A Detour
St Stephen ' s College Preparatory School , Ma , Jonathan - 12
“
Approaching the bombing site .” I said into the radio , hoping that mission command would somehow receive my transmission . As me and my wingman cruised over a lush forest at a gentle speed of 450 knots , the sky slowly darkened . No surprise , as it was 7 PM , Standard Pacific Time . Our radio antennas were snapped off and although we didn ’ t say it out loud , we both knew that no constant communication lowered our chances of survival dramatically .
“ I ’ m being targeted !” My wingman cried over the radio , “ Deploying flares !” as I saw a rocket roaring straight toward my wingman ’ s jet . As a meagre amount of flares ejected , I knew in my heart that it wouldn ’ t have been enough to distract the missile . “ I ’ m bailing !” He yelled frantically moments before the jet blew up . I strained to see any sign of a parachute opening and my heart leaped when I saw him slowly descending . “ I ’ m all right- AGGHHHHH ” He screamed as a machine gun nest released a salvo of bullets at him . I don ’ t think he even felt it when his body hit the floor . Seeing his limp body drove me mad . I accelerated to full speed and steered towards the base , prepared to unleash hell on the people that killed my friend . Moments later , I realized none of my weapons were firing . Without thinking properly , I went kamikaze and ejected . The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a fiery explosion radiating in front of me .
When I came to , I was conscious of a burning feeling , like when you stand near a campfire . It wasn ’ t hard to see why . Every tree in a 300 meter radius was burning , and it was spreading quickly . I knew I had to get out of there , but for some reason I couldn ’ t move my right leg . However , when I looked down I wished I hadn ’ t , as my entire right leg was covered in blood . I forced myself to think of another thing : my two escape options . The first was to release my harness and slowly climb down , and the other was to cut the rope and drop down , which would more likely than not result in another broken leg . The answer was pretty obvious ; I cut the rope . The second my feet touched the forest floor , sharp spikes of pain shot up my spine from my leg . I crumpled into a fetal position on the floor , trying my best not to black out again , at least not until I had gotten away from the fire . I got up slowly , and tried to stand on my right leg . I could barely stand up , but I somehow found the will to keep walking .
Hours later , I stumbled into a pool . I sighed in relief as I splashed the cool water on my face . I ripped off part of my pants and surveyed the damage . A chunk of shrapnel had embedded itself in my thigh , luckily not grazing any arteries or tendons . I winced , removed the fragment of metal and made a hasty tourniquet with my spare parachute , and leaned against a partially covered alcove so I would be harder to spot by potential enemies . I checked what gear I had on me : an 11mm pistol , some basic first aid , rations for two days and my night-vision goggles . I thought of a plan and decided to find my wingman and bury him .
When I found him I saw something that made my blood boil : some enemies were dragging him , spitting and cursing all the while . I charged out blasting my pistol . Somehow all my shots landed and embedded themselves into their heads , killing them instantly . As looked around me , I knew I was lucky for they carried bolt-action rifles and frag grenades . I took all their gear , and buried them along with my wingman .
Over the next two weeks , I wish I could say I got picked up by a rescue helicopter , got awarded medals , retired safely to a loving wife and house by the countryside . Sadly , it was the opposite . I ’ d gained multiple scars from the thorns and brambles I ’ d crashed through , had multiple run ins with wild animals and killed multiple enemies . As I looked back at the obvious trail of destruction I had caused through my hobbling and wondered how they ’ d only found me by chance . Then , at the next clearing I hobbled into was the best thing I had seen all week : an abandoned jeep . A jeep from WWI , from the looks of it . I slammed into the driver ’ s seat and checked the fuel gauge . I hooted loudly as it was a few miles worth of fuel . I hotwired the car , and the engine spluttered to life . I peeled through the forest , not worrying about any enemies sighting me . As the shadows grew longer , I put on my night vision goggles as to not waste any extra fuel . I knew I had to head towards a checkpoint 3 clicks south , but I was hopelessly lost . Then , I heard a helicopter land . Could that be my rescuers ? I thought . That would ’ ve been too good to be true ! I stopped the car and approached the noise slowly . It was a supply copter which was delivering supplies to the enemies . A dumb idea started to form in my head …