Chapter
14
By Julie
Meanwhile, AJ found himself surrounded
by darkness. He tried to move around,
but it was hard. He was nearly stuck in
something cold and wet. Terror swept
over him as he realized he was buried underneath the snow! He scrambled around frantically, trying to
dig his way out. But he couldn’t see
anything. Then he realized something
even more horrifying. He wasn’t even
sure which way was up! He could be stuck
upside-down, which meant he was digging his was even further down. He stopped his digging and took a deep
breath. He knew he had to remain calm.
Suddenly, he remembered something he
had read in a book a long time ago. The
technique to figuring out which way was up was to spit. If the spit ran down your chin like it usually
did, you were facing up. But if it ran
up your nose, you were upside down.
So, AJ took another deep breath and
spit. He breathed in a sigh of relief as
the spit dribbled slowly down his chin.
He rapidly began pawing at the packed in snow again, trying to free
himself. It was hard work because the
snow was so tightly compacted around him.
But he knew he had to work fast, or he would suffocate or freeze to
death. He was already numb from the
cold, and his breathing was rapid and shallow.
A million thoughts ran through AJ’s head. He wondered how deeply he was buried. Where was Howie? Would Howie hear him if he called? AJ didn’t know, but he decided it was worth a
try.
“Help!!!” he shouted as loud as he
could. His plea for help sounded muffled. But he tried again. “Howie!?!?!
Help me!!!!” He continued
digging, praying with all his might that his friend would hear his cries and
save him before he was buried alive for good.
***
Howie wandered around, not even holding
back his tears of panic. The tears
fell, freezing on his cheeks. “AJ, where
are you?” Howie asked, his voice shaking.
He had never been this terrified before, not even when the plane had
crashed. Plus, he felt horribly
guilty. He had run ahead, not even
turning to make sure AJ was with him.
Now he had no idea where his best friend was. AJ could be buried alive, struggling
underneath the mounds of bitterly cold snow, and there was nothing Howie could
do about it.
Howie collapsed upon one of the large
drifts and sobbed. He didn’t know what
to do. He had no idea how to find
AJ. He cried harder, thinking he may
never even see AJ again, dead or alive.
Suddenly, Howie stopped crying, and
froze. He strained his ears,
listening. He could have sworn he heard
someone calling his name.
“AJ!?!?!?!” he yelled. Then he stopped and listened again. This time, he knew his ears were not
deceiving him. He heard a reply, faint
and muffled.
“Howie!!!!!!” came the call. It sounded like it was coming from right
beneath Howie. Howie furiously began to
dig in the snow.
“I’m coming, Bone!!!” he yelled. “Just hang on!!!!!” He continued digging.
From under the snow, AJ also dug,
sobbing with relief. Howie had heard
him. He
would be unburied in no time.
Only minutes later, AJ saw light. He had almost reached the surface. He eagerly reached up through the snow. Finally, he felt cold air on his
fingertips. His hand had reached the
surface. Moments later, another hand
grabbed onto his.
“Howie!!” AJ cried happily. Two minutes later, Howie was pulling him out
of the pit of snow he was in. AJ threw
his arms around Howie, sobbing. Howie
clutched tightly to AJ, also sobbing.
They were so relieved to be seeing each other once again.
Howie pulled AJ back and looked at him
anxiously. Poor AJ was shivering, even
in his heavy winter gear. Snow clung to
him everywhere. His cheeks were
flushed.
As Howie let go of AJ, AJ collapsed
onto the ground. “AJ!” Howie cried in
alarm.
“Are you okay?”
“My legs are numb,” AJ said. “I can barely feel them.”
“Don’t worry,” Howie said. “We’ll rest for a bit.”
“I just want to go somewhere warm,
take a warm bath, and eat some warm food,” AJ said pitifully. He looked miserable. Howie hugged him tightly, hoping to warm him
a little. He prayed that they would
find some shelter soon and someone that could help them and Brian, Kevin, and
Nick.
***
Meanwhile, back in the plane, I lay on
the floor. I felt tired and weak. Maybe it was from not eating. I just couldn’t eat. I had no appetite, and my stomach was hurting
more and more lately. I still was keeping
it from Kevin, not wanting him to worry.
We already had enough to worry about between Nick and AJ and Howie.
“How are you doing, B-Rok?” Kevin
asked, sitting down next to me.
“Not too good,” I admitted. “I’m just so weak.”
“You need to eat,” Kevin stated. He took out one of the remaining two packages
of crackers and opened it. He handed one
to me. “Eat it, “ He ordered firmly.
I slowly began to nibble on the
cracker. Kevin hovered over me, making
sure I ate it all. Then he handed
me another cracker.
“No, Kev, no more,” I said. “One is enough for now. I really am not hungry.”
Kevin sighed and wandered over to
check on Nick. I felt a shiver of fear
run through him. Nick was still
sleeping. His breathing was ragged and
shallow sounding. There was a rattling
sound when he breathed. I knew it was
the pneumonia that was taking over his lungs.
Kevin pressed his hand to Nick’s
forehead. “He’s still burning up,” he
said grimly. Nick tossed and turned in
his sleep, mumbling things that we could not understand. I knew he was very sick. He couldn’t go much longer without medical
attention. “Please, Howie and AJ, get
help soon,” I silently begged. They were
our only hope.
***
