by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: December 13, 2007

The Crash

It had all happened so fast. Melissa was jolted awake by what she thought was the Cessna hitting a large air pocket.

"What's going on?!" she yelled.

A red warning light blinked in sync with a blaring alarm. All she could see out the window was solid white. Her husband Roger was looking intently at the instruments.

"We're losing fuel! I'm going to have to do an emergency landing! Brace yourself!" Roger yelled back.

Melissa closed her eyes. In less than a minute, she heard trees scraping the bottom of the plane and felt herself being jerked violently forward and then back.

Her heart beat and breathing were rapid. Melissa could see nothing outside but darkness. Roger unbuckled his seat belt and made his way over to help her.

"You OK?" he asked.

"I think so." Melissa replied,"You?"

"Just got the wind knocked out of me. That's all."

"What happened? Why'd we suddenly lose fuel like that?"

"It could've been several things. The plane is so damaged now that I can't tell. The important thing is we're both all right."

Roger tried to smile, but Melissa could tell he was worried. The plane was ruined, but they were alive. Snow was falling so hard that the plane would likely be buried in a drift by morning. There was no way they were going to leave it. It was their only protection from freezing to death.

After a few minutes, they were able to find their flashlight. Roger wanted to kick himself for not being more prepared for situations like this. Like a lot of things in life, stuff like this was only supposed to happen to other people.

The front part of the plane was still dry, though snowflakes were beginning to float in from the damaged tail. They managed to move all their luggage and food up to the cockpit, and pinned a tarp between the two sections. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it helped cut down the wind.

Roger began to regret that he was a Jack London fan. His mind wandered to thoughts of To Build a Fire, and he shuddered. No-he and Melissa were not going to die.

They huddled together in a nest of blankets and found comfort in the soft warmth. There was also very little food, so they only ate enough to keep their energy up through the night. Roger finally turned off the flashlight, and the wind continued to provide its unsettling lullaby.

Melissa fell asleep quickly, feeling safe in Roger's arms. Roger tried to stay awake, but the combination of warmth and his fatigue just wouldn't let him.

Morning smiled at them with warm sunlight. The snow began to melt a little.

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