by Jake Aaron
Sondra injected, “It’s a helluva situation! I was planning on going to Spokane with my girlfriends to do some shopping.”
Susan grabbed John’s hand again. “I’m guessing it cost too much for us to protect the whole grid in the United States.”
“Not really, dear," John answered. "There were estimates that it could have been done for $20 billion, on the high side. Gauged against an economy with a GDP of roughly $20 trillion, that’s an insurance policy costing only one tenth of a percent of that GDP. It’s less than half of what we spend a year in foreign aid. It would have been a bargain. Russia and China have hardened their infrastructures. Israel is in-progress.”
Zeke, who was taking all this in, stood up. “Folks, I think we’re doing the right thing trying to understand our predicament, but I think there may be something we need to look into right now. I’m proposing that a couple of us hike down to the location of last night’s fires. There’s still black smoke coming up from the same vicinity. Someone may need our help. And maybe we’ll run into some people who know more than we do about what’s going on.”
“Count me in!” Meagan tapped Zeke on his shoulder.
Zeke went on, “I was thinking Jed and I would go. Denton has a lot of camping gear around the house. If we can find some backpacks, climbing rope, and a first aid kit, that would be a good start. Boots would also help. While we’re gone, someone should probably do a quick inventory of what we have in the house — like clothes, food, and so forth. We also need to get the living room fireplace going again.”
Zeke realized the novelty of the situation had so far prevented the group from a sense of desperation. Taking any action to keep people busy was essential.
Jed put his arm around Karen, “Well, I like it, Zeke. You and I’ll head off as soon as we have the gear together. If we don’t find what we need in the house, I have a lot of survival gear in the extended cab of my truck. Karen, thanks, babe, for our breakfast. Will you pack us up some food? For sure, we need water.”
“Water, that’s something we better start rationing. The frost-free pump probably won’t work, but we’ll try it anyway. The reservoir tank inside the house will run out quickly with the ten of us using it,” Lee said.
John: “Water is critical. Can we agree to minimal flushing of toilets for the time being? Guys, if it’s number one, let’s go outside. Okay? We’ll work logistics while Zeke and Jed are gone.”
Karen followed the lead, “Ladies, I think we can do the same …”
Jed became unusually emphatic, “Folks, let’s stop flushing toilets and using the drains altogether! I heard the pump pushing effluent to the septic drain field last evening after we started putting away the three cases of beer. That pump is electrical. We can’t afford to have a backup in the plumbing system. Cleaning up from that kind of a fiasco would be a nightmare on top of a bad dream. Come to think of it, we better drain as many of the water pipes as possible. Without central heat, they could freeze and burst, if they haven’t already.”
Zeke: “I’ll second the water rationing and pipe draining. We have a lot of food in the pantry, the refrigerator, and probably the freezers. But ten people will go through that in no time. It wouldn’t hurt to start eating smaller meals in case this …”
Sharply, Sondra finished Zeke’s sentence, “… crisis slash death sentence persists.”
Zeke bit his tongue. He purposely ignored Sondra’s negativity. He did not want to add to the group’s burden with ill-chosen words, so he went upbeat, “Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let’s move out!”
*****
Along with other gear, Zeke and Jed found almost-fitting hiking clothes. Apparently, Denton outfitted guests, male and female, during their visits.
Outfitted herself, Meagan walked in and declared, “I’m ready!”
Zeke seemed surprised, “I thought this was settled. Jed and I have got this. We need to get out and back quickly …”
“Try to keep up with me!” Meagan challenged.
Zeke shook his head, smiled, and hollered, “Karen!” Karen produced a third backpack that was out-of-view in the kitchen. Looking at Meagan, Zeke went on, “I figured you’d insist. Having someone medical will be good.” His blue eyes darted briefly to hungover Brock, who sipped on coffee and looked as if he was about to hurl.
As Meagan donned her backpack, Zeke put his hand on her shoulder. “And you’re going to do just fine in medical school. Just don’t volunteer to answer every question. From what I’ve heard, many of them are setups.”
Light, dry snow fell as the three headed out. They headed into the thicket of bushes and pine trees toward the diminishing black smoke.
Jed observed, “I can tell by the clouds a cold front is coming in.”
“I think I’d trust you over any weather man,” Meagan said. “I had a sense of bad weather coming earlier as well.”
“I trust you, too, Jed.” Zeke added, “What do you think was the source of the flashes, Jed?”
“I’ll go with lightning. I know we don’t usually think of lightning strikes in the winter, but it is a possibility. The thundersnow phenomenon proves that it can happen. Of course, that rare event usually comes with at least six inches of snow. We sure didn’t see that here. What about you, Meagan?”
“I think it could have been a fireworks stand and its warehouse catching fire. Those were in the direction of the fires. I’d explain the telltale lack of skyrockets and individual traces by the fact that we were far away and had our view obscured by the trees. And you, Zeke?”
“Lightning hit the fireworks stand and warehouse! Or it could be human error.” Zeke said. He chuckled, “I guess we’ll find out when we get there. On second thought, though, I think I’d go with a lightning strike hitting pine trees. I think the fireworks stand was farther away. Meagan, you need to throttle back a little. Jed is struggling to keep up.”
“Very funny. You’re the one who is panting,” Meagan said. “I think Jed can speak for himself.”
“Just trying to look out for the troops,” Zeke said with an amused look.
Jed smiled at the exchange. His look said been there, done that.
*****
Well out ahead of the other two, Meagan was the first to arrive at the site of the smoke by the river. Pungent air burned the lining of her nostrils. She called out, “Oh, no! It’s an aircraft crash!”
They saw the fuselage in the middle of the river slightly akimbo, upside down, and submerged to a depth where no one there could still be alive. Water flowed through it. The unseasonable recent warm weather in the Bitterroot Valley had not yet allowed ice floes to form. All three stood speechless at the awful sight.
Jed looked down from the sharp-edge of the riverbank carved out by the surge of spring runoff. “Lots of footprints down there in the mud and sand. Either some folks got out or there were lots of rescuers, or some combination of the two.”
As chills went through their spines, Zeke pointed upriver. “There are the wings. Fuel in the wings is probably what flashed and burned last night. The left wing broke off, then 200 feet later the right one came off. The front end of the plane kept going until hitting the riverbank there, where the nose broke off. No point in getting hypothermia going into the fuselage tube.”
Sniffling due to the acrid jet fuel oder, Jed shook his head in disbelief. “If we hadn’t had that steady rain two weeks ago, we would have had a massive forest fire.”
“Guys, let’s head to the tail section,” Meagan pointed 1000 feet upstream. “Hard to see with the trees. It must have broken off first.”
The tail section now pointed upstream — reversing its landing orientation. It was held in place by big rocks. The open portion was angled up, almost allowing access from the bank.
Jed surveyed the situation. “To get to the center aisle, someone is going to have to go out on a limb …” he caught himself. “I mean, get out there on a pole, then get on the aircraft floor. Play it by ear after that.”
Not finding any fallen wood suitable for a pole, the three took turns with a hatchet taking down a forty-five-foot lodgepole pine tree. The hatchet was barely adequate. Jed repeated several times, “My kingdom for an axe!” Taking limbs off and topping the tree went faster than felling it. They cut off the top ten feet of the tree. The resulting, almost-cylindrical pole looked well-suited for their purpose.
“Shall we match out on who goes ‘out on a limb?’” Zeke said, then nodded at Jed for Jed’s earlier unintended play on words.
“I’m the logical one,” Meagan insisted. “I’m lighter than you guys, so it’ll be safer for you two to weight down the pole.”
“She’s got a point.” Zeke nodded — looking at Jed, then Meagan. “What do you think, guys — a rope around Meagan’s waist while she goes out, Jed and I hold the tether?”
“I’m good with it,” Meagan stated.
Towering Jed surveyed the situation. “Okay, I’m the heaviest. I’ll be at the other extreme of the pole. Twenty feet of pole on our side should give us leverage on not letting Meagan fall into the river if the pole slips from the tail floor. Zeke, with you standing on the pole just before the bank edge, you can supervise the operation.”
“Sounds like a plan! Are you good with that, Meagan?” Zeke said.
“Let’s roll!” Meagan replied.
Meagan shinnied out on the log that connected the bank to the upward slopping tail section floor. Her gloves now served not only to keep her fingers warm but also to protect her from the splintery tree bark. Agilely she climbed onto the top of the tail section floor. She stood ten feet above the surface of the river. She puzzled over what to use to keep the rope tether from fraying or binding on the sharp aluminum edges where the fuselage had snapped. She moved carefully on the sloping floor deck, now vibrating because of pressure from the river current. She found a leather purse. She put the purse between the sharp metal edge of the aircraft and the rope. “If we keep the rope fairly taut, the bag will protect it,” she hollered.
Rope around her waist, Meagan walked gingerly down the slopping aisle. As she made her way to the back of the tail, the two men carefully meted out line. She searched for life.
“Anything? Found anything?” Zeke shouted into a vacuum of information.
There was no reply. Zeke and Jed heard laughter and clatter.
“Is she unstable?” a concerned Jed asked.
“Far from it. Just wait. She’ll surprise you.” Zeke had learned to respect Meagan.
“Okay. Bring me back!” Meagan ordered. Suddenly, there was a shift in the tail that landed her hard on her right hip. She cursed.
Zeke shouted, “We’ve got you, Meagan. Hang in there!”
Uncharacteristically, Jed also swore at the surprise and anxiety it produced.
In a pained voice, Meagan’s voice went up an octave. “I think I’m okay. We need to move very slowly. All right? Don’t pull yet!”
Meagan struggled to get up. The frequency and amplitude of the rocking of the partially submerged tail section increased markedly. The inside of most of that section remained dry. “I’m going to lie down and crawl my way out,” she shouted in an almost-normal voice. “Here I come — slowly!” Deliberately she crawled on her belly, pulling herself along grasping seat supports on each side.
At the top of the tail section, Meagan found the tail had rotated away from the bank. She was now twelve feet from the pole. “The tail is moving. I’m going to jump. You guys reel me in!”
Zeke shouted, “Hold it. Let’s think about this, just for a second. That water is a hair above freezing! And you could land on a rock!”
Jed chimed in, “She may be right. The pole trick will not work. The tail section is extremely unstable. I see it shaking from here. If she jumps, she’ll be swept downstream immediately. We’ll pull her to the bank with the rope.”
Zeke processed the precarious situation. “Okay. It’s settled. Meagan, you’ll jump on three. Be sure to jump feet first, and put your hands …”
A free-falling Meagan shouted, “I was a water safety …” Her execution was classic, leaving almost no splash. Instantly, she felt thousands of cold needles seemingly pierce her skin. The shock of the cold water made her feel as if she didn’t need to breathe. She bobbed off the bottom of the river with her feet. The rapid current flipped her torso backward downstream in an eternity of helplessness. The mighty waters pushed her along as if she were nothing. She broke the surface of the river. She laughed loudly as she was swept swiftly toward the shore on the tether. Her laughter was meant to let the two men know she was all right.
Zeke exhaled in relief. He looked at Jed. “Maybe you’re right, Jed. She is daft!”
Meagan tried to stand up. The river swept her feet away. The rope arced her toward the riverbank as she dog paddled. In slower, shallower water she finally managed to right herself. She started to shiver as she sloshed ashore.
Simultaneously, Zeke and Jed yelled at her, “Get out of those clothes.” On the riverbank, she fumbled to get her wet gloves off. She stopped moving away from the river’s edge like a statue. Her cold, wet hands and shivering worked against getting the rope untied from around her waist. Zeke made short order of that. He swiftly removed her coat, shirt, boots, socks, and pants.
Meagan glanced at Jed in embarrassment. Her cold face wouldn’t let her smile.
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ve seen it all before,” Jed said mechanically. “I’ll get a roaring fire going to warm you up and dry your coat and boots. We packed spares of everything else.”
Meagan was now shaking uncontrollably. It was ten degrees colder than when they set out in the morning. She struggled to move her heavy lips, “Well, go ahead, Zeke. Do it!”
“What?” Zeke said in frustration.
“Take off my panties and bra. I can’t do it. Please!” Meagan’s lips felt numb and thickened. She could only mumble, as her middle upper lip lost feeling and control. She continued to vibrate.
Zeke: “I’m sorry. Would you please repeat that.”
Louder stuttered words shook from Meagan’s purple lips, “Take off my damn panties and bra, damn you!”
“Best offer I’ve had today, Meagan!” Zeke laughed at the situation and himself. “I have to say you’re looking good, kid!” It had the desired result.
Meagan tried to say, “Shut up, lech!” It was comedically distorted. It sounded like shup luck.
“What’s that, Lady Godiva?” Zeke’s teasing distracted her from the misery of nearly freezing. “Next time you want to go skinny dipping, let’s wait until summer, okay?”
Meagan laughed in a muffled sort of way, hugging herself with her arms. Zeke dried her thoroughly with the spare socks Jed handed him.
“Forgive me!” Jed said, as he joined in the laughter. “This is damn serious! Meagan, I’ll have a fire going in no time.” He threw bigger and bigger sticks on the brush he had set on fire. Sorry I can’t rush it. Too much of this damp wood on the fire at once will put the flame out.”
Meagan’s nodding acknowledgement was lost in her shaking motion.
Zeke: “Meagan, make sure you’re completely dried by the fire. Then I’ll help you get dry clothes on.”
Meagan’s eyes were closed as she faced the heat of the fire. Zeke helped her dress in dry clothing, then hugged her from behind through her blanketed shoulders. Her shaking slowly reduced back to shivers.
“Thanks, Zeke,” Meagan still spoke in a muffled tone.
“Look at me, I forgot the sunscreen!” Zeke continued to try to cheer her up.
Meagan tried to smile, but her now-blue lips barely moved.
“Did you find anybody in the tail,” Zeke asked a slightly warmer Meagan.
“Most of the seats were intact. One exception was a row of two seats that were broken and leaning forward just ahead of the last row. It looked as if everyone got out or was taken out,” Meagan spoke haltingly as she shook.
Jed enjoyed the fire, too. “Any chance the tail secti
on had no passengers in the first place?”
“I don’t think so. The seat belts all appeared to have been used. You know, instead of that cinched-up manner the flights attendants leave them in when unoccupied.” Meagan blew some river water out of her nose one nostril at a time onto the ground, then looked up sheepishly.
“That’s fine,” Jed assured her. “Gotta get that stuff out.”
“You did good out there, partner!” Zeke squeezed her shoulders again.
“I did, didn’t I?” Meagan’s question sounded more like a confident statement. The old Meagan was back.
“Other than not being able to count!” Zeke laughed. Jed joined in. Then, Meagan laughed.
“I didn’t hear you say three.” Meagan spoke guiltlessly.
Zeke: “That’s right, you didn’t! Nor one, nor two.”
The three laughed again.
“Speaking of laughter,” Jed asked, “when you stopped at the back of the tail, what the hell was going on?”
“Oh, that. Check out the pockets of my wet trousers. One of the plane’s coffee area drawers came open in the crash. It was filled with miniature liquor bottles. Let’s have a shot. I know, short- term, feel good; long-term, bad for exposing capillaries to the cold. Frankly, my dear … .”
Jed retrieved two bottles for each of them. Zeke toasted, “Here’s to teetotalers everywhere! Don’t tell Karen about this. Her dad was a strict Baptist minister. And here’s to him, a very fine man!”
When they finished their miniatures, Zeke turned to Meagan, “I’m glad you made it and are doing better. I know you’ll want to come, but please stay by the fire while Jed and I check out the nose of the aircraft downstream. Heck, one of us could do it, but it’s wise to have two. How about it?”
Meagan, who had really been through it, reluctantly conceded. “Bring me some more whiskey.”
“Can I see some ID?” Zeke said. He stifled a smile by clenching his jaws.
She gave him the look. Zeke promptly unscrewed the top on two Grey Goose Vodkas and handed them to her one at a time. She slugged them down with a tremoring hand. The blanket around her and the fire slowed her shivers. She enjoyed the burn in her throat and felt the soothing warmth of the alcohol throughout her body. “I’m better,” she nodded. “Go!”