The Crash

" Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen welcome aboard Journey Airways flight 172 to Presque Island, Maine. Thank you for your attention while important safety information is reviewed." They reviewed the information. Chrissie Bailey had been rehearsing this for 2 years. She dreamed of being a lead flight attendant. She was still the new girl but she was just happy to be on this flight.

Sophia Reed was a nervous flyer, but a good mom nonetheless. After the death of her husband, she decided to go visit her sister in North Carolina and was on her way back home. Her son Griffin was done with the whole trip. He wanted to be home and see his friends and stop missing his dad. They fought almost the whole time they had been in North Carolina. Griffin sat by the window, put his headphones in, and ignored his mom. Sophia was hurt, but let him have his space.

Abdul Hunt was so excited to be going to Maine. He wanted to observe the Northern Mockingbird and get pictures before going to the Global BirdFair in Rutland Showground, Oakham UK. He hated flying and just wanted to be there. He sat in the aisle seat and avoided all contact with everyone.

The flight was relatively smooth until about an hour into the flight when turbulence was extremely bad. When the seatbelt sign clicked on Sophia was panicking. Abdul was expecting something like this to happen. Griffin was sleeping and didn't notice. Chrissie strapped in and tried to relax.

They had flown straight into a thunderstorm. Sophia was freaking out. She woke up her son and told him what was happening. Griffin couldn't have cared less. He sharply told his mom to calm down and went back to sleep. Sophia was not getting any rest she was worrying. That's when she saw an extremely bright flash right outside of her window. It was lightning. She had started to softly cry.

About thirty minutes later Abdul really had to use the restroom, but the seatbelt sign was still on. He couldn't hold it anymore and decided to make his way to the bathroom. He was stumbling due to the intense turbulence. He slipped into the bathroom and did his business. Just as he was going to pull the door open he heard a loud boom sound and the plane started to shake violently back and forth. Abdul fought his way to his seat again buckled in and held on. Griffin was startled awake and saw his mom was panicking. He started to as the plane started losing more and more altitude. Chrissie was not super worried until she was starting to feel more and more pressure. The G's were rising. They were going to crash. The lead flight attendant picked up the PA system and all she could say was "BRACE". The plane smacked into the Appalachian mountains.

It was a violent crash. Unbeknownst to the crew they had been hit by a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The Cessna's Skyhawks transponder was broken. Leaving them invisible to the 737-300.

Abdul found himself looking into the trees above him. The plane around him was gone. He heard moans all around him. He tried to move. His head was pounding and his knee hurt extremely bad. He moved his hands to the buckle, unbuckled the belt, and tried to stand. The pain in his knee was making him wince. He looked around. Most people were dead.

" Help. Please" A voice called out. He hobbled to the voice. I was a lady stuck under a row of seats. She couldn't move and he wasn't strong enough to move the seats.

" I'll go get help." He left her side and continued looking for survivors. She pleaded with him to not leave, save her, and don't let her die. She was sobbing. A few tears fell to the floor. He clambered off the plane and started looking for civilization.

Griffin awoke to severe pain in his abdomen, hands, and head. He tried to call for his mom.

" Mom?" Griffin felt a hand slide over his. Sophia reached for his hand. She had slight pain in her arms but other than that she was. She unbuckled herself. As Griffin did as well. She stood feeling ok. Griffin tried to stand his legs feeling weak. They climbed out of a hole in the fuselage. Onto the wet ground. She saw a few other people climbing out of the wreckage. The rain started to fall making her shiver. Griffin lay down and tried to breathe.

Chrissie felt the drops falling on her face. Her legs ached. She looked around the cockpit was practically destroyed, her friends and colleagues were dead. She couldn't stand. She unbuckled herself and rolled onto the floor. She noticed that her legs were gashed and bloody. She crawled to the cold floor. It felt like a jungle to her. She knocked down weeds and branched just to get a little bit further out of the plane.

They sat on the mountain side still in shock. Chrissie knew that she was the only crew member left so she took charge.

" Hey, I'm Chrissie one of the flight attendants, if you can move come to the sound of my voice." People started to make their way to the sound of her voice. Abdul, Sophia, and Griffin finally all made it over to her. The only illumination they had were the strikes of lightning. The vegetation was thick causing many people to struggle. Abdul and Sophia helped those they could. The pain in Griffin's side grew more and more.

In total 13 people survived the impact. Only 9 made it out of the plane. Abdul and Sophia were in the best condition. Abdul, Sophia, and 2 others gathered branches. While Chrissie and Griffin searched the plane and suitcases they could get to. They stacked the driest branches and tried to get a fire started to warm up. They took the clothes that were in the suitcases stuffed them in the branches and used a knife and a rock to make a spark. They were slightly shielded from the rain under the tree canopies. They found some snacks and water. Two days came and went with no rescue.

" We can't just sit here! We are going to die we survived all this to not be rescued." Abdul yelled.

" Abdul! Yelling isn't helping."

"It's better than just sitting here and making small talk. I'm going to find help. I'll bring them back I promise." Abdul walked into the trees and disappeared. Everyone was losing hope. Griffin's condition was worsening.

Abdul being a bird expert looked for any birds that he could follow. He walked for miles. When out of the corner of his eyes he saw an eagle feather and knew he had to be getting close to a clearing.

" Hello?" Abdul called.

" Hello" Was repeated back. Abdul stopped. He had found a Northern Mockingbird. He was close to a town he knew these birds gather outside of towns to get leftovers. He ran. He got to the town and found help and brought them to the mountain. They helped get the survivors. Griffin was in rough condition. They got him to the hospital and passed away. Sophia was ok except for the loss of her son. Abdul had a fractured knee and a major concussion. Chrisse ended up losing her legs. She is relearning how to walk. They were all awarded awards for there bravery. The feather Abdul found is what he calls his lucky charm.