TW: Blood

“UGH!”

I felt my face burning up as I forcibly put every ounce of my weight on top of my suitcase. As I almost got the broken zipper all the way around, I realized I had forgotten my favorite bathing suit drying outside from the beach trip yesterday. Yes, of course, I already packed 4 others but I need my white one that makes me look more tan. Annoyed that I had to repeat the strenuous process all over again, my mom shouted at me from downstairs. It’s too early in the morning for this.

“Lavender Elizabeth Miraccio, you better be ready! We were supposed to leave 15 minutes ago!”

“I’m coming! Just gimme a sec!”

On the day of my first communion, my dad promised he’d take me to the island, Ficta, for my 18th birthday. He said we would travel on his 12-seater private jet that he bought from one of his surgeons at his hospital. Dad got an updated safety inspection just last week to ensure a safe flight for today’s big day. 

Since we were running pretty late, Mom had cruise control set at 105 mph on I-5 because Dad was already waiting for us at the airport. When we finally arrived, we loaded our bags onto the plane and met the pilot. He looked young to be flying a private jet. Who am I to judge? I know absolutely nothing about aircrafts. 

“Hello, Miss. My name is Dalton Adams. I will be flying you to your destination today.”

“Hi! I’m Lavender. Nice to meet you.”

When he turned around and headed towards the cockpit, the outer pocket of his small backpack read the initials T.R. Maybe he changed his name? It’s probably not his bag. 

After all of us were buckled in, I turned to my dad and asked out of curiosity:

“Hey, Dad? How long will it take for us to get there?”

“Oh, it will be about 5 hours, honey.” 

“Okay, cool. I might fall asleep. I am really tired.”

“That’s fine honey. Me or your mother will happily wake you up before we land. Get some rest.”

I woke up on my own and desperately had to go to the bathroom. I took abnormally large strides to the back, afraid I wasn’t going to make it in time. I let out a sigh of relief when I sat down, thankful I didn’t have an accident on my dad’s private jet. That would be quite a crazy start to my birthday. I washed my hands for a whole minute under the comforting warm water, thinking of how much fun I was going to have on this island. As I headed back to my seat, Dad and Mom were nowhere in sight. Confused, I looked up, down, and around the jet. Trying to remain calm, I closed my eyes and took 3 deep breaths. They can’t just disappear? We’re on a jet! I ran up to the cockpit to ask Dalton where my parents could be.

“Hey, Dalton. Do you know where my parents went? I can’t find them at the moment.”

“I can not assist you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can not fulfill your request.”

What? Why is he talking like a robot? What is going on? 

BEEP! WHOOP! WHOOP! Red lights lit up the cockpit and the radio played static noises. I sprinted back to my seat, adjusted my seatbelt as tight as it fit around my hips, and put my travel purse over my head. I could feel the jet’s nose slowly turn down and the blood started rushing to my head. This is it. 18 years on earth is all I got. 

As the jet violently shook, the 2-inch wide buckle struggled to hold all of me in my seat. I had no clue where the life vests were or any safety equipment was. Memories rushed into my consciousness and my body grew warm. Happy Birthday to me.

—————————————————————————————————————

Trees. Smoke. Red? Where am I and why does it look and smell like a warzone? 

Ow. My head really hurts. I painfully lifted what felt like a titanium rod of an arm from the ground beneath me to touch the back of my throbbing head. It’s wet. It took a minute for my blurred hand to come into focus before realizing it was covered in fresh blood. I curled my fingers into the cold dirt to slowly pull myself up. THE PLANE IS ON FIRE. I looked down and saw the right wing of the plane trapping both of my helpless legs between the burning metal and the scorched earth. I tried to move them out from under the wing but it was heavy enough to keep me captive in the face of my own fate. What should I do? 

“Mom! Dad! Where are you? Anyone? Dalton? HELP ME! HELP!”

I sobbed. The first stream of tears that left my eyes rolled onto my split lip and stung so bad, I actually stopped crying. I don’t know how I’m going to survive this situation. I need to find a way to dislodge myself from the plane’s wing before worrying about whether I'm bleeding out or having any broken bones. Through the thick smoke, I saw my mom lying belly up on top of my dad. They had duct tape over their mouths and wrapped around their wrists and ankles. 

“MOM! DAD! GUYS! I’m over here! Can you hear me?”

Nothing. The crackles from the consuming fire got louder as it surged closer after a long gush of wind. I watched the flames swallow my parents. I screamed. Not in pain but the fact there was nothing I could’ve done to save them. It was my turn next. Think Lavender. The only thing within arms reach was a single piece of driftwood. I reached as far as my cemented body could stretch, feeling every torn muscle expand like a frayed rope on its last thread. I just barely snatched the driftwood and brought it close to me. I quickly started digging a hole in the dirt with the wood. When it was at the perfect depth, I put the driftwood into the hole and tried to wedge it under the plane's wing. Hopefully, the leverage would create more room to tug my legs from underneath. 

“I GOT IT!”

One step closer to seeing another sunrise. I could feel the flame's heat getting hotter on my face. I didn’t have much time and my body grew weaker by the second. I gulped as much air as my lungs could hold and put my hands on the edge of the plane’s wing, pulling myself away from it. I moved, not much, but I still moved. I had to keep pushing. 

“COME ON! ALMOST THE-”

“AHHHHHHHHH!”

The fire inevitably reached me and it began to roast my hands. Screw this. I let out a primal screech as I used the last of my strength to give one last push. 

I did it. I’m out. I’m beyond exhausted and still have to get far enough from the plane so I don’t turn into a pile of charred bones. I tried to stand up but my legs were crushed. They looked like a farmer’s roller had mistaken my lower half for a corn crop. I had to put my crisped hands into the dirt and drag my almost lifeless body to a nearby tree to lean against. I picked my head up and scanned the area. Nailed to one of the trees there was a sign that read: “Welcome to the Island of Ficta.” Glad we- scratch that, I made it. Some dreamy place huh? 

Now that the sun was setting and the fire died down, the air became cold and the sky looked ill. I wanted to knock out, however, I felt nervous about the fire reigniting from the glowing embers blowing in the wind. How am I going to walk? I basically don't have legs. I decided to roll over onto the ground and use my forearms to hold my body weight. I army crawled with my legs dragging behind me to get farther away from the site of the crash. I stopped for a second when I heard the sound of running water. I slugged over towards the noise and ended up at a river. It took me a while to reach it but it was worth the effort after submerging my head completely under the water. I dragged the rest of my body into the river with my head against a rock. The clear water turned red as it cleansed my wounds. Before leaving my glorious nature bath, I took a few sips of water because I didn’t know when I would consume something substantial next. 

Fortunately, I found a tall rock with a plateaued overhang near the river. What a perfect spot to sleep for the night. But, the island was getting dangerously cold and I couldn’t sleep in these temperatures! I noticed an old leopard carcass shining in the moonlight not too far away and thought I could use its hide as a blanket. I grabbed a sharp rock and started to skin it (I learned that trick from my older cousin, Robert, who lives in Montana). After what felt like hours had gone by, I was finally finished. I tore a few leaves off some ground-level bushes to wipe off any traces of dried blood or leftover guts. I covered myself with the coarse fur against my raw skin and closed my eyes. Within just a few minutes, I was dreaming. 

***

I was walking around Ficta with Mom and Dad by my side, as well as a wide smile on my face. The full moon provided enough light to see where to take my next step. I found the river again and joyfully splashed in the refreshing water. My parents joined in on the silly fun and we laughed together. This is a birthday vacation. We all laid on top of the plateaued rock and gazed at the millions of stars looking back down at us. 

“There’s Polaris,” Dad said, pointing to the night sky. 

“How beautiful. What do you see Lavender?” Mom asked. 

“I see Camelopardalis. It’s right over there.” I responded.

“Wow, honey! Great find! Did you learn that from Astrology class?” 

“Thanks, Dad. I did.” 

“It’s getting late you two. Time for bed.”

“Aww, Mom. Five more minutes, please.”

“Lavender, your mother is right. We’ve had a long day. It’s time to rest up for the exciting week ahead of us.”

I sighed. “Okay, fine.”

We snuggled up like penguins in the Arctic under the rock, using our body’s heat for warmth. 

“Mom, Dad, I love you.” 

“We love you so much, Lavender.”

They fell asleep before I did. 

“Grrrrr.” 

“Uh, guys… Did you hear that?”

***

I woke up with tear-filled eyes and was surprised to see a leopard crouched low right in front of me. I tried my hardest not to scream. I could feel its hot exhale pushing back the wisps of hair on my forehead. It suddenly lunged toward me and I was not ready to react. The leopard almost unhinged its jaw to take my entire left leg off clean. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! HELP! PLEASE, SOMEONE!”

It was no use. The hungry beast then ripped apart my insides organ by organ. I watched blood squirt out of my torso from every direction. I managed to block my head with my arms but the rest of me looked like a huge wad of chewed gum. The last thing I saw was my intestines hanging from both sides of its mouth. Now this is it. 

“Best birthday gift, ever.”