Post by Canada on Feb 7, 2011 13:56:50 GMT -8
It had taken three days to find the twisted remains of the airplane within the forest he had decided to make his dwelling. In the days following the discovery, he had managed to convert it into a working shelter, complete with a storage space for food and an area for a nice, warm fire.
Initially, he couldn’t believe his luck when he and Kuma unintentionally stumbled upon the site. They had been wandering around for days, traveling through the jungle like conifer forest on the western coast within the mountains. They had been low on food since the beginning of the week but miraculously managed to find some still growing mushrooms and grubs under some rocks and foliage. Compared to everything so far, the airplane had been a blessing.
What first caught his attention was not the airplane itself, but the strewn about bags of luggage that littered the usually brown and white ground. The first bag sighted was an unusual bright pink, and it was the odd color standing against the dark greens and white that initially attracted his eye. He approached the suitcase and noticed several more, deviating northward from the westward path he had been following. Curious as to what the bags would lead to, Matthew followed the trail of luggage. As he traveled along the path, the sheer amount of them grew, getting more and more numerous as he went along. The trail of gear stopped short of a large green wall of plant branches. Matthew gently pushed them away revealing a large clearing with a mass of twisted metal and more bags in the center.
He was surprised at first to see the half destroyed aircraft and wandered in closer to get a better look. The remains consisted of only the frontal half of the once airplane large airplane. He wandered in, cringing a little at the gruesomeness that consisted of frozen bodies still in their seats. He tried to ignore them the best he could and came to the conclusion that he would give the victims a proper burial after he was finished. Wandering into the area that would have been first class, Matthew was pleasantly surprised, if he ignored the bodies here as well, that he could use the larger chairs possibly for a softer bed as they reclined down to a parallel position. He also found pillows and blankets not used by the previous passengers that would provide heat and comfort for the night.
Following his completion of exploring the seats, he happily discovered that there was still edible food, frozen and kept good by the freezing weather, in the kitchen-y area of the plane. He still needed a way to heat it up but he had already figured he would set up a campfire somewhere in the now large hunk of junk. Although his stomach grumbled and complained, he decided to wait and continued scavenging the plane, mentally planning which part would be used for something useful and what would be left for the time being. So far, he decided that once he actually gutted the plane of everything inside, he and Kuma would sleep in the cockpit, as it could be locked, while the body would be used for a fire site, eating, and anything else that came to be.
After he finished with the inside, Matthew exited the plane and circled the wreckage site, picking through and opening the strewn about luggage. He tried to find anything that would be useful such as warm clothes, a bigger bag, or stuff like that. On a piece of scrap metal that he had found, he began to place the items that he wanted. Good warm clothes form one bag, some blankets he had found in another, another flint rock that would come in handy if he were to lose his, a larger knapsack, and some more food stuffs were all part of his large and growing pile.
Once the sun was high overhead, he decided to finally go back into the body of the plane. Though he felt bad about it, he knew that he would have to move the frozen corpses from their spots if he wanted to use the airplane. It felt wrong, it was wrong to disturb these people from their final resting place but he knew he had to go through with it. ‘Maybe,’ he reasoned, ‘they would appreciate a proper burial instead of staying in the airplane.’
Before he began to move the bodies, Matthew left the airplane and found a hollowed out log big enough to carry passengers. He dragged the log back to the plane and rested it outside the large hole he used as an entrance. He walked up to the first person and started to extract the cold, frozen corpse.
‘This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong,’ was all that went through his head as he carried the body, a woman, bridal style to the waiting log.
He lightly placed her down, leaving space for one more person within the log. He then went back for the next individual. So began his task of shuttling bodies to a space he designated would be alright for being buried in. With just space for two people in the log, it was a gruesome and tiresome task. The part of the plane he had discovered had to be at least a third of the actual airplane and even it was rather large. There had to be at most fifty people and with every person he took, he couldn’t help but think about who that person was. Whether they had a family alive and waiting for them somewhere in the destroyed world, whether they were missed or all alone. He couldn’t help but ponder over what these people would have been doing had their life not been cut so short. It hurt him so much and yet he didn’t even know who most of these people were.
Once all the bodies were at the spot, he laid them out in a row, one body next to the other and together with Kumajirou began to cover them with snow. He felt bad that he couldn’t give them a proper burial and was only left to hide their remains under the powdery white substance. He believed that they deserved more than what he could provide but it was for the best. Once the two were finished, he made each victim a cross from some twine he had found earlier in a suitcase and some pine branches from the trees surrounding the clearing. As he placed one at each mound, he recited a small prayer, wishing that the victims’ souls could rest in peace. He also asked for forgiveness at disturbing their initial resting ground as well as providing such a crude burial.
By now, the sun was setting and the wind had started to pick up. Not wanting to be caught in the next blizzard, the nation and his bear ran back to the plane as the wind began to howl and whip the snow around them. As they reached the wreckage, Matthew caught sight of the pile he had made earlier. He deviated away from Kumajirou and ran up to scrap piece of metal. Grabbing it with two hands, he began to pull the mound to the plane. It took a good while but he managed to haul everything inside the twisted body.
Though the plane wasn’t completely covered, the two companions managed to find space in the first class section, as the cockpit was still untouched, save for the removal of the pilots. Matthew hung a feeble but effective blanket that he had found on one of the chairs over the doorway so that wind and snow from the rear wouldn’t blow in. Placing himself in one of the seats, he managed to push the chair back so that it resembled something of a bed. He grabbed a nearby blanket, not really caring about who had used it before himself and snuggled in as well as he could.
As he drifted off to sleep, he began to wonder how well his brother was faring, whether he had as dreadful, unpredictable weather as he did, whether he was alright, and just where he was in general. Slowly, sleep over came him as the day’s hard labor finally settled in his muscles and bones. He had so much to do tomorrow if he wanted to make the plane as livable as he could. With that, he let out a sigh and dreamed about the warm past, complete with his friends and brother all smiling and having a good time.
Initially, he couldn’t believe his luck when he and Kuma unintentionally stumbled upon the site. They had been wandering around for days, traveling through the jungle like conifer forest on the western coast within the mountains. They had been low on food since the beginning of the week but miraculously managed to find some still growing mushrooms and grubs under some rocks and foliage. Compared to everything so far, the airplane had been a blessing.
What first caught his attention was not the airplane itself, but the strewn about bags of luggage that littered the usually brown and white ground. The first bag sighted was an unusual bright pink, and it was the odd color standing against the dark greens and white that initially attracted his eye. He approached the suitcase and noticed several more, deviating northward from the westward path he had been following. Curious as to what the bags would lead to, Matthew followed the trail of luggage. As he traveled along the path, the sheer amount of them grew, getting more and more numerous as he went along. The trail of gear stopped short of a large green wall of plant branches. Matthew gently pushed them away revealing a large clearing with a mass of twisted metal and more bags in the center.
He was surprised at first to see the half destroyed aircraft and wandered in closer to get a better look. The remains consisted of only the frontal half of the once airplane large airplane. He wandered in, cringing a little at the gruesomeness that consisted of frozen bodies still in their seats. He tried to ignore them the best he could and came to the conclusion that he would give the victims a proper burial after he was finished. Wandering into the area that would have been first class, Matthew was pleasantly surprised, if he ignored the bodies here as well, that he could use the larger chairs possibly for a softer bed as they reclined down to a parallel position. He also found pillows and blankets not used by the previous passengers that would provide heat and comfort for the night.
Following his completion of exploring the seats, he happily discovered that there was still edible food, frozen and kept good by the freezing weather, in the kitchen-y area of the plane. He still needed a way to heat it up but he had already figured he would set up a campfire somewhere in the now large hunk of junk. Although his stomach grumbled and complained, he decided to wait and continued scavenging the plane, mentally planning which part would be used for something useful and what would be left for the time being. So far, he decided that once he actually gutted the plane of everything inside, he and Kuma would sleep in the cockpit, as it could be locked, while the body would be used for a fire site, eating, and anything else that came to be.
After he finished with the inside, Matthew exited the plane and circled the wreckage site, picking through and opening the strewn about luggage. He tried to find anything that would be useful such as warm clothes, a bigger bag, or stuff like that. On a piece of scrap metal that he had found, he began to place the items that he wanted. Good warm clothes form one bag, some blankets he had found in another, another flint rock that would come in handy if he were to lose his, a larger knapsack, and some more food stuffs were all part of his large and growing pile.
Once the sun was high overhead, he decided to finally go back into the body of the plane. Though he felt bad about it, he knew that he would have to move the frozen corpses from their spots if he wanted to use the airplane. It felt wrong, it was wrong to disturb these people from their final resting place but he knew he had to go through with it. ‘Maybe,’ he reasoned, ‘they would appreciate a proper burial instead of staying in the airplane.’
Before he began to move the bodies, Matthew left the airplane and found a hollowed out log big enough to carry passengers. He dragged the log back to the plane and rested it outside the large hole he used as an entrance. He walked up to the first person and started to extract the cold, frozen corpse.
‘This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong,’ was all that went through his head as he carried the body, a woman, bridal style to the waiting log.
He lightly placed her down, leaving space for one more person within the log. He then went back for the next individual. So began his task of shuttling bodies to a space he designated would be alright for being buried in. With just space for two people in the log, it was a gruesome and tiresome task. The part of the plane he had discovered had to be at least a third of the actual airplane and even it was rather large. There had to be at most fifty people and with every person he took, he couldn’t help but think about who that person was. Whether they had a family alive and waiting for them somewhere in the destroyed world, whether they were missed or all alone. He couldn’t help but ponder over what these people would have been doing had their life not been cut so short. It hurt him so much and yet he didn’t even know who most of these people were.
Once all the bodies were at the spot, he laid them out in a row, one body next to the other and together with Kumajirou began to cover them with snow. He felt bad that he couldn’t give them a proper burial and was only left to hide their remains under the powdery white substance. He believed that they deserved more than what he could provide but it was for the best. Once the two were finished, he made each victim a cross from some twine he had found earlier in a suitcase and some pine branches from the trees surrounding the clearing. As he placed one at each mound, he recited a small prayer, wishing that the victims’ souls could rest in peace. He also asked for forgiveness at disturbing their initial resting ground as well as providing such a crude burial.
By now, the sun was setting and the wind had started to pick up. Not wanting to be caught in the next blizzard, the nation and his bear ran back to the plane as the wind began to howl and whip the snow around them. As they reached the wreckage, Matthew caught sight of the pile he had made earlier. He deviated away from Kumajirou and ran up to scrap piece of metal. Grabbing it with two hands, he began to pull the mound to the plane. It took a good while but he managed to haul everything inside the twisted body.
Though the plane wasn’t completely covered, the two companions managed to find space in the first class section, as the cockpit was still untouched, save for the removal of the pilots. Matthew hung a feeble but effective blanket that he had found on one of the chairs over the doorway so that wind and snow from the rear wouldn’t blow in. Placing himself in one of the seats, he managed to push the chair back so that it resembled something of a bed. He grabbed a nearby blanket, not really caring about who had used it before himself and snuggled in as well as he could.
As he drifted off to sleep, he began to wonder how well his brother was faring, whether he had as dreadful, unpredictable weather as he did, whether he was alright, and just where he was in general. Slowly, sleep over came him as the day’s hard labor finally settled in his muscles and bones. He had so much to do tomorrow if he wanted to make the plane as livable as he could. With that, he let out a sigh and dreamed about the warm past, complete with his friends and brother all smiling and having a good time.
