Chapter 4 ~ The Silver Tree

Into the Ocean

The plane moved steadily as if they never went through the storm. The passengers went back to whatever they had been doing before ignoring the dark clouds beneath them. Charity glared out the window hoping sheer will would make the storm disperse. Oddly enough it actually worked. The storm clouds began to lose their dark color, and she was able to see the ocean below her again. The water was calm and sparkling in the sunlight.

She sighed with relief. The trouble had passed, and she could relax for the rest of the flight. She looked at the TV screen in front of her to see how far they needed to go. The last few hours the only thing under the plane was water. Solid ground was finally back on the screen, and they were only an hour away from their destination. It was a good thing too. Her legs were beginning to cramp from sitting for so long.

Suddenly everything became very quiet. The other passengers seemed to still be talking amongst themselves, but something was wrong. A sound was missing. Finally she figured out what the sound was. The engines. They had stopped. Other passengers around her began to notice the silence too. Charity felt weightless in her chair. The only thing holding her down was her seatbelt. Inside the cabin was so quiet a pin dropping could have been heard.

The engines sputtered and tried to start again. The plane was gliding down to the ocean below. The pilot used all of his strength to hold the wings level so they would be able to glide right into the water.

The air masks fell from the overhead compartments and people started placing the life vests around their necks. Charity wished she had paid more attention to the flight attendant before they took off. The whole event moved in slow motion as the plane moved closer and closer to the ocean water. She watched as the people around crouched down with their heads between their knees. She followed their lead and grabbed onto the bottom of her chair so tight her knuckles turned white.

The plane continued to glide faster and faster toward the water. Charity heard the captain saying something over the intercom, but his voice was muffled and she didn't understand the words. She closed her eyes hoping it would soon be over.

The moments went by like hours. The passengers sat waiting for the end. Soon the plane hit the water with a loud splash. The force created a giant wave as the nose sped through. Inside the cabin the seats shook violently causing some of the overhead compartments to open releasing the baggage inside.

When the motion finally stopped everyone stayed very still. The first ones up were the flight attendants. They moved quickly to get everyone off as fast as they could. The plane would not float forever. The emergency exits were opened and rafts soon floated along the side of the injured plane. Charity remained still from the shock. She heard the activity around her as the plane was being emptied.

"Are you okay, dear?" A kind voice asked.

She looked up to see the face of one of the flight attendants. Her hair and clothing much more frazzled than the last time she had seen her. Charity sat up and shook her head indicating she was fine.

"Okay, let's get you off the plane."

The woman helped her remove her seatbelt, and walked with her to the exit. Charity was lifted from the plane, and placed in one of the nearby rafts. She sat alone waiting for other passengers to join her. She crawled into a little ball and sat patiently. She looked out at the plane to see what damage had been done. Most of the skin from the nose and some of the sides had been torn off. A couple of the windows were shattered, but for the most part the plane was intact. Which was amazing considering the height from which it fell.

The wind began to pick up bobbing the rafts up and down. She saw the line which tethered the rafts together was being stretched each time they moved. She moved forward to grab onto the rope. The moment she grabbed the line it broke, and her raft began to drift out to sea.

"Help me!" She called to the other rafts.

One man tried to grab hold of her, but she was already too far away. She reached into the water and tried to paddle her way back, but she kept going the opposite direction. When paddling didn't work, she tried to grab onto any part of the plane she could reach. Her hand slid across the smooth surface. She tried desperately to grab anything that could stop her from moving further away from the plane. She screamed loudly hoping someone else would be able to help.

A man in the nearest raft tried to throw a rope to her, but it kept falling just short. She could hear the faint sounds of someone yelling at her. The sound was unfortunately drowned out by the wind blowing across the water. Tears now flowed freely down her cheeks as she moved past the cockpit of the plane and out of sight of the other passengers. She continued to paddle forward trying to get back, but the water was insistently pulling her the other way.

Soon the plane was gone, and all she saw was the vast ocean around her. She slid down into the middle of the raft holding her knees tight against her chest. Her arms hurt from the paddling, and her voice felt rough from all the screaming. She sat helplessly in the quiet water. All she could do now was wait, and hope someone would be able to find her.

Charity was unaware of the amazing speed the raft was moving in the seemingly calm ocean. It was almost as if it had a mind of its own. She sat still as she was gently rocked by the water. The air around her began to grow thick and white. A strange fog engulfed the entire area, and all she saw was the edge of the raft. The air felt warm and moist making her skin damp. Even with the warmth she had goose bumps on her arms.

In the distance something dark was showing through the fog looming high above her. For a moment, Charity thought a ship was there to rescue her, but as she moved closer she realized it was something much bigger.

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