A Twist of Fate 1
Introduction:
A routine flight ends in tragedy, but will love survive?
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
A TWIST OF FATE, Ch. 1 (Crash Landing)
“He’s suffered a few broken ribs and a punctured lung. He’s losing blood quick. Get him to surgery ASAP!”
I open my eyes weakly as glaring, white lights surround me. I feel my body moving through a hallway with two nurses and a doctor as they push me on a gurney.
“Is he going to be alright?”
“Yes. He’s one of the lucky ones.”
I see a doctor peer over me with a worried look. “You’re gonna be alright, buddy. Just hang in there…”
My vision turns blurry as he utters those words. Just as suddenly as I woke up, everything around me fades to black as I lose consciousness. The last things I hear are the muffled sounds of voices.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
“Vista Atlantic flight 56 for New York is now boarding at gate 7. Passengers, please have your boarding passes ready.”
It was another beautiful day for flying. The sky was clear and there was a happy atmosphere among a small group of students waiting to board a glimmering Boeing 747. Among them was Josh Langley, a senior at NYU. He and his friends had just finished their spring break plans in Miami and were heading back to New York for another semester.
“Aaah. Does it have to end this quickly?” Exasperated with how quickly time flew, Josh complains.
“Tell me about it…”
A handsome, young man walking beside Josh smiles and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Too much fun can make even the longest vacations seem short.”
The young man smiles and walks ahead of Josh. Josh blushes a bit and smiles to himself. He had a huge crush on Michael Tyson since they met as freshmen and had been trying to win his affection since then. He had never had such intense and long-term feelings for somebody before and he did everything he could to be close to him without being too obvious. He trailed behind Michael as he entered the aircraft.
“Good morning, Sir. Welcome to Vista Atlantic.” A beautiful stewardess greeted Josh and escorted him to his seat. As Josh loaded his luggage in the overhead compartment, he lost balance and fell back. A strong pair of arms caught him and helped him.
“Thank you. You’re really strong for a flight attendant.”
“A flight attendant?” The distinctive, sexy voice of a man tickled Josh’s ears. He looked back and saw a grinning Michael holding him up.
“Michael! Damn, I’m sorry…”
“No worries. And I guess we’re sitting together.”
“We are?”
“Yeah.” Michael sits down at the window seat as Josh takes his place beside him. He looks straight at the seat in front of him, blushing and afraid to make eye contact. Michael might notice and figure out the secret Josh has been keeping for so long.
“You alright, Josh? You look a little off.”
Josh glances at him. “I..I’m fine. Thanks.”
“You’re not scared of flying, are you?”
“No. Just a little hangover from last night’s party, I guess.”
“Alright then.”
Thirty minutes later, the jumbo jet was speeding down the runway and finally, up into the sky. The sun streamed into the plane as the beaches of Miami lay below it. The surf was excellent and thousands of people were milling around on the sand.
“So, any plans for when we get back to NYC?” Michael asks Josh.
“No, not really. You?”
“Well, I have the entire apartment to myself and it gets pretty lonely. I was thinking maybe you’d like to move in? With a guy like you around, I don’t think I’ll be bored anymore.”
Josh swallowed and smiled. Michael was just making an innocent offer and here he was thinking of alternate meanings to Michael’s invitation.
“Thanks, but I already have a place of my own.”
“I know, but it’s in Jersey. I live closer to the campus and from what you’ve been telling us, it’s quite a challenge to get there in time.”
“Well, yeah, but…”
“C’mon. You’re one of my best friends! Better to have someone like you over than a complete stranger.”
Josh smiles, happy that Michael considers him as one of his best friends.
“Alright, then. We’ll make plans once we touch down at JFK.”
“Cool. Looking forward to it.”
Aside from that conversation, the flight was uneventful. Michael was watching something on the screen in front of him as Josh tried to get some sleep. Suddenly, a sharp jolt caused the entire aircraft to shudder. All feelings of sleepiness left Josh as he sat upright on his seat. Michael was looking outside the window.
“Jeez. What the hell was that?” Michael sounded worried as he watched the wings shudder. The aircraft jolted violently again and tension started rising among the passengers. Moments later, an announcement came over the PA system.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some turbulence. Please stay in your seats, stow away the trays in front of you, and put your seats in an upright position. We’ll try to get out of this as quickly as possible. Thank you.”
Flight attendants were going around, doing their best to calm passengers down and assist with their seats. The aircraft was shaking violently now. A few overhead compartments had opened, raining luggage down onto the aisles. After a few seconds, the aircraft dropped suddenly, sending anything that wasn’t fastened down flying. Josh glanced out the window and saw that one of the engines was emitting thick, black smoke. An explosion followed soon after, causing the entire aircraft to bank to the left. People were screaming and holding on to their seats. Beside Josh, Michael had frozen. His eyes stared straight ahead and he looked like he couldn’t breathe.
“Michael! Hey!”
There was no response as the engines made a groaning, whining sound. Outside, another engine had failed. It shook violently, then came apart, taking a portion of the wing with it. Oxygen masks dropped down from the overhead compartments and hung in front of Josh. Hurriedly, he put it on and turned to Michael. He was still frozen in fear.
“Michael! Put this on!” Josh grabbed an oxygen mask and put it on Michael’s nose and mouth. The blast of oxygen seemed to bring him back to reality and he turned to Josh. His green eyes showed fear and hopelessness. Josh grabbed his hand and held it tight.
“We’re gonna be fine. Just hold on to me…”
Michael nodded and held his armrest with his other hand. The lights in the cabin flickered then died. Outside, another engine tore off from the wing. The ground was getting closer and closer as the shuddering grew worse. Feeling that they were going to die, Josh closed his eyes and braced himself for the crash.
“I love you, Michael…I love you…”
The aircraft slammed into the ground hard, but amazingly, didn’t burst into flames. It skidded forward, destroying everything that was in its way. It fell down a 20-foot ravine that lay in front of it before a loud explosion filled the cabin and filled it with flames. Josh jerked forward and slammed his head on the seat in front of him. From there on, everything was black.
Minutes later, Josh regained consciousness in an airplane that has torn itself apart and burned. Miraculously, the section of the plane he was in broke off and skidded to a halt on the banks of a river. He raised his head and saw chaos. The front section of the aircraft had plowed into a bridge spanning the ravine and was crushed when the heavy concrete structure fell on it. Behind him, the tail section of the plane was relatively unscathed. Dazed people were sitting on the ground beside it or making their way up the ravine to call for help. Beside him, Michael was pinned under mangled metal, his head bleeding. Groaning, Josh unfastened the seatbelt that was still around his waist and started freeing Michael.
“M..Michael…please…don’t be dead…please…”
Crying, Josh managed to release Michael and pull him out of the remains of the cabin. Slowly, Michael opened his eyes and groaned.
“…J…Josh?”
“Michael! I’m gonna get you out of here.”
Josh threw Michael’s arm around his shoulder and struggled to get him away from the wreck. He can feel his chest hurting, and his face bleeding, but he had to get Michael out. At the top of the ravine, emergency services had arrived and were helping survivors into ambulances.
“H…Hey! Over here!” Josh screamed before coughing violently and falling to his knees. He lay Michael down on the ground and clutched his chest.
“Josh…y….you’re hurt!” Michael gasped.
“I..I’m fine…Just…” Josh collapsed, blood starting to trickle from his mouth. Michael moved to Josh, screaming.
“JOSH! HEY! DON’T DIE! PLEASE!”
Rescue workers reached Michael and Josh and placed them both on stretchers. As Josh was carried away, Michael saw the damage done to him for the first time. Josh had a huge gash on his forehead. His arms and legs were bleeding and a large part of his torso was burnt. The sight of his best friend in such a state was too much for Michael to handle and he burst into tears. He grabbed the arm of one of the men carrying him and pleaded.
“Please…save him…don’t let him die…”
“We’re not gonna let that happen to him, alright.”
“This just in. A Vista Atlantic flight from Miami had just crashed outside of Atlanta. The plane was heading for New York when it suddenly fell from the sky and crashed into a ravine. There were 420 passengers aboard and the numbers look grim. As of now, there have only been 45 survivors rescued from the crash site with searching still ongoing. We’ll keep you posted on this terrible tragedy.”
