The Flight Of Your Life

Transfer

The mainland was visible amongst the horizon. I let out a sigh of relief. The ocean had become my worst enemy. I wanted to be able to step out onto dry land and not feel the motion of rocking gently. The ocean was full of secrets. It was a trained expert in hiding evidence and accidentally misplacing clues. It made rescue teams lives harder and survival rates of its patients much lower. Today, the Atlantic Ocean was playing nice.. It had allowed our aircraft to float upon its surface... It had allowed many of us to escape death and it had allowed us a chance of rescue.

***

My eyes were still a little blurry and unfocused, but when I tried my hardest I could make out the outline of Captain Hamilton. I wasn't alone... Thank goodness for that! I had no recollection of boarding the helicopter however, I was fully aware that this was the first helicopter load of passengers. This had to mean that I had sustained the worst injuries, but looking on the positive side... I wasn't aware of what they really were. I was leaving the complex discussion to the doctors, they knew best.. I didn't want to know about what they were going to do with me. I was content with the fact that we were leaving the ocean and finally approaching land. I could leave the scent of ocean salt and blood behind and store new scents of hospital cleanliness inside which offered me hope.

My facial muscles ached with glee. The smile that was upon my face when we took off from Heathrow airport earlier today was encroaching back. My vision was beginning to be restored and the voices around me were becoming more distinct. I was desperate to look around, but a neck brace was keeping me secure and there were straps around my legs, arms and torso. In a moment of panic I attempted to free myself, but was immediately stopped when a shear shock wave of pain tore through my body. To my surprise I was able to let out an agonising cry which also shocked the on-board medics. Three faces appeared around my body, one of them being Captain Hamilton. All I wanted to do was talk to him, I wanted to hear his voice, I wanted him to look into my eyes once more and read me.... I wanted quite a lot of things that were not going to happen soon.

I knew that he could see the terror within my eyes when he took hold of my right hand and squeezed gently. I managed a weak squeeze back, which required all of my remaining bodily efforts. I did it though... I responded to him, I was over the moon with happiness. Maybe when I was better things would be different... but who knows? 

"Crew prepare for landing.. hospital staff are on standby, 2 minutes," announced the helicopter pilot. It suddenly reminded me of the accident. My mind had been pre-occupied and had somehow erased the negative events and replaced them with events that filled me with joy. It hit me hard. I had survived a horrific accident and now I was on my way to the nearest hospital in the back of another aircraft. Never before had I been scared of flying.... until now. The whir of the blades hitting the air were making my stomach turn. I didn't want to listen... just incase it went deathly silent. Helicopters were not as good at gliding as planes were... it was possible, but not as efficient. We would most likely plummit to the ground. I didn't want to experience another. This time I squeeze harder, with no effort, on Captain Hamilton's hand. I needed reassuring, I needed removing from this aircraft.

I felt the pilot decrease his speed as the aircraft was now slowly descending. I tensed my body.. I made it as rigid as I possibly could. It was like being on a rollercoaster and knowing that going down is inevitable. My limbs began to shake and I could feel a cold sweat coming on. Surely this couldn't be because of how scared I was?

"Prepare patient for transfer.."

Upon hearing this the straps around my body were tightened and the needles in my arms were taped down. The fluid bags resting above my head were moved so that one of the medics could easily hand them over the the ground crew. Everything was happening so quickly. The helicopter made contact with the crew and the doors were immediately slid open. Captain Hamilton was the first to disembark, followed by another medic and then myself. Seven more faces now joined me around my stretcher and were discussing with the flight crew my injuries. A serious expression was on each of their faces. I swallowed hard. The drowsiness was coming back, yet I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to remain conscious. I wanted to find out what was going on.

We had crossed the helicopter landing pad within no time as they were waiting for a quick departure. They had another couple of trips back out to the boat before they could retire for the day. I heard the blades pick up speed again, which then made me imagine the pilot grabbing the collective making her ascend gracefully into the air. It filled me with sadness that they had gone... I knew that they would be back, but I couldn't accept that.

I was watching the beautiful, blue sky dance past my eyes. A few clouds broke up the sequence, but other than that.. it was a perfect day. It seemed that nothing could go wrong on a perfect day like this, however... things did go wrong and the truth was still to be revealed.  

The hospital doors retracted back and I was met by a lot of commotion. More doctors appeared and a surgical team looked as though they were on stand-by. I thought little of it. I supressed myself into a world of my own, where nothing could hurt me... and for a while I was content there.. until a doctor brought me round. He was gently shaking my shoulders, which meant that he obviously wanted my attention. The fact was, my attention span was very short and my eyes were struggling to focus on him for long. The doctor was staring intently at me; as though he was observing me on the spot. I didn't know whether they knew my name, so without much thought I managed to say, "Alice... My names Alice Newman... I was the first officer onboard the stricken flight today..." I let my voice trail off. 

He didn't reply for a while. Instead he just smiled. A moments had passed when he final said, "Well Alice, it's nice to meet you... with the injuries you sustained.. It's lucky that you're still here!" 

I didn't quite know how to reply to his statement. I just managed to let out a relieved laugh. Luck was definitely on my side today... If there were such thing as any.

I tried to sit up. Laying on my back was uncomfortable and I was still in the neck brace that I had fitted on me earlier. I just wanted them to undo it all and just let me sleep. I was so tired. Maybe I was meant to be tired. Whilst the doctor was 'observing' me, I think I saw him inject me with something. I can't be sure though. A sudden wave of happiness hit me when I managed to roll my eyes left, where they stumbled upon Captain Hamilton sitting by my bedside. 

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