The President's Son: Lt. Juan Bustamante

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YUAN

The chopper did not explode like what I expected it to. It's dark and raining.

"Is everybody okay?"

I heard moaning and whimpering. I heard that I am not the only one alive. I do not know the extent of their injuries but I was praying that everyone is alive. Janelle? Is she alive? I moved my limbs and nothing hurt. I can move. I am okay.

"Please get out of the aircraft as fast as you can, this might explode any moment."

I heard them scrambled out of the aircraft helping the injured blindly in the dark. My flashlight shone on each of their faces, my co-pilot Marcos, the secret service agents Stewart and Benedict, Jennifer- Janelle's 45 years old assistant our crew Wong, Francisco, Luis. I looked for Janelle.

"Where's Janelle?"

"I do not see her. "

"I'll go back to the chopper." I saw Stewart attempting to run back but I saw how badly his arm hurt and Benedict is no better.

"No, Stay here. Lt Marcos get as far away from the aircraft as possible. I'm going back to look for Miss Maxwell."

I heard them scramble away from the aircraft to safety and I turned on my flashlight to run back to their aircraft. I saw her sprawled on the forest floor unconscious. I strapped my flashlight on my suit and carried her and ran as fast as I could away from the Bell before it exploded.

I felt the heat of the explosion that threw us a few feet away from where I was running. I held her tightly so she won't hit the ground hard. And then everything turned black and silent.

JANELLE

When I regained consciousness, the chopper was in flames even with the strong downpour. I felt a human body under me. His uneven breathing was under my left ear. I touched his wet face in the dark. My hand grazed his jacket and I realized he must be one of the two pilots. I rolled him off me and I tried to sit up. My arm hurt a little bit. And the left part of my head is throbbing in pain. I touched his face again. My finger tips felt the stubbles that are starting to grow on his upper lip. I touched his neck and his hair. I wanted to cradle his head on my lap but I was afraid that I might make it worse if he's hurt. I could not find my phone in my pocket but I could not find it. It must be burning with the chopper now.I am thankful that I changed my flat shoes into sneakers when we boarded the aircraft.

"Hmmm"

"Are you awake?"

"Yes"

He struggled to stand up.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes. "

"We better start walking now before the rebels or any lawless elements find us."

"Who are you? Are you the pilot or the co-pilot?"

"Lt Bustamante, the Pilot."

"Who...Who.."

I struggled with my question. I wanted to know who else survived, if he knows.

"Everyone is safe out of the aircraft. But I do not know where they are now."

"We can shout for them."

"No, we can't"

"Why not? They might be looking for us too." I told him.

No we can't because the crash might be in the news already or someone might have seen it and the bandits or the enemies of the state might have started to get here before rescue could find us. you do not know what would happen if they will learn that the children of President Bustamante and President Maxwell are on board the craft."

"How about the others?"

"Lt. Marcos knows what to do. We are trained for these kinds of disasters. I just hope that your secret service will follow him to safety."

"What will we do now?"

"Get away from here. The storm is starting to beat down. We're lucky this is thickly forested, the chopper did not slam down on the ground or else all of us would have died. I suggest that we start walking and look for a temporary shelter from the storm, if we're lucky we could find a cave or something to spend the night away."

He gave me a folded plastic material that he got from his flight suit pants, It was a very thin plastic raincoat.

"It's not that it will still make you dry but it will not drench you too much."

"How about you?"

"I'm okay, my suit is water proof and my jacket too."

After I put on the raincoat to prevent me from getting more wet he took my hand in his and we started walking away from the crash site. His hand is miraculously warm in my hand. We blindly walk deeper into the forest.

We walked forever. He told me that we can not turn on his flashlight for fear that it might attract attention from people we need to avoid. He told me that we can not blindly get in trouble more than we already are. I have to trust him this time. He saved me and the others, how can I not trust him now? He is patient with me. He would stop if he thinks I needed to rest from the walking. And when he thinks I have rested enough, he would tug my hand and we would start walking blindly in the dark forest against the howling of the storm.

Then he found us a shelter. A cave high above from where we are standing. He helped me while we climbed the slippery path to the cave. Sometimes half carrying me.

YUAN

I felt her shivering from the cold. The dark cold cave did not help but at least it would shelter us from the storm. I saw caves on our way here but I saw that they were all lower than the ground, not safe from flashfloods. She never once complained when I urged her to walk a couple of miles from the crashsite looking for a shelter. I can not risk knocking on houses for fear that we might be walking in a trap. I had to protect her.

When we got in the cave, I told her to remove her wet shirt and handed her my jacket to keep her warm. When she turned away from me, I gathered all the branches that I could see and covered the cave entrance to protect us from animals, people and the storm. I picked some dry leaves and twigs to build up a fire. My back turned to her.

When the small bonfire started, I felt her approached me from behind. I could see her sneakered feet and bare legs. She is still wearing the plastic raincoat I gave her. My eyes travelled up her legs to her face. My jacket is too big on her it reaches her thighs. When I looked at her eyes for the first time since I met her today, something hit me hard in the gut. It can not be. It can not be her. My surprise is mirrored on her face.

"Erica?"

"Yuan?"

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