Chapter 5

By Rachel

I don't know how long I slept, but the feeling of someone or something shivering next to me is what finally woke me up.  I forced my eyes open and winced because of the pain that was shooting through my head and closed my eyes for a few seconds, opening them slowly seconds later.  It was then I noticed that I must have slept through most of yesterday afternoon and all through the night because now it was sunrise. 

It must be because of my concussion, I thought as I remembered how much I had slept the times before when I had a concussion.

I then slowly moved my head to look at my side to see where the shivering was coming from and saw Nick by my side trying to keep warm as he slept.  I then noticed I had a blanket, and he didn't, and I immediately felt guilty.

I searched my tired and aching mind for answers to what happened but came up with a blank.  All I remembered was being up in the cockpit with Jason and Kevin and then everything going black.  My throat closed against the tears I was holding back as I thought about Jason and Kevin. 

I had known Jason since I came down to Florida in 1993 to join the Backstreet Boys.  He and Kevin had become good friends because they both worked as Ninja Turtles at Disney and Jason also lived in the apartment complex next to where Kevin lived.  Jason was the only child of a retired US Airways pilot who owned his own planes for private use, and his dad taught him how to fly, also giving Kevin, who also loved to fly, free flying lessons.  Jason's mother had died shortly after giving birth to him so Jason and his father were inseparable and had the perfect father/son relationship.  I immediately felt sympathy for Jason's family, especially his father.

I shook my head to get rid of the memories, but immediately regretted it as my vision wavered, and I quickly lay back down, waiting for the dizziness to pass.  When it did, I finally made up my mind that I had to see if Kevin was alive for myself, and none of the guys were going to stop me.  I slowly sat up and threw the blanket off of my body, then picked it up again and covered Nick with it.

If I had a broken leg, I knew that I would need help getting up, so I looked around the area where I was.  A few feet away, AJ and Howie were also sleeping side by side for warmth, and I finally found what I was looking for.  Very close to where I was sitting was a row of seats, so I carefully and slowly scooted over towards it.  I gritted my teeth together as I used all of my upper body strength to pull myself up.

After a few minutes of struggling, I finally pulled myself up to my feet and stood up for the first time since the crash.  I felt dizzy almost instantly, but I fought it, and the dizzy sensation lessened enough to where I could move.  Before I made my way up to the cockpit, I looked around to make sure everyone else was asleep, and I was relieved to see everyone sleeping.

Now comes the hardest part, I thought as I grabbed hold of the seat I had used to get up and used it to steady myself as I painfully hopped up to the next seat, doing the same routine of using seats to steady myself and then hopping up to the next one till I reached the very front of the plane close to the cockpit.  The pain of my ribs and leg tore through my very soul, but I immediately pushed it aside.  I have to get to Kev, I thought as I let go of the last seat and painfully entered the cockpit.

I gasped in shock at what I saw. Jason's body was slumped over the plane controls, and the windshield was busted out.  I then noticed how cold it was up in the cockpit and put my arms around myself to keep myself warm. 

I looked down and saw Kevin lying on the floor motionless.  I stared at him for a few seconds, and I didn't see his chest rise.  I dropped down to the floor in panic, ignoring the pain shooting through my body, and prepared myself to help Kevin as much as I could.  I sobbed in relief when I put my fingers to the side of his neck and felt a weak pulse.  I thanked God for keeping my cousin alive and finally broke down after looking at all of Kevin's injuries.  There was dried blood on the side of his head, and his face was extremely pale and all scratched up from the class from the windshield.

I took Kevin's larger hand in mine and took in a sharp breath as I felt an excruciating pain in my stomach that then lessened to a throbbing pain.  I attributed the injury to my broken ribs and just pushed it out of my mind, as I watched over my cousin sleep.  I was thankful the guys had given most of the blankets to Kevin, and I realized they probably didn't want to move him too much because he might have a severe head, neck, or back injury.

My thoughts drifted to the day before.  Just 24 hours ago, Kevin, Nick and I were at my house getting ready to go to the airport, and Kevin was scolding me for not getting out of bed when I was supposed to.  I didn't realize I was crying until I was brought out of my thoughts by a hand resting on my shoulder.  I spun around quickly, ignoring the dizziness yet again and saw Nick, wrapped in the blanket I had given him, with his short blond hair sticking out in every direction, and I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Hey, Frick," he said as he slowly sat down beside of me. 

"Hey," I mumbled with a choked up voice as I tried to hold in my tears. 

"You know what, Bri?  It is okay to cry," Nick stated as he watched me fight a battle against my tears.  Those words were all I needed to hear before I totally broke down.  Nick engulfed me in a large brotherly hug and let me cry on his shoulder without saying a word. 

After about fifteen minutes, I calmed down enough to talk, and I thanked Nick, who let out a yawn and shuddered as he said, "You're welcome."  I again returned my attention to Kevin and didn't notice Nick rest his head on my shoulder until I registered the sudden heat that was rising from his body.

"Nick, you feel okay?" I asked as I gently pushed him off of my shoulder and looked into his face. 

"I will be okay, Bri.  I’m not the one you should worry about," stated Nick as he stretched out his body and rested his head on my non-injured leg. 

"Okay, Nick, I take your word for it.  But promise me you will come to me or one of the other guys if you feel worse, okay?" I asked Nick, only to receive a nod in response.  After a few minutes, I heard Nick's peaceful breathing, and I leaned against the wall of the cockpit, watching over two people that meant the world to me: my best friend and my cousin.  Silently, II prayed we would all survive.

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