In My Head, second story

"In My Head" this time is a completely unrealistic dream. Erin is afraid to fly. She would rather drive fourteen hours anywhere than drive to an airport. She befriends a man who owns a biplane. It is one of those old two-seaters you see in old movies where the pilot wears big round goggles, a leather helmet, and a long white scarf. He convinces Erin to take a ride in his airplane by promising her that she was in good hands. He was a very experienced pilot who had never had an accident. Even though Erin is apprehensive, nervous - afraid, she reluctantly agreed to go on a short ride. The pilot showed Erin every inch of the vintage airplane, from the propeller to the tail flaps. He then dressed her in the necessary leather helmet and goggles. As the engine revs, Erin gripped her seat tightly and tries keep from hyperventilating. The plane bounced down the runway then lifts off into the clear blue sky. Erin wanted to scream and throw up, however the blue sky and view of the landscape distracted her. She settled into her seat, relaxed a bit as the pilot lifts them higher into the sky. "Wanna do some tricks?" yelled the pilot over his shoulder. Erin objected vehemently, however, the pilot insists she must get the full experience of flight by doing a spin, a loop de loop, and other tricks. Reluctantly, Erin gave in. She tightened her seat belt, gets a death grip on her seat, and waited for the pilot to scare the life out her. The pilot sped up and did one spin on the plane's axis while Erin held her breath. She exhaled a few seconds after the plane stabilized. The pilot looked over his shoulder at her, gave a thumbs up, then drew a circular motion with his finger. Erin grimaced while her stomach turned a flip. Part of her wanted to demand the pilot to land. Another part, the 1% foolish part, wanted to stay and enjoy the scenery. The land disappeared as the plane turned skyward. Erin felt her heart stop beating briefly, then begin to pound loudly in her chest. She looked around at the sky. It was a beautiful bright blue. In the distance she saw what looked like another plane, but brushed the thought away...probably just a bird. A scream escaped her lips as the plane began its backwards turn. She looked around to try to get her bearings. Erin found the ground then sees it. Before being able to process what her eyes were glued to, Erin felt her body being sucked out of the biplane. She screamed and tried to reach down to grab the seatbelt. It tore away from the seat. Suddenly, Erin was free-falling towards the earth. Somehow, Erin managed to position herself face and abdomen facing the earth, arms and legs outstretched, like Superman. Thud!! Within seconds of her free flight, with her eyes shut tight, she landed on the wing of a 747 jumbo jet. As her hands grasped the edge of the wing she felt a searing pain in her face, hands, and throughout her entire body. With her eyes still shut tight she thought, "did I just hit the ground and live?" Painfully, Erin turned her head to the left and opened her eyes only to be face to face with a woman screaming through a small window. Several other people gather at the window to stare at her. "Oh my God," Erin exclaimed to herself. "I've landed on a plane!! What do I do now?" The people in the window point and yell. Were they trying to tell her something? Someone pressed a piece of paper to the window - "hold on, we're going to land ASAP." "Oh, sure. They're going to land," Erin moaned, "but I'm going to die." She turned her head, painfully, back to facing the wing and prepared herself to die. Her fingers are locked onto the airplane wing and she doesn't move even though she feels the force of the atmosphere pressing against her body. Erin's ears pop as the plane begins its descent. She knees as soon as it turned she would be sucked off the wing so she took a deep and painful breath and waited. Gradually, after what seemed like an eternity, Erin feels the plane slow even more. She looked to her right, with her eyes, and sees the earth. Trees, buildings. Erin tried to look left. The people in the window were still staring at her. A moment later she felt a small bump and instantly felt searing pain in her hands. "Are we on the ground?" she wondered. Sounds began to fill and hurt her head. Sirens, shouting, squealing breaks. Then voices shouting orders. "You're on the ground, miss! You made it!" Erin tried to speak but couldn't. The pain in her body became more evident. Her fingers were burning. "Try to let go, miss," he said, touching her hand. Erin let out a barely audible scream. "She can't move," the man said. "Try gently prying them off." "They'll break." "Probably already are. We got to get her down immediately," was the last thing Erin heard before blacking out. Muffled voices brought Erin out of her coma. She is unable to move any part of her body or open her eyes. "Uh, uh," she tried to speak but is unable. Her throat feels heavy. "Doctor, she's coming out of it." "Squeeze your eyes if you hear me," said a male voice. Erin squeezed her eyes and tried to open them but they were too heavy. She then tried to move her head, her fingers, her toes. Nothing moved. "She's coming around. Miss, If you can hear me squeeze your eyes again. Good. You're in the hospital. You had an accident and broke many bones, internal injuries. You have been in a coma for quite some time. Squeeze your eyes if you understand. Good. Don't try to speak. You've been intubated. When you're fully conscious we can take it out. Try to rest. I'll be back to check on you." Erin took a deep breath then fell back to sleep. Sometime later, when hearing voices in her room, Erin opened her eyes. Still unable to move, she looked around. Erin saw that her arms and fingers were held together with metal rods and wires that were sticking through her skin. A metal frame supported her torso and her legs were in casts. "I may as well be dead," thought Erin. "I'm completely broken." "Good morning," said a nurse. "I'll alert the doctor to see if we can get you extubated." Minutes later, the doctor arrived and the tubes were removed. A nurse had Erin sip some water from a straw. "Welcome back," said the elderly doctor with a broad smile. "What happened?" asked Erin. ....more next post....