The impact is devastating.
The long, metallic screech of the engines is terrifying. It sounds as if two locomotives collided head-on.
I'm thrown entirely off my seat. My seatbelt rips like a rag, and I slam forcefully into the front seat's backrest. My life jacket explodes like a tractor tire. The noise deafens me.
So, I'm going to die. I suspected I would.
Before I faint, I hear the sound of water rushing wildly inside.
I don't know how long it takes me to wake up, but I'm almost breathing water instead of air. I panic terribly. I flail my arms aimlessly in the water and feel like I no longer know which way is "up" and which way is "down."
Is this death? Crap! It's terrifying!
Around me, luggage and clothing float. I feel a suitcase hitting me in the chest, scraping harshly against my arms. Which way should I swim? I open my eyes and realize that the water around me is not blue at all, but pink. Or maybe light red. What kind of phenomenon is this?
A few bubbles of air escape from my mouth. I watch them. Aha, there is "up" over there. I hold onto the seats and follow the direction of the air bubbles. In less than five seconds, I resurface. It was about time.
I scream desperately and take a deep breath. I almost choke. Another second, and...
I look around and try to orient myself. I suddenly understand that I'm still at the tail of the seaplane. A pocket of air has formed here. That's why we're floating.
"Where's the idiot who said these damn things float?" I scream furiously. "Show yourself, you fucking German! I feel like today's your last day. I feel it!"
And I feel something else. The rocking of the waves. I turn around and find myself face to face with the girl. She's alive, but she has the most frightened eyes I've ever seen in my life. Probably just like mine.
"We're upside down!" I shout. "We need to get out of here urgently!"
She's mute. Maybe she's also deaf.
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.
I don't have time. If this damn thing is still floating, it's only because of the air pocket in the tail. But it won't hold much longer. Maybe a minute.
I leave the girl again and dive in search of the doctor. I find him quickly. A small stream of blood still gushes from his torn throat. It colors everything around.
I quickly unzip his jacket and pull it over... his head. So to speak.
I return to the tail. The air is almost poisoned with carbon dioxide. I feel like I'm suffocating. I need to move fast. Every second counts. I feel I'm not going to die today! Eva watches as I take off my cracked life jacket and put on the other one.
I glance at her. She also has a life jacket. I suddenly make up my mind and shout:
"Let's go! Out now!"
"No!" she screams.
"The doctor is dead. Come on, Eva! Come on!"
"No!" she yells in fear.
I have no one to argue with. Her nerves are too shaken. I think I'll go crazy very soon too. I make one last attempt:
"Do you see this red water?"
Eva stares at me.
"Girl!" I shout. "Wake up! Do you see this red soup?"
"What do you want?!" she shouts sharply. "Leave me alone!"
She clings desperately to a hook on the wall.
"In a minute, this whole place will be swarming with shark fins!" I scream in her ear.
"No!"
"Yes! This soup is an invitation to dinner. All the sharks in the ocean will say 'Present!' We need to get away. I'll take you out! I'll help you! Come on!"
"No!"
Damn it! Negotiations are over. I reach out and grab her by the hair. The girl releases the hook and clings desperately to a chair. I try to pry her hands off, and she screams sharply. Her nerves have snapped. I pull her like that under the water. She struggles wildly and grabs onto every row of seats. I get a kick in the mouth. You damn little German bitch! I pry one hand off the backrest, but she grabs on with the other.
Bubbles of air burst from her mouth, and her eyes are wide open.
I get a finger in my eye and let go of her hand. She slips back like a squirrel toward the tail of the seaplane. You damn bastard!
I resurface with my head in the air pocket and puff like a seal. Eva is still here and starts to scream.
I'm so angry I could kill her. I grab her by the throat with my left hand and give her a hearty right hook. My fist hits her temple directly. Once and again.
Alright! She doesn't resist anymore. She's like a rag.
I shove my hand into her hair and pull her back underwater. Now it's easy. It takes me less than five seconds to bring her back to the surface.
A wave covers me. I gulp a mouthful of salty water and let the poor thing go. I dive and blindly search for her underwater. I find her immediately.
This time, I feel around for the handles of her life jacket and pull hard on them. Poof! Eva shoots up like a crazy submarine. She's saved.
I inflate my own life jacket and am thrown back to the surface. I grab the girl's hand and start swimming away from the wreckage. I swim frantically as if sharks were chasing me. In less than a minute, I feel my lungs catch fire, and I stop.
Eva floats next to me like a disarticulated doll. Her head moves left and right.
"You killed her," I whisper. "Good job, boy... You should have left her there. It's all the same."
I turn around and look in all directions.
No seaplane. Nowhere!
It's gone.