BONES
PROLOGUE
Somewhere over the Sierra Nevada mountains, a twin prop job planes’ propeller begins sputtering out smoke. One eventually catches fire. The pilot anxiously calls in a mayday but the only thing he hears on the other line is static. The plane is vibrating and shaking badly as the pilot starts to lose control.
On board besides the pilot are four archeologists. Two men and two women. They frantically try and search for parachutes, but there is none aboard. The nose of the plane starts to drift downwards at this point as the second prop now catches fire. Thick plumes of orange and bright red flames fly backwards. They are losing altitude fast.
Below, snow covered mountains can be seen for miles but they are getting closer and closer. The two women cling to each other in fear as they realize that there is nothing more they can do. They were going down.
From the speed, the vertical stabilizer of the plane rips apart. Next, the tail section breaks off with a crunch and loud ripping sound. Ice cold air blows into the cabin as well as snow flakes. The cabin has depressurized at this point. The windows start to glaze over in a thin sheet of ice and crack. All that can be heard is the high pitched whine of the engines failing that seems to get louder and louder.
A large mountain range comes into view. The four brace for impact.
With a loud crunch sound, the nose of the plane slams into the mountain range, throwing up large plumes of snow and ice as well as rocks. The plane slides along its belly creating a long, deep gash in the side of the mountain about a mile long before the rest of the plane gently flops down, teetering slightly. Inside the cabin, luggage and other debris are strewn about. The four are strewn about, two are unconscious; one with a broken leg, the other with a head injury but nothing serious.
Terrified and shaken, they crawl from the wreckage. After establishing a makeshift camp, one man goes to check on the pilot. He has died instantly from the crash.
The tail section had the emergency receiver, but no one knows where it had fallen off. It could be miles and miles but the one archeologist decides to make the trek. If he doesn’t find it by night fall he will try again in the morning.
The rest settle in for the night. Once the night time comes, the wind is unbearable, howling and whipping at their faces. Snow begins falling, sticking to their eye lashes and noses. They build a fire inside what was left of the plane cabin and throw up a blanket as a door way to keep most of the cold out which helps. They wait for their friend to return with hopefully the emergency beacon.
Several days later, their friend has still not returned. Now the three remaining archeologists are in a dangerous situation. Their food has run down, but not their water. They had taken to melting the snow for water, but their stomachs have begun growling now for food. One suggests heading toward the east. She remembered seeing a cave there from an earlier walk that day. It would be better shelter there and much safer. Agreeing, they pack up their remaining supplies and weakly begin heading toward the cave.
They reach the cave. It is much warmer here and safer. Whatever had lived here before was thankfully still not taken up residence. They build a fire again and discuss what to do about the food situation. Being there isn’t any known animals around these parts that they could hunt for, their situation has become dire and extremely terrifying. Exhausted, they bed down for the night.
During the night, the second female archeologist awakes to a strange noise. It’s like a whispery voice which she soon recognizes as her colleague’s. She slowly gets up and sees her colleague standing at the entrance to the cave. Her fingers are clenched in a strange claw like fashion. Her head is tweaking and jerking. She cautiously approaches her and places her hand on her shoulder. When her colleague turns around, she lets out a scream. A gust of wind blows into the cage extinguishing the fire and the entire cave turns chilly with this ungodly cold. Another scream escapes her throat.
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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