Breathe. Pain instantly racked his chest as he took a shakey rattling breath. His face contorted and an ugly cough escaped his throat. Blood and spit sprayed everywhere and he frowned. This is new. Stand. Achi summoned all the strenght he could muster and forced himself into a sitting position. A wave of nauseating pain washed over him, his head swimming in a pool of electric fire and his insides, not to be outdone, began churning in a pit of lava. He needed to assess his injuries. He looked down at himself, the once unblemished skin, kept so by the careful care of his maidservants, the exquisite shade of dark mahogany of the royal crown was missing. Or rather large chunks of it had been peeled away, from the fall no doubt. Accompanying them were immeasurable small cuts and an ugly gash on his right forearm which was bleeding profusely. Next he looked at his legs. Oh God his legs, Achi stifled back a sob as he caught sight of white bone protruding through his pants out of his left shin, watching in abject horror as the shockingly white colour slowly took on a red tint.
Snap. Achi's head swivelled towards the sound and was quickly reminded of his possible concussion. An unwilling groan escaped his lips as he strained his eyes to peer into the darkness of the jungle. He took in the wreckage. The plane had made it's own clearing in the foliage. Twisted hunks of metal littered the area around him. The various shades of dark green now marred with grey. He stared intently at the plane hoping for a glimpse of movement, his ears strained for a sound, anything to let him know the crew was alive. Nothing. The wreckage remained still and the only sound he heard was the rushing of blood in his ears and the unearthly music of the jungle, a cacophony of unfamiliar noises which formed an unconventional harmony that threatened to lull him to sleep. He remembered all the stories of Ehlathini, the jungle that preyed on outsiders. His maidservants told him the tales of how the Zafochi would trick travellers into resting by offering abode and then eat them as they slept. The assured him they were just tales but right now it felt all too real. Especially when dozens of eyes peered at him from the shadows.
It was these eyes that spurred Achi into action. He tore a piece of his dirty sweat stained shirt and bandaged his arm. Achi stares at his leg in disbelief and confusion, he had no clue what to do. Now it was bleeding, as if the broken bone wasn't enough. He studied his options; stay out here in the mud and dirt die from infection and be eaten by God knows what or try to get to the plane and look for a medkit. Not much of a choice really. The problem was, the plane was about 100 yards away. Achi, a newly minted cripple would have to crawl to the wreckage. And crawl he did. His body protesting every inch he gained. Twice he was forced to stop for a vomit break as the nausea took him. But by the time he made it that muddy wreck looked as great as his palace back home.
The numbness of the shock was beginning to wear off and the pain in his leg was growing more uncomfortable by the second. Against his better judgment he took a look his leg again. He instsntly wished he hadn't, the bone protruding from his leg was now yellow, dried blood covered his khakis, taking a scissors from the medkit he found, he cut a hole in the pants to have an even better look at his mangled monstrosity of a shin. The skin around the break had turned an impressive shade of purple and was painfully swollen. Achi winced at the sight and his stomach dropped at the realisation of the fact that he might lose his leg. He blinked back tears and braced himself before pouring some alcohol unto the fracture. Next he replaced his sweaty shirt bandage with a real one after dousing the cut generously with alcohol. He knew that something was definitely wrong with his insides as he kept coughing up blood but what was he to do. He sighed and looked around his new home the wreck
It was a small plane, a nifty little thing his dad had given him. Twin propellers (both if which had been shorn off), the best navigation system money could buy, and two unbelievably powerful engines. None of that worked now. A smashed flatscreen T.V. lay across from him. Glass littered the floor, fracturing the evening sun like a kaleidoscope. The oxygen masks which he had so frantically grasped during their descent dangled from the ceiling, swaying gently in the breeze. Contents of his minifridge were scattered around the cabin, candy bars lay everywhere, in the seats, on the table, decorating the dead body.
Achi stared at the dead crew member. His blond hair was matted with blood from an ugly gash that ran from the top of his head, across his face and down unto his neck. His spine was twisted at an unnatural angle as were his arms. His eyes were still open however, unblinkingly staring at Achi who returned it with a dead stare of his own. This was not the first dead crew member he had seen. He passed two more on his way to the plane. One lay partly severed in two at the tail of the plane, his blue uniform stained with chunky splotches of red. The other, the pilot, who was further down the way came to an end to a metal rod protruding from his stomach his hands still clasping as if he still could remove it himself. So yes. Achi had seen the other crew members, but in the morose silence, lost in his thoughts, he realised he did not know any of their names.
"Why would I" he scolded himself. He was a prince after all. But he knew otherwise, his father knew the names of everyone in the palace and their birthdays. He even gave them gifts. Achi didn't even know the flight crew that he used every Sunday. In this moment he amongst all the physical pain he felt shame. He could not even mourn their death for he felt nothing for them which disgusted him, his feelings had nothing to do with their loss but anger over his lack of empathy, it worried him, even though he had bigger worries. He did not even notice the sun go down.
Ehlathini in the night was a one of the most beautiful sights in the world. All flowers were fluorescent and gave off such light that it was never truly dark. Different hues of reds and blues and whites and yellows illuminated the jungle. The two moons in the sky helped also. Providing crispy moonlight that glistened on the wet grass of the floor. The trees were alive with glowing insects that danced through the air. In their branches sat eóin, screeching like a dying child. They were hardly ever seen but always heard. Shiny featherless bird things that reflected all lights making it almost invisible. One particularly brave eói landed on a plane wing, cocked his head curiously and screamed at Achi who jumped and groaned. He scowled, glaring through the creature, another scream caused him to narrow his eyes and his murderous look quickly melted away at the sight of the animal. He had only seen these in textbooks at school. His eyes widened with wonder at his transformed surroundings which to him had just turned itself on like a city. His eyes darted around as if trying to see everything at once. Everything was glowing like when he almost overdosed on scrank at his 17th birthday party. His cabin was practically a rave with all the insects feasting on his candy bars...and John (which is what he decided to name the crew member). It was hard to not be overwhelmed when you can literally see almost every insect in the wild. He was not scared of insects usually but now he was beginning to feel uneasy about the situation. Shifting to the cockpit where the least bugs were, he smacked his head in realisation. He had not even tried the radio. Cursing himself for his stupidity he flipped the radio on.
"Khhh....khhh Usizo....cough...help this is Prince Achi of T'huist Latrovia....cough...my plane crashed.....crew dead...jus me...don't know where I am...ndincide....help me please"
Achi sat for a minute, winded. His voice had surprised him with how weak it was.
He was in no position to go anywhere and even though he knew he should not sleep he drifted off into a restless slumber.
His eyes snapped open to the sound of something rummaging around the tail of the plane. Then the audible snap of a stick breaking like a gunshot. Achi might have skimmed this noise if he had not heard a low loud wail sort of like a foghorn but more angry. He sat up instantly his muscles coiled and tensed. This sound belonged to the Skelskir.
