Survival of the Fittest

Chapter Eighteen - The Doctor

I wake up to my head throbbing. I feel around me and I'm still in the seat held in by the belt fastened around my waist. I don't know how long I have been out for. I try to take a good look around as best as I can before I move but it's pitch black. Thinking back over the flight plan, I now realize that I'm somewhere in the Amazon rainforest.

"Damn you."

After dealing with the shit from my now ex-husband I don't let anything get me down. I may be a doctor but I also know that trying to keep a little bit of humor in this world is what keeps me going.

With my head throbbing, I know that I must have banged it during the crash and got knocked out. Releasing the belt that held me in place, standing up I'm unsteady on my feet. Other than my head injury I only seem to have some cuts and bruises that I can feel. I can't see much as it is so dark but I can still hear cries from other people in the distance. Now I have the dilemma of do I risk working my way through the dark to try to help others or do I wait till first light so I can see what I'm doing? As a doctor I want to go help, the cries are slowly getting weaker. I have to sit back down after feeling dizzy. I need to gather my thoughts and get my head straight, that's when my eyes closed once more.

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A glimmer of light from the morning sun wakes me up along with the beautiful noises from birds singing high up in the trees. As I see the carnage for the first time, the wreckage is in bits all over the ground. There are a few empty seats so I know there must be some other survivors.

With my head still pounding I can feel the lump that has formed. Looking about I see a bag lying on the ground. I look inside and find a pack of sanitary napkins, some dental floss, a mirror, a daily planner, and loads of those little sachets of salt. Someone liked to add salt to everything. I keep the bag and items as you never know they may be useful. Checking over the wreckage as I walk through it I find a shirt and a tie. I stuff them in the bag and try to take note of where the sun is rising in the sky: east. If I keep heading in the same direction then I have a chance. The sun is just up and it's a good time to go.

As I start walking across the wreckage, I keep my eye out for anything useful. There are a few bodies I see but I can't check on them as there are already small animals about. I don't want to hang about to wait and see what's going to turn up next. Trying to move quickly to get away, I stumble and fall over what looks like a tree root but to my horror, I realize that it is the charred remains of someone's leg.

"Oh fuck."

I check the time, it's just after 6:30 am. I'm glad I still have my watch on and it works. I start my journey into the rainforest. As I enter I rip a page from the planner and place it through a branch in the hope that if rescue comes I can leave a trail of pieces of paper.

I'm terrified of entering the jungle but I know I have to press on, and I have to keep my hopes up that maybe some of the others have gone on ahead and I might find them. I try shouting to see if I get any response but nothing except the noises of the jungle call back.

I'm now glad that I wore my light cotton trousers for traveling in although my trainers might not last long in here. The heat of the day is already picking up so I get moving. There is a lot of undergrowth and I'm already finding it hard. I see what looks like a suitable stick for helping beat down plants and vines that get in my way. Sweat is forming on my brow and I wipe it away with the sleeve of my shirt.

"If only my ex-husband was this hot...I know at least I would be having a good time."

I check my watch and see I've been hiking for a good three hours. I try keeping track of where the sun is as it climbs in the sky and I keep heading east leaving another piece of paper stuck in a branch. I need a rest and a drink of water as I've kept going forwards, keeping my eyes out for fruit trees. I hear constant noises from some monkeys, it's almost if they are having a good laugh at me I know there must be something about.