The Guadeloupe Squadeloupe

Chapter VI: Perry

"The past is a ghost, the future is a dream and all we ever have is now." ~Bill Cosby.

As I get closer to the two shadowy figures, it becomes clear that it's Guad and his friend. Luckily, they don't show any obvious injuries.

"Are you out of your mind?" I scream as I help them to their feet. "Riding in the hull of a plane like that, do you have any idea how dangerous that is!"

"Nice to meet you again. I'm Bob," the old man says, rolling his eyes at my anger. He acts as if what he just did was no big deal.

"How did you know we were in the plane hull?" Guad asks. "And why do you care what happens to us?"

I don't answer, but rather sprint ahead to return to my sister; Diana stayed behind to try to fish Angelina out of the tree that her parachute got caught in. I don't expect Guad and Bob to keep pace with me, but I trust that they will follow me.

As I get further away, the treeless coast of the lake melts away, and morphs into the thick jungle of South America. The plane took down a few trees when it fell, making a small clearing around it.

"Perry, help!" Diana screams from the plane wreckage. "I found someone!"

I run faster, until I get to what my sister is looking at: someone, it looks to be a man, is wedged under the wing of the plane, the weight surely crushing him.

Fortunately, adrenaline is still coursing through me, enabling me to lift the deadweight wing just enough for Diana and Angelina to pull the man to safety.

He props himself up on his elbows, looking behind me. Due to his position, he coughs up a nauseating mixture of blood and saliva.

"He's alive," he whispers into his bloodstained earpiece. Who's alive? I think.

It's bad, I know, but there's no saving this man. He's bleeding in over a dozen places, one of which is his head. I feel awful abandoning him, but there could be people alive in all that plane rubble.

Guad and Bob come stumbling over to the plane, Bob gasping for breath. He sits down with Angelina, and Diana, Guad, and I begin the search for survivors.

Over the next hour, we accumulate a total of four bodies, all of which are dead. It's terrible knowing that all these people had a story that the world will never know, and that abruptly ended in a tragedy.

"Perry, I found someone," Guad whispers. Together, the two of us pull out a girl around my age, dirt streaking her blonde hair. I check her pulse, and even though she's unconscious, she's alive. Glee fills my insides, knowing that our efforts saved a life.

I carefully lift her into my arms, and carry her over to Angelina. Being as graceful as I am, I half-drop the girl, her head hitting the log that Angelina sits upon.

"You're so stupid," Angelina sighs, trying to prop the girl up better. "Are you trying to kill her?"

"Yeah, I can't stand the-"

"Don't get sarcastic on me, White," she cuts me off before I can finish.

I return to the rubble, and find Diana and Guad dragging another body out from between folds of metal. My sister is struck with recognition, for I can see the stress drawn on her face. Lisa, I think.

She stays silent, but walks away from Guad and I. Diana sits beside Angelina, but they don't speak a word to each other; some things go best unsaid.

I get Guad to help me move her to the hole we dug for the deceased. He doesn't question who she is, and I'm glad, because even though I never knew her that well, I still don't want to talk about it. I never realized how different seeing someone like this was to a funeral; at least at a funeral, they look peaceful.