Last Words

• Abbey Ward, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2017

I clung to my seat, frozen as the plane plummeted through the treetops before coming to an abrupt halt on the forest floor.
I shielded my face from the black smoke and heavy rain. I wanted to yell. I wanted someone to know I was here, still alive, but I couldn’t muster enough breath to say anything. I sat there, rain running off my skin until the darkness slowly consumed my helpless body.
I was greeted with a horrific scene as I regained consciousness. Only now had I realised the plane was broken into two parts. Lifeless bodies lay everywhere. With effort I stood but quickly grabbed at my shoulder as the pain shot through my body like a spear.
“Hello?” I cried. No reply. “Is anyone alive?” I screamed. I stood there waiting for movement. Where was the front of the plane and where was my mother? “Help me. Help me!”
I stepped carefully through the debris following a shaky voice. I approached the nose of the plane fearful of what I might see. More motionless bodies and more silence. I desperately looked at faces searching for my mother.
“Hello, I’m here,” a voice peeped. A small girl around the age of eight lay quivering next to two lifeless bodies. Her pale face was framed by long black hair and her clothes were ripped and bloodied. “Grab my hand. I’ll drag you out,” I encouraged, until I noticed who the lady beside her was. “No, please no!” I shouted. The young girl let go of my hand and stared at me with terror darting through her eyes. I dropped to my knees beside my motionless mother. “Mum please wake up, please,” I whispered. The young girl swiftly reached her arm around my shoulder. I slumped into her warm, comforting hug and closed my eyes.
The sun shone through the trees, reflecting off the plane’s exterior. I wiggled out of the girl’s hold and stood gasping at the disaster. I quickly examined my body, only finding a small gash on my left knee and a dislocated shoulder. I examined the girl’s body finding a huge cut on her back. I woke her up and covered her wound with a strip of clothing. She had lost a lot of blood. I kissed my mother on the cheek before whispering, “I love you. I’ll survive for all of us.”
I instructed the girl to follow me and headed for the nearby stream. We walked downstream knowing it would lead to some sort of village. “Don’t worry. We will found someone to help us.” I wasn’t sure about this but the girl believed me, so I had to believe in myself.
Lacy suddenly collapsed. Her pale skin was even whiter. Her hair was damp with sweat. Looking at her back I could see my makeshift bandage hadn’t worked. Her back was soaked with blood, her body was weak, and I could see her life slowly slipping away. “Lacy, you have to stay with me. You can’t go. Do you hear me?” I begged. I held her hand tight singing and whispering to her. “Tell my parents I love them. Please save yourself.” They were the last words she said, and I was the last person she saw.