Maggie Campbell smiled, rolled over, and opened her eyes. Her smile disappeared. Her husband Hank had the pained expression on his face that told her he had one of his famous migraines, and he would need medications, darkness and quiet, not the helicopter tour they had planned for today. She wanted to stay with him, he wanted her to go. They argued and she reminded him that he always said he didn't get married to be apart, but an hour later, after telling him she loved him and giving him one last kiss, Maggie was standing alone in front of the hotel waiting for the tour van to arrive. Instead of smiling, anger pinched her lips tightly together, guilt turned her forehead into a mass of lines, and worry made tears gather at the corners of her eyes. Maggie turned away from the street deciding she would forget the tour and go back to the hotel. A beeping horn stopped her. The tour van had arrived. It must be fate, she thought as she climbed aboard the old van that looked like many of the other vehicles here in the South pacific, a rusty relic that was held together with wire and bubble gum, but it made the trip to BuzBee Flight Services safely.
The BuzBee tour hostess, a young woman with red curly hair, announced that one person had cancelled, but another man was eager to go and would be along any minute. Maggie stared at the helicopter they would be riding in. To her, it looked like a bright orange ball with a black stinger poking out the back end. A big orange Bee. The last passenger arrived, and they began to board the helicopter. Maggie hesitated. Hank was supposed to be here with her.
Her hesitation meant she got the outside seat which made her nervous; she was afraid of heights, but she smiled. She didn't want to come across as a complete chicken, even if she was.
The pilot, Tommy Jensen, gave a quick rundown on safety procedures and handed out headsets that would block some noise, but still allow them to hear him describing the scenic wonders below.
The door next to Maggie was mostly clear. She would have a great view. "Oh goody", she thought with a little panic. The engine came to life, and the helicopter began to vibrate. The noise, even with the head sets, was really loud. The dreadful sound continued, and the blades began to turn. Maggie's stomach clenched. Everyone but Maggie seemed to be completely at ease. The helicopter began to rise up slowly and turn at the same time. In minutes they were off the ground and headed out towards the crystal blue waters of the South Pacific. It was beautiful, and so exciting that Maggie forgot to be scared and began to enjoy herself.
The water was amazingly clear. They saw coral, fish, sharks, lagoons circled by little islets, and tiny atolls; some under water with no trees, and others with tropical jungles, white sandy beaches, and aqua colored water. Most were uninhabited, a few showed signs of life.
The pilot said the people survived without fresh water by drinking a lot of coconut water and catching the daily rain. Supply boats came every week or so, but mostly the islanders were self sufficient, living on bananas, coconuts, fish roots, the gardens they grew, and pigs and chickens they raised. He said they had lived this life for generations and were quite happy and content.
Lunch was on a small island, with drinks, fresh fish, sweet fruit, and bread that was like a mildly sweet cake. During lunch, tattooed men danced to the beat of a loud drum. They stomped, glared, and looked very threatening, showing they would fiercely protect their island. Then young women danced gracefully, telling stories with their hands and bodies, taking their guests back to a time where visitors were not always friendly and caution was first, the welcome second.
They gathered in a tiny church, and the islanders sang, sharing the pure joy of the music with their guests. It was sweet and native and enjoyed by all. Near the end of the performance the church doors banged open, blown inward by a sudden big gust of wind. The islanders laughed, saying, big storm, but Maggie was frightened. As they left, each guest was presented with a beautiful lei and made to promise to return some day. Maggie envied the islanders. She thought she could get used to the beauty and the simple, relaxed way of life.
The wind had picked up, and it was chilly by the time they all boarded and got settled. Maggie was glad she had brought a sweater. Again, she sat by the door. She had a perfect view of violent black clouds moving directly towards them. "Oh shit", she said to herself, wishing she could stay on the island, and maybe hide in the little church. The pilot explained that because of the storm, they would take a different route to the wildlife refuge. He assured them this was common.
No one but Maggie looked nervous. Couldn't they see how rough the water was getting? She wondered. "Have faith Maggie." She told herself. "They have these little storms out here all the time." She was not reassured. All she knew about 'little storms' came from scary headlines on the TV news. Like, 'huge wind gust causes plane to go down' or 'surprise storm batters beach homes, killing three.' No, Maggie was not convinced that this 'little storm' was not going to become one of those stories. She was really scared. Soon the helicopter was bouncing around and the other passengers had stopped making jokes and were looking unsettled. The pilot came on the headphones and said the storm was being uncooperative. It wasn't following the rules or the weather forecast, but he still sounded calm.
Maggie wished she had stayed at the hotel with Hank, and gone down to the pool and read, maybe ordered one of the tropical drinks with the little umbrellas and the piece of fruit on the side.
The sky was now rolling black clouds, flashes of lightening, and horizontal rain. If this was on TV, Maggie would struggle close to Hank, with a handful of popcorn, knowing the 'bad thing' was about to happen. The passengers looked scared, and Maggie watched the pilot carefully.
He wasn't using the radio. Was it broken or just the storm? The helicopter was bouncing and turning violently, and he was having trouble keeping it under control. He had stopped talking with the passengers, who were now looking at each other with fear in their eyes. One couple was holding hands. Maggie loved Hank's strong comforting hands, and she missed them right now.
Suddenly the copter made a sharp turn and dropped what seemed like a few hundred feet, really more like thirty feet, but it was terrifying. Everyone screamed, and the sweaty smell of fear filled the cabin. The pilot's hands were white knuckled. On my God, thought Maggie, we're in bad trouble. The helicopter was moving up and down and twisting around without any sense of purpose. It seemed to be moving with whatever gust of wind blew its way. Sometimes the water, which had become very rough and scary, seemed very close. Other times they bounced way up, almost into the darkness of the clouds. The pilot didn't seem to have any control at all.
Finally, the man closest to the pilot asked what they all wanted, or didn't want to know. What happened to the radio? Were they going to crash? You could see each passenger straining to get the answers, holding their breaths. The pilot paused for a minute, and then came on the headphones. "A...the radio is not work..." he said, static breaking up his words, "I haven't had contact....base for half an hour now,.... we are way off course. Something is wrong with.....or the storm..I don't....I am.......trouble controling.... trying to.....a spot to land, remember.....safety procedures".
No one in the helicopter moved, they were frozen in fear. The wife of the young couple began to cry. Her husband didn't seem capable of comforting her. One of the other men was looking around his seat as if he would find an eject button with a parachute and life raft, or something, a miracle perhaps. His movements were panicky. The man next to Maggie was cursing. Maggie couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could read his lips and see the anger in his eyes. He had been the 'lucky' one to get Hank's seat. Seconds later, to Maggie's dismay the young husband was losing his lunch all over the floor of the copter. The smell was disgusting. Maggie didn't know whether to curse or to pray. She choose prayer. "GOD? I THINK IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SAVE US NOW! I THINK WE'RE ALL ... A .. MORE THAN READY DOWN HERE."
They were bouncing up and down, turning, twisting, the fear apparent on their faces. God did not answer the prayers. A few minutes later the helicopter tipped over to one side and began a rapid decent that the pilot was unable to stop. The blades hit the water first, and amidst the screams, which Maggie could hear even through all the other noise, she heard the ripping metal, saw the cracking glass, and felt the rush of cold air filling the cabin. She knew the door next to her was going to shatter; she had watched in horror as it hit the water and changed from clear to an intricate spider web. Maggie knew it would be only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, before the door disintegrated and water would begin to pour into the cabin. Before she could finish the thought, it was happening. Water was spilling into the copter.
She had no idea what to do. She couldn't remember anything in the safety procedures giving instructions for this situation; but something, maybe the survival instinct deep in her brain, told her she needed to release her seatbelt and get out. The copter was going down. She struggled to find the buckle that would release the belt; which side was it on? She found it and managed to undue the buckle; suddenly she felt free. Then a hand grasped her arm and she could see the fear in the man's face. She tried to reach down and undo his buckle, but he was so panicked that he began grabbing at her arms and face. Maggie slapped him, hoping that would bring him to his senses; he paused, then began fighting again. Maggie realized that inside the copter the water was quickly rising. They were sinking! She had to get out. She let go of the man and tried to push him away. Suddenly she found herself flung from his grip and sucked out of the broken door. She felt a moments blazing pain, then blackness.
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