The Crash

This story is in the process of being re-written. The edited one will be here shortly. BarbL


Horrified and panicked, she climbed over bodies and through the smoke toward what appeared to be an opening. She heard the screams and moans but felt driven to get out. Suddenly beside her a small and fearful scream struck her ears and she turned to see an infant laying in the arms of a woman, his mother no doubt. The woman had cushioned the baby but there was blood on her face and her head lay at an obtuse angle. Without thinking, Darcy reached out and snatched the infant. She knew there wasn’t much time before there would be an explosion. With the infant in her arms the climb became more difficult but she made slow progress. She crawled inch-by-inch toward the opening that was barely visible through the smoke. The baby continued to cry but Darcy ignored the noise and focused on her goal. She had to get them out!

Finally reaching the opening she looked out and realized that she was going to have to jump, and the drop was nearly 10 feet to the ground. Behind her she a small explosion. She turned to see flames leaping her direction. It was all the convincing she needed to make the leap. She pressed the baby against her chest, zipped her jacket around them both, and stepped out into the air. Her feet touched ground in a split-second and she felt her knees give under the pressure. She knew that if she fell forward she would land on the baby so she threw her weight to the side landed on her shoulder rolling onto her back. The baby cried harder but looked to be unscathed in the jump. She scrambled up the small hill until she was far enough away to withstand the heat from the flames. Unzipping her jacket, she took the baby in both her hands and looked in its face. The beautiful blue eyes looked back, innocence and fear showing but he was unhurt. Darcy pulled the baby close. Hugging him tightly as he cried, she finally looked at the plane. It was a mess of mangled steel broken nearly in half, the front totally demolished. There were flames leaping throughout and the smoke filled the air with the smell of melting plastic and burning bodies.

How did she ever survive the crash? In her head she could still hear flight attendant's announcment that the plane had been hit by lighting and that the pilot was doing everything he could to bring the plane down safely. The last few moments were filled with the sight of treetops whizzing by the window, people, screaming and praying out loud. Then she though of the couple in the seat beside her, holding hands, looking into each others eyes as they proclaimed their unending love for each other. Now, as she looked toward the burning plane she wondered…..why did she survive and not them? She looked up to the sky. "Oh, God Thank you!" she thought as the tears began to flow down her cheeks. She felt the baby move in her arms, felt him snuggle in close. As his crying subsided, she realized that God must have a plan for her, and her life now included this beautiful, sweet, innocent baby. Finally, she heard the sirens in the distance......