Thread: Stranded [RA + Deepsss]

It started with turbulence. Elliot was familiar enough with plane rides to not think too much, even when the shaking and lurching continued for 10 minutes. He simply leaned back into his seat, turned his head to look out the window, and tried to block out the noise of the fussing baby behind him with his ipod. This was his vacation, after all - no need to get irritated, he told himself. Before long he would be sitting on a beach in Spain, soaking up the sun and swimming until his hearts content. The twenty-four year old settled in easily, 5'9 inch body easily fit within the close rows of seats. A few minutes later, the Captain's voice crackled through the intercom. Please refrain from moving about the cabin, we seem to be hitting some rough turbulence. The lights overhead suddenly flickered, catching Elliot's attention much more quickly. Green eyes flicked to the overhead signs, noting the brightly lit seatbelts icon, before he watched one of the flight attendants hurry up the aisle to slip into the pilot's cabin. When she stepped out, Elliot could have sworn her face looked significantly paler. That was the moment that hung in his memory the first budding sensation that something wasn't quite right, but not sure what he was going to do about it. After that everything went so wrong, so fast. Elliot could hardly remember the announcement that they needed to make an emergency water landing, never mind the fact that they were somewhere over the Atlantic there was a small string of sparse islands coming up, and they had no other choice. Something about an engine going haywire, threatening to die altogether. A cocktail of fear, disbelief, and adrenaline fed itself straight into Elliot's veins as he reached for something, anything, to help him - what had been that bit about a flotation device before they took off, or the oxygen mask - Elliot had never listened to stuff like that, no one did - People were panicking as the never-ending sheet of blue got closer and closer to their plane. He watched it, unable to look away, and thought that it seemed as if they were in a bit of a weird position to land. Was the wing supposed to be tipped down? They hit the water at an angle, and for a long moment there was blackness. Pain hit Elliot all over as his body was wrenched around in the force of impact, slammed against the seat in front of him, hit from the side, tumbling. And then there was water pouring in from all sides, and his own body took over. Fingers scrambled to release himself from his seat just as he looked up. The ceiling - which was suddenly level with the water, as the plane had turned on its side - had been split open like a gutted fish. Without thinking, Elliot lurched towards it, reaching for the metal and pulling himself through just as it was all pulled under water. He swam. In hindsight, Elliot didn't know how he did it. Bits of the wreckage was everywhere, twisted metal carcasses littering the top of the water and threatening to pull him down as they sunk. Cargo that floated quickly scattered before he could grab one he had to settle for part of a flight chair, clumsy and awkward as it was. An island rose above the flat horizon, and Elliot set a course for it before the white noise in his head rose to such an unbearable level that he couldn't move. Time passed in a strange, warped way that made him wonder if he were even conscious. A few times he forgot to keep swimming, exhausted, and sank under the water before his survival instincts came roaring back to life. Wet, but firm, sand felt like saving grace underneath his feet when Elliot finally reached the shore. Quickly abandoning the heavy chair, Elliot panted and waded, struggling with every ounce of his fading strength to get out of the water. Oh god, he gasped, collapsing onto dry sand in a heap. His simple t-shirt and jeans were plastered against his wet body, blonde hair matted close to his head. Somehow, he had lost one of his shoes, and one of his hands was bright red with blood. The plane went down. His own heartbeat sounded like a roar in his ears, nearly drowning out any comprehensible thought. But even then, it felt surreal to Elliot. The plane went down. Slowly, he regained his breath, though his limbs still burned from exhaustion. That was when Elliot realized he didn't hear anyone else in the water. No screams, no calls for help. Nothing.