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.
---
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.
A soft thump lands nearby and I see what looks like a large fruit on the ground. Picking it up I know this is papaya. I put it in my bag and save it for later. I can see where it has fallen as the fruits are high up and not easy to get to. I thank my lucky stars that this one has fallen. I go to start walking again but then I realize I went off my direction to get the fruit.
"Shit..."
I look about and spot broken branches of where I had come from.
"Phew, I'd hate to get lost in the jungle."
I know it's a bit of a sad joke to make to myself but I'm trying to keep positive that I am going to survive this.
It must have been another good two hours that I had been walking, I'm desperate for a drink, and a rest. I've come across what looks like a track or something, much better than what I had been walking through. I'm tired but keep pushing myself to carry on going.
"Just a bit further."
I come to what looks like a bit of space in the jungle and think this will be a good stopping point. I'm off the main track so if animals do come along at least I don't look like a meal ready for them to eat.
I break some big leaves down to make a bit of padding to sit on top of a stone next to the trunk of a tree. After eating some of the fruit I save the rest and put it back in the bag. Keeping the backpack on as padding, I check around me before sitting down. I didn't realize how much my legs were aching.
"I should be relaxing on a beach by now not here lost in a fucking jungle."
I lean back against the tree. I'm only going to rest my legs, well that was my intention until my eyes closed and I dozed off.
---
"Ahhhhh!"
Woken by a sudden pain firing down my arm, when I open my eyes I see these huge ugly looking ants crawling about, all stalking towards me. Another firing pain in my hand, the fucking ants are crawling all over me.
"Fuck, Jesus fucking Christ!"
I leap up and another pain like fire shoots into my back. They're all over the place. Running away from the tree, I shake off my backpack and start stripping my clothes off shaking my body.
It's as if I can feel them crawling all over me. I must look like a lunatic the way I was jumping about trying to rid myself of any other ants. My hand, arm, and back feel like I've just been shot.
"FUCKING BASTARDS! AHHHHHH!"
The tears are streaming down my face as the blinding electrical pain is coursing through my arm and back. My hand feels like it's just had a hole shot through it and feels even worse than my arm. I can't think straight. I'm missing my top as I threw it down somewhere in the panic of getting rid of the ants. Gritting my teeth, trying to cope with the pain, I wipe my eyes so I can see again. The bag is not far from me but my shirt I had flung down and now there were probably a hundred or more of those ants all over it. I know I have another shirt in my bag that I had picked up from the crash site so I move further away from the ants and back onto the track. I'm just glad I'd put a few small stones down so I knew what direction I was going in.
I empty the backpack and give it a good shake. I have tears again that I can't control as the pain is burning me like someone is holding a hot poker into my skin. I don't want any of the bullet ants hitchhiking with me so I double-check everything.
"Now I know why they are called bullet ants."
In excruciating pain, I place things back in the bag except for the tie and shirt. I put the shirt on.
It's too big for me but better than trying to retrieve mine. I wrap the tie around my hand hoping that a bit of pressure will help with the pain. I don't think it is, and jumping up that quickly hasn't helped with the fact my head is spinning now. Through teary eyes, I grit my teeth and move on along the track. There is no way in hell that I am going to stay around there and I need to find somewhere to rest up for the night before it gets dark. One thing I am loving is all the different smells in the jungle. I stumble over a tree root, at least I think it was a root or something. I fall just catching myself against another tree.
"Huh, that's strange I'm sure these trees don't normally grow freely in the jungle."
It's a eucalyptus tree. I gather as many leaves as possible as the scent I know will help keep beasties away at sunset.
"It must be my lucky day."
I have to laugh at my own joke, but on a more serious note, I need to find somewhere to sleep.
I look at the branches in the trees to see if I could wedge myself in somewhere. There were plenty of vines not far back the way I had come. I decided that if I could gather enough I could make some sort of woven hammock. I've made hay nets before for horses so it would be something like that.
"Shouldn't be too hard."
I try joking to myself, keeping my mind busy as to mask the pain that I am still getting from the stings of the bullet ants. The fear that I may become someone's dinner during the night makes me move as quick as I can. I drag the vines along and start weaving them together. I make some sort of hammock and think that it should be good enough as the night sky is closing in fast.
After managing to get one vine over a branch and tying it which I thought I had done a good job on, I'm struggling to tie the other one. With the stings I got from the bullet ants still killing me, it's like I've got a hot poker constantly pressing into my skin burning me with excruciating pain. The last thing I want to suffer from is getting malaria or dengue from the mosquitoes that are coming out.
I'm glad I knew about the eucalyptus leaves. I get some out and crush the leaves in the palm of my hand and rub it over my neck and face I can smell the oils already. Soon darkness is closing in, getting some of the large leaves I climb into the makeshift hammock.
"AHHHH, FUCK..."
I fell out with a thud onto the ground. This is not helping at all. I'm trying again. I climb back in, but it's swinging too much. I think I'm going to fall out again. Thankfully, I manage to steady it enough so I'm in the middle of it. I think the holes are too big but I have no choice now, it's this or the jungle floor and that is not an option. With my rucksack as a pillow, I eat some more of the papaya fruit. I'm trying to ration it as I don't know when I will find my next meal. With the eucalyptus oils rubbed into my skin, I put the big leaves over the top of me for cover, at least it's holding.
---
I hardly get any sleep because of how uncomfortable I was and the constant burning, throbbing pain from the bullet ant stings. I can say the pain has reduced immensely since last night. I feel a bit sick this morning and don't feel great. I've not had water so I need to find some today. I forced my body up and out of the hammock but as I tried to get out I caught my foot and fell face-first into the ground hitting my mouth on something hard. A shooting pain fired through my mouth.
"Fuck!"
I spit out blood as I had cut the inside of my cheek and a bit of my tooth came out as well. My face is throbbing now and I have to deal with the pain from that. My stomach twists and I have to hold my arms around myself. I think I'm going to let loose from both ends.
"Fuck can this day get any worse?"
I grab the bag and a packet of the salt thinking I'll rub that inside my mouth. I check in the little mirror and see that I've really done a number on myself. I rub some salt into my mouth it hurts like a fucker but not nearly as bad as the ants. My stomach twists again, I need to go. Finding a spot and with my stick, I try making a little hole before letting my bowels go.
"I'm never going on holiday again."
I have the sanitary towels in my bag, so at least I can clean myself up properly. I'd hate to wipe my ass on a leaf and find I get suckered with a leech or something on my ass. I cover it up the best I can and head on my way. Still have one problem staring me in the face: I need water.
With only what is left of the fruit that I had, I finished it off and started walking, once again leaving another piece of paper. I hear the pitter-patter of water on some leaves; it's started raining. I get excited. I break a big leaf and hold it up hoping to catch some rain droplets. I must have been standing there for ages but when I looked, I had caught only a few drops, enough to wet my mouth. I drink it anyway. The side of my face feels like it has been punched and the throbbing is getting worse. I decide to push on forwards along the track which seems to have gotten wider. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.
The tree canopies have opened up a little bit more here and I can feel the rain slightly heavier. I don't have anything for collecting water in until I remember I have the sanitary pads thinking that I might be able to absorb the rain into them. I pull some out the wrappers and lay them out on top of some big leaves where I think they would collect the most rain. I debated whilst I was here to try to pull out the tooth but the pain was too much. I put up with the aching and throbbing of it instead. The constant noises from the jungle are quite enjoyable except when the monkeys start their chatter.
When the rain finally stopped, I collected the pads up and put them into the plastic outer wrapper to stop any water leaking out and secure them in my rucksack. I keep heading along the path in front of me, it looks clearer than before so it makes walking that bit easier.
After another few hours of trekking, fatigue is working its way through my body. I've found some Brazil nuts along the way and a fallen coconut which gave me some vital fresh coconut water once I got into it. I stashed some of the Brazil nuts in my bag along with the coconut. Nighttime is coming in fast again and I have to find a place to sleep. A makeshift hammock is my best option again. I'd say I'm getting quite good at making these, they take me about an hour to make. Another two painful days and nights pass of the same: walking through the day, being uncomfortable, and not much sleep at night.
---
When the next morning comes round I know I need to keep moving again. With the little food I have and no water, I have to find something more. I've seen enough flowers but don't know what is safe to eat. I keep moving, trying to suck what water is left from the soaked sanitary towels I had. It's not nice but it is water. Between the pain in my mouth and my stomach feeling like it has barbed wire in it, I keep moving. I'm now getting blurry vision and feeling sick when I come across several banana trees.
"Food!"
They look reasonably ripe as most have turned yellow. With my stick, I poke to try and remove some. A whole bunch of them drop on the ground. In my haste to get them, I nearly stood on a snake and only noticed it at the last minute. It's right near the bananas so I step back carefully and wait. Eventually, it moved off and I got the bananas.
"Mmmm..."
I stuffed two down my throat and thought I was going to throw them back up as my stomach twisted again. Carrying a few in the rucksack, I move forward again. My face is throbbing and the pains in my stomach are making it hard to keep going at a strong pace. With yet another night spent here in the jungle, I wonder how much longer I can keep going.
---
Morning comes round once more and I'm sure if I don't get out of here soon I'm not going to make it. I'm attempting to pull out my tooth with the dental floss by tying it around my tooth and attaching it to a stone. As I drop the stone, the pain shoots up through my face. It didn't go very well and I ended up passing out.
Waking up my first thoughts and feelings were the ants crawling across me again and I jumped up shaking my body. In doing so, a pain hits me. My tooth is still attached to the dental floss and the stone. As I jumped up, I yanked the floss and it felt like I pulled half my mouth out. The metallic taste of blood sitting in my mouth makes me want to be sick. I have managed to pull my tooth out or at least I think I have. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I tip some of the salt into the wound and screamed out loud before I passed out once again.
I only come to when I'm sure I hear noises, voices to be precise. I try shouting out but I don't know if my voice is being heard or it's just me shouting in my head. Finally, a voice reaches me.
"I found someone."
A blurry vision of a person comes into view, I try standing up.
"I got you, you're safe now."
That's the last thing I remember hearing as I collapsed into their arms relieved that I had been found.
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Rescue Worker
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