This is a story that i have started and would love some feed back. I am not sure how this one will be received, it will have little to no sex in it. Although, i think some things may be possibly explained in later chapters, possibly depending on the feed back. i hope that you enjoy it. Please forgive any editing errors, if there are any.
Chapter 1
The float plane shook as the violence of the engine turned into a terrifying silence. Oil and smoke seemed to be coming from every opening in the engine compartment. Oil was smeared across the windshield making it hard to see. Trying to control the crippled plane, Charles made a grab for the microphone to make his frantic call.
"Mayday Mayday! Cessna November 452! Mayday Engine failure!"
Trying to hide the almost paralyzing fear, Charles projected as calm an appearance as possible. Ramona could see the terror in his eyes and by his stern commands. "Tighten your seat belt now. Get out of the plane as soon as we get down. Do not delay for any reason!"
Charles strained to see through the oil smeared windshield, searching for a body of water that they might be able to land on. He saw a small lake he thought that he could make, maybe. The airspeed was still good, although the altimeter had started to roll backwards. Trying not to lose any airspeed he coached the crippled plane into a right turn, getting lined up with the lake. Charles again reminded Ramona to get out fast.
Consumed with terror, the thought that this might be her last day alive kept crossing her mind. The only other time she had been so terrified was that fateful day 19 years earlier. Blocking that out of her mind, she willed herself to survive no matter what. Watching as Charles struggled to make it to the lake Ramona was amazed at his skill handling the plane.
"I have got to clear those trees to make it to the lake." He hoped he hadn't said that out loud.
Lowering the flaps in a rush to gain a little more lift to clear the trees, he had to descend fast since it was a short lake. The water was a dark blue, meaning it was deep. Just before reaching the water, Charles pulled back on the yoke to flair the plane out for landing.
To Ramona the entire ordeal lasted forever, and was a mad rush of events. Just as she thought they had made it, there was a sudden jerk. The world spun out of control as the plane lurched sideways. Everything in the plane was thrown around as it cart wheeled, before flipping. Glancing at Charles, she knew he was gone. Opening her door and throwing her backpack onto the wing, she had to get away from the sinking plane. The shore was not far away.
Half falling, she climbed out on the wing as the plane started to settle lower into the water. Before jumping into the water she tied a short line to the backpack. The intense shock took her breath as the cold water enveloped her. Struggling to swim while towing the pack, the immense cold was sapping her strength. Swimming with her clothes on was dragging her down, as well as the pack.
"Keep going, you can do it, you can't quit now. You are almost there. I can't lose the pack too. I will need it to get out of this mess. Please let me make it to shore." The thought kept going through her mind like a mantra.
The cold water combined with the struggle to swim and drag the pack, was almost too much. She managed to drag herself out of the water before collapsing. Ramona wasn't sure how long she lay there. She began the agonizing task of climbing the rocky shore, dragging the backpack behind her. Falling down she turned to see the tail of the plane slip into the depths of the lake, taking Charles with it. The tears started falling down her cheeks for the man who had saved her. The shadows of the setting sun roused her from the stupor that had possessed her. Rising to her feet, her right knee blossomed in pain. The hard choice would be to get a fire going or examine herself. The night would be very cold since she was wet.
Hobbling along the edge of the forest, firewood was plentiful. Pushing to get ready for the impending night, every part of her body ached. After getting some rocks into place, she retrieved the magnesium fire starter from a side pocket of her pack. Lighting the fire as the last rays of the sun disappeared. Heat from the fire helped to warm her up. The sleeping bag was dry, since it had its own watertight storage bag. Ramona removed her Ruger 9mm from the pack, laying it beside the bag. Taking care removing her pants, so she could examine her knee. She remembered hitting it during the crash. Exhausted she crawled into the sleeping bag, too tired to do anything else.
During the cold miserable night, the pain from her knee kept getting worse. Ramona knew it was because she had gotten warm. She could hear the sounds of wolves in the distance. Hoping that they wouldn't get to close, she kept her gun close. She didn't want to shoot any of them, yet didn't want to be their next meal.
Dawn came earlier than she thought, having fallen asleep at some point. Upon waking a rock was poking her in the back through the sleeping bag. Getting out, and pulling the backpack to her. She rummaged through it, finding a pair of cutoff's with some dry socks and a t-shirt. Glad that she had thought to put some clothes in a sealed bag. The small valley started coming into view as the sun crested the mountain ridge. Looking towards the lake, one of the floats of the plane was on the other bank.
"That's what happened! We must have hit something in the water causing us to flip" She said to herself. Attempting to stand, she ended up crawling favoring that knee. Putting some kindling on what was left of the coals, she got the coffee and old coffee pot out, as the fire started again. The fire felt good, easing the chill of the early mountain air.
Frowning as she took inventory of what food she had. "I might as well cook what is left, the perishables won't last long. At least I will have some coffee for a while."
Soon the smell of coffee percolating caught her attention. Deciding that it was better to cook the waterlogged bacon before it went bad, the eggs were a total loss though. Drinking the coffee after eating, she felt more like herself.
The shrill scream of an eagle, caused her to look towards the lake. Watching as it swept just above the water before snagging a fish, then flying off. The natural beauty of the mountains was always awe inspiring to her. Looking down at the rocky bank she had crawled up yesterday, it amazed her that she had made it. In her mind she remembered that the rocks were both sharp and broken. What she saw today was more like boulders rather than rocks. How she had managed to get up those, she had no clue.
Breaking a few small tree limbs, Ramona tied them together using some green vines to form a cross for Charles. She planted it, stacking some smaller rocks at the bottom in remembrance of the man who had saved her life. She shed a few tears for his loss. She knew she had to move on, no one knew where she was. They had not reached the lake she wanted to go to. The engine had. "What did he call that... oh yes he said the engine seized up. Whatever that meant, other than it quit working."
With the sun high in the sky, Ramona laid out her wet clothes to dry before packing them. Taking her GPS and Cell phone, she hoped that they still worked.
