Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:42:20 +0000 (GMT)
From: Pear III David <drakanian32@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Crash Survivor Chapter 13
CRASH SURVIVOR
By Drake
General Disclaimer and copyrights:
This is just a fantasy work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons or
places is a coincidence.
If you aren't old enough to read this in your country, don't read.
If it's a criminal offence to read this in your country, don't read.
If male to male relationships and sexuality offends you, don't read.
If you think the story will be lame and boring, don't read it either.
All rights reserved.
NOTE:
Hi to all readers! I really have to apologize for the long delay. A lot
of you folks sent nice emails telling me to continue to write this story.
I didn't want to end it at all, it's just that I was too busy and worried
with some family issues to be able to continue further with the story on a
regular basis.
Things turned out that I found that my son nearly committed suicide one
year ago. I knew something was wrong with him, but without really knowing
what it was. I spent a lot of time with him, and during the year, I
started to get the whole idea why he tried to commit suicide. He was gay,
at eleven years old. I suspected he may be gay, but had no proof and no
idea how to speak to him about it. Knowing how moody he was, I finally
talked to him because I felt it'd never come from him. I did that during
our camping trip during summer 2008. Something unexpected was that the
friend he brought camping with us was someone he had a big crush on. By
the time we got back from our camping trip, those two were a couple. To
tell the truth, I was pretty sure about his friend being gay. Kind of a
feminine boy, but very cute, handsome, and nice to be with.
You know, for two years, writing this story has been a kind of therapy for
me. It helped me to be closer to my son, understand his emotions and
feelings by writing about it through my paragraphs. I never knew my story
would be so close to the reality of my own life. I was just trying to
understand my son, without knowing he'd come out one day, saying yes when
I'd ask if he was gay.
After we adapted to our situation during the last year, my son had some
problems at school. No, not for being gay, but just because he wasn't a
popular kid; he got bullied by the popular ones. After my wife and I
helped him, and after some visits to a psychologist, he's now in great
shape; does sports, has a lot of friends and can't wait for Friday every
week to see his boyfriend.
If there's one thing I can only hope is that this story will be able to
help one father to get the idea that maybe his son his gay, that maybe he
should open his mind and talk to him the proper way. Maybe the kid is gay
or maybe not. But if he is, he'd never tell without your encouragement.
And sooner or later, you'll have to bury his casket into the ground if peer
pressure comes too harsh, if your kid feels guilty for being gay, and if
you don't catch up on any of the hints he sends you, or sadly, if you're
too narrow-minded to be able to accept your child the way he is. On the
other hand, if this story can help you kids to learn that grown-ups can
understand what's going on with you, I'll have done a hell of a good job!
For fathers - trust your sons. For you young boys - trust your parents.
Trust their understanding and love in whatever way they have to express it.
Now, before this prologue comes bigger than the chapter, I will leave you
in the hands of Greg, Matt, Jake, and Wil for a new add-on to this story.
Have a good read!
Cheers,
Drake
From last chapter:
I lit a torch and went to turn off the generator; we were using it only
when needed to save the as much fuel as possible. When I came back, I made
sure that all the boys were comfy in the bed, and then I extinguished my
torch in the sandbox we had reserved for that purpose. I climbed in the
bed myself and closed my eyes for the night.
Yes, the last three weeks had been very interesting.
-------------------------------------------------
Chapter 13
One month later, the whole story about Wil kissing Matt had been forgotten.
The boys were happier than ever and I was enjoying my time being with them.
We were still doing our regular routine consisting of finding food,
fishing, schooling, and talking together. We added some more chores to our
schedule, like finding wood to burn, because we didn't have anymore old
mattress for that use. Every evening, weather permitting, we'd spend some
time around an open fire, chatting about nothing and everything, and
waiting for a plane to pass by. Wil dismantled three seats in one of the
airplane left in the hangar, and managed to fix them to a wooden board so
we could sit properly and comfortably around the fire.
Our overall health continued to improve, thanks to the small but great
variety of food we were able to get. Without getting sun burned, the boys
skins were tanned, everywhere, because they didn't wear clothes. Being
able to take a shower with soap not only helped us to stay clean and smell
good, but in a way it helped to keep our self-esteem at a higher level.
Jake's scars where now almost unnoticeable; good food and proper exposure
to the sun helped quite a lot. Wil's toe was now in perfect condition, but
he said it seemed to ache on rainy days.
We walked each day, trying to learn how big the island was, and trying to
find if there was any sign of any living humans on the island besides us.
We even took a one week excursion across the island from south to north
back and forth. Come to think of it we were lucky - the weather stayed
good - we certainly hadn't brought any shelter with us. On that trip we
didn't find anything interesting, not a living soul, but just deep forest
filled with birds, some rodents and a strange kind of pig that, once
cooked, was very tasty and nourishing. Luckily, we were able to find some
citrus trees. Now we could drink lemonade instead of flat water - that
became a refreshing relief.
During our walk, we found that it's very windy near the coast but warm and
calm in the inner part of the island. Maybe that's why the airfield was
surrounded by big trees and it was located far from the coast. All around
the island was just salt water, no other island to see, no other signs of
civilization.
Henry was our constant companion - never too far away from us at any time.
Although he favoured Wil, anytime the four of us were separated, he would
always fly between the four of us; always keeping track of us.
It happened one night when we were sleeping. When we went to bed, Henry
flew up to his usual perch on the rafter. Sometime through the night,
Henry died. In the morning when we woke, he was laying on the floor of the
barracks below his perch - totally still and unmoving.
We were all rather devastated, but Wil took it the hardest, just sitting
there cross-legged on the floor, weeping as he stared at the motionless
Henry. Matt and Jake were at a loss, standing there, not knowing the best
way to comfort Wil. I motioned for them to get some breakfast ready while
I sat down beside Wil and with my arm around him, just letting him grieve
at his own pace.
When his tears subsided a bit, he finally said, "He was so good to us. I
never thought we'd lose him too." Then he started sobbing again and buried
his face to my chest. All I could do was to rub his back gently until he
regained a command of his emotions. Finally he said, "I want to make a
special spot for him, so that anyone who comes to the island will know how
special he was."
With thought, we all agreed the perfect spot was right there beside the
barracks building. Together, the four of us dug a deep hole and wrapped
poor Henry's body in three layers of palm leaves and gently placed him in
the hole, and filled it in. Then we gathered some rocks and placed them
all over the top of the grave.
That night we cheered up a bit while we reminisced about all the goofy
things Henry had done for us - his expressions and words as we talked about
them made us smile. The boys had a chance to mourn and were happy now that
Henry was at peace. We really had no idea how old he was during WWII, but
we knew that was over more than 50 years ago. Yes, Henry was quite an age.
A week later, we were still a bit solemn about Henry's passing, and Jake
surprised us with a carving he made from one of the thick boards he found
under the workbench. We never saw him doing it; we always thought he was
just in their preparing another one of his culinary delights. When he
showed it to us after supper that night, we all smiled. It read:
HENRY
Flew more flights on this
island than any other pilot
Our friend and protector
Oldest war hero in the world
from before WWII until 2000
When we took the plaque over to the grave, we mounted it carefully on a
pole and braced it four ways before we anchored it with the rocks over
Henry's last resting place.
Wil proclaimed, "Thank you Henry for being our best friend." Then he
smiled. "If you're in heaven, I know you'll be a friend to everyone."
With Wil's renewed attitude, we all smiled. About a week later, even with
the reminder there by the door, all four of us were out of our funk over
Henry. I think everyone was enjoying the fun times we had with Henry and
we no longer thought about the sadness of his passing.
Although we were having a good time here, it felt something like we were on
an extended vacation in an exotic place, however, we were starting to get
home sick. Everyday, Matt would try something new to amplify the radio
signal to be able to reach anyone out there over the seas. Wil had learned
the entire radio operating manual so now he knew almost everything about
radio transmitting. He helped Matt quite a lot, giving him some hints
about radio-communications. He taught Matt how radio waves worked and what
was the best way to transmit and receive them. Matt listened carefully and
modified all of his electric setup after Wil explained the basics to him,
telling him in an encouraging way that what he already done was crap and
would never work. Wil was more than proud of him, it was the first time he
seemed to be the "smartest" of all us and earned the respect of Matt for
his new, but perfect knowledge of radio transmission. The radio manual
they were learning from was a bible of more than 1500 pages.
Jake, being left out while the other two worked on the radio, became a
great maid, trying to cook new recipes of his own for supper, cleaning the
"house", ensuring that we'd have at least a nice place to stay, and doing
the laundry for the boys. Sometimes, the meal he had prepared for us would
taste terrible, and poor Jake would apologize profusely. However, the
effort he made to try to vary our menus and our diet made us forgiving for
his "little" mistakes. Beside some culinary errors, his food was very good
and we always encouraged him with our appreciation.
Each boy seemed to always have a job to do and they disciplined themselves
into accomplishing their chores. Anytime I tried to be of any help to
them, they told me to back off, that I had already more than I could
handle, like doing their schooling, raising them and listening to their
whining. So each afternoon, I was told that I was off-duty and to enjoy
the sun. Sometime I'd talk with one of the boys or help them if it was
very needed, but usually, how we spent the afternoon, was left to our own
discretion. I expected the boys to be lazy and mope around but no, they
always had new ideas about something to do. If it wasn't skinny-dipping,
it was fishing, cleaning around, playing in the hangars, taking walks or
any other activities that they enjoyed.
Jake and Matt were about to have a baby... naaah, that's one of Wil jokes,
but anyway they were trying hard! They made it a point to spend some time
alone, not only for sex, but just to be alone together and share their
love. Their relationship was stronger than ever and one could always feel
that they were committed one to the other.
While Matt and Jake where 'making' babies, Wil always spent the time
chatting about nothing and everything with me. As the days stretched by,
he was becoming more and more of a good companion.
One day, about three months after Henry passed away, like the three
previous days had been, it was chilly, windy, and pouring like hell
outside. It was like it'd never end. After the first rainy day, we did
some rearranging in the barracks, so the place where we had our living
quarters would be closer to the heaters. We didn't wanted to waste too
much fuel heating the whole building so, with the help of some tarps, some
pipes, some ropes and some ingenious kid skills, we were able to make a big
tent inside the barracks, using a place where one of the sides had a
heater. We closed the area by displacing three walls in a rectangular
form, using the barrack's wall as one of the tent's one. Jake tied some
ropes to the barrack's roof and attached some horizontal pipes to form the
skeleton of the tent ceiling. Wil and Matt layered down some tarps over
the pipes to complete the tent roof. Now that we had a smaller place to
heat, we shut off all the other heaters and started the generator less
often. The tent was big enough to hold our big mattresses, the radio
operating desk and our dining table. Matt was able to root out some cables
with electrical outlets to provide electricity nearby. He also installed
three lamps hanging from the tent roof to provide some lighting inside the
dark green walls. We were now all set to be in a warm and cozy cocoon, it
could rain for a month and we wouldn't be bothered at all. Jake, Wil, and
I were reading some books we'd found in the barracks, while Matt, as usual,
was trying various things to boost up our radio signal.
He'd recently set up the amplifier and the radio in the barracks instead of
trying to figure out things in the control tower all by himself.
"Damn, ouch!!" Matt said after we saw a big spark and heard a small
explosion. "Fuckin' stupid shit!" He added.
"What's going on babe?" Jake asked.
"That fuckin lamp always gets too hot and it melted the shield. I had my
bare hand over it and I got burnt." Matt replied. "I'm ok though, just
that I jumped..."
"Oh, ok... Want me to keep you company?"
"Yeah, sweety... I'm just tired of all this."
"You don't have to put all your spare time into that radio thingy Matt...
We don't ask you to become a slave to it." Jake said as he went closer to
Matt.
"I know, but I'm kind of determined to make it work. If it doesn't work,
it will be the first time I'd be unable to repair or patent something. I'm
trying to get this thing working for ages, but I have had no significant
results..."
Judging the way Matt reacted, Jake felt that his boyfriend was really
disappointed about himself and that he was really sad about all the last
attempts he'd tried to make the radio work. Jake sat on his chair next to
Matt and took him in his arms.
"Whoa there man... Mistakes, errors, and failures are part of everyone's
life. You're no different from anyone else." Jake said.
"I know, but I'm like that. I hafta do my best..., I've always had to do
my best..." Matt said more to himself than anyone else.
"Why?!" Jake asked. "Who cares?"
"I care because normally I'd get a beating if I didn't succeed! Don't you
understand that?" yelled Matt while starting to cry.
Until that moment, I was unaware about what was going on. I was about to
get up to go over to them, but Jake gave me an "I can manage this one"
look. So I stayed where I was, but continued to listen in on their
conversation.
Jake was soothing his friend. "Yeah, I understand. Before, you always had
to prove that you weren't useless at home, that you were the best. But
now, now.... you've proved it many times over my sweet!"
"I know... "Matt replied with his sobs easing. "I know it's ridiculous to
act like that, but it's kind of a natural reaction for me. I don't know
why. I think I might go crazy because we'll be stuck on this island for
years, even for the rest of our lives?"
"Yeah, but I enjoy being stuck there with you Matt. Don't you like being
stuck to me?" Jake asked with a warm smile.
"Don't take it personal Jakey, I like being with you here and with all of
you guys too," he said as he looked over where Wil and I we were sitting,
"but it's just that there's only the four of us, we always do the same
things, we always talk about the same things... and the worst thing is,
the only thing that could help us to get out of here is that damn radio and
with all the energy I put in it, I can't make it work! I think I'm
becoming psycho?" said Matt with some more anger in his voice.
"Hey silly dumb ass, you did make it work!" Jake smiled. "Last time we
tried, you had a strong three kilowatt signal!"
"Yeah, and that's it! If Wil's calculations are correct, we need over
fifteen kilowatts, and without being able to boost the signal and without
melting those damn lamps, we're fucked," he said in anger as he furiously
threw a screwdriver at the circuit board.
Jake promptly hid his face with his hand, figuring it would cause a short
circuit, a spark or worse, an explosion.
"See! Even throwing that stupid screwdriver on that stupid circuit board
does nothing!" Matt said, still with anger in his voice. Jake removed his
hands from his face.
As Matt started to move to get the screwdriver, Jake eyes became brighter,
"WAIT, don't touch anything!!" he yelled.
"What? Why? It won't spark if I remove the screwdr..." Matt began to say.
"NO!! LOOK, LOOK THERE!" Jake said pointing to a dial.
Matt's mouth came loose. "HOLY SHIT!" was the only thing he could said.
"Twenty-five Kilowatts!" Jake yelled. "You did it, you did it!"
"It's impossible! I must have fucked-up and shorted this dial circuit..."
"Maybe it's really working!" Jake said, trying to convince Matt.
"I didn't do anything, and I don't understand why it would work!" Matt
said puzzled. "There's no smoke or fumes, nothing too hot... Geez, I have
to see what the screwdriver's shorting."
With all the excited conversation, Wil and I jumped up and hovered over
Jake and Matt.
"Don't you think we should try to get a signal and send something on air,
maybe it's really working!" Wil asked.
"I have to find why it's actually working!" Matt replied, already with his
head over the circuit board, trying to draw the circuit on a small paper.
"Yes, I know son, but we have to be sure that the radio will be operate the
way it is. I think Wil's right. Even if it proves to be a false
indication, maybe it's really working OK. We won't know until we try it.
So while it seems to be working, and if we leave that screwdriver exactly
where it is, we could at least try to hear a signal and send something back
on the same frequency.... good idea?" I suggested.
"Yeah dad, both you and Wil are right!" Jake added.
"Ok, I'll make you some space, but don't touch anything on the amplifier
board," Matt directed.
"No, I won't..." Wil said while sitting in front of the radio, already
turning it on up to warm up the tubes inside.
Wil waited one minute then adjusted a selector to UHF frequency. Then he
pulled a switch to set the band he'd use. He set the signal gain at 75%
then unplugged the headset from the radio.
"This way, we'll all be able to listen in those tiny speakers there." Wil
explained proudly while continuing to concentrate on the dials.
Then he set the frequency dial to the lowest value and the tuning dial
right to the center at zero.
"Hope that it'll work!" Wil smiled as he turned a selector to the 'ON AIR'
position.
We started to hear some white noise, garbling sound and every squeaky sound
you can imagine. Wil started to turn the frequency dial clockwise very
slowly. Each time the sound was different, he would stop and use the
tuning dial by turning it both sides slowly before readjusting it to the
center of what may have been a signal. The boys were very nervous and
anxious to know if the radio was really working or if the signal was really
what was noted on the dial.
After almost an hour, Matt was still trying to figure out how the amplifier
worked, while Jake and I were looking over Wil's shoulder to watch as he
hunted for an audible signal. He'd completed a search through all the
lowest frequencies and the dial was pointing near the middle.
Suddenly, we started to hear some garbled vocal tones, clearly identifiable
as a voice, but without being unable to understand what was being said.
"Stop, right there!" Jake almost yelled.
"Shit, we've found one!" Wil said while trying to tune the frequency. We
heard some squeaking and then we clearly heard :
- ...proach, say call sign. - American Airlines 426 Heavy, American
Airlines 426 Heavy. - American Airlines 426, climb to 4000 feet. - Roger
Kwajalein approach. Up to flight level 4000. American Airlines 426.
"Shit that's an airport!" yelled Jake.
"No, it's a radar operated air traffic controller, I'm sure!" Wil
corrected.
"Try to talk them Wil!" I exclaimed.
"I don't even know who they are! Was it Guakaleen approach that the pilot
said?" Wil asked.
"No I, it was more like Gwayaleen." Matt answered.
"Ok..." Wil said. "I'm kind of nervous..." Then suddenly, Wil hit the
mike button and proudly said in the air :
- Gwayaleen approach, this is an emergency call. - Kwajalein approach, say
call sign. - My name is Wil. - I would like you to refer to the standard
procedure and tell your call sign instead of your name. - I don't have any
call sign because I'm not piloting a plane. - Are you a kid? - Yeah... -
Do you know that occupying military radio frequencies is a crime and
prohibited by law. You could have big problems kid! Now leave my
frequency, there's serious pilots here waiting for me. - I'm not playing,
my name is William Paterson, and our plane crashed a long time ago while we
were coming back from Australia. - Yeah right, they're still talking about
this on TV, try a better joke kid. Now, cut it out! - It's not a joke,
I'm here with three other people on the old Ujelang Atoll military base.
We were able to repair a radio and make some electricity. - Where did you
said you were? - Ujelang Atoll, it was written on the log book here. -
Ujelang is more than 300 miles north of the crash site. - We drifted up
here in one of the plane's emergency rafts. - Jeeze, Humm ok... Ujelang
will be your call sign from now on and I'll be Kwajalein... Still I'm not
sure about you. How old are you Ujelang. - I'm thirteen or fourteen now.
I lost track of dates. - That's ok, does someone near you know Morse code
alphabet. - Yes Kwajalein, I do. I just learned it from the radio
operator's book. - Ok, that's a good thing Ujelang. Now I want you to
leave this frequency and go on 128.4. - Ok, going onto 128.400 MHz,
Kwajalein. - You're doing good Ujelang. - Kwajalein, since I'm on an old
radio transmitter, I would like to know your frequency so I can recalibrate
my frequency dial to set it up at the right position if it's off. -
Ujelang, you're on 126.2. Kwajalein approach. - Ok Kwajalein, I'm over by
4.3MHz. I'll correct the dial and go on 128.4 right after I adjust the
dial. Ujelang airfield. - Airfield? - Yup Kwajalein, there's a small
airfield here with hangar, barracks and even an old dismantled airplane. -
Jeeze, ok Ujelang airfield, I didn't know this island still had an
airfield. I'll be with you on 128.4 in five minutes. Kwajalein approach.
- Roger. Ujelang airfield.
"Dad! It worked!" Wil yelled as soon as he left the conversation, sweeping
his sweaty forehead with his bare arm while he muted the speakers.
"Kind of, but I think that guy wants to be sure that it's not a hoax or a
joke. Be careful and continue to be polite as possible." I told him.
"Yeah dad, I will," he answered.
Wil, unscrewed the frequency dial from its potentiometer, then he turned it
counter-clockwise to the 126000KHz mark. He screwed the dial back in that
position. He repeated the same procedure, but this time on the tuning
potentiometer to set it on 200KHz. For a total of 126200KHz on that old
radio, or 126.2MHz.
"I hope it'll work!" said Will by positioning both dials now to 128000KHz
and 400KHz respectively.
As soon as the dials were at their right positions, Wil turned the speakers
back on. At first, we heard nothing, but suddenly, we heard a distorted
voice. Wil tuned the frequency a little then we heard clearly:
- Ujelang airfield, are you there?
"Dad!! He's waiting for us!" Jake almost yelled. "Hurry Wil, answer!"
- Ujelang airfield, this is Kwajalein Approach Special Frequency, do you
hear me? - I'm here and relieved to hear you back Kwajalein. - Good
Ujelang. I heard you're name was William? - Yeah Kwajalein, but call me
Wil like everyone else does. - Ok Wil. Mine is Don Jalbert, now that we
aren't on an official frequency, we won't have to bother to use official
aviation's terms. - Ok Mr Jalbert. - Is the receiving signal good Wil? -
Yup, really good. My friend here was able to pull up twenty-five kilowatts
from the amps. - That's really good. Didn't know old radios could make
that! - Matt's a genious! - Is there any adult with you right now? -
Yeah but he can't operate the radio, I'm the only one who studied the
manual. It took me a couple of months to go through the whole book. - Ok,
son. I don't want this adult to mess up your setup; I just want to confirm
who are with you. This is a standard procedure in such a case. - Oh, ok.
Hold on. I'll give him the microphone Mr. Jalbert. - Sure.
Wil gave me the microphone. I hesitated then pushed on the button located
on the microphone base.
- Hi, uh, Mr. Jalbert. My name is Greg Murray. - Ok, Mr. Murray. By your
voice, it seems to be clear that you're an adult. I just didn't want to
leave my airspace because of some kids playing dumb tricks on a radio. -
Oh no, you can be sure that it's all true. - Mr. Murray, would you please
tell me the people who are with you right now? - As far as we know, I
think we're the only survivors from that plane crash. If I remember right,
it was Flight 121. - Right. - My name is Greg Murray. The youngster you
were talking with is William Patterson. There's also Jacob Campbell and
Matthew Morris. That's make a total of four. - Ok Mr. Murray. Now, I'm
connected with a military central database, this database contains
confidential information about lost peoples, search and rescue activities.
I'll ask some personal information that will be correlated with this
database. Providing everything matches what's on our database, I'll be
authorized to start a rescue operation. - I understand. - I would like
you to tell me what was your salary incomes for the last year. - It was a
little over $70, 000. - Right. Now I need you to give your Social
security number. - 436-2-27264 - Right too. - Do you remember the last
thing you bought with your credit card? - Uh yes, it was a book and a
newspaper. - And where did you buy those goods? - Inside Kingsford Smith
Airport in Sidney. I think it was at the NewsLink store. - That's
correct. - Tell me about the kids. - Ok, uh... They were all in the same
class, along with those that died in the plane crash. They were coming
back from a trip in Australia. - Yeah, I heard about the kids. That's
sad. I'd want to offer my condolences to those kids. I'm sure they left a
lot of friends there. - Yeah, thanks Mr. Jalbert. It's well appreciated.
- Please call me Don and if you don't mind I call you Greg. - That'd be
great, Don... - With the information you gave me Greg, I can testify that
it's not a hoax or a joke, so I'll be able to call for a rescue operation.
Now, would you mind.... give the mike back to Wil, I'll have him to do
some things for me. - Sure Don, no problem.
While I was talking to the air traffic operator, I was so involved in the
conversation that I didn't see how the boys were affected by my
conversation with Don. Without being heartless, we'd talked about the
death of many of my son's friends. The boys were now kind of sad and were
in a kind of group hug.
"Oh God, I'm sorry boys. I didn't mean to be heartless about your feelings
like that. It's my fault." I said.
"It's OK Dad. It's just that we thought we'd gotten over it, but the pain
is still there." Matt said.
"Yeah, but I want to apologize anyway."
"It's OK. I think we'll get over it as time goes by. The sadness is less
than what it was before." Jake said.
"Oh, I better get back with the operator now. He's waiting for us." Wil
said.
"Yeah, go on son"
Wil sat back on the chair and took the microphone.
- Mr. Jalbert? - Yes, Wil. - I'm back. We had to... to... talk about
the accident. - Ok, I understand. By the way, you can call me Don too
son. - Ok Don. - Now Wil, before trying to send any rescue where I think
you are, I have to verify that you're really there before deploying a
rescue unit 500 miles away. - Oookkkayyy? How can you do that? - Look on
your radio, is there a switch saying "ID tone", "Signal tone", "1350Hz" or
something like that? - Oh, you want me to send an ID signal so you can see
me on your radar? - That's right! You learn fast. - Ok, there's the
switch saying "ID 1350Hz", but if I remember right, if I turn it on, it
will cut off our conversation. - Yeah, you're probably right. So I'll
give you some instructions so we'll be synchronized in our actions. -
Okay. - When I will say to go on that signal tone, I want you to turn that
switch to the "On" position or whatever it is to make the signal audible.
- Okay. I can use the mic switch. - Good! Then I want you to tap "S O S
space space" repeatedly in Morse code. The interval of the sequence must
be done within 5s. - Ok, I'll be able to do that. - Good. Then you'll do
that for five minutes before switching back to voice radio communication.
- Five minutes?! - Yeah, I know it's a little long, but it's the only way
to have time to locate you. On my side, I'll bring one of our radar dishes
to our actual radio frequency position. I should see you on my radar
screen. - Ok, like a squawk on a plane? - Yup, right on. Do you have
something to keep track of time? - No... the only watch we had is screwed
up. - Ok then. Ask someone to count approximately to five minutes. -
Okay. Jake can do that. - Now, when I'll say zero, you put the switch to
"Signal tone" and begin to tap the Morse sequence. Ready? - Yes. - Ok,
good luck Wil. Five, four, three, two, one, zer...
Wil set the switch to the signal tone. He then used the mike button as a
Morse key and began to tap the code. During approximately five minutes, we
listened anxiously to a sequence of five short beeps, five long beeps, and
five short beeps. To this day, I will always remember that moment as a
sign of hope.
"I think that's enough..." said Matt after a while.
"You're sure?" asked Jake.
"Yeah... Wil, you can stop. I'm sure Don's waiting for us now." Matt
said.
"Ok then!" Wil replied as he switched the radio to the voice position.
Soon, we were able to here Don again. What a relief! His voice was the
only thing which we could cling to with a hope of getting back to the
civilization.
- ...on from Kwajalein, Wil are you back? - Yes, I hear you Don. - Ok
Wil, we were able to locate you on our radar. Your position is already
entered into our GPS system. You're on the south part of the Ujelang
atoll. - Yeah, we know that, we did some exploring here! - Good. Now, as
we're talking, there's a unit here preparing your rescue.
"You heard that dad?! " Wil exclaimed hysterically.
"Yes son! I sure do!"
Wil turned back to the radio conversation.
- Ok, sorry if I was long, I'm just starting to realize that this is
happening! - Believe me son, it's hard for us to believe too! We never
thought we'd be rescuing flight 121! - Now, what do I have to do. -
Normally, we would send a ship with an helicopter on it to rescue you but
that would take days. - Yeah... - But you told me you were on an airfield
right? - Right! - Does this runway look to be in good condition? - Yeah,
beside some mattresses we put on it to form the word "help". - Ok... Do
you happen to know the length of the runway and its orientation? - Wait,
I'll ask dad.
"Dad, he's asking me t..."
"I heard son" I laughed. "Just let him know I'll try to find out. I saw
that information somewhere in the barracks, I can't remember what it was
though."
- My dad's looking for the information. - Ok, thanks son. - No problem.
- By the way Wil, how comes you guys are able to transmit a strong radio
signal on a deserted island? - Because Matt fixed the radio and the
amplifier, and we set up an antenna. - Yeah, I think I figured that out,
but how were you are able to power up an old electric radio transmitter? -
Matt fixed up the generator too! - You have a generator?! - Yup, we're
running it with old oil and a mix that Matt and Jake made up. - Are you
running short? - No, I think we have enough oil for the next three months
if we don't stop anything... Don, my dad's here with a book. I think he
has the information. - Okay, let me know as soon as you know it. - Ok,
wait.
I fumbled across the Ujelang Supply data book. On one page, it was
discussed about a quotation for a new lighting for the runway. There was a
complete description of the runway. "I got it Wil. Here in the book, it
says that they needed lighting for a 6000 feet tarmac runway, oriented at
17-35." I said him pointing to the information.
"Thanks dad."
Wil pushed on the microphone button.
- Don, you're there? - Yes Wil. - I have the information. It's 6000 feet
long and oriented 17-35. - Ok, thanks. Does the field appear to have any
long hay or grasses on it. - Noooo! Not at all. It's made with a kind of
small gravel. - Like tarmac? - Yeah, tarmac! That's what dad said. -
Jeeze, we've had landings in worse conditions than that! - Do you know
when you'll be here? - I won't be there personally, but the rescue team is
planning for tomorrow morning, after the sunrise so they can see the runway
clearly. - You don't have to wait, we can light up the runway! - You can
ligh.. Jeeze son, you sure you're on an old abandoned airfield? - Yup,
but we've been lucky enough to repair almost everything, even the runway
lights. - Ok son, I'll have to talk with the rescue guys. Meanwhile, you
guys should clear any debris off the runway. In the eventuality we could
land tonight, it'll be done. - Ok Don. Just something you should know,
it's been pouring here like hell for days! - Yeah, we know that, we're in
the same situation. But that's something we can handle. - Ok. So when
must I be back on the radio? - Let me give you enough time to clear the
runway, let say in two hours. - Oh, that's good. We'll have enough time
to pack our things, our souvenirs, and even eat our supper. - Eat our
supper? You aren't starving? - No, not at all. There's plenty of good
food, vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat. - Good, it really removes some
pressure on us. We don't need to include the medics. I was sure you were
in a really bad condition. - No, we're fine! - Ok then, let say I'll get
back to you in about two hours. Try to keep track of time. - I'll ask
Matt, he's able to know how to do that with the sun if we can see it. -
Ok. See ya later. - See ya Don.
As Wil turned off the radio, I must say that we were speechless. In less
time needed to say it, we'd be rescued. This morning, as I woke up, I
never knew that this day would probably be the last one on this island. It
was really like a paranormal situation. I'd be the last one to believe
that it could happen today. I don't know why, but I think the boys felt
like me. We just didn't know it was going to happen so suddenly and with
just the slip of a screwdriver.
For the first time, I saw they were exhausted, like a runner at the last
mile of a race. I felt the urge to talk them because I knew they'd get
emotional really soon.
"You did well guys," I began.
"Wil did well dad," Matt corrected.
"No, I mean, until today. You all did very well. We're near the time to
leave this island because of the great effort we all did. We've gone
through all kinds of events.... we were able to get water, food,
electricity, heating, lighting, and the airport nearly into complete
running condition. We were even able to have some leisure, spare time, and
good laughing. We're survivors, but luckily, we're privileged survivors.
I had the privilege of meeting you and to be with you through this whole
ordeal.... and you made a success of it. If you weren't here, I wouldn't
be here either..."
"Thanks dad," Matt said. "I really appreciated your feelings. I know it
comes from your heart."
"Yeah, dad, it really means a lot to us," Jake added.
Wil looked like he wasn't paying attention to our conversation. He seemed
to be in a deep thought. Then, lifting his chin a little, without looking
to anyone, he said, "What will we'll become after we're rescued?"
"Huh?!" Matt and Jake said.
"I mean... We are supposed to be known as dead right?" Wil continued.
Everyone nodded. "But, I'm pretty sure that as we're talking, our families
already know that we're living, and that we're about to be rescued."
"Yeah, and what's the point man?" Jake asked.
"Does all this mean that we'll never see each other again?" Wil asked.
"We'll be in the same school again dumbass! Ok, probably we'd failed this
year and start all over again, but we'll be all together." Matt laughed.
"Yeah, but without dad here... without been in the same house..." Wil said
pointing toward me, a small tear forming at the corner of his eye.
Matt suddenly changed his expression. He understood clearly what Wil
meant. Since the crash, we were living a new life, like a new formed
family. However, being rescued would mean that we'd no longer be living
together. We'd no longer share our day to day experiences, our closeness.
We'd never share the brotherhood we developed together again. Moreover,
worse for Matt, he'd be returning to his old crappy life - he looked really
depressed. Sad as it was to see, I didn't really have time to think, but
my mouth started to speak before I put my brain into gear.
"Listen boys... I don't think we'll have to separate from one another like
Wil said. We've changed, you've changed. We all suffered multiple
psychological and traumatic changes. We aren't the same people anymore.
Your family will recognize you as their children, but the comparison will
end there. They'll probably have difficulties to cope with the new
you.... and you'll have difficulties coping with a scheduled life again.
When we get back to civilization, we'll try to make everything so we'll be
able to see each other as much as possible."
"But I don't wanna go back there Dad." Matt whined.
"You don't wanna us to be rescued son?" I asked.
"Yes, but I don't want to go back to my old life. It was really a bad life
dad. You only know a small part of it."
"I don't understand... you seemed to be quite relieved since your father
was in prison?" I asked.
"Jeeze Matt, tell him.... Dad deserves to know.... he'd be able to help you
a lot," Jake whispered.
"I can't, I'm not able to tell him about that..." Matt said.
"Do you want me to?" Jake asked.
Matt looked down at the floor and nodded slowly - yes.
"Even with Wil here?"
"I don't mind. He should know too. He's my brother and I care for him
just as he cares for me."
"Hmm ok... Uh dad, there's something you should know that Matt never told
you. He'd been abused by both his father and uncle for a lot of years.
They used him like a.... well a party slut... very often, even with some of
his dad's drunk's friends. His mom knew about it, but she wasn't able to
do anything because they told her they'd gang bang her if she went to the
police. That scumbag was finally put out of the circulation because I
called the police. Not because of Matt's mother. End of story except this
shit bag of an uncle continued to abuse Matt nearly on a daily basis after
his father was jailed. He used and fucked my boyfriend! I really came
close to killing the bastard."
"Is this uncle the one who's a skilled in mechanic?" I asked.
"Noo. The mechanic one is his mother's brother.... and I don't think he
knew anything about what was going on with the other uncle or Matt's
father. The shit uncle I'm talking about is his father's brother."
"Is that's all true Matt?"
"Ye... yeahh..." Matt said, quietly with his head still looking at the
floor.
"Ok Matt, I assure you that you won't ever have to live that kind of life
anymore! As soon as we're taken into custody by the army, I'll try to
contact my lawyer and maybe get things going to foster you. I believe that
if I was able to take care of you on this deserted island, I won't have any
problem getting permission to do the same again when we return to
civilization!"
"But you have no work anymore dad, I think they must already sold your
house, your things... you're even unmarried, you won't have any chance..."
Wil said.
"Try me! They don't know me. I can find a job as soon as we get out from
the plane. I'm still skilled in my profession, and I'm pretty sure the
publicity we'll get will help me as it will help you if we use it wisely."
I answered. "Come to think of it though, I was on company business when
the plane crashed. They'll have to reimburse me in some way.... or at
least still have a job opening available for me..... as of right now, I'm
still on company business.... I think my lawyer might have a field day with
this scenario. In addition to all that, each of us are going to be well
compensated by the airline for some sort of carelessness once we tell them
what happened to the plane before it crashed. Yes boys, my lawyer is going
to have a field day with that as well. Money-wise, I think we'll make out
OK."
"Yeah, maybe you're right..." Matt said.
"And, we'll do everything needed to be near as possible. Matt and I could
move into your neighbourhood, so you'll be able to take breakfast with us
every morning!" I smiled at Wil and Jake.
"Dad goes crazy bro. I think living on this island drove him completely
nuts!" Jake laughed.
"I'm probably crazy, but I'll turn the impossible into the possible. You
boys are a part of my life now. You're a big part of it. Before all this
happened to us, I was so selfish, so uncaring for anyone else, and not
wanting to have any children of my own... You guys taught me to think
differently. I'll always owe a debt to all of you."
In a flash, the boys went all on me for a group hug that lasted more than a
minute, sweeping their eyes from time to time.
"Dd.... dad?" Matt asked.
"Yes, son?"
"You really meant it?"
"What's that?"
"That you would foster me?"
"I meant it and I'll continue to do my best to achieve it. If it was at
all possibile, I'd foster all of you guys, and if I'll go even crazier, I'd
adopt all of you!"
"Wow, dad... that would be great! But I don't think my parents would
accept that. They already lost me once..." Jake said.
"That's true, but it doesn't hurt to dream." I said. "Geez! Boys, time's
a-flying. We have to clean the runway, eat and pack our things. Don will
wanting to contact us soon and we haven't kept track of the time.
"Okay dad! I'll make the lunch while you guys are clearing the runway!"
Jake said.
"Ok, let's go boys! Hurry up!"
As soon as we went outside, we were drenched by the rain. Matt said that
because we had no sun, he wouldn't be able to keep track of time. So we
ended just clearing up just a small portion of the runway where we lit the
old mattresses. It was still messy because all the mattresses wireframes
and springs were dismantled and had a lot of black carbon deposit on it. I
think it took us a little less than one hour to remove the remnant of the
all but burned "HELP" sign. Come to think that the last time we moved
those mattresses, Wil, Jake and Matt where in a fight. It was like a
decade ago!
We came back inside the barracks as the supper was ready to eat. Jake
astonished us again by cooking one of his winning recipes. Fish on a salad
seasoned with some herbs he found by himself. The salad was more than just
a salad, it included a kind of plant with big leafs that Jake found while
gathering his 'groceries'. Jake tasted it once, and little by little,
found out it was really good and not poisonous at all. He did the same
thing to collect his herbs, and everything he wanted to add to our diet.
Tonight, there were also fruits on our plate. Jake prepared them to be
cooked with some salt, it was really bittersweet, yet very tasty. How the
hell did he get salt? Just by evaporating a lot of ocean water in a
cauldron? Probably!
We were filled up to the brim as usual and thanked Jake for the wonderful
meal. I'm pretty sure this guy could be a great chef one day. He was able
to vary our diet with only a small inventory of food and it was always
excellent.
As we got ourselves moving, Matt had the good idea to try to light up the
runway. It was already dark outside. As we got under the porch, he ran to
the control tower and turned the runway lighting switch to on. As soon as
it was done, a bright pathway came into our sight. All was working well.
"It's still working, hope that it'll last!" Matt yelled under the rain as
he came running back.
"Let me dry you babe, you're slick and all wet," Jake said as he took Matt
in his arms. "No, no kisses until you're all dried, still I prefer you
slick and wet though!" he laughed as Matt tried to kiss him.
"Uhhh, guys... I think it would be more appropriate to put some clothes
on.... and hide those boners of yours, since we're going to have some
visitors here pretty soon." I smiled.
"Geez, forgot about that... The horror of wearing clothes! I'll miss my
lover's buns!" Jake laughed.
So we went into our makeshift tent inside the barrack to put our clothes
on. Before doing anything, Wil turned the radio back on, just to ensure
that we wouldn't miss Don. We didn't know if we were around the two hour
time-lapse or not, but we sure didn't want to take the chance of missing
our communication with our rescuers.
I looked at the boys as they changed. They were beautiful in their
clothes, not that they weren't always beautiful without any clothes on, but
it was different to see them dressed. We all had our hair cut, the three
boys wearing the same hairstyle. People would be impressed to see us like
this. We were all so gorgeous and in good condition that they wouldn't
believe we were survivors.
We sat back again near the radio and Wil began to call Don.
- Don, it's Wil. Are you there? - Yes son, just came back from our rescue
meeting, everything fine there? - Yup. We're all dressed, we ate, cleared
the runway and even turned on the lights on the runway. Are we are on
time? We weren't able to keep track of the time here. - Ok. Yes, you're
just 5 minutes before 2 hours. - Good. So how did the rescue meeting turn
out. - As we're talking, the people around me already know that your
lighting system is working. So with that eventuality, we decided we'd make
it tonight. - Really!? - Yes. A plane with rescuers is already taxiing
to the runway here. It should be near your island in about an hour and a
half. - I can't believe this! - Believe me son. I'm glad to be part of
the team who'll rescue you. And I'm very proud of your professionalism. -
Thanks Don. I was bit uneasy, but I think I did OK. - You bet you did.
Very well done!
I waved Wil pointing at where my wrist should wear a watch.
- Sorry Don, but our dad's here. I think he wants us to pack our
belongings. - That's ok son. Go on. Just leave the radio open. I'll try
to call you when the plane's approaching the island. - Thanks Don, see ya
later! - See... see ya later too son!
As soon as Wil left the conversation, we all went in panic. Running to the
left and to the right at the same time, bouncing into each other, trying to
gather as many things as we were able, knowing that we wouldn't be able to
bring everything. Matt stopped dead in his tracks and was the only one to
bring a solution. "I think would should leave everything here..." he said.
"How come?" Jake asked. "There's so many things I want to bring back
home! They're part of my life now, I want to show them to our families!"
he added, a little puzzled.
"The island too.... you want to bring the land back with you too?" Matt
asked.
"Goof, of course not. Something tells me that you have an idea in the back
of your mind..." Jake replied.
"Yup!"
"Well, what is it?" Wil asked.
"We'll just come back here again!" Matt smiled.
"We'll just... we'll just what?!" Jake almost yelled.
"You heard me right. We'll come back!" Matt reiterated. "I understood
something while we've been here. I can't put my finger on what it is, but
I sure know that for the first time of my life, I really felt like I was in
a bonded family. For the first time I felt good inside, had no fears, even
if we were in a survival situation. For the first time, I had love, real
love from everyone and felt protected from everything bad outside this
island."
"Yeah, I understand babe..." Jake said. "But we can't just come back for
you to feel well here."
"Jake, I have a big project I've been thinking about... I want to help
kids in the same situation I was in. I want to buy this island and make a
boot camp for troubled kids here. If it was good enough for me, it'll be
good for them too. I want to share my experience." Matt explained.
"Geez, that's a big project babe..."
"And I think that it's a very good idea indeed." I said. "I can't be sure
about buying the island, but maybe asking to stay on it
periodically.... well, the authorities might agree to that. Anyway, we'll
have plenty of time to think about it. You guys are still in high school!"
"I could do it during my summer vacations and prepare everything during the
winter." Matt added.
Wil was frowning his eyes. "You wou..."
"I would yeah..." Matt interrupted. "But I'd only do it only if all you
guys were with me. You're part of my success."
We all agreed to Matt's idea. It was a very good idea and showed how big
Matt's heart was. The project would be difficult to develop, but I knew I
could be a great help because I was used to managing projects of various
sizes.
We continued to pack our things silently, keeping only what was essential
or really small. I allowed the boys to bring back only one souvenir for
each of them. The boys hesitated a long moment between everything that was
scattered on our bed.
Finally Jake chose to keep his greeny soap. "That way, I'll always smell
that good for my boyfriend. It'll remind him of this place when he'll
smells me," he smiled.
With wet eyes, Matt took Jake's life jacket, still showing the shark shreds
in it. "For me, this thing is the most important thing I can find here.
Without it, Jake may have been found dead in the ocean. In another way,
Jake's the most important person in my life, he's my life jacket. I think
this vest represents our relationship, sometime shredded, but always
supporting both of us."
"Wow that was really a sweet thing to say about Jake, man," Wil said with a
warm smile.
"For me," Wil began, "I'll just bring back some sand I've kept secretly."
He then showed us a bottle. "This bottle is filled with some sand I kept
from the place where we landed with the raft. It reminds me of my whole
new life, the first evening chat I had with all of you guys. You guys
helped me a lot.... teaching me to be a better person. Each sand grain
represents every bit of what you did to help me. Since this bottle can
hold over a million of those grains, it means you did a lot to help me
out."
As usual I was the last to speak and the boys were waiting for me. I was
looking at the boys, in admiration of what they'd just said. Seeing that I
wasn't speaking, Jake asked, "And you dad, you don't want to keep something
you to bring back home?"
"Hell yes, I have something!" I was trying to not get emotional and had a
hard time to say what I had in mind. "Boys... I cheated a little. I
won't bring back only one thing. I'll bring back three things named Jake,
Matt, and Wil." I said while trying to smile between tears. "You're all
part of my treasure."
"Daaad, you're so sweet!" Wil said while all the boys jumped on my lap to
give a hug.
"Boys, you're.... hmmpf!! Ouch!! Easy.... Boys, you're too old and
to.... hmmpf.... heavy to do that anymore!" I laughed.
All of a sudden, the boys stopped their movements. "I think I heard
something!" Jake said.
The boys jumped from my lap and ran to the barracks door. I joined them at
my own pace. Near the door, I started to hear the engine of a plane.
"It's them dad, they're coming!" Wil yelled.
"Where they are? It's too dark, I can't see anything!" Jake said.
"They're probably circling the island to have a visual layout, before
dropping down to a reasonable altitude for the approach." I said.
"Look!! Look there!" Matt yelled pointing toward the far end of the
runway strip.
We all looked in the direction where Matt was pointing. We heard the
engine RPM drop a lot. First we saw red and green blinking lights at the
wing tips, and then the pilot turned the landing lights on beneath the
plane.
The plane was really coming to rescue us.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued...
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Editor's Note:
It's a shame that Henry passed away, but as you can see, this story has a
long way to go and I'm sure this island will have more adventures to hold
for Greg and the boys.
David of Hope
Author's Note:
Many thanks for reading this little story. If you wish, I'd appreciate
your feedback. Just send me an email and put Crash Survivor in the subject
line so I won't think it's spam and delete your message. As usual, I'd
appreciate knowing where you're from and how old you are! ;-)
Cheers,
Drake
drakanian32@yahoo.ca