My Skies Are Turning Black

I opened my eyes to nothing but smoke around me, stinging my throat as I broke into a coughing fit, my chest feeling heavy. I tried to push myself up but felt as if my whole body had no strength at all. But what I didn't get was...did we crash? No, it can't be. We couldn't have crashed...right? No I can't be stupid. This, this is happening. The plane crashed. I'm in a fucking plane crash. I tried to think back to what happened but couldn't remember anything properly. It then hit me that if I wanted to survive, if I wanted to play another day of hockey, if I wanted to see my family and teammates again, then I would have to survive. I had to get out of whatever was left of this god damn plane. I couldn't just lay here and drift out of consciousness lIke I wanted to. Hastily unfastening my seatbelt, I slowly pulled myself up and took in my surroundings. The plane was split in half but yet no sign of other passengers or any...bodies. Everything was covered by the thick black smoke. Through the smoke I could make out what looked like flames towards the front of the plane. Well fuck looks like I wouldn't be going that way. With a slight limp, I tried as fast as I could to walk towards the exit in sight at the back of the plane. My mother's worst fears of me travelling had just come true. Stumbling through the ripped emergency door, I looked around to nothing but flashing lights, fire trucks and ambulances flooding the once empty runway. As I stood in the flaming remains of the aircraft still taking in everything around me, a firefighter and paramedic came and lead me towards an ambulance. They laid me down on a stretcher. As the paramedic tended to my injuries, I listened in to the conversation on his wireless.

"James, there's a family of five, I just got them out of the back of the plane. Little to minor injuries for all of them. I gotta go back in. There's still many passengers in there!"

James, the man tending to me, was the paramedic the man on the radio was talking to. He replied in a panicked state.

"Shit, fuck you Derek. You can't just go back in there! The whole plane will go up like god damned fireworks at any moment now. There's a fuel leak and we don't know when it'll blow! You get as far as you fucking can from that plane you hear!?"

I felt myself drifting back into sleep, but was awoken again suddenly by the paramedic, James. He shook my head.

"Hey, buddy, you gotta stay awake okay? C'mon hang in there. You'll be fine but I need you to stay awake."
He said softly as he checked my injuries. I nodded my head in response. He told me he would be back as he rushed to aid a crying woman coming down the steps of the plane, covered in blood. I attempted to sit up on the stretcher, but lay back down as dizziness and a new shock wave of pain flooded my body suddenly. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to still my racing heartbeat. I got up very slowly this time and stood up from the stretcher, walking away from the ambulance slowly. But then I overheard something that caught my attention. It was the conversation of two firefighters standing by the ambulance.

"Fuck, everyone's out of the plane except for the bodies and some who may still be alive but we can't reach. But there's a girl, a young girl stuck in there and I saw her. She was crying and couldn't get out but..." He looked over at the now engulfed plane. "I couldn't get to her. The flames...started reaching higher and closer...and I was forced to evacuate. She's still alive, man. Towards the front of the plane, in the middle aisle. I could have gotten to her but.." He shook his head in regret.

And all of a sudden something awoke in me. A sudden need to go. To go and help that girl the firefighter was talking about. It was stupid of me, but I couldn't resist the impulse as I began walking back towards the flaming plane, the urge growing stronger with every painful step I took. I couldn't believe what I was about to fucking do. I said a quick prayer, and proceeded with my plan.

I slowly and carefully stepped through a hole in the side of the plane, trying to avoid the ever so close flames. Looking back once to make sure no one was there to stop me, I proceeded into the plane, heading to the front, where the supposed girl was according to the firefighter. As I passed some bodies and fallen debris crowding the narrow aisle, I reached the front. I began calling out. "Hello? ..... Anyone here need help? My voice was weak, and I had no strength to make it stronger for anyone to be able to hear. "Hel-" before I could say any more, I looked down and caught sight of the girl. I kneeled down and took her hand. She looked up at me. Her leg was covered under fallen debris and she couldn't get out. She was bleeding badly as well. Fuck this wasn't good. The fire was getting closer to us by the second and I had no idea how I would get her out as I was badly injured as well. But still, I refused to give up and steeled myself.

"Hey. My name is Sidney and we're both going to get out of here alive. Together. I promise."

She squeezed my hand even tighter, the blood dripping down the side of her face, mixing with her tears.

"S-...Sidney?"

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