Missing Pieces

• Akeira Adams, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

Samaya woke up as the airplane took off. She sat up and looked out the window, she was sitting on an airplane? She looked at her surroundings, she was in the middle of nowhere. She finally took notice of the person sitting next to her, a pretty girl was staring at her, she had amber eyes and hazel hair that hung above her elbows. She smiled at Samaya and started to talk, ‘I don’t really know what on earth is going on right now, but I really am excited, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you sooo much for inviting me!’ The girl kept chattering on, but Samaya took no notice. ‘What did you say?’ the girl turned to her, ‘I said, thank you so much for inviting me, my parents could never afford first class flights.’ Samaya suddenly felt sick, who was this person sitting next to her, and what was she rambling on about? A flight attendant walking down the aisle stopped next to her seat and asked for their thoughts on the flight. The girl instantly launched into a lecture on her favourite things and Samaya closed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened. She leaned back in her seat and brief images flashed in her mind. Samaya opened her eyes and glanced around and screamed. Dead bodies littered the space around her and the airplane and they were dropping in altitude. She climbed on top of the seats, trying to reach the parachutes and lifeboats when she heard a muffled cry, Samaya looked down to see the girl struggling under a limp body. She slid down to her and shoved at the heavy body, the girl’s leg was broken and she stared fearfully at Samaya. Samaya pulled on the girl's arm. “Come on!” The girl reluctantly agreed and allowed herself to be pulled out from under the man, “Hurry!” The two girls climbed over bodies and seats and slipped into parachutes. Samaya kicked down the side door and the wind whistled. Just before she jumped, she turned to face the girl and asked her name. “Marleen.” Then she stepped out of the plane and yanked on the cord and her body jerked violently, she looked around for a safe landing spot, and signalled to a small clearing. Then she heard something terrible, a rip tore across the top of Samaya’s parachute and her body plummeted to the ground at an alarming speed and she suddenly blacked out. When she woke, she was safely on the ground and in one piece, she was disoriented and confused. She spun and looked at her surroundings when her eyes settled on a rumpled body, blood was spewing out of a wound where a large branch was hanging out. It took her a little while before she recognised the girl to be Marleen. Samaya never found out what had happened to Marleen, because not 5 seconds later, she herself fell dead with a branch in her side.