Part 1/2
"The answers are
there. You just have to know where to look."
"That's why they put the 'I' in 'F.B.I.' See you tomorrow morning,
Scully, bright and early. We leave for the very plausible state of Oregon at
8am."
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Oh god! Breathe Scully, just breathe.
My heart was leaping out of my chest while my palms instantly became
sweaty, probably due to the ferocity with which I was gripping onto the
armrest.
The plane had just dropped suddenly sending a huge shudder throughout
the cabin. It leveled out again quickly but nonetheless it had still scared the
wits out of me. I hated to fly, why in
gods name did I ever give up on a career in medicine? No one ever drops out of
the sky while examining a patient.
Mulder's head turned towards me exclaiming, "This must be the place."
His sly grin and rock steady composure instantly got under my skin. Did he give
no thought to the fiery ball of twisted metal and steel that this plane could
become in just a few seconds? Did he have no concern whether he lived or died?
My anger towards him was distracting and I felt my heart rate slow, and my
hands relax their grip.
Whew! That's better. A sudden thought flashed through my head that
maybe he'd done that on purpose to take my mind off the flying, but I instantly
dismissed it. He was enjoying this far too much to be thinking of anyone except
for himself.
Composure that's what I needed. If I were ever going to become his
equal, I would have to always remain focused and detached. There was no way I'd
ever let him or anyone else think I hadn't gotten to where I am today on
anything other than my own drive. They'd stuck me on the x files with a man who
is as highly regarded as the janitor, but I will not be held back. I'm going to
make the best of this and move on, the better for the experience.
My head was now firmly in the upright position, chin firm, and a smile
playing across my mouth. Yes, even Fox Mulder would not stand in the way of the
confident and composed Dana Scully.
The smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as the plane suddenly
began to plunge.
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Damn it Mulder, you like her.
After lying awake all night, trying to determine why I'd so suddenly
been assigned a partner, and deciding to hate her, I now change my mind
completely. Her face just now had been priceless, as every emotion that passed
through her, quickly became noticeable in her features. She had been confident,
almost pretentious, checking in at the airport and for most of the flight.
Seeing her apprehension as we boarded the plane, I asked her if she liked to
fly, to which she responded.
"I like it just fine." It was then I knew I had not yet encountered the
real Dana Scully. No, this was the woman she was trying to project. Calm and
confidant. Well, if that's the way she wanted to play it fine, there was no way
I was going to ever trust her, so why bother even trying to like her.
But once again, I found myself stealing a look at her. The calm and
confident mask had slipped again and all I saw now was pure terror. Her arms
were gripping onto the rests so firmly I thought she'd break them under the
pressure. I couldn't help but smile, as much as I fought against it, she was
captivating.
There was no reason for her to hide her fear, it had been a rocky
flight, I would never think her weak for being a bit scared of flying. I'm
scared to death of fire, but still consider myself pretty brave in other
respects. Everyone has his or her phobias.
There was another surge in the cabin, making me momentarily loose my
stomach. The shudders made everything in the overhead lockers shift, one of
them opening, spilling its contents onto the floor. It was a few moments before
I realised what was happening, the plane was not evening out again, in fact
quite the opposite, it felt like it was plummeting.
I struggled to get myself into the sitting position, and with shaking
hands finally managed to fasten my seat belt. It was then the captains voice
came over the speaker.
"Ladies and Gentleman, we are experiencing severe instrument failure,
please get into crash positions with your head between your knees."
I snickered at this. In my morose sense of humor, I remembered a joke
I'd once heard, 'put your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye.'
Quite apt really, never really known just how much, until now.
" I will try and bring us down safely, but this region has quite
treacherous terrain, so it will not be smooth."
Finally his words sank in. Oh shit, this is really happening. My
thoughts returned to my fearful partner, who was no doubt at this point wetting
herself. I turned in my seat to get a look at her and was surprised at what I
saw.
Her head was bowed reverently in prayer, clutching onto a small cross
she wore around her neck. I hadn't noticed it before, she must be catholic.
Maybe she was more afraid of waiting to crash, rather than the actual event. A
sudden calm had come over her as she held onto her faith. It was then I wished
I believed in something that would give me that kind of comfort, but when it
came to religion, I was as skeptical as they came.
I looked out the window and saw the ground rapidly approaching, my mind
racing through the events of my life, frowning at what I'd achieved so far. The
pursuits of career, seemed insignificant when I realised I had never been truly
in love, never fathered a child, never been married.
The cabin now tilted back and forth, as the captain had trouble keeping
the wings steady. I drew in a breath and squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the
inevitable. The only thought of comfort was that maybe I would soon be with
Samantha, so I held onto that.
The impact shocked me even though I knew it was coming. I have never
felt such a force before, the shudder ripped through the plane and my body as
one. I did not see what was happening around me, opting to keep my eyes shut,
but there was no blocking the other senses. So many smells combined in my
nostrils, petrol, smoke, and fire, to form one pungent stench of death. I could
hear the tearing of steel and explosions, which though hideous, were nothing
compared to the screams of the other passengers. There were sharp pains hitting
me from all directions, but before I could have time to place them, I was
instantly swallowed up by darkness.
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Just make the pain stop, I begged over and over, as I became acutely
aware of everything, the pounding in my head, the blood being pumped through
every vein, each spark of electricity running through my nerves.
There was a throbbing in the top of my leg that stood out over the
other things I was feeling. I lowered my arm, which was still clutching onto my
gold cross, to assess the damage. There was the warm feel of blood soaking
through my pants, and trickling down my leg. I looked around for something to
slop the blood loss, finally taking in my surroundings.
Oh dear god.
The plane that once surrounded me was mostly gone, and what was left
was unrecognizable as the structure it once was. Looking upwards, I saw the sky
and on all other sides forest. The only part of the plane still in tact was the
floor below me, which was attached to piece of the wing. There were no rows
ahead or behind, only the seats next to me. I looked over, praying I was not
alone, but found only half of the person that used to be there, still strapped
into the seat.
My breakfast rose up in my throat, as my stomach convulsed. There was
no holding it back now. I retched over and over into the aisle, bringing up
bile and anything else lining my stomach. I'm a doctor, used to seeing bodies,
but this was completely different. Usually it was up to me to determine how
they died, not experience it and come close to death myself.
My breathing slowed as the retching stopped. There was no putting off
what I had to do now I leaned over the person beside me and removed the sleeve
of material that hung there. I had to lift my leg to get the material
underneath, the pain actually making me cry out, as I tightened the knot.
Tourniquet in place, I forced myself to stand up.
I had to find help. Suddenly my mind went to Mulder, was he all right?
He had to be, there would be others. I was not alone out here in the forest,
because if I was then I don't know what I'm going to do.
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Damn I've got a headache, what the hell happened. Everything is blurry.
I blinked several times, trying to open my eyes properly. Everything came
flooding back in a hurry. The flight, the crash, my whole life flashing before
my eyes.
My face was jammed into the seat before me, which had been pushed
backwards. Sitting straight up again, I discovered a trickle of something warm
running down my face. Blood I thought, as some ran into my mouth, giving of
that familiar metallic taste. There was already a bump forming on my head, but
other than that, I'd come through this relatively unscathed.
My thoughts finally turned to my new partner, and I began to look
around. Even though the plane crash had been horrendous, when I discovered I
was ok, I'd assumed everyone else would be. You can imagine my dismay to see
the entire row where Scully was sitting and most of the wing completely gone.
My heart raced as I began to panic, oh god, she was dead. No, that
wasn't possible, I would not let it be. Until I saw it with my own I eyes I
would never believe it. As strange as it seemed, I already felt a connection to
her, and when I reached out with my mind, it was still there.
People were moving around the cabin, not many but some. I could hear
crying coming from the back of the plane, and tried to block my ears to the
sound, it was full of pain and fear. Then I realised, it was a child.
Forgetting my partner for a moment, I scrambled to get down to the back
of the plane. It took me a while to find him, he was wedged in so far I could
only follow the sound. A small boy was trapped between two seats, which had
become pushed together.
"Hey, it's ok I'm here now. I'll get you out. What's your name?"
"Jake." His voice was so small, he couldn't be any older than six.
"Well Jake, I'm Fox, I'll get you out of there. Where's your mum and
dad?"
"In Oregon."
"Well, you must be a brave boy flying on your own, be brave a second
longer while I get you out." Using all the strength I could muster I managed to
free the small boy who, despite being so wedged in, was remarkably unscathed.
"Thanks mister."
There was a young woman across the way hugging onto her daughter. I led
the boy over and she embraced him as well.
"Look after him, he's all alone." I said, and she nodded. " Did you see
where the other part of the plane broke away?"
"I think it came off before we slid down this last part of the hill, I
can't be sure though, everything is kind of hazy."
"Thanks, it's more than I remember." I said indicating the large bump
on my head. "Now, I am an FBI agent, and my partner was in that section, I'm
going to hike back up the hill and find her. This is my badge, if help comes,
let them know I've gone up that way to,
OK?"
The woman nodded and I climbed back up the plane, leaving through the
hole, where Scully's row of seats used to be.
I was going to find her, it was only a matter of time.
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End of Part 1
Feedback please. It makes me type faster.
Look out for the second and final part, not far off, less than a week.
