Chapter 2
The plane was rocked by yet another gust of wind. I felt it completely turn on its side before beginning to plummet to the ground, spinning on its way down. Danielle, not having her seat belt on, started to fling to the back of the plane, but I grabbed her hand just before she went out of reach. "Danielle, don't let go!" I screamed. The passengers were in total panic, several flying toward the back of the plane as we descended. I knew that if the pilots didn't pull us out of this spiraling fall, we would be dead on impact. I clutched Danielle's hand tighter, praying silently as my heart pounded in my chest.
The plane was hit with yet another wind gust as we descended, and I felt my shoulder pop out of socket. I yelped in pain, instinctively letting go of Danielle's hand briefly before realizing what I did. "No!" I screamed as Danielle was thrown to the back of the plane. With nothing to keep her in place, I knew she would be thrown all around the plane, and if we survived, internal injuries could be a serious problem. I felt a tear trickle down my face before I even noticed I was crying. Every important person flashed in my mind's eye as I was engulfed by memories. All of my family, all of my friends, all the good times I've had, all the bad times I struggled through. Tears continued to fall as we got closer and closer to those mountains. I squeezed my eyes shut as I thought, This is it. We're going to die.
Finally, the plane righted itself, and the pilots got the plane back under control. I glanced outside, and before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I saw mountains right outside the window. I felt the pilots trying to make the plane climb, but it was no use. I felt a sudden jerk of the plane, before I felt the impact of the 767's left wing against the side of the mountain, my head flew back against my seat, and everything went black.
My eyes shoot open as I sit up in my bed panting. My eyes dart around the room, orienting myself to my surroundings. Hotel room, Tennessee, Avary, Paige, safe, I say to myself as I try to calm my breathing. I feel pain shoot through my shoulder again as I obviously moved my arm in a way I shouldn't have. I gently run my hand over the cast of sorts trying to hold my shoulder in place. I glance at the clock, 3:31am it reads. And once again, a nightmare woke me up in the wee hours of the morning. But this time, the nightmare didn't end when I woke up. I feel my chest tighten as the realization hits me that it all begins today. In just a few hours, I take over the investigation of American Airlines Flight 437.
"This nightmare will never be over until I know what happened to that plane," I whisper to myself. I glance back down at Paige to make sure I hadn't woken her. I sigh as I carefully lay back down in an attempt to go back to sleep. But as per usual, sleep is never found. I rub my eyes, feeling the puffy bags from several sleepless nights like this one. I don't think I have gotten a full night's sleep since that crash, I think to myself as I stare at the ceiling. I close my eyes in an attempt to fall back to sleep, but all that I can think of is the investigation. After thirty minutes of attempts to fall back to sleep, I resign myself to consciousness.
I carefully sit up in bed. I glance back at the clock on the bedside table. 4:13am the clock reads. I don't even have to start getting ready to leave for another hour and a half, I think to myself. Maybe I'll take a walk to try and clear my head.
I quietly and carefully change out of my pajamas, hissing in pain with the movements of my shoulder. I slip on some flip-flops, pop some pain meds and head to the elevator to go down to the hotel lobby. I check my pockets for my room key as the elevator door opens to the lobby. I quietly walk outside, looking around and keeping my eyes peeled for movement. Knoxville, Tennessee is rather quiet at 4am, I think to myself. I continue to walk for almost an hour before I head back to the hotel. When I open the room door, I am greeted by almost all of the lights on in the room and a very panicked Paige.
"Where were you?" Paige almost shouts at me.
"I went on a walk to clear my head," I respond. "Is that a problem?"
"It is when I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and you're missing!" Paige yells. She runs her hand through her hair as she says, "I was calling you and you left your phone here and I had no idea where you went and I was worried sick about you. Don't ever do that again."
"Yes ma'am," I sigh. I walk to the bathroom and begin to get ready for work. "I'm sorry I worried you, I just needed some fresh air to clear my head."
"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Paige asks. "You've been so stressed since you just accepted the investigation. You haven't even started yet."
I shake my head. "No," I answer, "but I know I won't be okay until I know what happened to that plane." I turn on the shower to heat up the water so I can shower before work. I walk out into the hotel room, numbly pulling my uniform out and clothes to put on after my shower. I feel Paige's stare but I don't have the mental energy to acknowledge it.
I am broken from my numb state by a soft, "You're back Aunt Ana?" from little Avary. She is sitting in her bed, cuddling a stuffed bear Paige bought her. "Aunt Paige was weally worried bout you."
I give her a small smile and sit down on the bed next to her. "Yeah, I'm back sweetheart. I just went for a walk." I give her a hug as I start to head for the shower.
"Aunt Paige said that you had something really important going on today," Avary said softly. "She said you were worried about it."
"Yeah, I am a little," I answer. "But I will be okay." I give her a small smile and another hug before saying, "I have to go take a shower now. Be good for Aunt Paige." I walk into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I take off my clothes and get in the shower, letting the hot water hit my skin for several minutes before I begin washing. I finish my shower and hop out, drying off and wrapping a towel around my hair and body before opening the door to let the steam out. I brush my teeth before I begin to put on my make up on. I towel dry my hair before getting dressed and pulling my hair into a braid.
I step out of the bathroom to grab my shoes and my work case. "Do you need a ride to the crash site?" Paige asks as she looks up from her laptop at me.
"No, Chuck is going to come pick me up," I respond as I slip on my flats. "But thank you though." I feel my phone buzz as I look down and see a text from Chuck. "Speaking of, he's here." I grab my briefcase, phone, and room key as I start to head for the door. "Call me if anything comes up. I won't have my phone on me the entire time, but I will have it in the main station and someone will let me know if there is something important going on."
"I will," Paige answers. "Be safe and call me if you need anything. And let me know when you're on your way back."
"I will," I say as I walk out the door. "Love you."
"Love you too," Paige says before I shut the door and walk down toward the lobby. I walk out to the parking lot where Chuck is waiting for me in his black Volvo. I open the back door and set my stuff down before sitting in the front seat, buckling in as Chuck backs out and drives out towards the crash site. Chuck didn't make an attempt at conversation, for which I was thankful. He just hands me a document with details of what they already knew about the crash. The document was exceptionally short for a week-long investigation, to which my heart sank. This is going to be even harder than I thought, I say to myself.