Yes, it’s time for another round of Writers Reveal! Today’s topic comes from the newest member of our circle, Emily Toxward, who sent me the prompt “circling helicopters”. Here’s the short story I wrote based on that idea. Hope you like it! Thanks for the topic, Emily!
Rescue Me
Rescue Helicopter
(CC Image by Sheba_Also via Flickr)
Circle overhead… searching for a lost soul…
My heart is pounding in my ears. The pain is sharp and constant. The air around me is cool on the breeze.
I wait. I’ve been waiting for hours. I may be here for a few more. Is anyone looking for me?
I know I shouldn’t have gone off the trail. But I wanted to be adventurous. I wanted to explore. Just once, I wanted to prove them wrong, show them that I’m not always so afraid, that I can live on the edge too.
And look where it’s gotten me. Maybe they were right all along.
I still think I could have made it if those darn rocks hadn’t slipped. Now I’m lost and trapped, with nothing but the wind and my own breathing to break the silence.
And the occasional whirring noise in the distance, like the one approaching now.
This is the third helicopter to pass in two hours. Or maybe it’s the same one on its third lap around the mountain. It’s hard to tell when it blends into the clouds of the evening sky.
“I’m here!” Yet again, I try to get its attention, waving my arms while trying not to move my injured leg. “Look at me! Please…”
I wince as my foot brushes against the fallen rocks. Yes, it’s definitely broken; my leg doesn’t normally bend that way.
“Help me…” The cold is so overbearing, I can hardly get the words out anymore. Not that they’d hear me anyway. But with a broken limb, my options are limited.
I watch the helicopter pass overhead. Curse these trees! Why couldn’t I have fallen on open ground? I’d have been rescued ages ago!
Wait, what’s that? In the face of a darkening sky and a rising moon, a searchlight now appears under the helicopter. By some miracle, the light finds its way to my patch of earth. Yes! Surely they can see me now!
But will they reach me in time?
The sound of howling suddenly pierces the evening air. Not now, please not now. They’re so close! I can already hear the whirring getting louder again…
The sunlight is fading fast. I’m too exhausted to move anymore. The howling grows louder, but I swear I can see the aircraft turning around. It must be coming back for me… It must…
The world around me grows dark. All I can see anymore is that beacon of hope in the sky. I close my eyes and wait for the rotating blades of salvation to reach me before the mountain beasts do…
Helicopters circle overhead, all day searching for a lost soul to rescue. It doesn’t matter if this one’s for me; the next one will find me for sure.
This has been a special topic post in Emily Morgan’s Writers Reveal. To learn more, just follow the button below to her site, and be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the event. Thanks for reading!
Other bloggers in the Writers Reveal
Emily Morgan: Emily Morgan Writes
Melissa Khalinsky: Melissa Writes
Jodi Gibson: JFGibson
Becky Fyfe: Imagine! Create! Write!
Josefa: Always Josefa
Rhianna: A Parenting Life
Ashley Howland: Ghostnapped
Emily Hawker: You Learn Something New Every Day
Emily Toxward: Have A Laugh On Me
Nicely done! Love the description in this.
Thank you! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Love what you did with the topic, you captured the moment.
Thank you! That’s what I was hoping to achieve. Glad you liked it! 🙂
Great story. I wish it went on a bit longer to see if she was rescued 🙂
Thanks! I wanted to leave the ending up to the readers’ imagination, but in my mind, she was rescued. I always prefer a happy ending. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Great post! I agree with Melissa!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! And if you’re wondering how it ended, I like to imagine she was rescued, but I left it open for readers to decide. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Just awesome – so descriptive and well written. The prompt came to me as I sat at my desk and listened to police helicopters searching for two teens who had been spotted breaking and entering! Love your use of this prompt 🙂
Thank you! Interesting source for the idea! I had fun writing this story, so I’m glad you liked it! Thanks again for the prompt! 🙂
Wow, I loved this. I once wrote something along the same lines about someone caught in the wreckage of the Twin Towers waiting for rescue – but I could never seem to get it right. Yours works so well, but no surprises there 😉
Thank you! That sounds like an interesting idea! I’d love to read a story like that. Glad you liked mine! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I can feel the cold in this. Is it weird that the cold bothers me more than the thought of approaching hungry beasts?!
Great work with the prompt. And great prompt from Em!
Haha, I don’t know! Cold can be a pretty terrifying force; at least animals are easier to avoid. Glad you liked the story! Thanks for reading! 🙂
You know J.C. I’m not sure if you intended to relay this or perhaps it’s my dark mind & take of your story. But it almost felt as though the injured & lost person, had imagined the helicopter. Hope is a necessary tool to survival. The person sounded as though they we’re keeping their mind guarded from fear & surrender by forcing the image of help on the way & the relief of being on the verge of rescue. Or maybe that’s just my twisted mind. LOL Nicely done! You can really feel the desolation & dispair within the words. & the howling…perfect timing. Checking out “WRITERS REVEAL” now.
That’s an interesting way to read into it! I hadn’t considered that when I was writing the story, but the idea sort of surfaced when I was thinking about how to end it. I wanted to leave it open to interpretation, and I really like yours. Pain certainly has the power to make people delirious, and it’s true that hope is essential to survive. Thanks for reading! Glad you like the story! 🙂