A Man, a Girl, a Deserted Island - an Epic Love Hate Saga

Episode 25: Soup for Sharks

I lean close to her ear and shout:

"Come outside! Raus! Otherwise, we'll die here!"

I try to pull her by the arm. She kicks me with her feet and pushes me away as far as possible.

"I don't know how to swim," she screams.

I look at her for a few seconds and assess the situation. Clearly.

"Your tough luck," I whisper. "Take care! I'm out."

I take a big breath of air as much as my smoker's lungs allow and then dive. The light coming from the portholes helps me orient myself.

At about three meters deep, I recognize Jean-Louis floating among the seats. His bruised face seems to stare at me, and it surprises me. I can't control myself anymore. I scream underwater, and bubbles escape along my cheeks.

I quickly return to the tail of the plane. Air, I need air!

Eva is still there, but I pay no attention to her. She's as good as dead to me. I take a deep breath of air and dive again.

This time I'm braver and manage to pass indifferently by the Frenchman's corpse, then reach the seat where the doctor is tied.

Damn! The poor guy doesn't have a head anymore.

On the entire left side, the wall is torn as if a gigantic blade entered and cut everything. I see a large hole in the fuselage, exactly where the left wing should have been. The hole is so big that a person could step through it standing up, without bending over. Things are clear. When the left wing broke, the engine hit the wall, and the propeller cut everything in its path. The doctor was on the left side. In its path. That's why the water is pink.

I leave him behind and exit the wreckage through the crack. I reach the surface immediately. The sight that greets me sends a shiver down my spine.

Water. Nothing but water. The swell lifts me up and down.

Heavenly God, the Pacific is immense! Everywhere nothing but foamy waves and nothing else. I look behind. There's not much to see behind me either.

The tail of the aircraft emerges from the water at a height of no more than an arm's length. Far away from us, floating and playing on the waves, I see a float. Damn floats! Both of them are gone.

"Alright, Lord!" I shout at the top of my lungs. "Very well! You've done it to me in the end. You're the toughest! But at least help me swim to that float!"

A wave covers my mouth. I spit and paddle. I struggle to cover about twenty meters in the direction of the float, but I realize with amazement that my life jacket is of no help. It's split in two. It's more of a hindrance.

How could I be so stupid! The doctor had a life jacket on, right? Why didn't I take his?

 I'm going back right now to get it. What does he need it for? Usually, headless people don't need life jackets.

I force myself to return to the wreckage. The water current has pushed it away. The swell moves it up and down. I barely manage to reach it, but it's even harder to get back inside.

I'm suffocating. I'm inside, but my arms are tired. I reach the tail of the plane, take a deep breath, and notice with horror that the air pocket has shrunk. The girl's face shows terror. There's only terror in her black eyes. She finally understands that the plane is sinking. It's full of water, and the engine from the right wing is pulling us down.

"Eva," I yell, "we're sinking! We're going down any minute now. You need to get out of here!"

The girl looks at me like a cornered beast. Her gaze is not at all human. If I were to approach her, she'd probably bite my face off. I have to leave her alone.