A Bit of Unfair Luck - Part V

Posted: February 6, 2017

Part V

The dark-haired man pushed her aside and quickly assessed the problem.

“Put out your arm!”  he yelled.

Jo obeyed, tears forming in her eyes.

Before she could resist, the man ripped the sleeve from her shirt.  He wrapped it firmly around Tom’s bleeding leg and tied a tight knot.  He rushed quickly to grab a box or pieces of debris and place them underneath to elevate the severe cut.  Jo froze in her spot watching through watery eyes.

“You might have just killed the fat man,” was all that Jo heard as she watched blood flow down the sand at her feet.  She did not bother to move from the staining liquid.

She tried to speak, to make some kind of an explanation, but her mouth refused to work.  Her mortified mind remained confused at the entire situation.  Humiliation and guilt washed over her.

The man saw her pitiful expression and assured her, “Listen, he probably wasn’t gonna make it anyway.  You just gave him an easy way out.  Hold his hand, and make sure he isn’t alone when he dies.”

The man left her to face her victim.  Jo felt a little relief from his words, but still felt agony from causing the death of Tom.

Jo knelt alongside of the dying man and tried her best to give words of comfort, “Tom, I didn’t mean to kill you.  I’m sorry.  The man said you would have probably died anyway.  Is there anything I can do to make you comfortable?  Anything, just tell me.”

Tom barely moved.  He took a few small breaths.  Jo leaned in to hear him whisper lightly, “Water.”

She lifted her head back up to see him motionless, looking pale and ugly.  Jo immediately smelled an awful stench and moved away quickly to escape him.

This felt different compared to the already two dead bodies she previously flipped over.  She watched this once alive man die before her eyes.  She felt strange and distant.  She stood staring at the body for a few minutes.

The man yelled, interrupted her from the trance, “Keep checking those bodies!  Try not to kill any more of them!”

-Beck

https://www.facebook.com/suzannebeckintheopen/

A Bit of Unfair Luck - Part IV

Posted: February 6, 2017

Part IV

Once she found herself alone, facing the possibly dead child, Jo mustered up all her strength.  With her left arm, she reached around his back, then with her right arm, she scooped underneath his legs.  Surprised by the simplicity, she lifted his tiny limp body up to her.  Jo stepped carefully and looked ahead at the morose row to see where he would fit in.

She found a spot next to a woman who wore a black dress suit.  Jo did not take notice of the severe gash on the woman’s head, she only saw the details of the outfit.  This woman was possibly a reporter, or maybe a business owner.

It did not feel right.  A motherly looking woman was needed to look after him, dead or alive.  She moved on to find another spot for the boy.

Jo walked along the feet of the her once fellow passengers.  Stopping at each one, examining if they seemed fit enough to “watch” over the boy.  Breathing or breathless, all remained motionless in Jo’s eyes.

She examined each then found a woman in a pink top and a pair of jeans.  Another small child lay close by, and Jo rested the boy between the two.

Remembering what the man told her, Jo quickly found medical supplies, which she began quickly ripping open.  This task on any other day might prove to be difficult.  Her stomach might not have been able to handle the blood and torn flesh.  Today, her mind allowed her to simplify everything.  She found herself confident enough to play doctor on all the patients laying before her.

One by one she proceeded down the row.  The first two bodies felt cold, even for the hot beach.  Not the temperature you would expect to feel when you touch another’s skin.  She listened for any heartbeats.  None.  Jo felt for a pulse.  None.  Lastly, she listened for any breath coming from their mouths.  Nothing.

Jo, with nothing to cover up their dead faces, only thought to roll them over on their stomachs, as a mark they had passed.

The third passenger in the row had a heartbeat.  Jo wished the man dead, so she might not be put to the test.  The overweight man’s arm held close to his body, and one foot, which had lost its shoe, looked completely crushed.  Jo took a deep breath and took control of the situation.

“Hello, sir?  Can you hear me?”

The man groaned in pain.

“My name is Joey.  What is your name?  Can you tell me your name?”

“Tom,” the man whispered.

“Ok, Tom.  I know you are in pain.  You have been in a plane crash.  We all have.  I need you to answer me.”

“Ok.”

Jo wanted to walk away, to run away.  She continued, “It looks like your arm and foot are broken.  Is there anything else that hurts?”

“My leg, the back of my leg,” Tom spoke, every word weakening.  He pointed to his right leg with his eyes.

Jo lifted the leg and found a chunk of metal wedged right above the back of his knee.  She instantly looked up at Tom.  Her eyes gave it away.

“Ok, Tom.  I’ve got to remove that.”

He shook his head.

“It’s ok.  It will only hurt for a moment.”

She rose to grab a few supplies from the box and returned to start the grueling task.  After she set up everything needed, she propped up his leg.

“Ok, on the count of three.  One, two, three!”

She yanked on the metal piece as hard as she could.  Jo heard the noise it made as it slipped from its spot.  She felt as if she was cutting into a piece of meat.

An uncontrollable amount of blood poured from the wound she opened.  She grabbed all the bandages and pressed it firmly to the hole.  The young woman underestimated everything and began to question her actions.  Jo even thought about putting the metal back in its found spot to plug up the damage.

From behind her she heard, “What have you done?  He will bleed to death!”

-Beck

https://www.facebook.com/suzannebeckintheopen/