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
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