is still fuel in this plane. One spark could kill us all." I warn.
"Lets wait until morning to do everything." Elijah shouts. "It's getting dark we should find safe places to sleep."
"You're right." I say. "Everyone, I want you all inside the planes within the next hour. If you feel uncomfortable with the dead people you can move them into the baggage compartment immediately... Go."
***
I go into the cockpit of the plane and grimace. The pilots didn't make it. Slowly, I manage to get them out of their seats and to the baggage compartment. Even though I have little water to spare I can't resist rinsing off my hands. Settling into the seat the day comes rushing back to me. The man I couldn't save, the Lewis'. I have no idea what happened to them, they were on the middle part of the plane, I hope they are okay. The trip to the river, my leg- Wait, my leg! I forgot all about it. I reach down and take of the bandage. I curse loudly. Infection is beginning to set in. I douse it in rubbing alcohol. Tomorrow I will have to find a better solution. For now though, I apply a fresh bandage and hope for the best.
I close my eyes and fall asleep.