Chapter Nine
Nightmare in the Ravine
Driving through the remote lands of Montana, Grant began feeling more relaxed and clear headed. He shifted gears, pressing the odometer passed seventy as if putting physical distance between him self and Ellie would make it all disappear. He couldn't believe what might of happened if Mike hadn't joined them. Grant felt guilty for placing Ellie in the situation. She was a young woman engaged to another man and all Grant could think of while gazing at her was how soft her lips must be.
He also felt shameful about Lisa. He couldn't help but feel that he was dirtying her memory by wanting another woman immediately after talking about his beloved wife. Would Lisa understand his loving someone else wasn't substituting her place in his heart? That no one would ever make him forget her? But just simply fill the void?
The scenery whizzed by in a haze and he let up on the accelerator as he rounded a sharp bend in the road. The truck skidded and Grant made the automatic mistake of slamming on the brakes, causing the tires to squeal and turn sharply. He saw the cliff rushing towards him and he whipped the wheel to the right. The truck shuttered at the twist in direction, but followed the demand, coming to a rough halt.
Grant sat there, breathing heavily at the near-collision. He closed his eyes, dropping his head to rest on the steering wheel. Then he felt it. The ground trembled under the truck's weight and he frantically grabbed the door handle, but was too late. The earth crumbled, taking the truck down with it…the whole hundred feet.
Grant dropped flat across the seats, the seatbelt digging into his side, and covered his head with his hands. The truck bounced off the side, the metal screeching against the rock; the force causing the vehicle to roll onto it's side and skid the rest of the way until rolling onto to its top. Grant squeezed his eyes shut and reached his arms up, gripping his hands around the passenger seat to keep him self from snapping forward as the truck plunged into the ravine.
Part Two
Grant slowly regained consciousness. The impact had caused his head to smash into the dashboard as the truck was being crushed. He was suspended in the air, held up by his seatbelt. He struggled with the restraint and pulled himself free, toppling onto the roof of the truck as it lay on its top, and hissed in agony. His right leg was awkwardly bent and he knew instantly from the pain that it was broken.
Grant managed to drag himself out of the wreckage and glanced at his watch. Miraculously the glass was shattered, but the hands continued to tick away. He had only been out cold for roughly fifteen minutes and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could count on not suffering from permanent brain damage. He struggled to stand, but ended up crumbling to the dusty ground.
He decided to stay where he was for the time being, but as he examined the wreck he noticed various fluids leaking. Shit! Grant forced himself to stand and wobble away as quickly as he could, grimacing at the sharp pains shooting through his leg. He got twenty yards away before the explosion and he dropped to the ground, covering his head in a feeble attempt at protecting himself.
He felt the heat and small debris strike his back. He rolled onto his back and watched as his truck disappeared behind a cover of flames. Now he couldn't even try the radio despite the fact what was most likely broken in the tumble. And it was unlikely anyone saw the explosions. He felt like screaming. There was no way but to walk.
Grumbling, he set out on his journey. It was at least a two-day walk back, but on a broken leg he figured he would have to double that predication. In the back of his mind he cursed whatever may be and prayed for a rescue.
End Chapter Nine
This is the passage from the Jurassic Park novel by Michael Crichton: "Once he'd been lost in the badlands for four days when a cliff gave way beneath him and his truck fell a hundred feet into a ravine. Grant's right leg was broken. He had no water. But he walked back on a broken leg."