Chapter 1.
The engine coughed again. The pilot cursed and thumped the control panel. In the seat opposite a terrified mother tried unsuccessfully to quieten her newborn child. A man from Peru clasped his hands together and prayed. I didn't move. I'd always thought that I'd be cool and calm in a disaster. I was wrong.
The pilot cursed and thumped the control panel again. The engine spluttered again and the baby let out a long wail. I rested my arm on the metal arm rest. I yelped and jumped up. The arm rest was boiling hot. The plane was burning up! All of a sudden I went flying across the aisle and into the wall. My vision disappeared for a few seconds and I wondered if I was dead. I fell onto the floor and my vision returned. I clutched my sore arm and let a tear slip down my cheek. The pilot gave up trying to regain control and turned to the passengers. He was about 70 and looked like he could go any minute. And go he did. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off, pain showing across his face as he crumpled to the floor. The baby wailed louder and its mother broke into tears as well. There was nothing I could do as the plane plumeted out of control towards the humid jungle below.
I opened my eyes slowly and took in my surrounding's. The plane lay quiet near, although I doubted that was because we landed softly. More likely it was because we crashed in a nose dive and didn't skid. Slowly I got up. Apart from a sore and scratched arm I seemed okay. I realised that I'd been holding my breath and let it out. Pain ran through me and I collapsed to the grounded, holding my chest. Tears poured onto the ground and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out. I must have bruised my lungs in the crash and now they were swelling. I closed my eyes and slowly let my breath out. My vision hazed a bit and I tried to stop myself from falling unconscious again. My vision cleared a bit and I forced myself to get up. The plane was black and charred from a fire that must have broke out when we crashed. My vision hazed again and this time I couldn't stop myself from falling unconscious.
I awoke suddenly and found I was lying in half an inch of water. It was pouring and I was soaked to the bone but I was still warm. I never did feel the cold much. Suddenly I remembered all those Geography classes about Piranhas and leapt up. I looked around to make sure there weren't any planning to make me into dinner and climbed onto a thick log. The rain was getting heavier and I guessed it must be the start of the wet season. I finally had time to take in my surroundings. It was very dark, like half an hour after sunset and there were only a few scattered rays of sunlight piercing the canopy. Everything was damp and there was a very thin fog settling in. I shivered at the thought of swimming through the Piranha infested water and looked above me. The lower canopy was at least fifteen metres high and I could see no way of getting up there. I realised that I'd have to do something before it became dark or I'd be stuck in the rising flood waters. If the rain continued I'd be up to my waist by morning. I searched and searched for ages but the only thing I could climb was a small sapling which would probably break under my weight anyway. The water was now an inch deep and the rain was still pouring down as hard as ever. I ran through the water, eyes wide with fear.
When the rain reached up to my knee I spotted something in the distance. Running wildly towards it, I realised that the water was getting deeper with every step. The rain poured down and I knew that if I had to swim I wouldn't last long. I realised that my lungs had been hurting the whole time and suddenly the pain hit me like a ton of bricks. In a haze of pain I stumbled up against a young tree that was knotted with vines. I pulled myself up. Every step caused me pain and I was glad for it. The pain kept me awake just long enough to reach a fork in a branch where I fell unconscious. I just made it to safety in time.